Chris Sylvia’s former roommate, Elizabeth Henle, recalls that, when Chris left for his hike, he was figuratively already “lost” and seeking meaning in life. She suspects he could have joined a cult. On a Reddit thread, someone asks if Chris might have joined the “Yellow Deli group,” a cult also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The narrator researches this religious community, learning that they operate recruitment cafés and farms near the PCT. Young members called “walkers” recruit on the trail, offering free food and lodging. The narrator finds photos of a Twelve Tribes teepee at the Anza Trailhead in 2016, a year after Chris began his hike there.

Several hikers describe encounters with the recruiters. The group’s more controversial characteristics include strict dress codes, corporal punishment, racist rhetoric, and manipulative tactics that isolate members from their families. However, the Twelve Tribes has also participated with law enforcement and authorities. Chris’s family and friends respond that the cult theory makes the most sense, as Chris sought “belonging.” 

A woman who lived at Morning Star Ranch says she doesn’t recognize Chris but refuses to speak directly with Lankford. The narrator contacts an ex-member of the Facebook group, David Pike, who posted photos of the three missing men to a private group for former members. Pike explains that the Twelve Tribes encourage members to sever family ties. He believes it is possible that one of the missing men is with them, as members can be moved anywhere in their global network.

The families of missing persons endure fluctuating limbo between hope and hopelessness. In late 2017, Carmel O’Sullivan sends Cathy a frantic email, convinced the volunteers have found David’s body but aren’t telling her. Lankford details bureaucratic failures: Underfunded sheriff’s offices have jurisdiction, and Cathy has to push to get David’s case into the national missing persons database.

In January 2018, Cathy contacts the narrator about a recommendation received from a dog handler called Dostie for forensic anthropologist Dr. Arpad Vass. Dostie claims Voss is able to locate David’s remains from the air for a few thousand dollars using a device that detects “DNA frequencies.” Lankford is initially impressed by Vass’s credentials, including his association with the University of Tennessee’s famous Body Farm, but after watching Vass’s TED Talk and reading his patent application describing “quantum theory” and cooperating “L-shaped antennae,” Lankford realizes the device is a high-tech dowsing rod. She warns Cathy, but Carmel and Cathy decide to proceed.

Lankford flies to California to observe. The women meet Vass and Dostie at a Hemet hotel, and he operates a rudimentary device. Cathy recounts the day’s events: Vass placed Carmel’s fingernail clippings into the device and scanned the terrain, getting a weak hit near a shrub and later indicating multiple distant hits he called “bounce.” The next day, they charter a helicopter for Vass. He texts GPS coordinates from the air, pointing to a nearly-inaccessible area on a mountainside. Dostie claims his dog detected decomposition scent from the same gorge. Cathy pays Vass $3,000 in cash and is upset when he and Dostie promptly leave. Lankford comforts her, comparing the situation to a “desperate patient request[ing] a controversial new medical treatment” (192). The narrator states that the fallout from Vass’s activities will cause future problems.

Carmel O’Sullivan is tormented by the Vass lead. Though Lankford found it implausible, she admits that a scenario where David wandered too far east—like doomed hiker John Donovan did—remains just possible. Cathy hires pilot Gus Calderon for a second flight to obtain aerial images of the area. Her team of “squinters” reviews the images but finds nothing conclusive.

Dostie had insisted David’s remains were at the site, scattered by animals, but Cathy counters that gear would still be present. To resolve the issue for Carmel, Lankford volunteers to hike to the coordinates herself, obtaining expert advice on the extremely difficult mountaineering route. The day before her expedition, Lankford and Cathy visit Warner Springs Community Center, where gear seller Mary “Pillsbury” Scudder confirms seeing Twelve Tribes members on the trail, identifiable by “the shine” in their eyes. 

The narrator begins her solo trek up the treacherous north face of San Jacinto. Hours in, she slips on a stone, twisting her ankle severely. In a cell service dead zone, she has to limp a mile for water. Injured and isolated on the mountain overnight, Lankford thinks of the curse of the demon Tahquitz. The narrator questions the wisdom of pursuing the Vass lead and reflects on how easily accidents happen in the wilderness.

The next morning, Lankford texts Cathy from a high point and decides against calling official rescue. She is too injured to reach the exact Vass coordinate, but, scanning with binoculars, she sees no plausible way for David to have gotten there from the PCT. She is extracted from the mountain with severe bruising on her ankle.

The narrator spends two days in a hotel room to recover. She and Cathy use the downtime to review the cases and decide to visit Vista, where Chris Sylvia lived, to investigate the Twelve Tribes theory further. 

At the Yellow Deli in Vista, their host is the same man—Ahood—who had served them at the café in Valley Center a week earlier. Friendly and chatty, he explains it is his first day working in Vista. He describes his experience of leaving everything behind to join the group. Lankford and Cathy think Ahood’s story parallels Kris Fowler, who went missing in Washington and had expressed interest in organic farming. They consider whether Kris could have been recruited and moved to another community. They run the theory by Sally Fowler, who dismissed it, certain that Kris would not put his family through such pain. Lankford and Cathy agree that Kris was too independent to join a group, and while they think David might have visited, he wouldn’t have stayed. Chris Sylvia remains the most likely candidate to have joined a cult.

The narrator notes a parallel between Twelve Tribes’s teachings and a passage from the copy of Siddhartha Chris left behind: Both advocate renouncing worldly possessions. At the deli, she sees a poster promoting anti-materialistic messaging.

The narrator flies home. A week later, she sees a doctor who confirms a fracture requiring surgery. The expedition cost Lankford $6,000. The psychological impact on the O’Sullivans was significant, as they remained concerned about the Vass lead until Jon King hiked to each coordinate and confirmed there was no evidence of David there.

The narrator discusses confusing Forest Service signs in the San Jacintos, a problem causing yearly rescues. When the agency doesn’t act on their proposed improvements, Cathy stencils a direction on a trail marker, and an anonymous group later installs their own signs.

Lankford explains Cathy’s belief in signs, both literal and figurative, such as finding “DAVID” carved into a log. She contrasts this with the professional tracker’s term to “cut for sign” (207), by meticulously searching the environment for clues generated by the missing person. Sally Fowler also receives advice from nearly 25 psychics whose visions vary widely and were ultimately unhelpful. The narrator states her skepticism of psychics but notes their potential to provide comfort or trigger new insights.

Lankford recounts her first collaboration with psychic Pam Coronado in 2017 on an unrelated case, where Pam successfully identified a person of interest from a photo lineup. The narrator provides Pam’s backstory: A vivid 1996 dream accurately depicted the murder of Sherri Dally, launching her career as an “intuitive detective.”

In July 2018, the narrator decides to consult Pam on the Chris Sylvia case. Pam studies a photo of Chris but says he was not alive, seeing “bones” and a “big cat.” They hike to the site where Chris’s gear was found, where Pam felt the presence of another man and intuited Chris had had a petty argument before vanishing. This was a detail the narrator had not shared with her. On the trail, Pam stops and says that Chris was surprised by a man with a gun whom he had encountered before and was persuaded to go to another location, possibly a car.

While Lankford considers Pam’s theory plausible given the terrain, she disagrees based on the remoteness of the area and the lack of evidence of a struggle. She feels Chris's leaving Siddhartha behind points toward a planned disappearance. Lankford reveals that Pam will soon make a major miscalculation.

Impressed by Cathy’s determination, Pam also joins the search for David O’Sullivan. In their first call, Pam asks Cathy not to provide details to avoid unconsciously shaping her readings. Pam has a vision of David falling backward from a cliff edge near a specific boulder and a view of “three purple mountains” (216). Unable to identify the spot from photos, Pam travels to Idyllwild. Pam’s psychic readings are contradictory, frustrating the logic-driven Cathy. 

In July 2018, Pam returns with friend Aanjelae Rhoads to search the strenuous Seven Pines Trail. She is drawn by a vision of “Little Bear Valley” (218), which she interpreted as Little Round Valley. On the trail, Pam reports a sick feeling and a vision of David appearing with a stern look, which she interprets as confirmation that she is on the right path. The next day, Pam and Aanjelae hike the difficult trail, but Pam’s reading is inconclusive, and the trail to Little Round Valley is closed. On their way back, they become lost and are forced to spend the night out. The next morning, unable to get their bearings, low on water, and with a dying phone, Pam texts Cathy for help. Cathy mobilizes the online team and dispatches Jon King. 

Unbeknownst to everyone, an arsonist has just started the Cranston Fire miles below. Pam sees the smoke, and Morgan confirms it is less than 10 miles away and approaching. Jon reaches them as ash falls, and they hear the characteristic sound of “fire thunder.” Jon becomes worried as his home is in the evacuation zone. After a four-hour hike, they reach the trailhead, and Jon later finds his home safe. Pam and Aanjelae leave, shaken. Pam later said her premonition and vision of David had been warnings not to take that trail. Lankford states the Cranston Fire burned over 13,000 acres and recounts some of its consequences.

On September 1, 2018, Brandi Valenza posts on Facebook looking for her partner’s stepmother, 62-year-old Kira Moon (“Steel Magnolia”), who went hiking with a man named Jim/Jay Cerilo (“Medic”). Lankford’s team initially dismisses the case as a family dispute, as other hikers reported seeing Kira looking well.

Kira, a novice hiker recovering from injury and grief, met “Medic” on the trail in March 2018. Medic, who claimed to be a former military paramedic, was initially caring and helpful, but he later spread false information about the David O’Sullivan case. After being forced off-trail by the Cranston Fire, hikers noticed Medic had become controlling and mean. Kira was seen with a black eye. Medic’s backstory was inconsistent, and he used Kira’s credit card while claiming to be wealthy. Belgian hiker Dimitri Lenaerts grew suspicious, but Kira insisted Medic was truthful. On August 2, she ceased all contact with her family. Kira escapes on September 26 by running into an urgent care center; X-rays revealed four broken ribs. “Medic” is arrested on an unrelated warrant but was released on October 5 with no new charges for the alleged abuse. His true identity is James William Parrillo, a lifelong con man with multiple aliases. Lankford details Parrillo’s past as a serial conman and abuser. 

Sally Fowler and others post warnings about Parrillo’s criminal history on PCT Facebook groups. A 2020 Backpacker article corroborates the story and reveals seven other women who claimed Parrillo kidnapped and raped them. Kira tells Lankford that Parrillo often falsely claimed David O’Sullivan’s body was in a gorge at Walker Pass and threatened to throw her off a cliff. The only possible connection is that David mentioned meeting a “former Marine” named “Jim” on the bus to the trailhead.

After his release, Parrillo returns to the PCT but is quickly identified and leaves the area. Over the next few years, Parrillo attempts to prey on hikers on other trails but is repeatedly exposed by the hiking community. In May 2021, a couple gives a man matching Parrillo’s description a ride back to the PCT, where he disappears into the wilderness.