The Cox family of eight lived in a shabby cabin surrounded by a luscious forest several miles in diameter, creating a far distance between them and any nearing neighbor. The surrounding forest bestows isolation between the family and the already small and impoverished town of Pavia, Pennsylvania.
On the cool morning of April 24, 1856, they were enjoying breakfast outside. During their morning meal, the family hunting dog started barking nonstop at the thick, green, nothingness of the forest before them. Confused as to what the dog could be barking at (or signaling for), the father, Samuel Cox, decided to cut his breakfast short; grabbing his hunting rifle and his hunting dog to hopefully find this bountiful dinner that was riling up the pooch.
In the meantime, Savannah and the four girls figured breakfast had ended so they headed back inside to clean the kitchen, as the boys continued to play in the yard.
Unbeknownst to the parents, that morning would be the last time they would ever see their sons alive again…
While the father was preparing to leave on his trip, Joseph, who was 7 at the time, and George, age 5, had devised a plan of their own. They too, would like to see what all that ruckus with the dog was about. So, after their father and dog set off into the forest, the boys paced behind their father so as not to be seen.
The boys would often tag along with their father on hunting trips, so naturally, when Savannah looked out her kitchen window, it didn’t surprise her to see the boys were not there. She assumed the boys were out with their father. However, when Savannah saw Samuel return home later that evening, empty-handed and without their sons, there was immediate concern that the boys were nowhere to be found.
The search was so wide-spread, up to 2,000 town members helped scour the wooded areas for the two boys. Unfortunately, after a couple weeks of absolutely nothing coming up as evidence, the town started to turn against Samuel and Savannah, the missing boy’s parents.
The people of the town and media became outraged to learn searchers have completely ransacked Samuel and Savannah’s family home, even going so far as to rip up the wood floorboards of the house. Despite their previous accusations, after destroying their home, there was not a single morsel of evidence towards Samuel and Savannah having anything to do with their son’s disappearances. Among many other uncultivated theories, after a week of searching for the poor boys, hope was running thin. Alas, the weather simply got too cold when the sun went down for a child to survive through it.
However, on the tenth night of the unfateful search, a man who was a stranger to the Cox’s family began to have very capable and very awakening dreams.
Enter Jacob Dibert.
Mr. Dibert was a 34 year old man who lived roughly 12-15 miles away from the Cox’s residency. He had felt horribly for the parents and their sorrowful losses. So much so that he too started searching for the missing boys, even in his sleep.
His dream had begun with Jacob waking up in the middle of the forest, confused as to where exactly he was at. But soon he realized, based on the landmarks of the forest around him, including a running stream, he was right within searching grounds of the boys. A little ways upstream, Jacob had come across a dead deer carcass and a fallen log, creating a perfect bridge reaching the other side of the stream. As he had crossed that fallen log, he would see a lone child’s shoe, lying in the muck in front of him. Jacob walked forward only a few steps before he discovered a strange, yet memorable birch tree in front of him.
The birch tree’s top was distinctive, as only the top branches were somewhat burnt or hacked off. Jacob stopped to take in this strange sighting of the birch tree, lowering his gaze to the roots, where he found the two lifeless bodies of Joseph and George. They seemed to have been huddled up together, perhaps cuddling to fight the cold. It had unsettled Jacob so much so, he was startled awake and told his wife of the odd dream.
The very next night, Jacob happened to have the exact same dream with the exact same findings. It worried him even more.
By the third night in a row of having identical visions of finding Joseph and George with indubitable clues, Jacob had decided this was far too much.
He confided in his brother-in-law, Harrison Whysong, and relayed the dreams to him. Harrison Whysong, living much closer to Pavia, familiarized himself with the area far more than Jacob had. Harrison told him he knew very well what stream, fallen log, and birch tree Jacob was referring to. So without much more thought, the two agreed to set foot to the exact area Jacob had seen in his dreams.
Eventually, walking along the same stream Jacob had dreamt about, the two had come across a rotting deer carcass. Jacob felt his stomach knot.
Not too far from the deer, a fallen log over the stream, giving Jacob and Harrison reason to believe they were probably not a great distance from a very unfortunate find.
A child’s shoe, they soon saw after they crossed the log over to the other side.
Jacob, and Harrison footsteps behind him, held his breath as he continued forward. What they saw next had indefinitely changed their lives forever.
They finally encountered the unforgettable birch tree from Jacob’s dreams. The top seemed cut in an odd shape, and their eyes trailed down the thickness of the trunk, down to the roots. There, Jacob and Harrison saw the two poor, missing Cox’s sons.
Deceased for what seemed to have been a week, Joseph and George were found huddled together, brother to brother, attempting to stay warm until anything or anyone could come save them.
It was later determined by their autopsies, that Joseph and George had in fact died shortly after their disappearances, due to hypothermia and natural causes.
Much later in 1910, “The Lost Children of the Alleghenies” monument was built in Blue Knob State Park, Pennsylvania, to honor the Cox brothers. Earlier, in 1906, communities from all around the area had raised funds for the monument to be put up.
And who helped organize this fundraiser that made a much respected monument rise?
Isaac Dibert. Son of Jacob fucking Dibert himself.
In recent times, there have been reports of paranormal activity at the monument’s site. Including hearing children’s laughs and their cries, and little footsteps on the dry leaves, leaving sounds of crackling where the boy’s souls frolic.
Thank you so much for reading this crazy case!
It was so interesting to research it more thoroughly, and to write about Jacob’s wild dreams that eventually solved the case. Ultimately getting the Cox family justice, and therefore hopefully, restoring some peace in their lives.
Sources for this post are in my sources tab at the top
Please contact me through insta or email to suggest what true crime case I can write about for next Wednesday’s post!
Weezdajuice 