The “Missing” Skier – Yet Another Case Of Mystery Teleportation?

In a case that is still unfolding and is likely to do so quietly for some time yet, the mysterious disappearance of a Toronto firefighter on a skiing trip set social media newsfeeds alight in February 2018. When he emerged six days later over 2,500 miles away on the other side of America, many in UFO circles took an instant interest in the case. It does appear to have all the hints and signs of alien abduction. There are, however, other suggestions.

While the finer details of the incident are still a mystery, the encounter has similarities to other bizarre instances of people seemingly “teleporting” to some random destination miles away from their original location.

Before we look at the details and timeline of those and this most recent bizarre case, check out the video below. It looks at some of the best cases of teleportation captured on camera.

From Lake Placid, New York To Sacramento, California

On 7^th February 2018, Toronto firefighter, Danny Filippidis would seemingly vanish into thin air while on an annual works skiing trip. The forty-nine-year-old, who is an experienced skier, was making his way from Whiteface Mountain to Lake Placid where the firefighters were staying. He wouldn’t arrive back, and shortly after, his colleagues would sound the alarm.

All efforts to find Filippidis would end in failure. Over 250 people participated in the search. This would include helicopters and drones, as well as specialist equipment and search dogs on the ground. As the fruitless searches entered their sixth day, it appeared as though a tragic end had befallen him.

Then, out of nowhere came a call to the firefighter’s wife. The voice at the other end was familiar, and when he called her by a nickname only the two of them were aware of, she knew it was her husband. He sounded hazy and disorientated, however, and soon learned he was over 2,500 miles away in Sacramento, California.

Local police were alerted to his whereabouts and promptly went to pick Filippidis up.

He would claim his only solid memory was of arriving in Sacramento “in a truck that had dropped him off!” Filippidis promptly, and bizarrely, found a barber’s shop and obtained a haircut, before buying an iPhone so that he could contact his wife.

The firefighter would state he could not remember anything after setting off back to Lake Placid. He did, however, have very vague memories of traveling in a “big rig-style truck” and believed he “had a head injury!”

The video below is a clip from one of the press conferences regarding Filippidis’ appearance in California.

A “Very Unusual Case!”

It is certainly possible to drive across America in well under six days. Non-stop driving would take just short of two days, so even accounting for regular breaks this is easily achievable.

Was this merely a hoax? Although this very well may prove to be the case as time unfolds, initially there is nothing to suggest this is the case. Most descriptions of Filippidis are of a family man with two children, ^[1] dedicated to his job of saving lives as a firefighter with almost thirty-years’ service to his name.

Furthermore, Jon Lundin from the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority claimed it “was very unusual” ^[2] and that he had no recollection of a skier vanishing from the region in such circumstances. Further still, the slopes were far from empty at the time he disappeared.

If he was taken against his will, how did he end up from the loneliness of the mountaintops of New York, and (if his recollection is correct) into the back of a heavy-duty truck traveling to the other side of America? Were the “memories” of a truck accurate, or were they the result of his scattered mind trying to make sense of a bizarre situation? Might, as some have already suggested on social media, the “truck” have even been some kind of craft?

Assuming he was overpowered and placed in a truck bound for California, what was the reason for this? Aside from the head injury, there were no other physical injuries to Filippidis.

Or perhaps there is more to the story than we currently know? His account, however, is far from the only one of its kind.

The video below goes over the basics of the Filippidis case.

The White Mist Disappearances of Argentina

In May 1968 in Chascomus, Argentina Dr. Gerado Vidal and his wife were enjoying a drive through the Argentinian countryside. The evening was clear and without any sign of bad weather. Suddenly, however, a strange cloud would appear above them. Even stranger, it began to descend.

The next thing the pair knew, the car had come to a stop. More to the point, the dark evening had seemingly given way to the brightness of the day without them having any memory of the passing time. When the pair realized that two full days had passed without their knowledge it was obvious something bizarre had taken place. What’s more, they would soon discover they were over 4000 miles away from their initial location on a quiet road in rural Mexico. Furthermore, the car’s petrol tank was still full.

How the pair arrived in a different country without using any of their petrol remains a mystery. However, some researchers in such cases point out the scorch marks on the exterior of the Vidal’s car. This would suggest they had remained on the lonely Mexican road for some time. With this in mind, some theorize, the white mist had acted as some kind of portal, instantly transporting the couple to where they awoke forty-eight hours later.

That is a seemingly outlandish notion, however, an almost identical case occurred only three months later.

The Mysterious Encounter of Graciela del Lourdes Cimenez

In August 1968 in the quiet town of Cordoba, Argentina, eleven-year-old, Graciela del Lourdes Cimenez was playing outside her house with friends. Without warning, however, a “strange white cloud” ^[3] moved in her direction. It would quickly envelop her. No matter which way she turned she could see only white mist.

She began to panic before suddenly realizing the menacing mist was gone. Her surroundings, however, were now much different to where she was playing outside her home only moments earlier. Now, all around her was busy and alive with activity. There were people all around her, all of which were strangers to her.

Frightened, she approached the first friendly looking house she came to and sought help. The young girl discovered she had somehow traveled to the city of Plaza Espana. This was 400 miles from her home. Although she was returned safely to her family home, it remains a mystery how she had managed to cover such a distance so quickly.

Nine years earlier, yet another similar incident took place.

The Bizarre Transportation Of The Unnamed Businessman

In an article entitled “Teleportations”, Gordon Creighton would relay a 1959 encounter of an unnamed businessman in Bahia Blanca, Argentina. He would take the account from a local Argentine newspaper, the ‘Diario de Corboda’.

After checking out of a motel following a business trip, the man entered his vehicle and turned the keys in the ignition. Before he could begin his journey, however, a bizarre thick mist descended on his car, encasing it completely.

Not able to see anything but white fog, the man began to become disorientated. He suspected he passed out as within an instant he was no longer in his car but stood in the middle of a field, with a road running along the edge.

Suddenly, the sound of a large truck heading his way snapped him to his senses. He ran to the road’s edge, waving his arms to get the attention of the driver. The truck stopped, and the man asked the driver if he could take him to the motel in Bahia Blanca. A look of shock spread across the driver’s face at his request. Bahia Blanco, he would tell the businessman, was over 600 miles away to the south. They were currently in the city of Salta.

Confused, the man looked at his wristwatch – only several minutes had passed since his check-out at the motel. Once at the local police station, the Salta police would contact the department in Bahia Blanco, asking them to check out the mysterious man’s story.

A short time later, they confirmed the man currently in their station, had only minutes before checked out of the motel on the other side of the country. Furthermore, the man’s keys were still in the car registered to him, with the engine running awaiting its driver.

Teleportation! Unknown Phenomena Or Outright Nonsense?

Might the recent experience of Danny Filippidis actually be one of teleportation? The memories of him being in a truck may not have been confused but highly accurate. Maybe he was. What isn’t clear, however, is how he ended up in such a vehicle? It certainly didn’t turn up on the slopes of Whiteface Mountain, and by all accounts, many other skiers were present at the time.

As crazy as it sounds, it would appear to be a possibility, particularly given the accounts from decades earlier in Argentina, that Filippidis was somehow caught in some kind of portal which transported him somewhere miles from Lake Placid in New York. Perhaps confused following this transportation, might it also be possible that he hitched a ride? Maybe with a random truck driver heading out to California?

Of course, that is purely speculation, and the explanation may prove to be very mundane. However, there is also the possibility, that the case may prove to be one that is discussed and researched for many years to come.

Check out the video below. It looks at Filippidis case in more detail and examines links to other missing people.