On May 10, 1953 life in Williamsport would be forever changed. 32 people attended an opening gala of The Grand Hotel on the outskirts of town. What happened that night was nothing anyone could have ever predicted in his or her wildest imagination. The Williamsport Police Department received a chilling phone call in the early morning reporting that all persons, including guests and staff, inside The Grand Hotel were missing. A thorough investigation was immediately underway. After weeks of tirelessly searching and questioning almost every single person in town, they came up empty-handed. A commission was formed to discuss what to do about the tragic situation. After a lengthy deliberation, the case was closed- the hotel was shut down and boarded up. An urban legend was created that was passed down for generations to come and everyone in town referred to the mysterious hotel as “Hotel 32.”
OnJanuary 15, 1993, wealthy real estate developer, Timothy Miller reopened the hotel, with the goal of attracting tourists as a haunted house. The opening was a big success. People familiar with the legend came to stay at the hotel in hopes of having some type of supernatural experience.
Among the curious people, were local college students, Rob Laden, Troy Belger and Jarod Carr. They set out to “Hotel 32” in hopes to see or experience something out of the ordinary. Apparently, their wish came true. Jarod Carrdisappeared inside the hotel without a trace- never to be seen or heard from again. The infamous legend moves forward in history and the local townspeople renamed the mystical site,
“Hotel 33.”
When the Williamsport Police Department got word of the missing boy, they put their top investigator on the case, Detective Richard Kaminsky. He conducted a thorough investigation of the site and interrogated Belger and Laden regarding their missing friend.During the interrogation of one of the boys,Kaminsky died. The police report sited that Kaminsky had an aneurism, but interviews with police staff and witnesses argue otherwise, stating that the cause of death was unexplained and unnatural. The hotel burned down, shortly after- no cause was found.
The mystery remains and legend lives on.
