Cave MountainCave Mountain

In 2001, a six-year-old girl disappeared on Cave Mountain in the Arkansas Ozarks, prompting one of the largest search-and-rescue efforts in the state's history. After she was found, her account of encountering an "imaginary friend" in the woods raised unsettling questions. More than two decades earlier, another young girl vanished in the same wilderness under circumstances involving a religious group, allegations of manipulation, violence, and apocalyptic beliefs. Blending investigative reporting with elements of memoir and regional history, Cave Mountain examines the connections between the two cases while exploring themes of faith and skepticism, memory, survival, and the cultural landscape of northern Arkansas.