Another Death From Pope Lick Monster Hunting?

A New Fatality

Louisville, Kentucky media has confirmed that two adolescent females on the Pope Lick Train Trestle were stuck by a train near Pope Lick Road, and Taylorsville Road, in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday night, May 26, 2019.

One teen is dead, per the dispatch supervisor, and the condition of the other teen is unknown. The Norfolk Southern train was operating in general freight service at the time of the incident, according to the corporation, and was en route to St. Louis.

The new incident was reported around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, May 26, 2019, near Taylorsville and Pope Lick Road, according to Louisville Metropolitan Police Department.

One sister of the victims responded to Travis Ragsdale's reporting of the incident for WDRB News.

The following is her tweet:

There is no confirmation of this tweet, to date.

The Pope Lick Monster

The most recent death previous to this event was when a train hit and killed a woman from Ohio in 2016, who was looking for the Pope Lick Monster.

The area is known to be "notoriously dangerous" as it is alleged to be the home of the Pope Lick Monster. The creature is said to be part human and part goat.

The Pope Lick Monster is the subject of an urban legend and popularized in YouTube videos, as well as a 1988 film, The Legend of the Pope Lick Monster (director Ron Schildknecht); and a 2013 episode of Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America (in "Ozarks"). There is also a haunted attraction themed after the tales surrounding the Pope Lick monster called the Legend at Pope Lick located at Pope Lick Park in the Parklands of Floyds Fork.

There are signs telling those in the area to keep away from the train trestle.

Deaths on the Trestle

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, in 2018 in Kentucky 10 people died while trespassing on train tracks and 16 were injured. There have been a number of deaths and accidents at the Pope Lick trestle since it’s construction.

The Pope Lick Trestle has gotten a lot of attention over the years due to a local legend. Suicides, near-misses, and homeless people's death have all been discussed by local authorities.

There were at least two confirmed deaths in 1987 and 1988, and many injuries and close calls, attributed to "Legend Tripping" looking for the Pope Lick Monster. The weekend before the 2019 incident, rumors were circulating that a death body had been found underneath the trestle.

The most recent acknowledged death before 2019 happened in 2016 when a woman was hit by a train while searching for the legendary monster.

Bain of Death

Before 2019, in 2016, Roquel Bain and her boyfriend Dave Knee decided to go to a paranormal event at the nearby Waverly Hills Sanatorium, a well-known haunted location often highlighted on "ghost hunter"-type reality programming. But with some time to fill, the couple decided to explore the Pope Lick Trestle and actively see if they could sight the Pope Lick Monster. Bain met her tragic fate there.

Roquel Bain, 26, the victim of the Pope Lick Trestle accident of 2016.

Ohio tourist David Knee is shown with girlfriend, Roquel Bain, 26. Bain died outside Louisville while searching for the famed Pope Lick Monster atop a train trestle with boyfriend Knee, 41, who survived by hanging on the edge.

For more on the Roquel Bain death, see:

"Woman Killed Searching For Pope Lick Monster," Cryptozoonews, April 24, 2016.

"Photo Exclusive: Trestle of Death Claims A Monster Hunter," Twilight Language, April 25, 2016.

As recently as the weekend of the May 2019 Pope Lick train trestle death, Twitter showed groups of people searching for hauntings at the Waverly Hills site in Louisville, located near Pope Lick. Individuals often going to one location end up at the other.

The Pope Lick Monster and the train trestle are said to be part of the Big Lick Triangle, a "window area" of high strangeness or Fortean activity.

h/t Craig Woolheater for this initial breaking news.