Toronto firefighter vanishes from N.Y. ski trip mysteriously found in California
With so many weird things happening in the world today, it is tough to find explanations for them. Perhaps one of the strangest things to have ever occurred in recent times, is a man from New York, who simply vanished without a trace. He was found almost 3,000 miles away, in California, five days later.
His name is Constantinos Filippidis and by trade worked as a firefighter. While on his ski trip at Whiteface Mountain in upstate New York, he was wearing typical snow gear people use. Filippidis is also known by his nickname “Danny”.
Law enforcement and other officials looked for Filippidis for nearly a week, before learning that he had been found many miles away in California. There were well over 100 Toronto firefighters who traveled to Wilmington, N.Y to search for Filippidis.
Some of the agencies involved in the search, included the Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Police and Whiteface Mountain ski patrol. Filippidis is a father of several children and later called his wife from a Sacramento airport, according to authorities.
According to various sources, Filippidis was both alone and disoriented when he first phoned his wife who was surprised to hear his voice again. When police tracked down where Filippidis was, he was only wearing his black ski helmet, Oakley goggles, green ski jacket and black ski pants.
When questioned by the local law enforcement, Filippidis was unable to explain just how he was found so many miles away, on the other side of the country in California. This truly is still a mystery. While five days had passed before he was discovered again, he did not travel by airplane, as his identification was left behind in New York.
In modern times, people must provide identification to travel through the skies. Taking a flight from Whiteface Mountain, Wilmington, NY to Sacramento, California takes (pending delays) 10 hours and 15 minutes by air.
The actual distance driving by car is 2,910 mi from Whiteface Mountain, Wilmington, NY to Sacramento, California. It would take driving non-stop practically 1 day 19 hours via route: I-80 W. The end destination puts someone at Lincoln Hwy, Sacramento, CA from Whiteface Mountain.
So, taking these facts into consideration, Filippidis would have been abducted and drugged, which would explain his grogginess when he regained consciousness in Sacramento. There seems to be a large block of time that isn’t accounted for. From what has been learned, Filippidis told deputies he may have suffered a head injury while skiing.
But this this information hasn’t been released as fact yet. He seemed to remembered riding in a “big rig-style truck” and that he had a haircut after arriving in Sacramento. This information was released by Sgt. Shaun Hampton from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. It has been confirmed that he bought an iPhone, which he later used to call his wife with. Initially, the Deputies on duty didn’t believe Filippidis’s story until they ran his information through a missing persons’ database. Sgt. Shaun Hampton went on to say that “Our deputies didn’t immediately understand the gravity of the situation.”
Filippidis had moments of lucidity, while he was with the deputies. However, he couldn’t recall how he traveled from downtown Sacramento to the airport, which was about 11 miles away.
“It seemed he had a significant amount of memory loss,” Hampton said.
This leads to theories about Filippidis being abducted or stepping through a type of time tear portal, perhaps located somewhere on Whiteface Mountain. Numerous people, have reportedly been abducted or believe that they were taken by extraterrestrials. All of it seems very science fiction, but would be a plausible explanation for the disappearance of Filippidis and how he traveled so far from one point to another. This is what officials said:
“He kinda found himself,” Toronto Professional Firefighters’ Association President Frank Ramagnano told reporters at a press conference. “He was confused,” Ramagnano said. “He wasn’t able to give direct answers.”
“We are all very relieved to know that he is safe, following what has been an exhaustive search operation,” Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said in a statement. “Although details are limited at this time, we have been advised that he is in the care of the police in Sacramento, California”
New York State Police said “the circumstances regarding this case are still under investigation.” The Whiteface skier, doesn’t recall his last 6 days.
(Source: Inside Edition)
