Paul Rinaldo Redfern — the aviator who went missing in 1927 spawning bizarre news stories of his whereabouts

Paul Rinaldo Redfern, born on February 24, 1902 in Rochester, New York, son of a minister/schoolteacher/school principal, flew off from Glynn Isle, Georgia in his Stinson-Detroiter monoplane with the goal of setting new world records. His flight path took him through the Bermuda Triangle but when he vanished, it wasn’t out of the Devil’s lair that bizarre rumors came…

For the next 10 years, expeditions penetrated the remote jungles of Brazil chasing after rumors that a man fell out of the sky to be adopted into an Indian tribe and revered as a witchman or god, all the while praying to his own gods for rescue while the pretty young wife he left behind prayed that her husband was still alive and would be rescued any day.

Paul was a seasoned pilot who barnstormed across the country with his pet monkey, flew under bridges to advertise cigars, took people up for rides at the Bishopville Fair in South Carolina, and worked for the U.S. government looking for illegal moonshine stills.

Paul’s aunt, Lizzie Redfern, married my great-grandfather. Lizzie was christened in Derby, Derbyshire, England and not long after, their family emigrated from England to America. What follows are snippets taken from the multitude of news stories which catapulted this man into a bizarre legend of godhood.

August 25, 1927 — Glens Falls, New York, The Glens Falls Times

Headline: Flying to Brazil, Georgia youth is making a solo trip. 25-year-old Paul Redfern hopped off early this afternoon in his big monoplane, “Port of Brunswick,” for a one-man non-stop flight from Brunswick, Georgia on a perilous flight to Brazil. The plane, groaning under a tremendous load of gas, roared off along the beach at Glynn Isle and then skimmed gracefully into the air before putting out to sea at low altitude.

The lone flyer was cheerful and confident, never doubting that he could withstand the grueling test of staying awake for 50 odd hours and charting a course over the treacherous Caribbean Sea, followed by the menacing jungles and forbidding mountains of Brazil.

His pretty young wife Gertrude was there to wish him Godspeed. Officials and crowds of well-wishers cheered him from the sand dunes that overlooked the glistening beach.

If he succeeds, Paul Redfern will make a new non-stop distance record above 4,000 miles, and also a new mark for continuous flight. He hopes to land at Rio de Janeiro or Pernambuco in Brazil.

August 26, 1927 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Paul Redfern was well-prepared for wherever this journey would take him. He was confident that he was “carrying coals to Newcastle” by packing more than two weeks’ worth of food, a rifle, knife, fish hooks, matches, distilling apparatus to provide fresh water, and other survival equipment should he be compelled to make a forced landing.

A dietician packed 20 sandwiches, 2 quarts of coffee, a pound of milk chocolate, a half a pound of mixed nuts, and a concentrated food supply to sustain him. A thermos held the coffee, and an ordinary oil can held 2 gallons of water. Sandwiches included chicken, ham and cheese, with fresh lettuce and celery.

In case the sandwiches ran out, he carried an additional 24 ounces of malted milk tablets, 2 dozen beef bouillon cubes, more milk chocolate and nuts, a pound of cheese, and two small packages of dates. The food was packed in a waterproof bag that doubled as a rain jacket with pockets.

A friend suggested that he carry several bags of peanuts to placate the monkeys should he be forced down into the jungle, but Redfern figured that wild monkeys would “find peanuts too much an innovation” since they’d never been “through the evolution of a zoo.”

No less than 10 shipping vessels were expected to be along his flight path, all of which were equipped with radios and prepared to assist should they spot him in trouble.

If successful, this would be a miracle flight because “at no point” would he receive favorable winds, during which he’d be forced to fly in total darkness for over 24 hours without the light of the moon.

His gas supply was not expected to last, dropping him short by 450 miles, but on the bright side he should be in contact with land during most of the flight.

His mother Blanche had full confidence in him though she revealed that his first love was music and he would have devoted his life to music had he been able to secure an orchestra engagement. When that did not manifest, he turned his sights toward the hazards of air conquests.

August 26, 1927 — Saratoga Springs, New York, The Saratogian

The Saratogian posted that Redfern had been sighted 300 miles east of the Bahamas by a steamer which reported that Redfern’s altitude was about 2,000 feet and heading south.

Meanwhile in Puerto Rico, the lighthouses along the coast as well as the reflected lights of towns and cities would be sufficiently strong enough to aid him at night should he come within 75 miles of the island. The weather was reported as excellent throughout the night.

August 26, 1927 — Troy, New York, The Troy Times

Lindbergh’s job as a U.S. Air Mail pilot trained Charles Lindbergh for transoceanic flying. A stint in the Navy made Richard Byrd a finished flyer. Commercial aviation prepared Clarence Chamberlin for international air records. But it was prohibition that readied Paul Redfern for long-distance air flights. Redfern earned his finishing wings by flying over the Piney Woods seeking stills for the dry forces.

His father, Reverend Frederick Redfern, offered a message of hope to his son: “God be with you, gallant son! The Americans are praying for your success. Read Psalm 121:5 — The Lord is thy Keeper.”

August 27, 1927 — Albany, New York, Times Union

Throngs of people gathered anxiously around bulletin boards and newspapers awaiting word of Redfern’s whereabouts. He was expected to arrive in Brazil between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. A squadron of Brazilian planes stood ready to fly out to meet him and guide him to the landing place. Beacon flares and car headlights stood ready to light the way should he arrive after dark.

August 27, 1927 — Corning, New York, Evening Leader

Viking of the Clouds: On August 25, 1927, this daring pilot catapulted into space from Glynn Isle in a monoplane dubbed the “Port of Brunswick.” Two moonless nights shrouded his travels in darkness as Redfern began his solitary flight from the coast of Brunswick, Georgia to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. On the night of his departure, a ship at sea spotted him 300 miles east of Nassau, Bahamas, though the sighting was unconfirmed. Should his flight succeed, Paul Redfern would earn world records for distance and for time in the air.

He was expected to arrive in Rio de Janeiro but if he ran low of fuel or encountered another difficulty, he would swerve to Pernambuco on the coast, or to Para northwest of Pernambuco. Meteorologists predicted favorable weather throughout most of his trans-equatorial jump, including those devious stretches of the lower Atlantic and Caribbean Sea (aptly named the Bermuda Triangle).

When no signs of the aviator manifested on the expected day of arrival, preparations were made to send out search parties by air and by sea.

August 28, 1927 — The Philadelphia Inquirer

Several articles posted in the Inquirer chronicled the three days from take off to scheduled landing:

Myron Hutchinson, former relief pilot and business manager for Paul Redfern, has complete faith in Redfern’s ability to succeed in this flight with 8 years of flying under his belt both summer and winter. Myron said, “Paul will make it if anybody can… Paul has a sort of sixth sense to guide him in flying.”

Together they took a barnstorming trip through the South, and often they flew impromptu from city to city without elaborate preparations and sometimes without a compass, just working off a map tacked onto the instrument board.

Myron cleared up a mystery as to the photos of Paul with and without a mustache. The young aviator grew a mustache to look more mature because he’d been called the “Kid Aviator” — a nickname that he did not appreciate so he grew the mustache, but was forced to shave it off for the South American project.

Paul had the ability to dump gas if necessary, or to float the plane indefinitely for an ocean landing from air in the tanks. He carried a detailed map of the entire topography and coastline.

In other news, apparently the weather did not hold out as nicely as predicted and high winds might have altered his course. Neither the Andes Mountains nor the Caribbean Sea had revealed the presence of “Brunswick’s Flying Musician.” The youthful pilot “who abandoned the music of a violin for the drone of an airplane motor” was due in Rio de Janeiro at 2:46 p.m. if he stayed on course and on schedule.

Chairman of the flight committee Paul Varner feared that Paul Redfern in his Stinson-Detroiter monoplane had been blown off course and forced down, possibly on the northern coast of South America or one of the islands near Trinidad. He reiterated that Paul was prepared and that his plane would float “until it goes to pieces,” after which he could use his rubber life raft.

Even small fishing villages were alerted to this flight, also at the ready to watch and give assistance if needed. In the meantime, signal beams were sent skyward above the National Army Aviation Field near Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil’s O Journal newspaper posted: “Redfern’s flight is arousing the emotions of the peoples of the Americas. His arrival here tonight will be a triumphal binding of the spirit of brotherhood of the two nations… His flight is a beautiful and glorious symbol of the moral unification of North and South America.”

Brazil’s O Brasil newspaper posted: “Redfern will be victorious! Brazil, which so much admires acts of heroism, will know how to receive him as a perfect symbol of modern American youth. In case he does not achieve his goal, it will not diminish the Brazilian people’s admiration for a courageous boy, inflexibly facing peril.”

By 4:20 p.m. there was still no word from Redfern who was expected to drop a flare on Garupa Island near the mouth of the Amazon River near Macapa.

When Paul Redfern did not arrive as expected with virtually no sightings of him along the way, Coast Guard cutters and Biscayne seaplanes were prepping a search-and-rescue mission.

In the meantime, while most of the world eagerly awaited news of this “birdman seeking the pinnacle of aviation fame,” one city sought his arrest. According to the Trenton Police Department, Redfern was a fugitive from justice.

Several years earlier he had flown over Trenton dropping advertising circulars into the streets. This constituted a flagrant violation of Trenton’s aviation ordinance and a “John Doe” warrant was issued for him, but Redfern was never arrested.

August 29, 1927 — Hornell, New York, Evening Tribune-Times

Reports that an airplane was sighted over the delta of the Orinoco River were unverified. This would have been on the course he set in the hopes of establishing a world non-stop record by flying 4,600 miles from Brunswick, Georgia to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

His route lay east of the Bahamas, then across the extreme tip of Puerto Rico, and over the eastern Caribbean Sea to the Venezuelan coast. (This would have put him squarely inside the Bermuda Triangle.)

From there he would fly over Dutch Guiana and northeastern Brazil until he reached Macapa on the north bank of the Amazon. If conditions favored him, Redfern would continue to Pernambuco further down the coast, or to Rio de Janeiro. Rumors that a steamer had seen his plane heading southward had not been authenticated.

September 5, 1928 — Geneva, New York, Geneva Daily Times

One year later: South American natives reported seeing a monoplane flying high over the Orinoco River the previous year, uplifting his family with renewed hope that Paul Redfern was still alive in the almost impenetrable tangle of vegetation which abounds in the vast, unexplored Amazon regions. Perhaps he became the unwilling prisoner of primitive Indians, or maybe his wrecked plane serves as a grave marker.

Hope lives because other men have survived for years as unwilling guests of Indian tribes, so perhaps the same fate befell Paul Redfern. His father clings to the hope that somewhere in the peaks of the Andes mountains, or in the swamps of the Orinoco, his son waits for a chance to break his way out.

Frederick’s hope is buoyed by information from two natives widely separated, both on the direct course of his son’s flight path. One saw a monoplane pass high over the Orinoco River, the other saw the plane flying beneath a bank of storm clouds headed for the tropical jungle just before a fierce tropical storm broke.

December 16, 1932 — Rochester, New York, Democrat and Chronicle

Four more years went by. Headline: Paul Redfern rumored to be the king of a wild tribe. An unnamed aviator got lost above the Brazilian jungle near Manaus, the capital of the State of Amazonas. He saw a clearing, descended, and found himself in the village of a tribe of headhunters where another white man was being held captive.

The captive white man was treated as a king to the point of being almost worshipped, but he was prevented from leaving. This “king” was Paul Redfern who gave the unnamed aviator a message to take home to his family. The unnamed aviator escaped and brought the message out. Redfern’s family organized a search and rescue mission.

December 16, 1932 — Rochester, New York, Times-Union

Another version of the story: An unnamed flyer was forced down in the Brazilian jungle where the tribe that captured him also held Paul Redfern prisoner. Paul was being treated as “a white god” but was not permitted to escape.

Paul sent a message out to please bring help and rescue him, so an expedition to search for Paul Redfern will set out on December 20. Meanwhile his uncle claims to know nothing of this expedition except what he reads in the newspapers.

April 25, 1933 — Geneva, New York, Daily Times

The following year: Richard S. Redfern has been active in efforts to locate his missing nephew who’d been several times reported to be a captive of Indian tribes in the Brazilian jungles.

An American, Tom Roch, is reportedly under arrest at Para, Brazil, in connection with a proposed Redfern expedition.

Richard’s brother Edwin C. Redfern affirmed that it was public knowledge that an expedition did start from Para, Brazil under the leadership of Tom Roch, and that his brother Richard was interested in it.

Edwin claimed not to have met any of the parties involved, nor did he know anything about their good or bad faith. All he knew was what he read in the newspapers.

(Various newspapers spelled Roch’s name differently: Antonio or Tom Roch, Roche, or Rock.)

May 15, 1933 — Rochester, New York, Times-Union

Richard financed the expedition led by Tom Rock who was subsequently arrested in Para, Brazil. The charge against him was bad faith in obtaining money for the search.

May 16, 1933 — Buffalo, New York, Courier Express

Several reports have emanated from the jungle that Paul Redfern is alive and living among the natives. On April 23rd it was reported that Tom Roche, leader of an expedition to rescue the aviator, had been detained there in connection with an investigation of the plans and then released.

May 29, 1935 — Glens Falls, New York, Glens Falls Times

Two years later: Headline: “American aviator, missing for years, is believed alive” — this from a dispatch to the State Department. Two weeks ago Paul Redfern was seen alive near Netherlands, Guiana, in South America. Previous reports of sightings have proven erroneous. He was last seen by the master of the Norwegian vessel, Christian Krobg, on August 25, 1927, approximately 165 miles off the coast of Venezuela.

May 29, 1935 — Rochester, New York, Democrat and Chronicle

The headline reads: “Paul Redfern Found Alive, Secretary Hull Wires Aunt.” The family had already spent a considerable fortune on expeditions to find the lost aviator, to no avail. They did not understand why, if he’d truly been found this time, his rescue required another expedition rather than simply transportation home. They’d been chasing after false reports for years, investing thousands of dollars on equipment, only to be sued by mining engineer Thomas Smith who himself had invested time and money to outfit one of the expeditions. This lawsuit was brought against the estate of Richard S. Redfern, Paul’s uncle.

Cordell Hull was the 47th United States Secretary of State at the time.

May 29, 1935 — Rochester, New York, Times-Union

The newspaper headline reads: “Redfern Lives As Witchman, Consul Hears. Missing Rochester Aviator ‘Found’ Again as White God in Jungle.” Tom Roch arrest is recalled.

Paul Redfern has been “found” again. The aviator is a medicine man with the Kirikiriscoto Indians, this being another in a long series of rumors that Redfern is living as the “white god” of a South American jungle tribe, according to Tom Roch.

He saw Redfern living in a hut partly covered by green and yellow canvas from the downed monoplane. One arm and both of his legs had been broken in the crash. Redfern was almost helpless and the tribesmen were feeding him fish and crocodile and monkey meat. Roch could not extract him at that time due to Paul’s infirmities.

May 31, 1935 — Gloversville and Johnstown, New York, Morning Herald

It’s been 8 years since Paul Rinaldo Redfern disappeared during a flight from Brunswick, Georgia to Rio de Janeiro, but yesterday a wanderer claimed that Paul is alive, but crippled from injuries suffered when his plane crashed.

Tom Roch, a German-American adventurer, produced a battered diary to corroborate his oft-disbelieved tale that Paul Redfern is still alive in the South American jungle.

Redfern, he claims, is crippled and living with Indians, too badly smashed up to move without the assistance of an expedition.

Roch reached the canal zone recently from South America, was arrested as a vagrant and told his tale of Redfern. He dug out the diary which is written partly in English but mostly in German.

August 27, 1935 — Rochester, New York, Times-Union

Explorer’s story being checked thoroughly by government agents in an attempt to fathom the mystery surrounding the missing Paul Redfern. Traders, government agents, and native runners have been enlisted to bring back word of the missing aviator. His green and yellow plane was last sighted in 1927 by a ship near Trinidad. Fragmentary reports followed of potential sightings, all of which were “difficult to check.”

Rumors have been fueled for years by Tom Roch, explorer, seaman, and member of one of the earlier search parties. He claimed to have seen Redfern alive in the interior of Dutch Guiana, living as a “white medicine man” with a tribe of Indians. Paul Redfern had been crippled in the plane crash. All attempts are being made to verify Roch’s story.

October 26, 1935 — Glens Falls, New York, Glens Falls Times

Paul’s father, Dr. Frederick C. Redfern, disclosed today that he had just received an “encouraging” letter through the State Department from the consular agent at Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, strengthening his belief that his son is still alive.

A native schoolteacher studying medicine at a Paramaribo hospital was told by persons he’d sent to gather specimens of Indian handicraft that they saw a white man in one of the Indian villages.

The natives were quoted as saying that the white man had “come out of the sky” and had both legs broken. An Indian being treated at the hospital related a similar story.

October 29, 1935 — Ogdensburg, New York, Ogdensburg Journal

This new information was contained in a report from James S. Lawton, consular agent at Paramaribo. It was based on a statement by M.A. Melchers, a schoolteacher at a Roman Catholic mission at Drie Tabbetjes on the Tapanahoni River. A second report came from William LaVarre, a South American explorer, expressing the same belief.

February 20, 1936 — Press Release from the U.S. Department of State

Hugh Gibson, the American Ambassador to Brazil, reported to the State Department on February 3rd that the Brazilian Foreign Office had received a telegram from its head boundary commissioner for the northern sector, this being Mr. Brazdias Aguiar, in regard to the fate of Paul Redfern who disappeared in 1927 during a flight to Brazil.

The telegram stated that the British Guiana Boundary Commission possessed an airplane to transport cargo and personnel to and from the frontier. They’d received a radio message from Brazilian Major Pojucan who is on the headwaters of the east branch of the Corentyne River.

The message read that Williams and another American from the same English airplane had been to the village where Redfern was supposed to be. Williams proposed a new expedition to liberate Paul Redfern.

Pilot Williams stated that the Indians were friendly but distrustful, and when he asked for Redfern “they ordered him to depart.” Williams believed that the wreck of Paul’s plane was in the neighborhood of Sapokot, an Indian headman of Brazil, who denied all knowledge of it.

Williams believed that Redfern might be alive at the village of Duniya.

February 20, 1936 — Amsterdam, New York, Amsterdam Evening Recorder

Newspaperman Alfred Harred and American pilot Art Williams found the long-missing Paul Redfern alive in the Tumuc-Humac Mountains of Western Guiana.

They spotted the remains of his plane hanging on the branch of a large tree. Later they found Paul himself, dressed in a ragged undershirt and drawers, and they spoke to him directly. He’d been crippled during the plane crash and the tribe rescued him and set his bones. They held him in awe because he came out of the sky, and they were determined that Paul remain with them.

As Williams and Harred chatted with Paul, who walked with crutches, about 500 Indians with poisoned spears and other weapons surrounded them. When the two men attempted to take Redfern away, they were threatened with spears. Redfern himself told them to leave without him for their safety.

The village was so remote that to effect a rescue would require a several days’ hike on foot to where they could land a plane. Art Williams personally knew Paul Redfern — he helped to teach Redfern to fly.

February 20, 1936 — Oswego, New York, Palladium-Times

Additional details were reported by the Oswego Palladium-Times. Williams and Harred found Redfern in a village “where all Indians were completely nude,” and there they met and spoke with Paul who hobbled on rude crutches made of tree branches.

Paul had learned the native language and told the villagers not to harm the newcomers. Williams gave Redfern a biscuit and some tinned meat.

Paul said that he’d been forced down by a leak in the gas tank and had been forced to land on the tree, being unable to reach the river. His arms and legs were broken in the crash but medicine men cured him. They treated him well but they refused to touch his plane, believing it to be a “great spirit.”

Paul was in as good of health as could be expected. He had married an Indian woman and they had a son who looked very much like him.

When the Indians suspected that Williams and Harred intended to take Paul away, they threatened the men with poisoned spears and arrows. Paul suggested that they leave for their own safety, so they left him with provisions and fresh clothing.

The potential rescuers lingered in the region for several days but the hostility of the Indians ever increased so they left. They did not believe that a successful rescue could be undertaken. They said: “It must be realized that any rescue must mean the use of force with the probable death of Redfern, since the Indians will kill him before we could get to him, or if he succeeds in getting away safely. It would mean the sacrificing of his native wife and child, and Paul seems to care a lot for the boy. The chief immediate difficulty is Paul’s crippled condition.”

February 22, 1936 — Buffalo, New York, Buffalo Evening News

Reverend Frederick C. Redfern, Doctor of Divinity at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, wrote about the hopes and clues of finding his missing son.

“Battling unexplored jungle, the American Legion Redfern Rescue expedition of which James Ryan, Buffalo Evening News correspondent is a member, has begun its long trek in search of Paul Redfern.”

Paul’s monoplane with its yellow wings, green fuselage, white lettering, and official title NX773 was laden with 518 gallons of gasoline and 20 gallons of oil. The last thing 25-year-old Paul said before climbing into the cockpit was: “Unless I come down before passing into the interior of South America, don’t lose hope in my return. God willing, I am going to Brazil!”

After battling 26 hours of storms over the Atlantic Ocean, West Indies, and Caribbean Sea, Paul Redfern “dropped notes” to a ship located 156 miles off the coast of Venezuela. That same afternoon, Paul’s plane was spotted by the crew of a mail-carrying boat on the Orinoco River as well as by natives along that route. He was later seen by the captain and mate of the S.S. Parnalyba.

The Department of State reported that Antonio Roch, a Brazilian, who headed the Redfern expedition of November 1932, had met Indians who conveyed him to the bamboo hut of Paul Redfern.

On the door was his official number NX773 on fabric salvaged from the monoplane. Other pieces of fabric said: “Brunswick to Brazil, Paul Redfern, pilot.” When Roch saw this he exclaimed, “My God! Who are you?!”

Paul identified himself and said he was stranded there. His plane had crashed against the side of a mountain about 6-10 hours travel from the village. Paul desperately wanted to get a message to his family that he was alive.

A black man named Paye reported the location of “a white man who had crashed in a plane and was crippled.” An Indian named Kapan who lived near Paul asserted that “there was a white man who had ‘come out of the sky'” and was now living in the village of Sapakunu on the Paloemeu River. Kapan stated that the man was crippled and that his machine had crashed on a savannah.

Explorer William LaVarre also found evidence that Paul Redfern was alive and living either as a white “god” or as a prisoner with the Trios Indians in Dutch Guiana. Other witnesses also said that Paul survived and gave the same general location for his whereabouts.

An expedition sponsored by the Albert S. Waid American Legion Post No. 2 of Cristobal, Canal Zone, was anticipated to rescue Paul Redfern. His father said: “Paul’s relatives, his friends, and myself are grateful to those who are risking life and enduring trials to rescue my son. May the blessing of God speed their determined effort to rescue a young man of undaunted courage, and reward him for his effort to blaze a new trail on behalf of Pan-American goodwill.”

March 6, 1936 — Rochester, New York, Times-Union

Two weeks later: Headline: “Author Admits Redfern Hoax.” Reporters Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen called it “one of the most amazing confessions in recent newspaper history.”

Author Carl Liddle cooked up a yarn of a lost flyer to sell his jungle book. Liddle admits that he fabricated the “white god” theory and says it was all a hoax.

“It was a straight ‘moon hoax’ story,” said Liddle in an exclusive statement to the Merry-Go-Round. “I cooked it up. I was merely and only trying to sell a book.”

Liddle said that his yarn sent more expeditions into the jungle in search of Paul Redfern than Carl had sold books. Liddle asserted that to find Paul Redfern for real was a simple matter. All they needed to do was offer a ransom of 1,000 machetes plus 1,000 steel spearheads to the tribe that brings Paul Redfern in alive, or a piece of his plane or personal effects. He felt sure that such a ransom would motivate the natives to turn every stick and stone over in the wilderness and finally solve the mystery and put an end to the “moon hoax” stories.

September 29, 1937 — Rochester, New York, Times-Union

After 10 long years of waiting and rumors and eerie legends and hopes dashed over and over, Paul Redfern’s wife Gertrude wants her missing husband declared dead.

Several expeditions, including one financed by the Smithsonian Institution, failed to verify recurring rumors that Paul Redfern was still alive and living among Indians in some jungle temple, or that he’d been killed in a plane crash. Offers of rewards failed to bring closure to the mystery.

Gertrude Redfern said that her position would be more secure, or at least more logical, if she knew whether legally she was a wife or a widow. As if to answer her request, the news reports changed quite dramatically after this.

April 29, 1938 — Albany, New York, Times Union

The mystery ends. Explorer Theodore J. Waldeck, after a perilous four-month search for Paul Redfern, declared that Redfern was dead. He’d found where the plane had crashed along with evidence that the gallant airman was dead. He offered no further details, stating that he must first contact Paul’s father. Like many others, a member of this expedition died and others became quite ill.

December 1, 1939 — Rochester, New York, Democrat and Chronicle

New evidence reported on the fate of Paul Redfern. An Uruguayan seaman saw a paper bearing the name “Redfern” among articles shown to him as salvage from a skeleton lying next to a wrecked airplane deep in the South American jungle. Gustave Adolfo Lentulus saw a wrist watch, belt buckle, and badly weathered papers. These artifacts had been found in 1932 by Hans Siegerst. Hans was the only survivor of a three-man expedition into the jungle.

Hans had no idea who the flyer might have been, never having heard of Paul Redfern, only that the skeleton wore a leather jacket which fell to pieces when handled.

January 29, 1941 — Greenwich, New York, The Greenwich Journal

The mystery continues. A Johnstown girl, daughter of Police Chief William Keaveny, opened an English walnut and found a note inside. The nut was purchased in a grocery store some time prior and the store manager had no idea where his walnuts originated. The note read: “Send help to Goat Island. Am being held prisoner. Paul Redfern.”

Connection to me

Paul, they never gave up on you!

Paul Rinaldo Redfern was my grandmother’s step-cousin. Paul Redfern’s aunt Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Redfern was my great-grandfather’s first wife — my branch came down from his second wife so Paul is not a blood-relative to me.

Tracing my grandmother’s ancestors has been one of the challenging branches of my genealogical tree and when the name Redfern popped into it I was awestruck. Only one other time have I ever heard the name Redfern, that being the world-renowned Nick Redfern from England who writes and lectures about UFOs, disclosure, conspiracy theories, and cryptids such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster.

Is it even possible that my step-great-grandmother Lizzie Redfern is related to this Nick Redfern? I had to know, or at least try. And from that search into the Redfern branch came this mind-blowing true story of Lizzie’s nephew Paul Rinaldo Redfern.

Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Redfern was christened in Derby, Derbyshire, England, approximately 33 miles from Pelsall, Walsall, England where Nick Redfern is said to have been born. When she was a child her family moved to Rochester, New York. Are Nick and Lizzie related? I do not know, but it is indeed possible due to the proximity.

According to family lore, her Redfern ancestors trace back to the Isle of Man and they spoke Manx, a Gaelic language. The Isle of Man was one of the very seats of the legendary Tuatha de Danann or fairies of Ireland whose history has so captivated me that it became the topic of several books, the first of which is Nordic Aliens and the Fairies of Ireland.

In searching for a name for this category on my website, that being genealogical musings, the online thesaurus suggested the perfect name: Superfamily.

Eerie Connection to the fate of Percy Fawcett

For more than 10 years, tantalizing promises came out of the jungle that Paul Redfern had survived and was living in a remote, Indian village. Of the many possible locations given, the Matto Grosso jungle in southwest Brazil in a region commonly referred to as the “Green Hell” is eerily similar to where explorer Percy Fawcett was said to have disappeared just two years earlier in 1925. Potential sightings came out of the jungle for Percy as well, most often as a guest or prisoner of some Indian tribe, and for years news stories blazoned the front pages for Percy Fawcett just as they had for Paul Redfern.

In Nordic Aliens and the Lost Kingdoms of the Americas, I wrote about Percy Fawcett who believed so strongly in the lost or cloaked city of a highly advanced civilization that might still exist hidden away in a remote region that he devoted the latter part of his life to finding this city, only to vanish around 1925 leaving behind a double mystery — that of the Atlantean city and its peoples, and what happened to Percy and his son Jack who were believed to still be alive.

Legends abounded regarding his fate: Percy was being held captive by Indians, or he’d found the lost civilization and remained with them.

Fawcett’s quest became the topic of books and news stories for over a hundred years triggering expeditions to find Percy or his lost city. No rescue mission generated more interest because the team who rescued Fawcett would become part of the greatest discovery in the history of the world — proof that South America was the true cradle of civilization, and finding remnants of a living colony of ancients, perhaps even refugees from the lost continent of Atlantis. Percy Fawcett is believed to have vanished in the Matto Grosso region of Brazil.