The Boy in the Chimney: The Mystery of Joshua Maddux
On May 8th, 2008, 18-year-old Joshua Maddux told his sister, Kate, that he was going for a walk alone in the woods. This was not unusual, as Joshua often took nature walks alone. He was a free spirit and an avid lover of the national parks surrounding him. However, as hours passed and Joshua still hadn't returned home, his family began to feel a sliver of worry.
Once the hours turned into days, Joshua Maddux’s father, Mike Maddux, took the sudden disappearance more seriously, and on May 13th, Mike Maddux called the police to report Josh missing.
The authorities, friends, and family searched their town of Woodland Park, Colorado and anywhere Josh may have decided to walk, but after months of searching, hopes of finding Joshua faded. The police had no reason to suspect foul play, and so listed him as a missing person. Joshua’s missing person file remained open for seven years, and his father never lost hope. Mike Maddux searched homeless shelters in Colorado Springs, scoured campgrounds in the Pike National Forest, and scanned strangers’ faces on the street for seven years, according to The Denver Post.
In 2015, workers demolishing a historic cabin found frozen human remains in a fetal position inside a stone chimney. According to The Denver Post, The Teller County Coroner’s Office confirmed the body found on Aug. 7 was that of 18-year-old Josh Maddux.
The cabin was only two blocks away from the Maddux family home. According to The Strange Outdoors, Maddux was wearing only his thermal shirt, and the rest of his clothes were folded inside the cabin. The breakfast bar was ripped from the walls and placed in front of the entrance of the chimney.
The county coroner, Al Born, ruled his death accidental by unknown cause. He believes the 18-year-old climbed into the chimney and became stuck, perishing from either exposure or a lack of water and food. Born also stated that there were no signs of trauma and that hypothermia was the most likely cause of death.
Many locals had issues with the county coroner's report, including the cabin’s owner, Chuck Murphy. He raised doubts about the coroner's conclusion because of the rebar installed atop the chimney to keep animals out. Murphy told the Denver Post, “There’s no way that guy crawled inside that chimney with that steel webbing…He didn’t come down the chimney.”
As time went on, questions arose, about the mysterious death of Joshua Maddux. Why would Joshua remove his clothes and boots and leave them by the fireplace? Why was the breakfast bar dragged to cover the entrance of the fireplace inside the cabin? How did he get into the chimney? Why? Until any new evidence surfaces, the mystery of Joshua Maddux remains dormant and his family continues to heal.
