What happened to El? Valley in the Clouds Sanitarium is a ‘place of joy,’ not sinister, says family

ISLAND PARK — Family members are providing penetration into their Island Park property, which was astatine nan halfway of a enigma involving an enigmatic girl.

EastIdahoNews.com shared a story past week astir a Fremont County Sheriff’s Office constabulary log dated Aug. 6, 2019. A teenage woman wandered into nan Island Park Scout Camp pinch cuts and bruises, and a female who was a unpaid astatine nan campy helped her get backmost to a spot called nan Valley successful nan Clouds Sanitarium.

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Little was known astir what this spot was and what happened to nan woman until Jessica Gagich reached retired to EastIdahoNews.com aft nan article was published. Her mother is Susan Stimson Gagich (1946-1990). Terry Stimson, who is listed arsenic nan head of nan property, is Jessica’s first cousin.

What is nan Valley successful nan Clouds Sanitarium?

In a written connection by Terry Stimson to EastIdahoNews.com — and we person reached retired and confirmed nan connection came from him — he said Valley successful nan Clouds Sanitarium is “just a motion astatine nan gross to our family spot successful Island Park.” He said location is nary existent sanitarium, hospital, installation aliases “psych ward successful nan woods.”

“The words connected nan motion are typical of really our family views nan awesome area of Island Park arsenic a spot that restores one’s body, mind and soul,” he said. “Sanitarium was conscionable nan connection benignant of indicating we are nan diligent and nan ‘doctor’ is this beautiful area.”

Terry said nan motion was his begetter J.C. Stimson’s thought “reflecting his emotion of our spot and his consciousness of humor.” He mentioned it besides served arsenic a measurement to fto family aliases friends coming to sojourn cognize they had recovered nan correct place.

“The motion was location years earlier nan ungraded roads successful our area were named,” Terry said.

Jessica, whose 92-year-old uncle is J.C., said he was yet told location needed to beryllium thoroughfare names and a number connected nan spot truthful nan station agency could find them, moreover though for years they utilized nan station agency astatine Elk Creek for mail.

“Not liking that they had to put names connected things … that was his tongue-in-cheek measurement of naming nan place,” Jessica told EastIdahoNews.com. “The spot and worldly up location — there’s thing going on, truthful why should group beryllium poking into his business?”

She added, “I guarantee you he ne'er expected anybody to person that large of guidance (to nan name).”

Jessica’s car successful beforehand of nan gross arsenic she near her family’s spot connected July 10, 2024.| Courtesy Jessica Stimson

More specifications shared astir nan property

Terry said his family started buying onshore successful Island Park backmost successful nan 1940s, and they acquired much successful nan decades since.

“We travel present for nan beauty of nan forests, streams, wildlife and nature, going connected 5 generations now,” he said. “Various family members person cabins present wherever we vacation, arsenic a guidelines for hiking, fishing, kayaking, chaotic strawberry and huckleberry picking and sharing this pinch family and friends, conscionable for illustration truthful galore others who travel to their favourite spot connected world known arsenic Island Park.”

Jessica said her grandfather John T. Stimson and his champion friend bought nan first crippled of spot successful nan 1940s, and nan first compartment was built successful 1946. This compartment became Jessica’s mother’s aft her grandpa Stimson stopped being capable to make nan 11-and-a-half hr thrust from Las Vegas.

“After mother passed, nan compartment was a reminder of immoderate of our happiest days, a memento of nan female who was specified a ample beingness successful truthful galore lives,” Jessica said.

The motion connected nan compartment Jessica stays at. John T. is Jessica and Terry’s grandfather. | Courtesy Stimson family

She shared that nan buildings seen from nan gross are a saw mill analyzable pinch a log saw, planer and respective retention buildings wherever lumber tin barren and play earlier use.

“When I was younger, nan lumber gait produced firewood and materials sold extracurricular of nan property,” she stated. “These days, astir of nan lumber is utilized for caller projects connected property.”

The different buildings connected nan spot but not seen from nan gross are cabins utilized by nan Stimson family, including her grandfather’s, her uncle’s, 2 cousins and a caller 1 being built for much cousins.

“We’ve sewage a information of what we telephone ‘the large flat’ (on nan property), and we station cattle for grazing and worldly retired there,” Jessica added.

If a personification doesn’t move correct onto Big Sky Road to their spot and keeps going straight, location is different gross that Jessica said leads to nan information of nan onshore that is utilized by nan family who first bought nan onshore pinch her grandpa.

One of nan retention sheds astatine nan saw mill. | Courtesy Stimson family

What happened to El?

Terry recalls getting a telephone telephone from nan Fremont County Sheriff’s Office asking astir a woman recovered mislaid — referenced to arsenic “El” successful nan original East Idaho News article — astatine nan Scout campy that was returned to nan gross of their property. He said they were “inquiring arsenic to her welfare.”

“I was yet capable to ascertain it was a woman pinch a group of friends visiting 1 of our relative’s cabins,” Terry said. “I gave nan sheriff’s agency interaction accusation and was capable to verify she sewage location safe.”

Terry said he recovered retired location were “emotional wellness issues” progressive but he knows she is doing amended and “has group successful her life who emotion and watch retired for her.”

“I saw her up visiting again a mates years ago, and she seemed to beryllium doing rather well,” he said. “So nan counselor, Taylor B, referenced successful nan story, tin hopefully put her mind astatine easiness that she was adjuvant successful getting her backmost to loved ones safely.”

Jessica said her brother’s girl is El, making El her niece. Terry is not straight related to El, which is why successful his connection he referred to El arsenic “a woman pinch a group of friends visiting 1 of our relative’s cabins.”

While EastIdahoNews.com was incapable to straight verify nan personality of nan girl, arsenic nan family wants to protect her privacy, Jessica said El suffers from “extreme anxiety, arsenic good arsenic depression, and is still being treated by therapists and psychiatrists.”

“When presented pinch a stressful situation, she tends to frost (instead of conflict aliases flight), and during those years was practicing self-harm,” Jessica explained. “But she is truthful loved and supported, and is coming into her ain arsenic a young big these years later, amended capable to header erstwhile stressed.”

On nan time El wandered into nan Scout camp, she was “having a unsmooth clip mentally” and “during her meltdown” ended up there.

“Yes, immoderate of nan cuts seen were self-inflicted, and because of her worry she froze erstwhile confronted by unit astatine nan camp,” Jessica said. “Her comments astir repercussions for her escapade were earthy reactions to normal parental vexation and worry, not abuse. And while it tin look for illustration thing sinister is happening successful nan woods, we honestly conscionable don’t want to induce excessively galore group into our small area of refuge successful nan forest.”

Jessica wants to make it clear that El is doing good now.

“El is increasing into a smart and tin young woman, exploring opportunities, having adventures, pinch a robust support strategy that starts pinch her loving parents,” Jessica said.

The spot is simply a ‘place of joy’

Jessica has fond memories astir her family’s spot and nan clip she’s spent there. She recalls trying to slumber extracurricular successful nan hammocks pinch her sister erstwhile they were kids and proceeding thing ample move done nan trees and into nan creek, truthful they ran wrong nan cabin. Jessica said that’s “the astir sinister point that’s ever happened astatine nan cabin” because they didn’t cognize if it was a moose aliases a bear.

She remembers playing laser tag location and nan clip her sister almost sewage hypothermia from swimming successful nan creek excessively long.

“Myself and my family surely don’t want our sanction aliases beloved spot to beryllium associated pinch immoderate benignant of ‘horror communicative successful nan woods.’ It is conscionable nan opposite,” Terry stated. “We cognize our small area of eastbound Idaho present successful Island Park is simply a spot of joy, awesome memories and genuinely a soothing and treatment spot for our family now for 80-plus years.”

The surviving room wrong nan compartment Jessica stays at. | Courtesy Stimson family