YouTuber was filming in N.J. forest when he accidentally captured something chilling on camera

An outdoor enthusiast who posts videos of his travels on YouTube hopped on his bike one morning in 2024, turned on his camera, and took viewers to a popular New Jersey forest.

He wanted to give potential visitors the opportunity to see the tranquil views of the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, a large park popular with campers that covers parts of Burlington and Ocean counties.

Nearly two years later, he realized the video he recorded that day might help solve the mystery of a woman who disappeared days later during a camping trip.

Danielle LopezHe was 37 years old when he was reported missing from Willingboro in April 2024. She told her mother that she and her boyfriend were camping in the state forest.

His disappearance attracted a lot of media attention, prompting the YouTuber to recently take a look back at his videos from that period. Last month, he realized he may have recorded Lopez at the campsite three days before she disappeared.

“When I was reviewing the footage, I noticed that two campsites were occupied. And for a few seconds, you could see two people in the campsite,” he said. In a new video released on Sunday. “As I was chasing him, I was stopped by the realization that I might have unknowingly filmed him.”

The creator of the @FireandTrails YouTube channel, dedicated to camping and hiking, included images from the 2024 journey and his commentary about the discovery in the new video.

Lopez’s mother, Sue Quackenbush, said she was confident the video showed her daughter’s campsite. However, he is not sure whether the figure seen in the clip is the missing woman.

He hopes the video will encourage others to look for possible clues that might give his family some answers.

“Danielle is loved and missed by so many people every minute of every day,” Quackenbush said.

Contacted for comment on the new video, a New Jersey State Police spokesperson said only that “the case remains an active investigation.”

Quackenbush said he last spoke to his daughter by phone on April 12, 2024. Lopez said he was at camp and sounded happy, according to his mother.

The last known traces of Lopez were in video footage recorded the next day.

On the morning of April 13, he was seen leaving the Wawa on Route 72 in the Vincentown section of Southampton Township in Burlington County after grabbing a cup of coffee.

According to police, around 6 p.m. that day, a couple spotted Lopez driving on Lost Lane in Woodland Township in southern Burlington County.

He was walking alone on a trail in the Penn State Forest, about 12 miles from the campground where he was staying. The couple spoke to him briefly before driving off and then realized his car was stuck in a large puddle, police said last year.

The interaction was recorded on the couple’s GoPro video camera, and they shared the footage with police.

Investigators interviewed Lopez’s boyfriend and he last saw her on the morning of April 13, police said.

He is currently being held in state prison on charges unrelated to the missing person’s case, according to jail records.

Authorities also stated that they interviewed many people who were around Lopez in the days before his disappearance.

After watching the new video, Quackenbush said he was sure it was his daughter’s campsite, based on vehicles he recognized.

“Her car was very visible and the motorcycle definitely belonged to her boyfriend,” Quackenbush said.

He’s less sure about the person he describes as a dark-haired figure wearing pink pants who appeared to be hanging something on a makeshift clothesline at the campsite.

“The pictures did not clearly show that it was Danielle,” he said.

She saw a second figure at the campsite, but she’s not sure if it was her daughter’s boyfriend.

“There’s someone. I can’t tell if it’s him,” Quackenbush said.

The man who posted the new video footage said he went to the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest on April 10, 2024, to record the area for his viewers.

“I went through each camping loop, slowly pedaling past occupied and mostly empty sites, just trying to capture the feel of the campsite for future campers,” he said in the video. “To my memory, I don’t remember seeing Danielle that day or having a clear mental image of anyone in her place or with her.”

He later posted the campground tour video and thought nothing more about it until February of this year, when he was investigating the Lopez case. This took him back to his videos from that period.

He declined to be interviewed by NJ.com and did not give his name, but said he contacted Quackenbush and received permission from him to post his new video online. He also shared it with police and said he hoped the footage would help the investigation.

He encouraged others to check their devices for possible clues.

“The Pine Barrens is vast, but its digital footprints can be found everywhere,” he said in the video. “I ask anyone who was in this area between April 7, 2024 and April 13, 2024 to please check their phones, dashcams and cameras.”

Quackenbush continued his own detective work on the case, trying to find others who might have footage or photographs from that period.

“I contacted other outdoor clubs and asked them to be aware and asked their members to be aware as well, and there were also reports of two other people posting things online that day and the next day near Lost Lane and near the campground,” Quackenbush said. “So the police are investigating a lot of things right now.”

He hopes others will come forward with helpful information.

“I am grateful that this footage was found and the creator of the YouTube channel that uncovered it,” he said. “I hope it helps others remember similar encounters and provides additional information to get the answers needed to find Danielle.”

Last November, Quackenbush announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the “direct location or safe recovery” of his daughter.

Lopez’s statement is as follows: He is white, 6 feet tall, 125 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. According to his mother, he has a slight scar on his upper lip.

Anyone with information about Lopez is asked to call New Jersey State Police at 609-882-2000 ext. 2554 or email misspinformation@njsp.gov.

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