In 2005 a man from Bergen came forward after seeing a sketch of the Isdal woman.
![cold case files circle of friends cold case files circle of friends](https://image.xumo.com/v1/assets/asset/XM05JMITVQDF3F/600x340.jpg)
In 1973 Mossad agents assassinated a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer who they mistakenly thought to be one of the masterminds of the Munich Olympics massacre. It was known that Russian intelligence assets were active in the country as were elements from the CIA, MI6, and Mossad. Not only did it share a border with the Soviet Union, but it also played a substantial role in helping the United States and Britain monitor Russian nuclear testing and submarine warfare. A fisherman may have also spotted the woman watching Norwegian army troop movements.ĭoes the spy narrative make sense? Norway in the early 1970s was a flashpoint during the Cold War. Years later, the Norwegian National Defense released records that indicated the woman may have been traversing the country, observing the testing of the then top-secret anti-ship Penguin missile. She also spoke multiple languages including French, Flemish, and English, wore wigs, and often seemed to be on edge.
![cold case files circle of friends cold case files circle of friends](https://cropper.watch.aetnd.com/cdn.watch.aetnd.com/sites/4/2017/08/cold-case-files-podcast-a-family-secret-1920x1080.jpg)
They all described a striking, stylish woman with dark hair and brown eyes who was elegant, charming, and always paid in cash. Ultimately, people who interacted with her were located and interviewed. At another she was Elisabeth Leenhouwfr, from Ostend. A 2017 BBC investigation found at one hotel she claimed to be Claudia Tielt, from Brussels. She had visited Norway several times during the year, staying at different hotels under fake names using forged passports. Even the eczema cream, which would normally have the name of the prescribing doctor, was missing its label.ĭetectives did, however, find a shopping bag inside the suitcase and used it to trace the woman’s whereabouts prior to her death. Inside the lining of the case were 100 Deutsche Marks–the equivalent of about $1000 USD today.Īfter careful examination of the suitcases contents it was found that any identifying information had been detached, cut out, or rubbed off. Inside there were an assortment of wigs, makeup, clothing, eczema cream, eyeglasses with nonprescription lenses, maps, and small amounts of money from Norway, the UK, Switzerland, and Belgium. With no identifying documents and the presence of a large amount of sleeping pills in her system, Norwegian officials ruled her death a suicide.Ī few days later, a pair of suitcases were found at a train station in Bergen with fingerprints that matched the dead woman. She had also inhaled carbon monoxide and soot from the fire indicating that she was burned alive. An autopsy revealed she had ingested between 50-70 tablets of phenobarbital and had bruising around her neck. Initially it was thought she was likely in her 30s. The clothes she was wearing were made of synthetic fibers and were missing their tags. According to the BBC, police thought the objects had been arranged around the body in a peculiar way, almost suggesting a ritual. Scattered around the corpse were personal effects including a watch, an umbrella, some jewelry, and several empty bottles. She was found in a supine position, badly burned in the front with her hands raised to her chest in an almost defensive posture. The woman’s immolated body was discovered by a family hiking in the Isdal Valley near the city of Bergen in western Norway. Eventually it was discovered she was traveling around Europe with a number of forged passports containing different aliases. Later, a suitcase belonging to the woman was found containing money from multiple countries. An autopsy indicated she had ingested sleeping pills before she died, inhaled carbon monoxide, and had been burned alive. The charred body of a woman was found in a remote section of Norway in 1970 at the height of the cold war. STEPHEN MISSAL Who Burned the Isdal Woman to Death? What follows are some of the most vexing cases in history that, despite the best efforts of professionals and amateur internet sleuths, remain completely unsolved. The hivemind, as it turns out, is pretty good at playing gumshoe. Outside of infotainment docuseries like Unsolved Mysteries, internet detectives have dedicated many hours, words, and posts to solving cold cases that have been long forgotten.
![cold case files circle of friends cold case files circle of friends](https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.44/9j5.fe3.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/image-399x300.png)
Of the 1300 mysteries that were highlighted on the show, some 260 were eventually resolved after the episodes aired-much of it due to regular people coming forward with new evidence, testimony, or homebrewed detective work. The original Unsolved Mysteries which ran from 1987 to 2002 actually yielded some impressive results. On July 21, the body of Alonzo Brooks-whose murder was highlighted in the fourth episode of the series-was exhumed and his case reopened by the FBI who is now looking at new evidence and considering the homicide a hate crime. Netflix’s rebooted version of Unsolved Mysteries is already on the path of, ahem, solving one of its more vexing cases.