The Insubstantial Earth

We need your help MMers, to solve the strange and tragic disappearance of Owen Avery. Owen was ten years old in 2010. He was just your average 5th grader, he loved Transformers, Pokemon cards, and Beyblades. However, towards the end of the school year he started to become more withdrawn and nervous. His teacher and the school counselor quickly suspected something was wrong at home, however the family had already put two children through school and there had never been any issues with them. When the counselor was granted permission to do a home visit by the parents themselves, they could find nothing wrong. The family was perfectly normal if not loving. 

Madeline Hopkins was Owen’s councilor, “The family was welcoming and warm, they seemed to care deeply about Owen” she told us.  “They were concerned with his recent personality change too. Finally we all sat down with Owen and he told us what he was so worried about.” 

Owen had recently watched several movies that featured quick sand including The Princess Bride.

Princess Bride Quicksand Scene

He was growing increasingly worried that he would be sucked down into the earth, never to be found again. “We all tried to comfort him”, Hannah Avery, Owen’s mother, said. “We told him that only happened in movies, that quicksand wasn’t real and that he didn’t have to worry about the ground he walked around on. But he just kept crying, it breaks my heart knowing that he was so scared, I just miss him so much.”

For the next few weeks Owen kept confiding in anyone who would listen that he felt the earth wasn’t solid. Bruce Avery, Owen’s older brother was one of those confidants, “I always thought he was messing with me, Owen always had an active imagination. He said that every step he took the earth would move a little, either shake like jello or  try to suck at his shoes. I didn’t believe him, thought it was just a game he was playing.”

School ended and summer began for Owen and his siblings. Owen's parents still had to work but their children were old enough to fend for themselves over the summer. Owen was still afraid fairly often, but being out of school and around his older brother and sister he seemed to be getting better, and braver. “We played outside a lot,” Bruce said. “We started to forget all about Owen’s fears, and he seemed to be happy. Every once in a while he would be following us and we would look back and he would be stopped or pick his next steps very carefully, but we didn’t think anything of it.”

Owen went missing on July 8th 2010, “We were going to go swimming in the pool,” Bruce said. “I was changing but I told Owen he could go out to the pool, but not get in until I was out there too. I went out to jump in, looked for Owen but he was nowhere in sight, the gate to the backyard was closed and the only thing out of place was a large spot of disturbed dirt like a big mole hill. I never saw him again.” The Avery house was pretty close to the road but the backyard and pool are completely enclosed by a fence. Could Owen have been abducted? Could he have been right all along, did the earth open up and swallow him whole, did he fall right through? Either way no one has seen Owen since that day in 2010. 

Computer render of what Owen would look like at 20

If you have any information about Owen, or the phenomenon he said he was experiencing please reach out to us at malevolentmaine@gmail.com. 

Watch your footing and stay safe out there Maine!