He was finally declared dead seven years later in 1982, though his body was never recovered, and speculations as to what happened abound to this day. He was described as a dutiful worker. The vanishing harbor seal is not the only mystery of Lake Iliamna deep waters. A witness saw a man in a compact car throw her body in a ditch along the side of the road and helped police draw up a sketch. In Anchorage, Alaskas largest city, there were 32 murders in 2019; in Juneau, Alaska, there were 3 murders in 2019; and in Fairbanks, Alaska, there were 3 murders in 2019. Computers are part of a recurring theme running through this book: technological advancements that have offered tremendous aide to detectives puzzling over troublesome crimes where no clear suspects emerge. But even that was lost when he died in prison in 2003. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through . The father, John Mathis, was shot in the arm, but survived. Over the next few decades, authorities tried to track this man down, but to no avail. Anyone with information on how to crack the cipher . A tip in 1985 alleged that Mary's death was a hit by Hell's Angels, but the case is still cold. 3. Chadron State math professor Steven Haataja was found tied to a tree and burned in 2006. What Lies Beyond. Eight people, including a man, his pregnant wife, their two children, and teenage deckhands, were shot to death aboard a fishing boat called the Investor on September 6, 1982, People Magazine reported. As youll see on this list, some defy explanation or even logic. On October 27, 1961, 19-year-oldBetty Gail Brown was found in her car in front ofTransylvania College's Old Morrison building, strangled to death with her own bra. The murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 remains the state's most high-profile unsolved mystery. The unsolved mystery was featured on A&E's "The Killing Season.". It's been well over 30 years, and no arrest has ever been made. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed 18 times. one of the biggest crime scenes in US history, one of the state's biggest murder mysteries. The Arkansas alert system is also named in honor of Nick. According to the CDC, Alaskas homicide rate is 10.8, meaning that nearly 11 people are murdered per 100,000 in Alaska alone. We believe the more resources we can provide to digital volunteers and citizen solvers mean more citizen detective communities. Abe Lebewohl was known as the mayor of Second Ave, feeding homeless people and high society members alike at his restaurant. Flynt Lee disappeared in Simpson County in August 2009. Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. Behind her, a man laid on the floor. If what Schonfeld says is true, then Amy is alive and living in either Alaska, California or Montana, and Scott is long dead. The case remained unsolved for decades, until the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office took another crack at the Walker family murders case. However, Alaska has had much more than its fair share of serial killers over the years. The Small Town In Alaska That Comes Alive During The Winter Season, The Alaska Resort Where You Can Go Ice Skating, Downhill Skiing, Fine Dining, And More This Winter, 14 Things No One Tells You About Surviving An Alaska Winter, The Massive Indoor Playground In Alaska With Endless Places To Play, The Story Of This Terrible Shipwreck In Alaska Is Absolutely Bone Chilling, These 9 Epic Survival Tales From The Alaskan Wilderness Are Unbelievable But True, This Is The Number One Unsolved Mystery In Alaska And It Will Leave You Baffled, This Recent Discovery In Alaska Answers Several Questions About A Missing Plane. Her husband Dominic told authorities that they had been planning to divorce and that Mary took off with $100,000 in exchange for their home. In September 1978, Jack was picked up somewhere near Boise, Idaho. Upon further investigation, the employee found $500 missing, along with four other employees. They had all been strangled or asphyxiated, and were positioned face-down, barefoot, with their heads facing east. Jael Tiara Hamblen (Anchorage, Alaska, 2014). With subzero temperatures, rapidly changing weather, and all manner of obstacles, accidents do happen. When she was arrested on December 3, 2013, Barbour admitted to killing LaFerrara, but she also told officers she had murdered more than 20 other people from 2008 to 2013. When received, the documents showed that the crew was aware of her disappearance. It was computer databases that picked up a similar killing there to those in Fairbanks and led investigators to his doorstep. This is the largest unsolved mass murder in Alaska State history. [237] Kori Lamaster (17), a formerly unidentified female American murder victim, was killed in 1993 after running away from home. In the daylight hours back in November 2000, Nancy was beaten and shot to death, while her 9 month old baby was in the room next to hers. So the question has to be asked: what happened to Merrian Lynn Carver between August 27. It was the first day of camp, and early in the evening there was a thunderstorm, forcing the girls to stay in their tent. It is first in terms of dangerous cities in the state. But, as we said before, Alaska is gigantic. Jael Tiara Hamblen was out having dinner with her roommate, Kendra Vincent Estrada, on the night of October 11, 2014. Although we do not yet have a report of murders in Alaska 2021, according to the Uniform Crime Report, in 2019 there were a total of 69 murders in Alaska, making the homicide rate 9.4 per 100,000 residents. 10 Ice Cold Killers From Alaska That Will Make You Fear The Last Frontier, he was a serial killer who had murdered nearly twenty young women, strangled LaFerrara with a ligature while his wife stabbed the man, Keyes sexually assaulted and murdered Koenig. a mythological figure in Lexington, a kind of all-purpose boogeyman. The crime scene was never found. As always, if exploring, practice safety as many of these abandoned buildings have been through many large earthquakes and are likely structurally unsound. Its nothing to take pride in, but its part of our story. The State failed to prove beyond a . Keyes, who lived in Alaska, is known to have killed only one individual in Alaska; however, he is believed to have killed 8 individuals in Alaska, Vermont, New York, and Washington, and he is suspected of killing more than 8. Nick's family founded theMorgan Nick Foundationto provide immediate assistance to families of missing children. The murders became known as the "Capital City Killings." Although photos regarding crimes are often not released to the public, especially if the case has not been solved, there are plenty of resources, including news articles and law enforcement press releases available to the public in order for you to learn more information regarding a specific murder in Juneau or any other city in Alaska. Rampant serial killers! After killing LaFerrara, the couple dumped the man's corpse in an alley where he was soon found by police who used phone records to trace the victim to Miranda Barbour. Like in any area, Alaska true crimes are not hard to come by. . The Black Dahlia murder case. There are both killers from Alaska and killers who targeted Alaskans. biggest unsolved murders in alaskavsters friluftsomrde. There were 'only' 9 cities in Alaska where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 15 places had no murder. "Over the past three years, this case has been looked at many times, as we've tried to find answers for the Salgado family," Provo Police Chief Rich Ferguson said at a 2018 press conference, per NBC News. The two went to the Girdwood Forest Fair, a local music and crafts fair, on a date. Henry was found naked, buried under a stack of boards. The saddest part is that, due to recent statewide budget cuts, the Alaska Cold Case Unit has been disbanded. Girdwood is a densely forested area. 1982 Investor murders remains unsolved. . The case is Alaska's biggest and most famous unsolved mystery. A man confessed to the crime in 1965, saying he had been drunk, but the jury didn't buy it and the trial ended in a hung jury. Robert Hansen is known to have killed at least 17 individuals, but is believed to have killed up to 21, from 1973 to 1983. In February 1984, Hansen plead guilty to killing four women and was sentenced to more than 400 years in prison. They were dubbed "The Redhead Murders.". Evelyn Williams, 72, an active member of the community in the small town of Pinehurst, North Carolina. Part Two: Trials & Tribulations. Kendall Carver would go on to issue a subpoena to. Even weirder, her disappearance was not reported and her purse was put into storage. Worried, Margaret tried to leave work early, but her boss wouldnt allow it. The disappearence of Merrian Lynn Carver is one fraught with mystery. The "Tube Sock Killings" were featured on "Unsolved Mysteries.". AK Craft Brew & Barleywine Festival Giveaway. The book starts with the actual scene of the murders and continues on through the lives of those involved as well as two trials of the suspected killer. Witnesses say that they saw her standing next to a maroon car driven by a man in his 30s on August 9, 1970. The North Kingstown Police Department created a Facebook pagein 2012 in an attempt to gather more information about the cold case. The remote location and extreme weather hampered the investigation, but after failing to keep his story straight, Johnson confessed. By Tom Brennan. Jentz returned to Cline Falls 15 years later to investigate the crime herself, but the attacker was never found. They woke up to a truck driving over their tent. "He sat there with no legs, shot like duck in a barrel," his sister, Susan Ludwig, said . It's been almost 40 years since the fire, the investigation and the discovery of the largest mass murder in the history of the state of Alaska. Despite their efforts, no wreckage or remains were ever found. 7. These circumstances and the overall lack of progress in cracking the case led some to suspect that the police were involved in the deaths or in covering them up, the New York Times reports. Inside the cabin and bunk room were the murdered bodies of the crew and Coulthurts family. In January 2022, Thomas McDowell was arrested and charged with burglary, kidnapping and murder. You can read about how one marine ecologist went hunting for this elusive lake monster in, There are many lost bush planes in Alaska but one of the more famous tales of aviation lore is that of Clarence Rhode and the disappearance of the N720. But witnesses said they saw the children after the fire, and 20 years later, the mother, Jennie, received a photo in the mail labeled Louis Sodder their son who was 9 at the time of the fire. Jessica Gutierrez, 4, was kidnapped from her bed onJune 6, 1986, in the Red Bank area of Lexington County, South Carolina. Instead, she vanished off of the vacation cruise, Mercury. That year Norman Butch Johnson, a troubled young man from California, followed his itinerant carpenter father to Alaska. With the majority of Alaska uninhabited, its also easy to disappear and not be found, if thats what you want. Three people were arrested, but insufficient evidence led to their release. ", The case has been featured on true crime podcasts as well as "Unsolved Mysteries.". After being convicted of aggravated indecent liberties with a child in an unrelated case in 1995, he died in prison before authorities could question him again about Albright. Brandon Irlmeier's death is just one of 4,200 cases involving murdered and missing Alaska Natives that have gone unsolved, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. At home, the Lupton children visited Cathy. Did they die in the fire? Two murder trials resulted, but no one has ever been convicted of the crime. Paramount/Getty Images. According to The Doe Network, an undated note written by Sandra was later found. The case remains unsolved. Alaska is no stranger to violent crime. He killed all three and tried pinning it on another man who had earlier passed through the hunting camp. Prichard was pursuing amaster's degree in botany at the University of Maryland, and visited Blackbird State Forest many times for her research, according to Delaware Online. Alaska is a vast place. Stranger still, the housekeeper told Nuzzis nephew, Stephen Reeves, that, after she knocked on Nuzzis door, that a young woman answered. Wood never returned home. Twenty-five people have been murdered in Anchorage so far in 2016 with arrests in just 11 of the homicides, according to Anchorage police. The murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. On March 23, 2013, Keyes was apprehended in Lufkin, Texas, and law enforcement officials learned the young man had committed several burglaries, bank robberies, and as many as ten other murders all across the country. Spokesman Tim DeSpain went as far as revealing "the case is closed". Along with the three murders, the younger Sharp daughter, Tina (12) was reported missing. Aliens! Brennan does, however, include others that border on incredulous but absolutely happened. 3 / 50. Juneau, the second largest city in Alaska, is located in the southeastern handle of the state. Thats when Gary Ziegler decided that hitman was a promising career option and launched his brief and bloody criminal endeavor. The next day, he reported her missing. Surprisingly, the overall crime rate in Alaska as well as the homicide rate in Alaska are very high, regardless of the states relatively low population when compared to other states in the United States. Erin Marie Gilbert (Girdwood, Alaska, 1995). The killer is then believed to have returned to the scene the next afternoon to set the boat on fire. Alaska is the most dangerous state in the U.S. for women. But when the blaze was finally put out, firefighters found no trace of their other five children. But others on the police force didn't think all of the cases were connected. To this day no one knows the fate of the Baychimo or why it could never be captured. There is a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the people who killed . Unsolved Mysteries Of The 1970s That Still Keep Us Up At Night. In 1985, two couples disappeared in the wooded areas of Pierce and Lewis counties. In 2018, a man reported finding human remains in Hobble Creek Canyon. Hours later, her car was found parked along the highway in Kailua, and her decomposing body was found 10 days later. Eight people were murdered on a seine boat and a former crewmember was . If you know of any more unsolved mysteries in Alaska, leave us the story in a comment, we would love to hear more of these unsettling tales! More than 30 years later, Fisher's estranged wife was charged with first-degree murder. By Marti Rulli and Dennis Davern. Most damning of all, the company told Carver that security tapes were regularly erased every 12 days. Some have also reported UFO activity and Bigfoot sightings in the area. ", investigators considered him the prime suspect. Some of them are even serial killers. She called the police, but Amy and Scott have never been found. If Gilbert is indeed alive, she would be 41-years-old today. Nancy Grace featured the cold case in 2010, and the family received a new home on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" in 2012. Juneau, Alaska, murders are not as common as one might think, despite it being the second most populated city in Alaska, and the state of Alaska has a high homicide rate as a whole. Her body was found a week later inBlue Island with a rope from the family's garage tied around her neck. He terrorized the town before being reassigned to Texas. Police originally thought it was the body of a sex worker, but soon discovered that the victim was much younger than they expected between 8 and 11 years old. As of this year, the largest city in Alaska, Anchorage, had a population of well over 282,000 residents. Dental records helped identify the remains as Salgado, NBC News reported. Wasilla ; The city with highest murder rate in Alaska. 1. After she picked LaFerrara up from a mall in Pennsylvania, Barbour's husband Elyette emerged from his hiding place in the backseat of the vehicle and strangled LaFerrara with a ligature while his wife stabbed the man 20 times. Dig deeper The childrens maternal uncle, Terry Schonfelder, implicated Amy and Scotts estranged father, Roger Fandel, in the disappearances. The homicide rate in Juneau, Alaska, in 2018 was around 3.13 per 100,000 residents. The Lizzie Borden House where her parents were found murdered is now a popular tourist attraction and was featured on an episode of "Supernatural.". We have his body, we know what happened to him, but we dont know who he is. Some of the victims couldn't even be identified due to their incomplete remains. And as is the case with these sorts of books, its hard to put down. The cold case is the subject of the book "Who Killed Betty Gail Brown" by Robert G. Lawson. Steven Harkins and his girlfriend, Ruth Cooper, were found dead. The Herald Leader also called her murder "Lexington's most notorious cold case.". See if you can decipher what really happened in these four twisted tales of lore in the Last Frontier. Author Joseph Citro coined the term "Bennington Triangle" in 1992. Its possible that Gilbert wandered off and got lost in the woods. Nobody has come forward with any information. The elder Johnson arranged for him to accompany three Alaska Native men from the village of Kiana on a winter caribou trip. In exchange, she would reveal the fates of Amy and Scott. On June 6, 1984, 12-year-old Greenville native Sherry Lynn Marler went into town with her stepfather to run errands. Eight people were slaughtered, including two small children and the Captians pregnant wife. Despite this, Davis body has never been recovered. Instead, she vanished off of the vacation cruise, Without telling her family, she boarded the vessel in Seattle, Washington on August 27, , 2004 and was last seen by a cabin attendant the next day. Studies show the state ranking at or near the top in the nation for the . All Rights Reserved. Peel settled for 900k and disappeared forever, never explaining why he settled for so little. After Keyes returned from his vacation, he successfully got Koenigs parents to pay a ransom for the young womans return, even though she had been dead for a number of days, and police were able to track the killers whereabouts through bank withdrawals. 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