Highlights
- Red Dead Redemption 2's Emerald Ranch holds a dark mystery involving the owner's violent behavior and his daughter's disappearance.
- NPCs on the farm discuss Eugene Wegner's abusive nature and the rumors surrounding his daughter, who is said to frequently appear in the house window.
- A broken-down mail wagon and a letter lead to the assumption that Eugene killed his daughter's partner in a fit of jealousy and locked her away, threatening anyone who mentions it.
With a map roughly 29 square miles big, it's only natural that Red Dead Redemption 2 is full of secrets. Whether it's mysterious monsters lurking in the streets of Saint Denis, ominous figures roaming the roads near Valentine, or familial feuds over in Rhodes, Red Dead Redemption 2's open world is packed to the brim with mysteries that are just waiting to be explored.
But discovering everything that Red Dead Redemption 2 has to offer is no easy feat. With such a gigantic map available pretty much from the get-go, and many events being time-sensitive, a great deal of Red Dead Redemption 2's most intriguing mysteries go completely under most players' radar. Red Dead Redemption 2's Emerald Ranch secret is one such hidden mystery, requiring players to really dig deep into the surrounding area, and talk to quite a few NPCs.
Explaining Red Dead Redemption 2's Emerald Ranch Mystery
Every single Red Dead Redemption 2 player has visited Emerald Ranch at least once, with it being the location of the mandatory story mission in which Hosea introduces Arthur to his first Fence. After that point, Emerald Ranch becomes a frequent spot for many players, whether it's to sell stolen goods, sell stolen wagons, or simply a place to pass through on the way to the northeastern reaches of the map. But Emerald Ranch holds a dark mystery, and one that many players will have probably never noticed.
Players are likely to first hear about the mystery of Emerald Ranch when encountering any of the NPCs working on the farm. By listening in to their general mutterings, players discover that Emerald Ranch's owner, Eugene Wegner, is not a very nice man. Many NPCs talk about how violent and mean Eugene can be, claiming that he never gives his workers a day off, and isn't afraid of using physical means of punishment, even on his youngest workers. A man sitting by a campfire near Emerald Ranch will directly tell the player all of this as well, along with the rumor that Eugene's daughter hasn't been seen in a long time and that he was obsessed with her.
If players encounter the woman who needs a ride back to Emerald Ranch, they'll discover more about this creepy theory. This woman states that the farmhands refuse to talk about Eugene's daughter for fear that they'll receive punishment, but every so often she appears in the window of the ranch's main house and is never seen leaving the house. This woman also mentions that there's a closed-down saloon on the ranch with bullet holes in the walls and bloodstains on the floor.
Players can find this saloon for themselves, and it appears exactly as described. Round the back of the saloon, a small gravestone sticks out of the ground, stating that someone named Joshua was "accidentally" shot just a little while before Arthur Morgan reaches Emerald Ranch. Players can also spot Eugene's daughter standing ominously in the window at certain times of the day. Finding a broken-down mail wagon near the ranch sheds even more light on this mystery.
In a letter addressed to Miriam Wegner, Eugene's daughter, and written by her cousin Annabelle, it's revealed that the Joshua who was killed was Miriam's partner, and since his death, Miriam hasn't been seen leaving the house. From this, it's fairly clear to assume that Eugene learned of his daughter's partner, and in a jealous rage killed him in his place of work, the saloon, and then locked his daughter away, threatening anyone on the ranch who dares to even bring it up in his presence.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
