Experts are closer to solving the mystery behind the missing bald eagle chick in Big Bear and, unfortunately, it appears that the answer wasn’t what we all had hoped.

The popular mountain bald eagle couple, Jackie and Shadow, welcomed three “eaglets” just last week. But the young eagles endured a massive snowstorm early into their lives, and that’s made things a challenge for Friends of Big Bear Valley, the organization running the 24/7 livestream keeping an eye on the majestic birds.

On Friday morning, as one of the parents were feeding, only two of the the young eaglets were spotted in the nest.

Many have held out hope in the hours since that the chick may have survived, it looks like that isn’t the case.

“Sadly, we believe the chick is in the nest bowl,” Jenny Voisard of Friends of Big Bear Valley told KTLA on Saturday afternoon.

The view of the nest remains obstructed by snow, Voisard said, but as the snow continues to melt, the chick, likely deceased, will be visible.

According to Voisard, it’s not clear which of the three eaglets is the one to have likely passed, since they’ve rapidly changed in size since hatching.

While the unfortunate reality appears to be simple, that didn’t stop online conspiracy theorists from making their own determinations. In a blog post Friday evening, Friends of Big Bear Valley dispelled some of those theories and told the worried public to stay patient.

“Some inaccurate information being spread needs correction to avoid confusion,” the post reads in part.

According to the organization, a popular online theory is that Shadow stepped on one of the chicks on Thursday afternoon. That didn’t happen, however rather one of the chicks was resting on Shadow’s foot and was briefly separated from the others, but later returned to the middle of the nest.

Another theory: Jackie accidentally “slapped” the chick away when a flying squirrel visited the nest. While Jackie did perform “wingslaps,” none of the particles that flew off of the nest were large enough to be a chick, Friends of Big Bear Valley claims.

While the reality appears grim, that’s just how nature works. Big Bear’s bald eagle parents have plenty of story left to tell.

“Days like these test us as humans because we fear uncertainty and the unknown. Our hope is that seeing Jackie and Shadow persevere and work to move forward, brings some comfort and peace. Their story is beautiful and it continues to unfold,” Voisard said. “We are just observers and cannot predict what will happen. We are reminded again that nature is wild and unscripted. It also has the power to unite our hearts. We are thinking about our eagle family and Jackie and Shadow at this time.”

Vanessa Garcia contributed to this report.