Devil’s Den State Park

The area now known as Devil’s Den State Park has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence shows indigenous peoples lived in and traveled through the region as early as 8,000 years ago.

Much later, in the 1800s, the maze of sandstone crevices and caves became a refuge for outlaws and, during the Civil War, a base for Confederate guerrillas who used the rugged terrain for concealment and ambush. European settlers eventually imposed the ominous “Devil” associations that flavored local folklore. 

In 1946, long after the park had become a recreational destination, eight-year-old Katherine Van Alst disappeared while hiking with her family. She was found six days later—about 30 miles from where she vanished and 600 feet higher in elevation—claiming she had survived by foraging and resting on sun-warmed grass.

The park later became tied to UFO lore. In 1977, Terry Lovelace and a friend, Toby, reported an encounter with a UAP in a remote clearing on nearby U.S. Forest Service land. Terry and Toby were EMT medics at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Lovelace described contact with sentient beings aboard a craft and the presence of vehicle tracks in the clearing fueled speculation about who maintained the area. Historical maps place the site near an old coal pit and bank, a detail sometimes mentioned in discussions of unusual radiation and UFO activity. 

More recent decades brought further tragedy. Hiker disappearances on the park’s rugged trails, including the case of Rodney Letterman, occasionally resulted in remains being found years later. In July 2025, Clinton and Cristen Brink were murdered on a remote trail, though their children survived the attack.

Today, despite the unsettling history woven through the region, Devil’s Den State Park remains a strikingly beautiful landscape of sandstone bluffs, caves, forests, and creeks. Visitors continue to find peace among its trails and overlooks, even as its past lends the place an atmosphere of mystery and unease.