Is a viral story about two missing hikers named "Sarah Bennett" and "Andrew Miller" found dead in a cave in 2019 consistent with reality? No, that's not true: Several details in the tale about the missing couple from Colorado don't add up, such as a non-existent newspaper quote of a sister named "Emily Bennett" in the Denver Post and an illustration showing a cave entrance in the Mojave Desert instead of Temple Mountain in Utah. Several variations of the story that circulated on social media used images that were likely created using AI according to a detection tool and no news articles appear to have ever mentioned the couple.
One example of the viral story appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on July 15, 2025 that read:
Chilling Discovery: Colorado Couple Who Vanished in 2011 Found Eight Years Later Sitting in Abandoned Utah Mine.
In a case that haunted both families and baffled authorities for nearly a decade, the remains of two Colorado tourists.Sarah Bennett, 26, and Andrew Miller, 28 were discovered in 2019 deep inside a sealed uranium mine in southern Utah, eight years after their mysterious disappearance.
The couple set out on what was supposed to be a peaceful weekend camping trip in May 2011. Known for their love of photography and nature, they had planned a three-day escape to explore the ghostly beauty of the remote San Rafael Swel. A harsh, windswept expanse of desert marked by old uranium mines and rocky canyons.
"They weren't adventurers," Sarah's sister, Emily Bennett, told The Denver Post in 2020. "They were just looking for quiet. For time away from work and the noise of life."
But Sarah and Andrew never returned.
Their last known location was a gas station in Green River, Utah, where they filled up their Subaru Outback and bought a map of Emery County. After that, they vanished without a trace. An extensive search involving helicopters, volunteers, dogs, and drones yielded nothing. The desert had swallowed them whole.
Years passed. Rumors circulated; foul play, cartel involvement, even alien theories but no solid leads emerged.
Then, in August 2019, a group of geology students from the University of Utah stumbled upon something chilling while exploring an old uranium mining shaft near Temple Mountain.
About 300 feet into the mine, they discovered two fully clothed skeletons, seated side-by-side on rusted folding chairs. Next to them was a broken lantern, a rusted thermos, and an old Nikon camera.
The mine had collapsed further inward, sealing the bodies in what experts called a "natural crypt," preserving much of the scene.
Dental records confirmed the worst: it was Sarah and Andrew.
The exact cause of death remains officially "undetermined," though investigators believe the couple may have become trapped after venturing into the mine and triggering a partial collapse. Toxic gas buildup was also cited as a possible factor.
Perhaps the most haunting detail: their camera, remarkably intact, contained several undeveloped photos of the mine's interior, including one timestamped just an hour after they were last seen at the gas station.
"They went in willingly," said Detective Laura Martinez, who led the renewed investigation. "They weren't fleeing anything. It's as if they sat down and just waited."
To this day, the case continues to stir speculation and sorrow. A memorial now stands near the mine entrance a simple stone slab etched with their names, surrounded by desert wind.
"Sarah and Andrew went looking for peace," Emily Bennett said through tears at the 10-year memorial in 2021. "I hope they found it wherever they are.
The story was illustrated with following image:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Jul 18 09:31:46 2025 UTC)
Searches on the website of the Denver Post for stories mentioning "Emily Bennett" and the quote "They were just looking for quiet" returned no articles that included such a quote (archived here). A Google Search limited to the website of the Denver Post turned up nothing relevant either (archived here).
The cave entrance in the picture was the thumbnail image of a video titled "I Found A Secret Mojave Desert Cave And Couldn't Believe What Was Inside!" posted on YouTube on June 26, 2025 by the "Aquachigger" channel (archived here). The video did not mention finding a deceased couple.
The Mojave Desert extends into the southwestern tip of Utah but this is almost two hundred miles away from Temple Mountain in that same state:
(Image source:Wikimedia commons)
(Image source: Google Maps screenshot)
Variations of the story posted to YouTube used different images supposedly showing the two hikers, for example here, here and here (archived here, here and here).
However AI detection tool Hive gave all images (including the one in the post) a very high likelihood of having been generated using AI.
(Image source: collage of Hive results with video and Facebook screenshots created by Lead Stories)
Searches on Google News and Yahoo News for news articles containing the names "Sarah Bennett" and "Andrew Miller" returned no relevant results (archived here and here) about a missing couple.
