It Was in the Cave

For the better part of a decade, Nevada residents – and the internet – have wondered.

What became of Kenny Veach?

Nevada Magazine explores this case of high strangeness.

That aint nothing. I am a long distance hiker. One time during one of my hikes out by Nellis Air Force Base, I found a hidden cave. The entrance to the cave was shaped like a perfect capital M. I always enter every cave I find, but as I began to enter this particular cave, my whole body began to vibrate. The closer I got to the cave entrance, the worse the vibrating became. Suddenly I became very scared and high-tailed it out of there. That was one of the strangest things that ever happened to me.

In late 2014, these words were posted to a YouTube video titled “Son of an Area 51 Technician.” The man behind the screen was Las Vegas resident and avid hiker Kenny Veach, using the screenname snakebitmgee. Unbeknownst to him at the time, his comment would set in motion a series of events that would lead to one of Nevada’s most puzzling urban legends.

Egged on by the internet, Kenny set out to revisit the cave, this time bringing a camera and a gun.

See the outcome of his return trip here:

The torrent of comments that followed the video urged Kenny to make a third expedition.

With a notable exception:

But Kenny acceded to public demand and ventured into the desert for a third fateful time.

On Nov. 10, 2014, Kenny set off on his last hike. He told his family he was going for a “short, overnight trip,” though he would never return. His disappearance would soon turn up on a Las Vegas news station, and the search was on.

Kenny was not new to desert hiking or spelunking. He claims to have hiked extensively in the area, even leaving several YouTube comments on the Area 51 video detailing his experience.

“I solo hike across mountain tops that most people wouldn’t dare go. I have been in more caves than I can count. I play with rattlesnakes for fun. But this one particular cave was beyond anything I had ever encountered.”

Whatever Kenny encountered out there in the mountains, he never returned from the encounter.

But that’s not to say he vanished without a trace.

In the beginning of the “M Cave Hike” video Kenny posted before his disappearance, he is standing by an abandoned mine shaft, narrating some information about the cave he’s seeking out. It was there, that on Nov. 22, 2014, search and rescue volunteers found Kenny’s cell phone, indicating that he had, in fact, gone out searching for the cave again. An article at News 3 Las Vegas details, “We found his cell phone close to a very vertical old mine shaft and we can’t find another trail,” Red Rock Search & Rescue Commander Dave Cummings told News 3. “It doesn’t mean that he’s down the mine shaft, but we have tracked him as far as we can. We are having our other crews come in from the search areas.”

After his cell phone was found, the trail would unfortunately go cold. Kenny was never found, leading to much speculation on how he died. The mysterious circumstances of his death fueled the internet with conspiracy theories of every shape and color. Had Kenny fallen down a mineshaft? Had he discovered a hidden entrance to Area 51? Had he stumbled upon some great military secret? Was the cave connected to aliens? Or had he simply succumbed to the elements?

Kenny’s final fate remains unknown to this day.

But a new possibility did surface in yet another mysterious YouTube comment.

As of this writing, I couldn’t find conclusive proof that the account’s owner is indeed Kenny Veach’s girlfriend.

I did find the channel. Not much is there, except three short, Kenny-centric videos: five minutes of additional footage from his second M Cave expedition, one of him handling a rattlesnake which was filmed by an unseen woman, and this delightful slide show:

The woman in the slide show does match the channel’s profile pic.

But this is the internet; you can’t be too careful.

Still, I leave you with her closing comment:

I share this with you for two reasons. First, so that you have more of an understanding who Kenny was and to bring some peace or understanding to the situation. Secondly, if any of you do decide to go out into our desert to look for him or the M Cave, be careful and bring enough water and food. Walking sticks are a good idea and not doing a solo hike. Bring a GPS and make sure that you have let family or friends know that you are heading out for the hike and where and when you will be returning. A search really can’t be on a one day hike. You would be repeating much of the same hike….just getting up the mountain and then be left with not many hours in the day to do the search. You would need 2 or 3 days at a time and in the summer, or even late spring, this can not be done because of the heat of our desert. You would not be able to carry enough water. So, please, please be careful. I had many wonderful experience with Kenny and will always remember them and have a place of love in my heart for him and the wonderful things we did together. I am healing from my loss and look forward to new experiences with desert hiking, camping and taking beautiful pictures of our desert. Enjoy your adventures of life and thank you for the kind loving comments sent my way.

And this recommendation: If you want a really strange story, read my award-winning horror/adventure series.