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BuzzFeed UNSOLVED: TRUE CRIME- The MIA Cadets
Ryan: This week on BuzzFeed Unsolved we are covering the missing NASA Galaxy Garrison cadets. This happened fairly recently, and it’s… a strange one to say the least.
Shane: I remember hearing about this- it was all over the news for like three days, then it kinda fizzled out, didn’t it?
Ryan: This one happened, just before the Tromp family disappearance.
Shane: The one where they were drug lords? Heck! Everyone’s going missing! It’s a summer of vanishing!
Ryan: Summer of… (wheeze) Anyway, let’s get into it.
(Animated timeline)
Ryan: On June 10, 2016, the NASA Galaxy Garrison stationed in Arizona experienced a Zulu Niner complete lockdown as a comet impacted the desert nearby. When bed-checks were made shortly after, three cadets- Lance Mcclain-Sanchez, a pilot in fighter class, Hunk Garrett, an engineer, and Katie “Pidge” Holt, a computer specialist- were discovered to be missing. A short search in the surrounding area revealed that they were seen on a hoverbike, riding off into the desert. None of the three cadets have been seen since.
(Blue and Yellow text)
Shane: the government (sigh), they just don’t seem to be good at finding people
Ryan: i mean, they probably are a little busy
Shane: “We’ve got three cadets out of bed? What’s that? They’re on surveillance footage heading off into the desert? Well…”
Ryan: (laughs)
Shane: “Can’t possibly follow up on that.”
Ryan: To be- to be fair, they do have a comet to deal with
Shane: it’s a hot rock! They can follow three teenagers into the desert.
Ryan: People think four, actually.
Shane: Four? Who’s the fourth one?
(Animated Timeline)
Ryan: Earlier that same day, a dark figure was seen just beyond the military-guarded boundaries, seemingly scoping out the area, and constantly watching the sky. They kept ducking near the ground, and after a few hours, they left on a hoverbike. It may be a long shot, but this mysterious figure could have found out the comet was coming, and prepared for it.
(Cut to camera)
Shane: Prepared for it? How?
Ryan: You’ll see.
(Cut to timeline)
Ryan: Shortly after the comet impacted, several rounds of explosives were detonated about two klicks northeast of the base’s impromptu comet study station. Many of the guards ran over to see what the commotion was, and our mysterious hoverbiker is seen on surveillance footage knocking out what few guards remained and entering the tented area. The three missing cadets follow quickly after, and all four emerge from the tent carrying a fifth figure. All board the hoverbike, and a short chase ensues before they shake their pursuers and disappear.
(cut to camera)
Shane: So you think this hoverbiker planted explosives as a distraction so they could go inside and steal government secrets- and apparently another government agent?
Ryan: It’s certainly a likely possibility.
(cut to animatics)
Ryan: The families of the three cadets were told of their children’s disappearances the next day, as well as an official story being released to the media. It’s worth mentioning that two of the three families refused to sign governmental NDAs. Also, I think it’s safe to say the Holt family was hit hardest by this news, as the Holt family was faced with tragedy last year, after the loss of Dr Samuel Holt and Matthew Holt on the Kerberos Mission. Dr Colleen Holt, the wife of Samuel Holt and mother of Matthew and Katie, believes that the government is hiding something from the grieving families, and is running a public server for her investigation to gather information, in the hopes that more minds involved will solve this case sooner. She is quoted as saying, “I will not be quiet, I will not accept what I am told. They took my husband and son, and now my daughter is missing too. I will not rest until I know the truth. I know that they can be found.”
Ryan, cont.: With that being said, let’s get into the theories. The first theory is that our mysterious hoverbiker is a murderer who may have gone to the Garrison at one point, explaining how they got the three cadets to go with them. After getting them to leave the safety of the Garrison’s borders, they were either left to die or brutally killed. One person suspected of being the dropout murderer is Keith Kogane, who was expelled after the news of the Kerberos mission was released.
(Blue and Yellow text)
Shane: Wait, why was he expelled?
Ryan: Apparently, Keith Kogane, after hearing that the Kerberos mission was a failure due to pilot error, went practically ballistic on the officer who gave him the news, and decked him. The pilot on that mission was Takashi Shirogane, who Keith was very close to. However, I looked at all the evidence, and I couldn’t find anything placing Kogane in the Garrison area near the time of the crash, so we may need to toss him out as a suspect.
Shane: Maybe he just erased all traces of him being in Arizona at the time, went out to live in the desert like a hermit.
Ryan: Holy shit you might be onto something there…
(Animatic)
Ryan: Our second theory is easily the most boring one, but after looking at the rest of them, it’s the most likely. This theory simply states that the cadets were locked out after the comet crashed, and had to find shelter elsewhere.
(Blue and Yellow text)
Shane: But then don’t you think they would’ve returned to the base eventually?
Ryan: I dunno, maybe they stayed away to avoid any sort of punishment?
Shane: This theory’s falling apart at the seams.
(Cut to animatic)
Ryan: The third theory is that the comet may not have been a comet, but some sort of return ship from the Kerberos mission, piloted by Takashi Shirogane, and our mysterious hoverbiker went in to retrieve him from the government. I could see this one being a real possibility, especially if you consider the previous theory of Keith Kogane being our hoverbiker. Considering Keith’s attachment to Takashi, it’s quite likely that he would go to very illegal measures to get him back.
Ryan, cont.: The next part of this is a bit out there, but please don’t yell at me. The day after the comet crashed, some people in the remote valley near the Garrison claimed to have seen a strange flying ship- almost looking like a lion- and definitely not looking like anything of this world- flying around before ascending through the atmosphere and disappearing. These accounts are unverified so take them with a grain of salt, but it sets us up for the final theory which is that the Flying Lion may have been a space ship piloted by Matt or Sam Holt, who picked up the three cadets, Takashi Shirogane, and Keith Kogane and took them to space- and the Government hushed it up.
(blue and yellow text)
Shane: and three, two, one-
Ryan: aliens!
Shane: no.
Ryan: (laughs) oh, come on, it fits so well
Shane: no. no, I- look, if some kids were off playing hooky, having- having a grand ol’ time and were like “ooh! A cave! That looks fun!” and the cave fell in..
Ryan: they got eaten by rocks, is what you’re saying
Shane: they got eaten by rocks
(Ending card)
Ryan: Whatever truly happened that night, since there’s no way of knowing if any of these theories occurred, the case of the three missing cadets remains UNSOLVED.
(end credits scene)
Ryan: so you’re saying that them getting eaten by rocks is more likely than aliens or murderers
Shane: if they went out into the desert not knowing what they were up against, then yeah, i’m gonna fuckin believe they got eaten by rocks- for all we know they’re still out there in a cave, dying or dead
Ryan: by that token, they could be out in space on some strange planet fighting evil aliens in a fantastical mech suit made up of five lions
Shane: ok im gonna stop you there.