Dudleytown: The Investigation Sparks Deeper and Darker Questions

The last couple weeks have been frustrating. Anyone I contacted about Dudleytown either refused to respond, did not have what I wanted or said it's a waste of time. I keep looking and digging, because just when I think it's not worth it, I read or find something new to me that makes me more curious.

That's what happened Tuesday afternoon. I spent a lot of Tuesday (April 2) crafting information request letters and sorting through the responses I already had in hand from previous requests. Then, I decided to stick all the papers in the folder and go back to doing what got me interested in Dudleytown in the first place. I went on the internet and just started reading articles people had written about the place, and I also checked out a few old forum discussions.

It was interesting stuff, fun stories, and I got to read a lot of the personal stories people shared from the time they got into Dudleytown. I clicked back out into the main screen and saw the next item, clicked on it, and I got this:

*Quick note -- those are my blur lines in the letter above. I put them in on my own merit,  but this is public info after all. A quick Google search will give you access.

Right away, I was pumped up. This has a confirmed Dark Entry Forest Association members name on it, an email address and a P.O. Box. These were going to be three key things in continuing on if I wanted to, and before I saw this, I had no next step and no new plan on obtaining information.

Then, I read the content of the document and read it again. I realized this was written testimony from a member of the Dark Entry Forest Association to Connecticut State Representatives in support of a proposed amendment to the state's Constitution.

I cross referenced other testimony against this one and on the surface, they had similar mission statements, but this one was from the Dark Entry Forest Association. This one was talking specifically about their interest in Wyentenock State Park remaining state-owned land.

Located in Cornwall Bridge, CT, the majority of the forests more than 750 acre boundary abuts the state-owned Wyantenock State Forest.

Blah, blah, blah, conservation -- skip to the bottom of the letter.

If the State were ever to sell, swap or, in some manner, re-purpose Wyantenock State Forest, Dark Entry Forest, Inc. and its members will certainly appreciate the opportunity to offer testimony at a public hearing or as written comments as to how such a contraindicated transaction would negatively impact both human and ecological health. We look forward to voting favorably for the Constitution Amendment when it reaches the ballot box during 2018.

To you, this may mean nothing. You may look at it and say, "there are some people who care and are doing their part to preserve land under their control from unnecessary development." I certainly don't know what secrets there are. But I do know that in my opinion, there are secrets. IF, and again, I'm speculating with my opinions here, but if there were secrets, wouldn't it make sense for Dark Entry to remain partners with the state on a property line, versus some private owner who can say and do what they want? But what the hell do I know?

So, I read the letter, saw something that got me interested in this thing all over again. Then, I took a breath and got going on using that e-mail address I had stumbled upon. I sent this:

I don't know why I put the letter in an attachment rather than the body of the e-mail or why I titled it that way. Maybe it was because I knew this was a group that appreciated unnecessary mystery. Here's what the letter said:

As the time stamp indicates, I sent this Tuesday, April 2, at 3:55 PM. I sent it not expecting any response from Dark Entry. I did not, and have still not, gotten a response from them. However, just about three hours later the same day, I got another e-mail from one of the agencies I had sent a Freedom of Information Request to:

This seemed odd to me because they were responding to an e-mail I sent last week, all of the sudden. This made me wonder about whether there may be a connection between Dark Entry and the Cornwall Town Offices.

There is a connection and it was not hard to find. That's all I have to say about that for now.

Whether me initiating with Dark Entry had anything to do with the Town's response or not, I'll never know, but the timing was interesting. All of this is interesting to me.

I was energized to search deeper, my curiosity was running wild. Cut to Thursday morning -- I would have more to consider after an ominous warning from my cousin Theresa AKA Tia:

Now what? Anyone who knows me, knows I don't mess with the "Big Guy." God was now weighing in on whether or not to go forward? Where am I now? I have a lot to consider. Should I even look deeper? I have a lot of work to do should I continue. I'd have so much more research ahead of me. Should I ignore God's wishes?

If I keep looking for Dudleytown's secrets, I'll need to learn from my mistakes. Last week, I had not focused my attention in the right place. Sure, I can sharpen my focus and send better prepared, more pointed info requests to the town, and maybe I'll get something of interest. I will do that and it will be great, but the Town of Cornwall, it's residents and the municipal employees, are not the story -- even if there is some small connection between the town and Dark Entry.

The ghosts people are chasing in the woods of Dudleytown are not the story. Edmund Dudley is not the story, neither is Horace Greeley. The real ghosts are the members of the Dark Entry Forest Association. That is the story, that's the real mystery.

This morning on the Ethan and Lou Show, you could hear the frustration in my voice trying to organize all of this information and navigate a lack of real information. I needed some help making sure I at least was reading this testimony right so I reached out to Connecticut State Representative Billy "Mo" Buckbee of New Milford. He explained that I as on the right track in terms of the investigation, and then I explained to Ethan exactly what I want out of this investigation, when it's all said and done. Here's how that went:

This week turned out more productive than last week. I got overwhelmed and spent most of last week just responding to nothing e-mails from the Town of Cornwall. It was pushing back and forth over the fact that zero information had been exchanged. It showed.

NOTE: Everything below is what I had prepared and written a week ago, but I just had to share that they actually asked me, in writing, not to talk about them. 

The association would not be happy about you doing a radio program about them.

Good for the association. Who makes up this association by the way? This is why I don't join associations, groups or clubs. It's just a bunch of people bouncing s----y ideas off of one another. Asking me not to talk about something is as good as going on the radio and saying it yourself. No one plans my show but ME, and sometimes Ethan when I'm tired. If we are both tired, we just read stuff the listeners send.

Secrets are intriguing. THIS is why people are interested and have been asking questions for 40 years.

Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets hurt someone.

#showusyourwoods

#openyourwoods

#whatareyouhiding

#dudleytown