There is a road in central California on which few people drive, especially if they know its history. Dag Road leads to an out-of-the-way tourist town named Stone’s Throw (pop. 1,507), although what the town is a stone’s throw away from no one seems certain. This secluded mountain village is known for several attractions—its apple orchards, its wolf sanctuary, its annual pie and film festival, and, most notably, its Jonas Kron film locations. The Norwegian film director, who built his career on elevated shock value, shot two of his most celebrated movies in Stone’s Throw, A Stranger Comes to Town in 1994 and The Girl and the Wolf in 2003.
But after disappearances began on the road in 2006, Stone’s Throw’s reputation as a popular getaway destination (especially for Kronophiles) suffered and tourism declined. Now, instead of being famous for the best apple pie in the state and a wolf sanctuary boasting over twenty wolves, Stone’s Throw is known for its Dark Road.
That’s what people call it now. The Dark Road. It literally is a dark road, boxed in by the remains of a once thriving forest that was ravaged by fire in 2003, the trunks of the trees blackened by flames. Still, the forest is so dense that if you drive the Dark Road at night, it will appear as if you’re traveling through an organic tunnel that stretches for miles. In the early 20th century, the Norwegian immigrants who settled Stone’s Throw restricted the road’s access after dark, which is how the road got its name. Dag means “day” in Norwegian. No one is entirely sure why nighttime travel was prohibited on the road. Probably it was because of the risk for accidents due to the way the bowing trees block moonlight (remember, this was before automobiles, so most travelers rode on horseback or in wagons and carriages). But it could also have been due to a series of animal attacks that took place on the road, most likely involving wolves or mountain lions.
It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate place for several women to mysteriously vanish, leaving behind their vehicles and belongings but little evidence of what befell them. The most recent disappearance occurred only a few days ago, on July 5, 2018, when thirty-three-year-old Ana Newman’s vehicle was found abandoned on the shoulder of the Dark Road, near a popular hiking trailhead, frequented by backpackers and Kronophiles alike. Local law enforcement launched an investigation that quickly hit a dead end, as have the previous investigations into the cases of three other missing women. But Ms. Newman’s disappearance has been the highest profile. She was formerly known as Annika Kron, niece of Jonas Kron and star of The Girl and the Wolf. After filming for TGATW wrapped, she remained in Stone’s Throw for several months, living with her uncle, but she left the town abruptly and it is rumored that she never spoke to her uncle and his family again. Over the years, she has been sighted by the occasional Kronophile, but not often. She changed both her name and her appearance, dyeing her long blond hair black and cutting it short. No one, including Jonas and his son, Soren, knows why Annika returned to Stone’s Throw after more than ten years of living in anonymity.
“Residents of Stone’s Throw are shocked to learn that another woman has vanished on the road,” says the new sheriff, Brian Lot, less than a year into his first term, “but we want to assure prospective visitors our town is a safe and happy place.”
That someone kidnapped these girls from the Dark Road seems to be the most likely theory, but there are others in circulation, including alien abduction, cults, witches, human trafficking, human sacrifice, and doorways to alternate dimensions. Some even think the girls were taken by the Ulv Konge, a hulking, nightmarish creature with the head of a wolf featured in A Stranger Comes to Town.
Some think the missing girls merely stopped to hike and got lost, a likely enough theory, as their cars were found parked at a hiking trailhead. As to what really happened to the girls on the Dark Road, all we can do is speculate, because none of the women who disappeared were ever seen again.
But one man is determined to save Stone’s Throw from being blacklisted, despite this most recent tragedy involving one of his own family members. That man is Jonas Kron, whose first film premiered at the Stone’s Throw Pie and Film Festival in 1970. Kron resides in Stone’s Throw part-time. He has chosen to organize the festival this year (co-organized by his son, Soren Kron) in an effort to draw a larger crowd.
Who knows if anyone will dare to show up?
WonderLust9000 The Ulv Konge is going to get you!!!! PS this article didn’t mention that one of Kron’s locations for “A Stranger Comes to Town” is in the woods where the girls disappeared. 32 days ago
BurntToast63 “A Stranger Comes to Town” fucked me up for life 32 days ago
Smokethisplease Human trafficking. That’s what’s happening here. Those girls are probably on a ship to Iran or something by now, all addicted to heroin. Too bad none of them had Liam Neeson for a dad. 37 days ago
TeamEnigma This is central CA, not Mexico 37 days ago
Smokethisplease Is it? IS IT? 37 days ago
NotReal89 I’ve been on that road. There’s something wrong there. You can feel it. The whole area creeps me out. 38 days ago
NiceGuyXOXO That’s bullshit. The town is adorable, way less touristy than Solvang. The pie is amazing. Everyone should visit at least once. Stay at the Eden Tree Inn. 38 days ago
NotReal89 I think it’s YOU 38 days ago
MistressPayne Know what I’m never going to do…go to Stone’s Throw. Not worth it for all the pie in the world. And I fucking love pie! 43 days ago
GrrowlBop Okay, I’m obsessed with this. It’s gotta be Jonas Kron, or another of his copycats. It can’t be a coincidence, right? This director who makes the MOST fucked up movies just happens to live in a town where a bunch of women go missing? Come on. He’s involved. RIGHT? 44 days ago
NiceGuyXOXO Way too obvious. 44 days ago