Couple With Dwarfism Vanished in Yosemite — Four Years Later, an Old Suitcase Reveals a Chilling Truth

A Peaceful Morning Turned Nightmare

On a dry June morning in 2011, Saul and Velma Paul—an adventurous couple from Arizona living with achondroplasia—set out for a simple hike along Yosemite’s old Tamarak Flat Road. They were well-prepared: a blue Ford Escape with custom pedals, compact trekking poles, light backpacks, and a camera to capture memories. The ranger who checked their passes at 9:15 AM remembered them as cheerful and cautious, excited for their first highland hike in a year.

Their plan was simple: follow the old road to a scenic viewpoint, snap photos for the family, and return to their motel in El Portal by evening. But by nightfall, they hadn’t checked in. Their car was found locked, phones and map left inside. It was as if Saul and Velma had vanished into thin air.

The Search: No Trace, No Answers

Rangers and volunteers scoured the park. Dogs followed a scent that abruptly ended on a stretch of cracked asphalt. Helicopters swept the forest, but there was no sign—no clothing, no gear, no footprints. The couple’s physical limitations made their route predictable, yet they disappeared without a trace.

For weeks, theories swirled: a sudden landslide, animal attack, or a medical emergency. But the terrain showed no clues. By the 15th day, the lead ranger’s report quietly suggested “possible third-party interference.” The case soon faded into Yosemite’s legend—a couple who walked a safe trail and vanished as if swallowed by the mountains.

A Suitcase in the Rocks: The Breakthrough

Four years later, in August 2015, a group of geologists exploring an isolated scree below the abandoned Big Oak Flat Road noticed something odd: a battered brown suitcase wedged deep between granite boulders. Rangers were called in; it took hours of technical climbing to retrieve it.

Inside, they found bones—two adult skeletons, contorted to fit the cramped space. The femurs and humerus bones showed classic signs of achondroplasia. Among the remains were a personalized wristwatch engraved “SP,” a delicate chain, and a water-damaged Nikon camera. These items matched the missing couple’s belongings.

The suitcase itself was wrapped in cracked construction tape, its lock sealed. It bore a barcode from a pawn shop in Modesto, not a lost tourist’s item, but something purposefully purchased and hidden.

Forensics Reveal Murder

The bones told a grim story: both skulls bore identical depressed fractures, likely from a heavy metal tool like a sledgehammer. The bodies had been folded unnaturally, placed in the suitcase immediately after death. It was no accident—this was a double murder.

The camera’s memory card, miraculously, yielded one last image: a blurry shot taken at 10:43 AM on the day of the disappearance. It showed a white van’s door, a gloved hand, and a construction pass—details that would become crucial.

The Trail to the Killer

Detectives dug into park records. On the morning of the disappearance, a key to the closed Big Oak Flat Road was signed out to a Sierra Road Maintenance contractor for “urgent drainage repair.” The van’s license plate matched a Ford Y250 assigned to Arthur Kaine, a red-haired technician with a history of erratic behavior and absenteeism.

Pawn shop records confirmed Kaine had bought the suitcase a week prior. His former roommate recalled him coming home late, washing the van with bleach, burning his work clothes, and leaving town soon after.

The Hunt Across States

Kaine had disappeared, but investigators tracked him through odd jobs in Oregon and Nevada. In Reno, he worked at an auto shop under the name “Jim,” always paying cash, keeping to himself, and wearing gloves.

A search of his motel room uncovered a shoebox containing Saul’s engraved watchmaker tweezers—a trophy kept since the crime. Confronted with the evidence, Kaine confessed: he’d lured the couple into his van under the guise of park maintenance, struck them with a sledgehammer, and hid their bodies in the suitcase before wedging it deep in the rocks.

Justice and Legacy

In July 2016, Arthur Kaine stood trial in Mariposa County. The evidence was overwhelming: logbook entries, pawn shop receipts, the camera’s final photo, and Kaine’s own confession. The jury took little time to convict him on two counts of first-degree murder. He received two life sentences without parole.

The Paul family returned to Yosemite, placing a memorial plaque near Glacier Point—the spot Saul and Velma had hoped to visit. The park administration overhauled contractor protocols, installed cameras, and digitized key logs, ensuring no one could exploit the system again.

A Lasting Warning

Most visitors to Glacier Point never know the full story behind the little plaque. But for those who do, it stands as a stark reminder: even on the safest trails, danger can lurk where trust meets cruelty. The mystery of the suitcase in Yosemite changed park history—and brought closure to a family who lost everything on a quiet summer morning.