True Story at a glance
| Real event | Cessna 206 crash near Solano, Caquetá, Colombia, May 1, 2023 |
| Aboard | 7 people. The pilot and one passenger died on impact; the children's mother died four days later (Wikipedia) |
| Survivors | Four siblings, about 13, 9 and 4 years old and an 11-month-old baby |
| Time lost | 40 days in the rainforest before the military and Indigenous volunteers found them in June 2023 |
| Game link | Four missing children to rescue, a crashed plane that can spawn on the map |
| Made up | The Deer, the Cultists, the lab, the Owl and every monster |
| Developer statement | Beebom reports the developers never explained the “true story” line |
What really happened in 2023
On May 1, 2023 a Cessna 206 flying from Araracuara to San José del Guaviare in Colombia lost power and went down in the Amazon near Solano, Caquetá. Seven people were aboard. The pilot and a passenger died on impact, and the children's mother died four days later.
The four children, siblings from an Indigenous family, kept going for 40 days. The Colombian military and local Indigenous volunteers searched until they were found alive in June 2023. Wikipedia's final-report summary says the crash came from engine failure, likely a fuel problem.
What the game borrows
Variety, as relayed by Bleeding Cool, says the game is inspired by that crash. The setup is the same shape: four children are missing and you go into the forest to find them.
A crashed plane is one of the structures that can spawn on the map, and the community wiki links it to the real crash. In the game you play a camper trying to rescue the children, not one of the children.
What is made up
Everything supernatural is fiction: the Deer that stands on two legs, the Cultists who worship it, the Owl and the rest. Bullets don't work on the Deer in the game, and there is no real animal like it.
The Miraheze community wiki ties the Deer to the Wendigo and to the “Not Deer” internet legend, and the Owl to the Kikiyaon and Wereowl myths. Those are fan readings, not something the game states.
What the in-game notes say
Ranger logs, a hunter's note and a camper's diary describe a Deer seen standing on its hind legs, followed by four children going missing and the forest being closed. They never name the real crash.
Theories that the Deer was a lab experiment, or that the children's mother became the Deer, are fan theories on the wiki and are not confirmed.
Quick facts to remember
- Real: the 2023 Colombian crash, the four children, the 40 days.
- Not real: the Deer, the Cultists, the lab, the 99-night forest.
- The developers haven't explained the “true story” tag, so treat every link beyond the crash and the four children as a fan guess.
- The real children survived and were found; the game's story is a horror fiction, not a retelling.
FAQ
Is 99 Nights in the Forest based on a true story?
Loosely. It is inspired by the May 2023 plane crash in Colombia where four children survived 40 days in the Amazon. The monsters and cult are invented.
Is the Deer real?
No. There is no real animal or event behind the Deer. Fans compare it to the Wendigo and the Not Deer legend, but the game doesn't say that.
What is the plane in the game?
A crashed plane is a structure that can appear on the map. The community wiki ties it to the real crash; the developers haven't confirmed that.
Did the developers explain the true story line?
Beebom reports they never gave an official explanation, so anything past the Colombian crash is a guess.
Is the mother in the game the Deer?
That is a fan theory on the community wiki, not something the game confirms.
More 99 Nights in the Forest pages
- 99 Nights in the Forest Movie
- 99 Nights in the Forest Deer
- 99 Nights in the Forest Cultist
- 99 Nights in the Forest codes
- 99 Nights in the Forest badges
- 99 Nights in the Forest wiki: live stats
Sources
Checked Nov 4, 2026. Community wikis are edited by players, so numbers marked “per” one wiki may change after an update.