Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier

People move to the Alaska wilderness either because they enjoy solitude and crave a subsistence lifestyle or because they wish to escape society. People who fall into this second category are either misfits who don’t know how or don’t want to blend in with others, or they are criminals, seeking to escape arrest and hoping to disappear into the vast wilderness. Many of my episodes have dealt with individuals who ran to Alaska from a life of crime elsewhere. They might have hoped to turn their lives around but instead, most brought their problems and psychopathic tendencies with them.

Until Memorial Day weekend in 1997, Paul Stavenjord seemed to have succeeded at escaping his criminal past, but then something in him snapped, leaving two people dead and forever altering the course of Stavenjord’s life.

Sources:

Brennan, Tom, 2003. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 7: “The bank robber next door.” 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press.

Court of Appeals of Alaska, no. A-7418. Stavenjord v. State. March 28, 2003.

Ice Cold Killers. Season 1, Episode 3: “Mountain man.”

Menerey, Amy. “Convicted murderer’s appeal denied.” April 8, 2003. Mat Su Valley Frontiersman.

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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As a state, Alaska has never had the death penalty. It was abolished in 1957, two years before Alaska became the 49th state in the union. However, from 1869 until 1957, twelve male felons were hanged for murder, robbery, and other crimes. This is the story about the unequal application of the death penalty in Alaska and why capital punishment was abolished in the state.
Sources:
Heaton, John W. Outlaw Tales of Alaska. “Fred Hardy.”2015. Guilford, CT. Rowman & Littlefield.

Green, Melissa S. “A History of the Death Penalty in Alaska.” July 20, 2001. UAA Justice Center Website.

Green, Melissa S. “The Death Penalty in Alaska.” Winter, 2009. Alaska Justice Forum.

Kiffer, Dave. “Abolition of Alaska’s Death Penalty.” October 15, 2005. Sitnews.

Lerman, Averil. “The Trial and Hanging of Nelson Charles.” Spring, 1996. Alaska Justice Forum.

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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Anchorage, Alaska, is the small plane capital of the world, and flying in Alaska is a thrilling experience where you can view spectacular scenery and reach remote lakes, rivers, and stretches of wilderness that are inaccessible by road.  For the commercial pilots who fly these small planes, though, the job can be stressful at times, and they must depend on their skills and common sense. Commercial pilots in Alaska have a tough job, but near the bottom of a pilot’s list of concerns is the fear he will be murdered on the job.  After all, who would want to kill his pilot?
Sources:
“Duryea v. State.” Court of Appeals No. A-6964. Court of Appeals of Alaska. Any Law.

Rinehart, Steve. “Sniper fire kills pilot man who called plane in custody.” May 18, 1983. Anchorage Daily News.

Sullivan, Patty. “Judge sentences killer to 50 years.” January 14, 1998. Anchorage Daily News.

“William Duryea v. State of Alaska, Department of Corrections, and Joseph Schmidt,  Commissioner of the Department of Corrections.” July 16, 2012. THE SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF ALASKA THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT AT PALMER.

 

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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On the evening of July 7th, 1979, a plane disappeared near Kodiak Island in fair weather and moderate seas. News agencies in Alaska reported little about the missing plane and its occupants. Although reports of the apparent fatal crash made more of a splash in Great Britain, official sources offered no comment about the loss of a man who had done so much to protect Britain against the USSR during the Cold War. Even now, the disappearance of Ian Mackintosh is cloaked in secrecy, and many wonder if he died in the plane crash or if the accident was a cover story, allowing Mackintosh to disappear.  The 2012 book, The Life and Mysterious Death of Ian Mackintosh by Robert G. Folsom explores everything the author could uncover about a brilliant man's secret life and mysterious disappearance.
Sources
Folsom, Robert G. The Life and Mysterious Death of Ian Mackintosh.2012. Washington, D.C. Potomac Books, Inc.

Mackintosh, Lawrie. “My brother, Ian Mackintosh.” OpsRoom.Org.

MacLeod, Calum. “Did spy writer’s disappearance mirror his fiction?” January 3, 2013. John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier.

Ian Mackintosh. Check-Six.Com.

 

 

 

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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You might be familiar with the recent National Geographic documentary series, Alaska State Troopers. The show followed several troopers from different areas of the state as they made their daily rounds. Two of the troopers featured on the show were Sergeant Patrick “Scott” Johnson and Gabriel “Gabe” Rich. Both men worked out of the Alaska State Troopers’ Fairbanks Rural Service Unit. A camera crew was not with the men on the fateful day of May 1st, 2014.

Sources

Chomicz, Dorothy. “Kangas found guilty of evidence tampering in Alaska State Trooper deaths.” April 23, 2015. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Chomicz, Dorothy. Arvin Kangas sentenced in case related to Alaska StateTrooper killings.” September 3, 2015. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Chomicz, Dorothy. “Courtroom tenses as Nathanial Kangas murder trial gets underway.” May 9, 2016. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Chomicz, Dorothy. “Pilot describes scene in Tanana minutes after troopers killed.” May 10, 2016. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Edge, Josh. “Man convicted in Tanana trooper killings sentenced to 203 years in prison.” November 3, 2016. Alaska Public Media.

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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This story has all the elements of a Greek tragedy or a Shakespearean play, and it could easily inspire the plot of a movie or a mystery novel. Unfortunately, this is a true drama, and the outcome deprived children of their father and a wife of her new husband. We will never know how this event truly ended. The last few moments aboard the R66 helicopter and the pilot’s mindset will remain a mystery.

Did Andy Teuber’s helicopter crash into the Gulf of Alaska because he purposely flew it into the ocean, sparing his family and himself the embarrassment of a tawdry, drawn-out court case that could land him in prison? Or was Teuber distracted and perhaps taking chances he wouldn’t usually take because he was rushing to get home to his family in Kodiak before the news media broke the story about his messy affair? Some people believe the Anchorage Daily News, the largest newspaper in Alaska, bears a portion of the blame for Teuber’s tragic death. If the paper hadn’t rushed to print a story about Teuber before carefully fact-checking it, perhaps Andy Teuber would still be alive.
Sources
Downing, Suzanne. “‘He said, she said’: Was this a case of journalistic murder?” March 3, 2021. Must Read Alaska.

Hopkins, Kyle and Boots, Michelle T. “ANTHC boss resigned after employee accused him of ‘unrelenting’ abuse.” March 2, 2021.  Anchorage Daily News.

Herz, Nathaniel. “Alaska’s top tribal health executive, Andy Teuber, has resigned. February 23, 2021. Alaska Public Media – Anchorage.

Hollander, Zac. “Alaska health executive’s helicopter crashed during flight to reach family before report on allegations of sexual misconduct, pilot tells NTSB.” March 23, 2021. Anchorage Daily News.

Hollander, Zac. “Missing Alaska health executive’s ‘death by accident’ verdict leaves questions surrounding helicopter crash.” April 28, 2021. Anchorage Daily News.

Medred, Craig. “Speed kills.” March 24, 2021. Craig Medred News.

Rivera, Daniella. “NTSB: Investigation into missing helicopter might not include examination of wreckage.” March 3, 2021. KTUU.

Simard, Dylan. “Mask burning ceremony held in honor of Andy Teuber.” June 1, 2022. KMXT.

Smith, Valerie. “Never found: the disappearance and presumed death of Alaska’s Andy Teuber and everything that led up to his Robinson R66 crash on March 2, 2021.” September 26, 2022. Writing by Valerie.

Accident Number: ANC21LA020. National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report.

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__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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Gary Zieger, a brutal serial killer, stalked the streets of Anchorage in the early 1970s. We’ll never know how many people Zieger killed, but eventually, the psychopath made a fatal mistake.
Sources
Brennan, Tom. Cold Crime. Chapter 8: “Alaska’s Billy the Kid.” 2005. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press.

Gordon, Mike. “The hired gun.” March 26, 2014. Turnagain Currents.

Hale, Leland. “The lonesome death of Beth van Zanten: The killer is killed.” October 17, 2018. Butcher Baker.

Hale, Leland. “Lonesome death of Beth van Zanten: Whodunnit.” October 18, 2018. Butcher Baker.

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 Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge Audiobook Narrated by
Beth Chaplin


 

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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Neighbors suspected Elmer Haab was up to no good, and when his wife, Bonnie, mysteriously disappeared, they feared Elmer had done something to her. Alaska State Troopers also found the disappearance of Bonnie Haab suspicious, but with no body, there was little they could do.
Sources:
Anderson, Dianne. “Haab leads troopers to pyre where he burned wife’s body.” July 17, 1969. Anchorage Daily Times.

Anderson, Diane. “Man admits he cremated body of his wife.” July 16, 1969. Anchorage Daily Times.

Anderson, Dianne. “The last time he saw Bonnie, her face was bruised and bleeding.” July 7, 19, 1969. Anchorage Daily Times.

Brennan, Tom. Cold Crime. Chapter 2: “Mystery of Mendeltna Lodge.” 2005. Kenmore, WA. Epicenter Press.

Drebert, Richard. “Ashes on the Mendeltna.” Cache of Grace.

Maguire, Sean. “The Mendeltna Creek Lodge near Glenallen has burned down.” KTUU News.

Webster, Dave. “Police crack theft ring; three sought.” February 22, 1968. Anchorage Daily Times.

Webster, Dave. “Suspect in theft ring is arrested.” February 23, 1968. Anchorage Daily Times.

“Elmer Haab nabbed by Arizona Sheriff.” April 10, 1968. Anchorage Daily Times.

“Haab sent to Arizona.” September 4, 1969. Anchorage Daily Times.

“Police jail theft suspect.” March 15, 1968. Anchorage Daily Times.



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Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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Plane crashes are far too common in Alaska, and many of these accidents are due, at least in part, to poor weather conditions. If commercial pilots refused to fly in marginal weather, though, they would not make money because the weather is often bad in Alaska. For those of us who live or work in remote areas, we must fly in small planes, and we can’t always pick our weather. Mysteries abound in Alaska about airplanes that took off and were never seen again. The following is a story of one of the most famous airplane disappearances in the history of the state.


Sources:
Alpert, Bruce. “Author writes about disappearance of plane carrying Hale Boggs 43 years ago over Alaska.” June 16, 2015. Nola.com.
Glass, Andrew. “Hale Boggs’ plane vanishes in Alaska.” October 16, 1972.

Politico. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/hale-boggs-plane vanishes-in-alaska-oct-16-1972-229692

Liefer, Gregory P. 2011. Aviation Mysteries of the North. Chapter 16: “Accident or conspiracy?” Publication Consultants: Anchorage.

“New podcast Missing in Alaska takes on 50-year-old mysterious plane disappearance.” May 21, 2020. Inside Radio.

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Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

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Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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The U.S. military defines a “Broken Arrow” as an “unexpected event involving nuclear weapons that result in the accidental launching, firing, detonating, theft, or loss of the weapon.” The first Broken Arrow event occurred in 1950 during a mission from Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska. Questions still surround this event and the mystery of what happened to the B-36 aircraft and the Mark IV atomic bomb it carried.



Map Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada
Sources
Adams, Sharon. “The lost nuke of British Columbia.” January 26, 2022. Legion.

Wreckage

Clearwater, John M. “The first one to get away.” November/December 2004. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Liefer, Gregory P. Chapter 12: “Broken Arrow.” 2011. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants.

Roos, Dave. “’Broken Arrow’: When the first U.S. atomic bomb went missing.” January 13, 2020. History.

 

 

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Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

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Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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After a string of murders of young women near Fairbanks in the late 1970s and early ’80s, the abductions and murders mysteriously stopped. Troopers didn’t believe the vicious killer had suddenly halted his murder spree, but they feared the predator had moved somewhere else. Unfortunately, at the time, they had no database to track the killer’s movements beyond Alaska. Only the deductive reasoning and hard work of seasoned investigators traced the monster to his new hunting grounds, four thousand miles away.

Sources:

Brennan, Tom. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 9: “Having trouble with girls.” 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press.

Capps, Kris. “Bunday never denied he was killer, trooper recalls.” March 17, 1983. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Capps, Kris. “Bunday was suspect in 1980.” March 17, 1983. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Fisher, Susan. “Authorities were awaiting more facts.” March 17, 1983. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Ice Cold Killers. Season 1, episode 5: “North Pole slay ride.”

“Troopers release summary of Thomas Bunday murder case.” April 29, 1983. Fairbanks Pioneer All Alaska Weekly.

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Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

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Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Twitter
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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Trailer for Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier
Welcome to Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Listen to tales of true crime and mystery in Alaska.

What evil lay in store for the residents of McCarthy, Alaska, when they gathered to meet their weekly mail plane?

Did infamous serial killer Robert Hansen fly his victims into the wilderness and hunt them just as he had hunted the trophy animals hanging on the walls of his home?

Who slaughtered the Coulthurst family and their crew on the Fishing Vessel Investor and then set fire to the boat?

Who kidnapped the Fandel children?

What horrors awaited the residents of Manley Hot Springs when they visited the boat landing?

Why did a young man in Palmer, Alaska, attack his father and his girlfriend with a machete?

Was the disappearance of the plane carrying Representatives Hale Boggs and Nick Begich an accident or something much more sinister?

Why do so many people step into the Alaska wilderness and disappear?

What is the Alaska Triangle, and is there any evidence that it actually exists?

I invite you to listen to Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier and hear these and many other tales about the dark side of Alaska.

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Read More Alaska Murder and Mystery

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

 

A wealthy, powerful man, a beautiful widow, a scandalous affair, a murder, and a suicide: This true-life crime drama had it all, except for the answer to the question: Who killed Cecil Wells?
Sources
Bartlett, James T. The Alaskan Blonde. 2022. North Haven, CT. Territory Books.

Johnny Warren

Reamer, David. “In 1953, Cecil Wells was a rich and powerful Alaska Businessman. His murder made headlines nationwide.” August 30, 2020. Anchorage Daily News.

“Wells, Cecil M.” Alaskahisitory.org. Anchorage 1910 – 1940. Legends and Legacies. https://www.alaskahistory.org/biographies/wells-cecil-m/



 

 

 

 

 
For more information on this case:
Read The Alaskan Blonde by James Bartlett

https://www.amazon.com/Alaskan-Blonde-Secrets-Hollywood-Shocked/dp/0984973028/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PUC5AS77DQ9&keywords=The+Alaskan+Blonde&qid=1700280903&s=books&sprefix=the+alaskan+blonde%2Cstripbooks%2C192&sr=1-1

Check out The Alaskan Blonde Website

Watch my interview with James Bartlett, the author of The Alaskan Blonde.

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Read More Alaska Murder and Mystery

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Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

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Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
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Manley Hot Springs, located 160 miles west of Fairbanks, marks the end of the road, where civilization meets wilderness, and the boat landing in Manley Hot Springs offers the last portage for fishermen, trappers, and wanderers to launch their boats and travel further up the icy Tanana River. Because the road ends in Manley, residents admit they see their share of drifters and people trying to escape from somewhere or something. When Michael Silka arrived in Manley on Monday, May 13, 1984, folks accepted him as another straggler searching for a new life. They should have been terrified. Michael Silka was about to forever change sleepy Manley Hot Springs.
Sources:
Brenan, Tom. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 8: "Manley Hot Springs Murders." 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press.

Hall, Jeff. "Michael Alan Silka and the firefight at Manley." Tactical Life magazine.

Ice Cold Killers. Season 1, episode 5: "Frozen carnage."

Murderpedia. "Michael Alan Silka." n.d.

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



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Alaska has spawned a long list of serial killers from the gold rush era in the early 1900s to the present day. Is Brian Steven Smith the latest member of this notorious fraternity?
Sources:
Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Defendant in hotel killing indicted on additional charges; FBI ‘actively’ assisting investigation – Court documents filed this

Kathlee Henry

week indicate an active, wide-ranging investigation that may extend beyond Alaska.” October 15, 2019. Anchorage Daily News.

Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Victim’s family members and activists pack court hearing of man accused of killing two Alaska Native women – Veronica Abouchuk’s family members filled the courtroom as Brian Steven Smith pleaded not guilty to her murder.” October 22, 2019. Anchorage Daily News.

Brown, Lee. “Wife of ‘memory card’ murder suspect Brian Smith shocked at his ‘dark’ side.” October 24, 2019. New York Post.

Hollander, Zac. “Anchorage man accused of hotel killing charged in the death of another woman – Brian Steven Smith, 48, now faces murder charges in the deaths of two women.” October 17, 2019. Anchorage Daily News.

Veronica Abouchuk

Hollander, Zac and M.T. Boots. “Videos and photos show brutal attack of woman in Anchorage hotel room by man charged in her death, charges say – A 48-year-old Anchorage man was charged with murder in the death of a woman whose body was found along the Seward Highway south of Anchorage last week.” October 9, 2019. Anchorage Daily News.

Ortiz, Aimee. “Memory card found with brutal videos and photos leads to murder arrest.” October 9, 2019. The New York Times.

Shapiro, Emily. “Memory card found on the street labeled “Homicide’ leads to arrest of alleged killer.” October 11, 2019. ABC News.

Staff Reporter. “Police identify 30-year-old woman as victim in video slaying – Kathleen J. Henry was beaten and killed in a Midtown hotel room last month, police say. Her killer allegedly captured the events in a video.” October 11, 2019. Anchorage Daily News.

Staff Reporter. “What we know about the Anchorage man accused in the brutal hotel-room killing of a woman – Charging documents say Brian Steven Smith shot video as he beat and choked Kathleen Jo Henry.” October 11, 2019. Anchorage Daily News.

Wieber, Aubrey. Anchorage woman whose remains were found earlier this year was slain, troopers say – Family described 27-year-old Shirley Skeek, born in Kake as the youngest of six kids, as a kind, smart and outgoing woman who was in a vulnerable state at the time of her disappearance.” December 30, 2019. Anchorage Daily News.

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



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The brutal murders in 1987 of a mother and her two daughters terrified the residents of Anchorage. Who would commit such a barbaric act, and would he strike again?

 
Sources:
Barer, Burl. Murder in the Family. 2016. Denver: WildBlue Press.

Brennan, Tom. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 6: “The Newman family masasacre.” 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press.

“Murder in Alaska: The Newman family slaughter.” September 14, 2019. What Lies Beyond.

 

 

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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What would you do to survive? Most of us believe there are some things we would never do, even if they could save our lives. However, until we find ourselves in a life-and-death situation, we can never know how far we might go for self-preservation. The marooned survivors from the James Allen did not hesitate to do what they felt was necessary to prolong their lives.
Sources:
De Armond, R.N. “The wreck of the James Allen.” December 1945. AlaskaWeb.Org. https://alaskaweb.org/jasallenwreck.html.

Stein, Gary C. “Their Feast of Death: The wreck of the whaler James Allen.” 2018. Coriolis, Vol. 7, Number 2.

Sullivan, Toby. “Wreck of the whaler James Allen.” June 8, 2022. Kodiak Daily Mirror.

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Robert Hansen is Alaska’s most notorious serial killer.  Several television shows have portrayed Hansen’s life; numerous books have detailed his horrific deeds; and a 2013 movie, The Frozen Ground, starring John Cusack as Hansen and Nicholas Cage as an Alaska State Trooper, chronicles Hansen’s crimes and dramatizes the police investigation and apprehension of Hansen.

I hesitate to repeat this story, but if my goal for this series is to recount some of the worst crimes in the history of Alaska, I would be remiss not to include those of Robert Hansen.  This story is also important for two other reasons.  First, it showcases the time during the construction and early operation of the trans-Alaska pipeline when thousands of people flocked to the state for jobs, and crime soared.  Second, this case represents the beginning of the change in the criminal justice system in Alaska when investigative techniques, evidence processing, and in particular, dealing with sexual assault crimes and victims moved out of the dark ages and into the present.

 

 

 

 

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



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Christian Klengenberg greatly impacted Inuit settlements in the Arctic from Nome to central Canada. Many of his descendants are community leaders and active in Canadian politics. However, not all stories about Christian Klengenberg are good. He returned from one fateful voyage with only five of his nine crew members on board, and according to the remaining crewmen, Klengenberg murdered the four who were missing.

 

 

 

 

 
Sources
Harper, Kenn. “Christian Klengenberg, an Arctic enigma.” February 26, 2009. Nunatsiaq News. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Christian_Klengenberg_an_Arctic_enigma/

Harper, Kenn. “Christian Klengenberg: The rest of the story.” March 12, 2009. Nunatsiaq News. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Christian_Klengenberg_The_rest_of_the_story/

Hunt, William R. Distant Justice. Chapter 12: “Tough Characters.” 1987. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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In the early morning hours of Monday, April 26, 1993, someone brutally raped, stabbed and shot Sophie Sergie in a college dorm on the University of Alaska campus in Fairbanks. Several hours later, a janitor discovered Sophie's body stuffed in a bathtub in a second-floor bathroom in the dorm. No one saw or heard anything. Sophie's case soon went cold and remained cold for the next 18 years. Would her murder ever be solved?
Sources:
Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Troopers: Alaska Bureau of Investigation. “Cold Case Investigation Unit.” n.d. https://dps.alaska.
gov/ast/abi/cold case

Associated Press. “AST cold-case unit faces elimination.” April 10, 2015. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Bohman, Amanda. “New theory revives old murder case.” April 25, 2009. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Farneski, Anna. “Sergie was target of opportunity.” May 8, 1993. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Farneski, Anna. “While troopers hunt Sophie’s killer, family tries to cope.” July 8, 1993. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Nolan, Caitlin. “Genealogy DNA leads to arrest in 1993 murder of Alaska student found dead in dorm bathtub.” February 18, 2019. Inside Edition.
https://www.insideedition.com/genealogy-dna-leads-arrest-1993-murder-alaska-student-found-dead-dorm-bathtub-50844

Williams, Tess. “Jury finds Maine man guilty in Fairbanks cold-case murder.” February 10, 2022. Anchorage Daily News.

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



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What happened to Harold Enzler and Nancy Bellamy? They were alive and well one minute and gone without a trace the next. Did they pack their things and flee the state? Were they hiding from authorities? Or did someone murder Harold and Nancy and dispose of their bodies in a way so the troopers would never find them?

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_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



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The scattered residents of the McCarthy area were not prepared for the horrors of mail day on February 29, 1983, when one of their neighbors attempted to murder them all.

Beginning this month, I plan to release two episodes of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier every month. One episode will be new, and I will bring you the other from the archives. I covered many of Alaska’s most famous crimes and infamous criminals in my first podcasts when my audience numbers were low, so I plan to dust them off, re-edit or re-record them if necessary and release them again. I hope you enjoy these episodes. Thank you so much for listening.

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_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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D

Working as a crew person on a fishing boat on the high seas or as part of a Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter crew rank as two of the most challenging and dangerous jobs in the world. When the fishing vessel La Conte began to sink in eighty-mile-per-hour (128.7 km/h) winds, the terrified crew had to jump into sixty-foot (18.3 m) seas in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, a Coast Guard chopper crew in Sitka was deployed to search for the source of a distress call from a satellite beacon. The driving hail and fierce winds battered and bounced the helicopter around the sky while its occupants searched the dark ocean for the source of the EPIRB signal. The pilot dropped down as close to the sea as he dared, and he knew that a rogue wave could bury the chopper at any moment. What the crew of the helicopter saw stunned them. Four men fought to stay afloat in massive seas. Rescuing them seemed like an impossible task.

 

 
Sources:
Lewan, Todd. “Helicopter crew braves vicious storm.” “Storm Gods and Heroes.” 12-28-1998. Anchorage Daily News.

Lewan, Todd. “Rescue in a raging sea.” “Storm Gods and Heroes.” 12-27-1998. Anchorage Daily News.

Lewan, Todd. “Rescue in sight, just out of reach.” “Storm Gods and Heroes.” 12-29-1998. Anchorage Daily News.

Lewan, Todd. “’Survivor in the basket.’” “Storm Gods and Heroes.” 12-30-1998. Anchorage Daily News.

Lewan, Todd. “Wrenching rescue; puzzle solved.” “Storm Gods and Heroes.” 12-31-1998. Anchorage Daily News.

Walker, Spike. Coming Back Alive. 2001. New York: St. Martins Griffin.

___________________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Linda Skeek had three beautiful children and an excellent job, but she did not have a good marriage. However, Linda’s relationship with her husband, Thomas, seemed somewhat improved on New Year’s Eve, 2015. They loaded their kids in their new Navigator SUV and drove to downtown Anchorage to see the fireworks. They watched the movie Minions on the Navigator’s DVD player until the New Year’s festivities began. Linda texted with her sisters and posted photos of her family on Facebook. However, not long after midnight and at the beginning of 2016, Linda’s texts and Facebook posts stopped, and no one saw or heard from her again.
Sources:
Boots, Michelle T. “Domestic violence, personal disputes behind many deaths.” January 1,2017. Alaska Dispatch News.

Boots, Michelle T. “The murder suspect says his wife is merely missing. Prosecutors say he bought supplies to clean up the scene.” February 26, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/02/27/in-anchorage-a-rare-murder-trial-without-a-body/

McGee, Madeline. “Jury finds Anchorage man not guilty of murder connection with wife’s disappearance.” March 28, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/03/28/jury-finds-anchorage-man-not-guilty-of-murder-in-connection-to-wifes-disappearance/

The Charley Project. “Linda Louise Skeek.” n.d. https://charleyproject.org/case/linda-louise-skeek.

Basic Trendy. “Linda Skeek: Went missing, investigation and more. n.d. https://www.basictrendy.com/linda-skeek-went-missing-investigation-and-more/

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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Dolchok had glaring psychological issues, and he was often violent. Still, judges repeatedly released him from jail until one night when Andrew Dolchok’s demons convinced him to murder his cab driver.
Sources:
1-22-1982. Dolchok v. State. Justia U.S. Law. https://law.justia.com/cases/alaska/supreme-court/1982/3920-0.html

Brennan, Tom. 2005. The Search For Yellow 39. Cold Crime. Epicenter Press.

7-14-1971. Anchorage AP. Daily Sitka Sentinel.

7-15-1971. Search expands for murder suspect. Anchorage Daily Times.

7-21-1971. Andrew Dolchok charged in death of taxi driver. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

7-21-1971. Suspect charged in cab driver’s death. Anchorage Daily News.

7-22-1971. Dolchok is given 10 days for plea. Anchorage Daily Times.

7-28-1971. Bail holds, says judge. Anchorage Daily Times.

Weaver, Howard. 10-6-1972. Dolchok is found guilty of murder. Anchorage Daily News.

10-6-1972. Judge rejects insanity plea, finds man guilty of murder. Anchorage Daily Times.

10-7-1972. Not so crazy. Anchorage Daily Times

11-29-1972. Judge gives life term. Anchorage Daily Times.

1-23-1982. Supreme Court turns down murderer’s second appeal. Anchorage Daily Times.

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______________________________________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

 

 

 

 

 

With the nickname “Blueberry Tommy,” Thomas Johnson sounds like a harmless and even friendly historical figure, but nothing could be further from the truth. Historians don’t know much about Johnson except that he was a serial killer.
Sources
Hunt, William R. 1987. Distant Justice. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman, OK.

Heaton, John W. 2010. Outlaw Tales of Alaska. Morris Book Publishing, LLC. Guilford, CT.

The Blueberry Kid. Alaska Genealogy Trails. https://www.genealogytrails.com/alaska/blueberry_kid.htm

6-22-1914. Many “Blueberry Kids” confuse officers. Man wanted is “Blueberry Tom” Johnson. Fairbanks Alaska Citizen.

6-29-1914. Clew found to Alaska crime. Fairbanks Alaska Citizen.

7-20-1914. Launch Seal Pup found. Fairbanks Alaska Citizen.

8-8-1914. Mute reminders of the Koyukuk tragedy. Iditarod Pioneer.

10-12-1914. Will recover body. Fairbanks Alaska Citizen.
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______________________________________________
Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

 

 

 

Cynthia Hoffman

I don’t usually do an episode about a case until the case either works through the legal system or it seems unsolvable. I could not ignore this sickening crime, though. There is nothing worse than children killing children, except perhaps when a teenager murders her best friend for thepromise of money.
Sources
Brehmer, Schilmiller, McIntosh, and Leyland all pleaded not guilty. I’ll keep you updated.

Denali Brehmer

Sources:

Farzan, Noori. Chilling Tale of killing, catfishing. The Washington Post. https://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=019ceeaf-d496-43d1-95e6-70dea767eba9

Burke, Jill. 6-17-2019. Who is accused killer Darin Schilmiller? Former classmates of catfishing ‘millionaire’ – turned – murder suspect talk about disturbing past. Alaska’s News Source. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/content/news/Who-is-accused-killer-Darin-Schilmiller-Cynthia-Hoffman-murder-suspect-511444111.html

Ortega, Michael. 6-18-2019. Interactive timeline: The murder of Cynthia Hoffman. 650kenai.iheart.com. https://650keni.iheart.com/content/2019-06-18-interactive-timeline-the-murder-of-cynthia-hoffman/

Darin Schilmiller

Downing, Suzanne. 6-18-2019. Accused of thrill killing, Schilmiller, Brehmer now indicted for child porn. https://mustreadalaska.com/accused-thrill-killing-schilmiller-brehmer-indicted-child-porn/

Derysh, Igor. 6-19-2019. Denali Brehmer: 5 Fast facts you need to know. Heavy.com. https://heavy.com/news/2019/06/denali-brehmer/

McGee, Madeline. 8-9-2019. Indiana man accused of plotting Cynthia Hoffman killing pleads not guilty to murder charges. Anchorage Daily News.  https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/08/09/indiana-man-accused-of-plotting-cynthia-hoffman-killing-pleads-not-guilty-to-murder-charges/#:~:text=In%20his%20second%20court%20appearance,the%20murder%20charges%20against%20him.
Now Available

______________________________________________
Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin


I still have a few promo codes available for this audiobook. If you would like a code, send me an email.
these are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Listen to a New Podcast from the Members of Author Masterminds

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

Keith Raniere

Perhaps you heard about the NXIVM (pronounced Nexium) scandal when the police tracked down and arrested the cult leader, Keith Raniere, in Mexico. Soon, tales of sex trafficking, branding, and child pornography painted Raniere as an evil man. Like me, you probably shook your head and wondered how anyone could get drawn into a cult. From the outside looking in, cults always seem crazy.

I didn’t pay much attention to the news about NXIVM. I didn’t want to read about more evil in our world. Then, a friend sent me a news story about an Alaska woman who disappeared after attending a NXIVM Executive Success Program class in Anchorage. When Kristin Snyder repeatedly blurted out that she was pregnant with Keith Raniere’s child, NXIVM officials dragged her out of the class, and she was never seen again. I suddenly wanted to know what happened to Kristin, more about NXIVM, and why successful, intelligent women flocked to Raniere to be close to him. Raniere is an average-looking man who denigrates women and believes their purpose is to serve him.

This is the story about NXIVM and the disappearance of Kristin Snyder.

Kristin Snyder

Sources

Parlato, Frank. 2021. The Lost Women of NXIVM. Discovery+

McLaughlin, Kelly and Nichole Einbinder. 9-8-2021. How NXIVM, a so-called self-help company, crumbled after former members exposed it as a cult that abused sex slaves. Insider. https://www.insider.com/what-is-nxivm-keith-raniere-explainer-2019-4

Parlato, Frank. 8-9-2017. Was Kristin Snyder murdered? Sources claim Snyder said she was pregnant with Raniere’s child right before disappearing. Frank Report. https://frankreport.com/2017/08/09/was-kristin-snyder-murdered-sources-claim-snyder-said-she-was-pregnant-with-ranieres-child-right-before-disappearing/

Helmar, Leo. 12-28-2020. The curious case of Kristin Snyder: An outsider delves into the rabbit hole of a woman’s disappearance. Frank Report. https://frankreport.com/2020/12/28/the-curious-case-of-kristin-snyder-an-outsider-delves-into-the-rabbit-hole-of-a-womans-disappearance/

Parlato, Frank. 5-14-2020. Following leads of a possible living Kristin Snyder. Frank Report. https://frankreport.com/2020/05/14/following-leads-of-a-possible-living-kristin-snyder/
Now Available

______________________________________________
Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin


I have 25 promo codes available for this audiobook. If you would like a code, send me an email.
these are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Listen to a New Podcast from the Members of Author Masterminds

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Instagram
Twitter
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.

As the 40-ft. waves crashed down upon him and threatened to wash him and his charge, Captain Singh, off the deck of the sinking ship, Petty Officer Aaron Bean knew the helicopter would not return to rescue them for several hours. Would the freighter remain afloat? Could he survive the relentless pounding by the freezing North Pacific waves? Would Captain Singh, who wore only street clothes, survive? Bean shook off his doubts and concentrated. As long as he could, he would do his job to the best of his ability, and he would give his life if necessary to save Captain Singh.

Sources:
My primary source for this story was On the Edge of Survival by Spike Walker. If you want to know more about this event, I strongly recommend this book. I have only touched on the bare facts of the story here, but Mr. Walker puts the reader in the helicopter in the fierce storm. I couldn’t put the book down.

Walker, Spike. 2010. On the Edge of Survival. St. Martin’s Press. New York, NY.

Alex Haley

12-10-2012. MV Selendang Ayu grounding – Investigation Report. Officer of the Watch. https://officerofthewatch.com/2012/12/10/mv-selendang-ayu-grounding/

Protecting the Last Frontier. Pacific Area. United States Coast Guard. https://www.pacificarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/District-17/17th-District-Units/Air-Station-Kodiak/

12-10-2012. MV Selendang Ayu grounding – Investigation Report. Officer of the Watch. https://officerofthewatch.com/2012/12/10/mv-selendang-ayu-grounding/

Selendang Ayu. Shipwreck Log. https://shipwrecklog.com/log/history/selendang-ayu/

Ropeik, Annie. 12- 12, 2014. 10 years on, Selendang Ayu spill’s legacy still evolving. Alaska Public Media. https://www.alaskapublic.org/20

14/12/12/10-years-on-selendang-ayu-spills-legacy-still-evolving/



 

 

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now Available

______________________________________________
Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin


I have 25 promo codes available for this audiobook. If you would like a code, send me an email.
these are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Listen to a New Podcast from the Members of Author Masterminds

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.

In September 2000, Shelia Toomey, a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, wrote a front-page story about six unsolved homicides in Anchorage.  The article displayed the photos of the six victims. All were women; five were Native Alaskan, and one was African American.  Nothing connected the victims, and the police did not know if they were looking for one, two, or six murderers.

Serial Killer Joshua Wade eventually admitted that he murdered Della Brown, the last murder victim profiled in Toomey’s article. Investigators believed Wade might have also killed some of the other victims. The police also found the murderer of Cynthia Henry, but the murders of the other four women listed in the article remained unsolved. One of these women was Genevieve Tetpon.

Police initially thought they were on the right path to solving Genevieve’s murder, but they hit a dead end and had nowhere else to turn. Finally, in 2009, a new cold-case detective looked at Genevieve’s file, and what he found turned the case on its head.

Sources:

Fatal Frontier: Evil in Alaska. Season 1. Episode 6. Murder in Winter.

Hopkins, Kyle. 2-4-2011. Suspect arrested in 2000 stabbing death. Available at: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/suspect-arrested-2000-stabbing-death/2011/02/05/

Edge, Josh. 2-4-2011. Alaska Public Media. Man Charged with Nearly 11-Year-Old Murder. Available at: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2011/02/04/man-charged-with-nearly-11-year-old-murder/

Dziemianowicz, Joe. 11-28-2021. Strange Emails Lead To Arrest In Cold Case Murder Of Alaskan Native Woman. Oxygen True Crime. Crime News. Available at: https://www.oxygen.com/fatal-frontier-evil-in-alaska/crime-nesws/how-genevieve-tetpon-cold-case-was-solved

________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now Available

______________________________________________
Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin


I have 25 promo codes available for this audiobook. If you would like a code, send me an email.
these are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Listen to a New Podcast from the Members of Author Masterminds

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

On a cold February night in 1921, Jack Sturgus, Anchorage's first police chief, patrolled downtown Anchorage. He strolled past local businessman Oscar Anderson at 9:00 P.M., and they exchanged pleasantries, but what happened over the next few minutes constitutes one of the biggest mysteries in Anchorage history. At 9:30 P.M., night watchman John McNutt discovered Sturgus lying in an alley behind the Anchorage Drug Store and the Liberty Café near Fourth Avenue and E Street. Sturgus was bleeding from a single gunshot wound to the chest. The watchman summoned help, and several men carried Sturgus to the hospital. Sturgus kept mumbling about being cold and needing to be turned over. In the hospital, he complained about the bright lights. He repeatedly called, 'Oh, Bobby, Bobby, Bobby." but when asked who shot him, he did not reply. Sturgus died at 10:50 P.M.

 

Who murdered Jack Sturgus? A hard look back into history reveals several possible suspects. Still, authorities never arrested anyone for his murder, and until now, no one has ever answered the question of who shot Jack Sturgus. Recent in-depth research by two Anchorage history buffs brings us as close as we will ever be to knowing what happened between 9:00 P.M. and 9:30 P.M. on February 20, 1921, in a back alley in the newly incorporated city of Anchorage, Alaska.



 

 
Sources:
Koenig, Laura and Goodfellow, Rick. 2-18-21. The Life and Once-Mysterious Death of Anchorage's First Police Chief. Cook Inlet Historical Society Lecture. Anchorage Museum. https://www.crowdcast.io/e/4592q90u

Reamer, David. Who killed Anchorage's first police chief? Nearly 100 years later, it's still a mystery. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/2020/01/13/who-killed-anchorages-first-police-chief-nearly-100-years-later-its-still-a-mystery/

Accesswire. 2-19-2021. A Hundred Years Later, Shooter Is Identified in Death of First Anchorage Police Chief. https://apnews.com/press-release/accesswire/alaska-homicide-anchorage-shootings-police-1c3c0a5a199196c0224363f53b0a56c3

1812Blockhouse. 1-13-2021. Richland Roots: The Mysterious Shooting of Jack Sturgis. History and Tourism. https://1812blockhouse.com/history-tourism/richland-roots-the-mysterious-shooting-of-jack-sturges/

Our Haunted Hotel: Where Ghosts Are More than Just Stories. The Historic Anchorage Hotel. https://www/historicanchoragehotel.com/

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewe...

David Grunwald

Any murder represents a level of greed, lust, or stupidity abhorrent to most humans, but when a child murders another child, the depravity reaches a new low. It is a sign of a rip in our society's moral fabric when a teenager thinks murder is the best way to handle a petty fight with his friend. I do not like to read or write stories about kids killing kids, but I also do not feel it is acceptable to look the other way. The problem won't simply disappear if we ignore it. Two horrible incidents of teen murderers have occurred in Alaska in the last few years, and in this episode, I will profile one of them.

 

 
Sources:
12-7-2016. Docs: Alaska teen was walked into woods, shot execution-style. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/david-grunwald-docs-alaska-teen-was-walked-into-woods-shot-execution-style-suspect/

5-24-2018. The details in the Grunwald killing fell into place one early December day in 2016 – Investigators lured suspects to a Palmer hotel, found the 16-year-old's body, and arrested the first teen charged with the killing – all in the same day, according to testimony. Anchorage Daily News. https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/16C1DF6C34370508?Search_terms

12-27-2018. Deliberations begin in murder trial of second teen charged in Grunwald slaying – Was Dominic Johnson the catalyst that triggered the killing, or was he not even in the car that drove David Grunwald to his death? Anchorage Daily News. https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/17090E308AECB8f0?search_terms

Hollander, Zaz. 10-1-2019. Teen on trial for murder of David Grunwald recounts moments leading up to shooting. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/10/01/teen-on-trial-for-murder-of-david-grunwald-recounts-moments-leading-up-to-his-death/

10-8-2019. Jury delivers 8 guilty verdicts in Alaska teen murder trial. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/e60bbefa195a47129048307f499f8d9c

Hollander, Zaz. 10-9-2019. Third teen convicted of murder in David Grunwald's 2016 killing. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/10/08/third-teen-convicted-of-murder-in-david-grunwalds-2016-killing/

Clark, Taylor. 2-5-2020. Fourth suspect in David Grunwald murder case pleads guilty to murder, kidnapping. Alaska's News Source. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/content/news/Fourth-suspect-in-David-Grunwald-murder-case-pleads-guilty-to-murder-in-second-degree-567600251.html

Hollander, Zaz. 11-20-2020. First defendant sentenced in Palmer teen's 2016 murder gets 45 years during emotional live-streamed hearing. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2020/11/20/first-defendant-sentenced-in-palmer-teens-2016-murder-gets-45-years-during-emotional-live-streamed-hearing/

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier av...

On July 18, 1967, a catastrophic snowstorm pummeled Alaska’s Mt. Denali, killing seven of the twelve young men in the Wilcox Expedition attempting to reach the summit. This is still the worst climbing disaster ever to occur in the United States.  We will never know what happened at the top of Mt. Denali. Experts can only guess the fate of those seven unlucky climbers.

Sources:

My primary source for this episode was Denali’s Howl by Andy Hall. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about this tragic event.

Hall, Andy. 2014. Denali’s Howl. Plume, the Penguin Group. New York, NY.

Manley, Kelley McMillan. 7-2017. Disaster on Denali. 5280.com/ Magazine. https://www.5280.com/2017/06/disaster-on-denali/

Duke, Kevin. 3-28-2012. Finishing the climb: Babcock finally tells his story of Denali tragedy. Gvnews.com. https://www.gvnews.com/sports/finishing-the-climb-babcock-finally-tells-his-story-of-denali-tragedy/article_d158684c-78f7-11e1-871e-0019bb2963f4.html

Worrall, Simon.  7-2014. The Denali climb that became one of the deadliest. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/140720-mountain-climbing-denali-mount-mckinley-alaska-national-parks

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.


 

 

 

 

 

 

An electrician found the badly beaten and defiled body of 48-year-old Martha Hansen behind the Elks Club on 3rd Avenue in downtown Anchorage. She was naked except for a white sock on her left foot. When police detectives arrived at the scene, they were determined to do everything they could to find the animal who had perpetrated this horrible crime. They put in hours of dogged perseverance and executed a forensic technique few investigators thought was possible.
Sources:

Man Charged in Woman’s Death. 8-19-1996. The Daily Sitka Senitnel.


Man Sentenced in Murder Case. 9-22-1997. The Daily Sitka Sentinel.

D’Oro, Rachel. Bar Video Cameras Give Vital Clues in Homicide. 9-4-1996. The Daily Sitka Sentinel. Reprinted from the Anchorage Daily News.

Toomey, Sheila. Anchorage police get palm print off body, a ‘rare’ forensic feat. 10-22-1996. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Reprinted from the Anchorage Daily News.

Ice Cold Rage. Fatal Frontier-Evil in Alaska. E03. 11-21-2021.

 

 

 

 

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.

On September 6, 1992, two young hikers from Anchorage arrived at the old Fairbanks city bus #142, a makeshift shelter located on the Stampede Trail, twenty-five miles west of Healy. They immediately noted a stench emanating from the bus. A red leg warmer swung from an alder branch near the vehicle’s rear door. A note taped to the door terrified the hikers. It read:

S.O.S. I NEED YOUR HELP. I AM INJURED, NEAR DEATH, AND TOO WEAK TO HIKE OUT OF HERE. I AM ALL ALONE, THIS IS NO JOKE. IN THE NAME OF GOD, PLEASE REMAIN TO SAVE ME. I AM OUT COLLECTING BERRIES CLOSE BY AND SHALL RETURN THIS EVENING. THANK YOU, CHRIS MCCANDLESS. AUGUST?

Sources:

Krakauer, Jon. 1996. Into the Wild. Anchor Books. New York, New York.

Krakauer, Jon. 9-12-2013. How Chris McCandless Died. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/how-chris-mccandless-died

Saverin, Diana. 12-18-2013. The Chris McCandless Obsession Problem. Outside Magazine.https://www.outsideonline.com/1920626/chris-mccandless-obsession-problem

Holland, Eva. 7-29-2019. Another ‘Into the Wild’ Pilgrimage Has Ended in Death. Outside Magazine. https://www.outsideonline.com/2400297/hiker-dies-into-the-wild-bus-chris-mccandless?itm_source=parsely-api

Holland, Eva. 6-28-2020. Alaska Airlifts ‘Into the Wild’ Bus Out of the Wild. Outside Magazine. https://www.outsideonline.com/2415017/alaska-airlifts-wild-bus-out-wild?

 

 

 

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.


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Erin Marie Gilbert

As I’ve mentioned in other episodes, each year, an average of 2,250 people disappear in Alaska, twice the national average.  According to the Alaska State Troopers, approximately 1,520 people currently are listed as missing in Alaska. The cases date back to the 1950s. Some of these people vanished on purpose, and others suffered unfortunate accidents. We know a few met with foul play, though. They were alive, well, and happy one moment, and then they suddenly disappeared without a trace.

The two stories I'm covering in this episode describe every parent's worst nightmare, and in both cases, I can't help but wonder why more wasn't done at the time to search for these young women. Since both cases technically remain open, though, the public cannot access

Jonnie Renee White

the police files, and perhaps authorities have done a great deal over the years to search for Erin and Jonnie. Maybe with new technology, detectives will solve these cases.

Sources:

Alaska Unsolved. Evan Phillips https://alaskaunsolved.simplecast.com/episodes

Davis, Hank. 6-22-2019. 'Alaska Unsolved' podcast revisits 24-year-old cold case. KTUU. https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/DRAFT-Alaska-Unsolved-511551212.html

Erin Marie Gilbert. The Charley Project. http://charleyproject.org/case/erin-marie-gilbert

Hanlon, Tegan. 8-23-2017. She went to a Girdwood festival in 1995, then disappeared. Her family is still seeking answers. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2017/08/22/a-long-time-gone-she-went-to-a-girdwood-festival-in-1995-then-disappeared-now-theres-a-reward/

Cavallier, Andrea. 12-24-2019. Sister seeks answers 24 years after Erin Marie Gilbert vanished while on first date at Girdwood Forest Fair in Alaska. Dateline. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/sister-seeks-answers-24-years-after-erin-marie-gilbert-vanished-n1106786

Disappearance of Erin Marie Gilbert. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Erin_Marie_Gilbert

Finding Erin Marie Gilbert. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ErinMarieGilbert/

Jonnie Renee White. The Charley Project. http://charleyproject.org/case/jonnie-renee-white

Jonnie Renee White (16) – Kodiak Alaska. Websleuths. https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/jonnie-renee-white-16-kodiak-ak-1998.59092/

Kadel, Steve. 8-19-2003. Wasilla woman wins lawsuit in daughter's death. Frontiersman. https://www.frontiersman.com/news/wasilla-woman-wins-lawsuit-in-daughter-s-death/article_e638a0db-02b0-50c7-803d-a16771939eb4.html

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and ne...

In 1994, Kristopher Marcy and his friend, Bryan Perotti, managed the unthinkable when they escaped from Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska. When Marcy and Perotti first escaped, the police warned the public to be on the lookout for the pair. They considered both inmates dangerous, but they believed Bryan Perotti was the most violent of the two. Since Kristopher Marcy was in prison for stabbing a grandmother 26 times and then raping her as she lay dying, I couldn’t imagine a more violent predator and was curious to learn the details of Bryan Perotti’s young life and the crime that sent him to prison for 99 years.
Sources:
Stokes, Elisabeth Fairfield. 2017. Letters to Prison. Pacific Standard. https://psmag.com/social-justice/letters-to-prison

Court of Appeals of Alaska.  2-8-1991. Perotti v. State. https://law.justia.com/cases/alaska/court-of-appeals/1991/a-3314-0.html

Chief Judge Bryner. 12-24-1992. Perotti v. State. Court of Appeals of Alaska. https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/591486e4add7b049344dc8fc

Vanapalli, Viswa. 1-23-2022. Where is Bryan Perotti Now? The Cinemaholic. https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-byran-perotti-now/

Kalsnes, Lynette. 3-17-1994. Escaped murderers recaptured. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Kalsnes, Lynette. 3-18-1994. Prison assesses escape. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Kizzia, Tom. 3-20-1994. Escape changes feelings about Seward prison. Anchorage Daily News.

The Associated Press. 3-22-1994. Audit cited security problems at Spring Creek. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Kalsnes, Lynette. 3-24-1994. Officials link missing wirecutters to jailbreak. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Twitter
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

_________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

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For an exciting experience, watch short videos from some of the Author Mastermind authors.

Gog and Magog https://youtu.be/bvpfYW85MtA

Gorgon https://youtu.be/PT_h8Ojs8jw

Heart of Abigail https://youtu.be/SoDk94zvVFE

Impossible Crime Series https://youtu.be/cCULH4WMyYA

Ingress https://youtu.be/Wi9ar5yQnq8

Jimmy the Goat https://youtu.be/9LNiSUwiv0E

Karluk Bones https://youtu.be/gV7h1tgxUhY

Kashmir https://youtu.be/lc8ZKvdMwgo

Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge https://youtu.be/gUYxSndRxrk

My Wonderful Life With Diabetes https://youtu.

Many serial killers have called Alaska home, and if you apply the broadest definition to the term, then serial killers terrorized settlers here long before profilers coined the term “serial killer.” A near-total lack of law enforcement in Alaska in the early 1900s allowed human predators to prowl the territory and prey on settlers and gold miners. Imagine the nervous miners who had amassed a quantity of gold. How did they sleep? Terror must have gripped them during the long trek from their claim to the nearest town and bank where they could deposit their gold.

Ed Krause was a vile predator who killed with no remorse and then took what he wanted. We will never know how many people Krause murdered or how much money, gold, fox furs, land, and other valuables he stole, but what we do know paints Krause as one of the darkest figures in Alaska’s history.

Sources:

Heaton, John W. 1915. Ed Krause. Outlaw Tales of Alaska. TwoDot. Guilford, CT.

Hunt, William R. 1987. Hard to Convict. Distant Justice. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman, Ok.

Story Time with Aunt Phil: Alaska’s first serial killer. KTVA. Available at: https://auntphilstrunk.com/alaskas-first-serial-killer-strikes/

Nov. 19, 1915. Krause’s Career of Crime Was a Long and a Bad One. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Apr. 13, 1917. Edward Krause Saws bars and makes escape. Juneau Alaska Daily Empire.

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join me on:
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to check out one of my novels, visit The Readers and Writers Book Club, where you can read Murder Over Kodiak - Free! While you are there, take a look at some of the other free book serializations by wonderful authors in nearly every genre you can imagine.



Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



 

 

Recent events have reminded us that we cannot always trust the police to protect us. In the U.S., though, bad policemen and women represent only a small minority of law enforcement. I feel I can turn to the police if I need help, and if I report a crime, I believe they will respond and investigate my claim. The police in Nome, Alaska, however, often did not take reports of sexual harassment seriously, especially claims made by Alaska Native women. The Nome Police Department had a serious problem, and it took the murder of a beautiful, 19-year-old woman to expose the ugly truth.

Sonya Ivanoff

Sources:

Troopers whittle down murder suspects list. 10-22-2003. Whitehorse Daily Star.

Associate Press. Nome cop charged with murder. 10-27-2003. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Brant, Tataboline. 10-29-2003. Nome police must work to regain trust after officer charged with murder. Anchorage Daily News.https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2018/08/23/from-2003-nome-police-must-work-to-regain-trust-after-officer-charged-with-murder

Anchorage AP. 11-10-2003. Suspect demonstrated suspicious behavior. Whitehorse Daily Star.

Nome, Alaska, AP. 1-19-2005. Trial begins for officer charged with murder. Whitehorse Daily Star.

Nome, Alaska, AP. 1-21-2005. Officer killed woman, staged theft, court told. Whitehorse Daily Star.

Nome, Alaska, AP. 1-24-2005. Murder victim entered police car, women say. Whitehorse Daily Star.

2-23-2005. Jury to begin deliberations in Nome Murder Trial. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Nome, Alaska, AP. 2-25-2005. Murder trial hears final arguments. Whitehorse Daily Star.

Matthew Owens

Tsong, Nicole. 3-2-2005. Jury foreman: majority voted to convict officer. Sitka Daily Sentinel.

Nome, Alaska, AP. 11-30-2005. Ex-officer on trial for the second time. Whitehorse Daily Star.

Anchorage, Alaska AP. 12-9-2005. Nome, family settle suit over woman’s murder. Sitka Daily Sentinel.

Nome, Alaska, AP. 4-21-2006. Ex-officer jailed 99 years for murder. Whitehorse Daily Star. Owens v. State. 3-3-2010. Court of Appeals of Alaska. Court of Appeals No. A-9640. Casetext. https://casetext.com/case/owens-v-state-590

Mackenzie, Victoria and Maye-E, Wong. 12-22-2019. In Nome, Alaska, Review of rape ‘cold cases’ hits a wall. The Spokesman Review.

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I am excited to announce the release of my fifth novel --  Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge.

Watch the short video about Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge.


If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
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Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Alaska is big; the state spans an area as wide as the distance from California to Florida, and much of the terrain is wild and inhospitable.  Alaska has 39 mountain ranges, 12,000 rivers, 100,000 glaciers, and 3 million lakes.  Much of the state is heavily forested, while boggy tundra covers other areas. In some regions, mudflats along the ocean act like quicksand, entrapping a hapless interloper so tightly, he can do nothing but watch the tide rise until he drowns. Avalanches and mudslides are common in the winter, and residents expect floods in the spring.  If you want to disappear, as this story will show, Alaska is the place to go.
Sources:

Tizon, Alex. 12-2-2017. In the land of missing persons: 2 families, 2 bodies, and a vast Alaska wilderness. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2016/12/18/in-the-land-of-missing-persons-2-families-2-bodies-and-a-vast-alaska-wilderness/

Richard Hills. Track Missing. http://www.trackmissing.org/Cases/Details/561

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
I am excited to announce the release of my fifth novel --  Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge.

Watch the short video about Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge.


If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.


_______________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join me on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to check out one of my novels, visit The Readers and Writers Book Club, where you can read Murder Over Kodiak - Free! While you are there, take a look at some of the other free book serializations by wonderful authors in nearly every genre you can imagine.



Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



 

 

 

Alaska Hatcher Pass

Friends and family describe Vladimir Petrovich Kostenko as a seeker, a man searching for the meaning of life and hoping to find his place and purpose in the universe. Alaska, with its raw, untamed wilderness, is a place popular for “seekers” trying to find themselves, calm their minds, and even attain spiritual enlightenment. Unfortunately, though, many of these dreamers have no idea how to survive in the harsh environment of the northern wilderness. Alaska is often breathtaking, beautiful, and peaceful, but it can also be a fierce monster waiting for you to make a fatal mistake. Chris McCandless either starved to death or ate something poisonous during his quest for enlightenment, and Timothy Treadwell felt he was “at one” with the bears until one killed him and ate him. The Alaska environment

Alaska Hatcher Pass

demands respect from those who travel there, and if you neglect to respect the wilderness, you will be lucky to survive. Was Vladimir Kostenko an ill-prepared “seeker,” or did something more sinister happen to him?

Sources:

Vladimir Petrovich Kostenko. The Charley Project. http://Charleyproject.org/case/Vladimir-petrovich-kostenko

Washington man missing after spiritual quest to Alaska’s Hatcher Pass. 10/19/2019. Pacific Northwest https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2019/10/washington-man-missing-after-spiritual-quest-to-alaskas-hatcher-pass.html

Medred, Craig. 10/19/2019. Gone Guy. Craig Medred. A Home for Readers and Thinkers. https://craigmedred.news/2019/10/19/gone-guy-2/

Medred, Craig. 10/21/2019. $60 Million Man. Craig Medred. A Home for Readers and Thinkers. https://craigmedred.news/2019/10/21/60-million-man/

Wasilla Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Scheme to Defraud Alaska Consumers. 8/15/2019. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak/pr/wasilla-man-sentenced-federal-prison-scheme-defraud-alaska-consumers

_____________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.


_______________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join me on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to check out one of my novels, visit The Readers and Writers Book Club, where you can read Murder Over Kodiak - Free! While you are there, take a look at some of the other free book serializations by wonderful authors in nearly every genre you can imagine.



Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 

“You’re trying to fill my brain with things I didn’t do.”


Rabinowitz Courthouse, Fairbanks
At 2:45 am on October 11th, 1997, three friends in Fairbanks were heading home from a bar when they discovered the badly beaten body of 15-year-old John Hartman. Someone had kicked the boy’s head so many times that he was unrecognizable. He died the following evening when his parents agreed to take him off life support.
Sources:

O’Donoghue, Brian. 7-12-2014. Vent attorney alleges ‘prosecutorial misconduct. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Fairbanks Four when Charged

O’Donoghue, Brian. 9-28-2014. The Fairbanks four: The elusive hunt for truth. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Boyce, Rod. 8-30-2015. Keeping the public informed – Inside the decision to publish in a divisive case. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Friedman, Sam. 10-6-2015. ‘Fairbanks Four’ trial begins. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Friedman, Sam 11-10-2015. Attorneys for ‘Fairbanks Four’ wrap up case. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Friedman, Sam. 12-18-2015. The four freed. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Fairbanks Four after Release

Buxton, Matt. 12-30-2015. Fairbanks Four announce fundraiser for their attorney whose husband died in Anchorage plane crash. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Friedman, Sam. 12-18-2016. 1 year out: What’s happened since December 17, 2015, when the Fairbanks Four were released? Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Engman, Eric. 6-14-2017. Arlo Olson, key witness in Fairbanks Four trials, dies in reported jail suicide. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

___________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.


_______________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join me on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to check out one of my novels, visit The Readers and Writers Book Club, where you can read Murder Over Kodiak - Free! While you are there, take a look at some of the other free book serializations by wonderful authors in nearly every genre you can imagine.



Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before Santa Fe, before Marjory Stoneman Douglas, before Sandy Hook, and even before Columbine, there was Bethel Regional High School in Bethel, Alaska. On February 19, 1997, Evan Ramsey loaded a Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun, hid the gun in his pants, and rode the school bus to the Bethel Regional High School, where he attended classes. What happened next would tear apart the small town of Bethel, Alaska, and as with all the school shootings to follow, students and parents would be left asking, “Why?”

Sources:

Evan Ramsey

Evan E. Ramsey. Murderpedia. https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/ramsey-evan.htm

10-10-2007. Four Wounded in Cleveland School Shooting Rampage. Anderson Cooper 360. CNN. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0710/10/acd.01.html

McBride, Rhonda. 2-22-2017. Twenty years after the Bethel School shooting. Alaska PublicMedia.

Bethel Alaska

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2017/02/22/20-years-after-the-bethel-school-shooting/

Ron Edwards and Josh Palacios

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.


_______________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Twitter
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________________
Recent Book Release
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If you would like to check out one of my novels, visit The Readers and Writers Book Club, where you can read Murder Over Kodiak - Free! While you are there, take a look at some of the other free book serializations by wonderful authors in nearly every genre you can imagine.



Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 



 

We can never know another person’s thoughts and motivations. Most killers have a reason to commit murder; whether for revenge, jealously, or money, they understand why they killed their victim. Kyung Yoon, though, said he did not know why he killed Amy Sue Patrick. He claimed he murdered her on the spur of the moment, but some evidence suggests Yoon premeditated the crime. Events in this case took a bizarre twist when the troopers arrested Yoon and hauled him to prison.

Sources

Mathiesen, Peter B. 2015. The Story of Amy Sue Patrick. Tales of the Alaska State Troopers. Skyhorse Publishing. New York, NY.

Doto, Pamela. 9-27-1991. House sitter, 18, disappears. Anchorage Daily News.

Wohlforth, Charles. 10-7-1991. Wasilla woman apparent murder victim. Anchorage Daily News.

10-8-1991. Suspect apparently took his life after confessing. Anchorage Daily News.

10-8-1991. Man held in murder falls sick in jail, dies. Sitka Sentinel.

Enge, Marilee. 10-9-1991. Troopers say Yoon took arsenic. Anchorage Daily News.

10-9-1991. Arsenic Found after murder suspect dies. Sitka Sentinel.

10-12 -1991. Toxicologist tells how arsenic works. Anchorage Daily News.

10-14-1991. FBI probes death of suspect in Anchorage. Sitka Sentinel.

Enge, Marilee. 10-16-1991. Yoon’s letters ask forgiveness. Anchorage Daily News.

10-16-1991. Troopers defend way murder case handled. Sitka Sentinel.

Randall, Gail. 10-19-1991. Troopers call in dogs to search for body. Anchorage Daily News.

10-20-1991. German Dogs to search Alaskan landfill for body. The Seattle Times. Available at: https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive?date=19911020&slug=1311977

Doto, Pamela. 10-26-1991. Search for body on again. Anchorage Daily News.

Doto, Pamela. 10-27-1991. Teen’s Body Found. Anchorage Daily News.

11-15-1991. Murder suspect’s rights not violated, FBI says. Sitka Sentinel.

Randall, Gail. 11-20-1991. Crime lab can’t tell if teen was molested. Anchorage Daily News.

Randall, Gail. 12-4-1991. Yoon killed himself, inquest finds. Anchorage Daily News.

Randall, Gail. 3-22-1992. Why did Kyung Yoon confess? Anchorage Daily News.

___________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.


_______________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Twitter
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________________
Recent Book Release
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If you would like to check out one of my novels, visit The Readers and Writers Book Club,

August 28, 1993 was a beautiful autumn day for a bicycle ride along the Parks Highway to Grey’s Creek at mile 81.5 on the highway. The burnished leaves of fireweed painted the hillsides a deep red, and a carpet of golden leaves covered the ground. In the distance, Mt. Denali stood watch over the region, wearing a coat of white from the first snows of the season.

Judy Burgin

When the cyclists noticed a swath of material peeking through a pile of leaves, they stopped to investigate. What they found, sent them scurrying back to the highway to flag down a truck and ask the occupants to call the Alaska State Troopers.
Sources:
Brown v. State. 11/03/2004. Alaska Court of Appeals. https://casetext.com/case/brown-v-state-5235

Carl Brown

Brown v. State 4/4/2001. Find A Case.  http://ak.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20010404_0000093.AK.htm/qx

Grice, Gordon. 9-27-2002. Crime Seen. Popular Science. https://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2002-09/crime-seen/

Skip Palenik

 

Psycho for Love: Carl Brown killed girlfriend Judy Burgin when she tried to leave him. 3-31-2015. Bonnie’s Blog of Crime. https://bonnie421.rssing.com/browser.php?indx=30133146&item=155

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.


_______________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join me on:
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Instagram
Twitter
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

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Recent Book Release
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If you would like to check out one of my novels, visit The Readers and Writers Book Club, where you can read Murder Over Kodiak - Free! While you are there, take a look at some of the other free book serializations by wonderful authors in nearly every genre you can imagine.

Ben Eielson

Russ Merrill

Airplanes first disappeared in Alaska as soon as they glided over the mountains, glaciers, oceans, tundra, and forests here. The rugged ocean and landscape of Alaska offer an abundance of places for a plane to vanish. Over the years, many planes have gone missing in Alaska, but not all the outcomes were bad, especially in the early years of aviation in the territory. Often, days or even weeks after a plane disappeared in a remote region and the pilot was assumed dead, he would wander out of the brush and into a village.
Sources:
Leon Crane

Mondor, Colleen. 2012. The Map of My Dead Pilots. Lyons Press. Gilford, CT.

Coppock, Mike. Flying on the Edge: Alaska’s Legendary Bush Pilots. History.net. https://www.historynet.com/flying-on-the-edge-alaskas-legendary-bush-pilots.htm

Wien, Noel. Pioneer/Entrepreneur. Aviation Hall of Fame. https://www.nationalaviation.org/our-enshrinees/wien-noel/

A WWII Survival story from the Charley River. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/yuch/learn/historyculture/leon-crane-survival-story.htm

Davis Joy. 9-4-1979. Rhode plane wreckage in Alaska found by hikers after 21 years. Fish and Wildlife Service. Department of the Interior. https://www.fws.gov/news/Historic/NewsReleases/1979/19790904a.pdf

Ian Mackintosh

Ian Mackintosh

MacLeod, Calum. 2013. Did spy writer's disappearance mirror his fiction? https://www.whatson-north.co.uk/whats-on/books/did-spy-writers-disappearance-mirror-his-fiction-112358/

Folsom, Robert G. 2012. The Life and Mysterious Death of Ian Mackintosh. Potomac Books

Eric Johnson 9-20-04. AKfatal.net. https://www.akfatal.net/Johnson%2009-20-04.htm

Search for missing aircraft continues in Katmai National Park. Katmai. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/katm/learn/news/katmai-missing-plane-3.htm

Mondor, Colleen. 7-8-2015. Aircraft missing in Alaska Bush remain among state’s

Rhode's Grumman

 

 

 

unsolved mysteries. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/bush-pilot/article/missing-aircraft-alaska/2015/07/08/

______________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

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Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
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Recent Book Release
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If you would like to check out one of my novels, visit The Readers and Writers Book Club, where you can read Murder Over Kodiak - Free! While you are there, take a look at some of the other free book seri...

What would you do for love? What if someone stands between you and your heart's desire, and the person in the middle is your true love's estranged spouse? What if the woman you love and her spouse try to rekindle the flames of their damaged marriage, and you must think of them together? Would you accept defeat and quietly walk away, or would you take a more proactive approach? Jim Wheeler decided the best path to his true love's heart was to blow up her husband's truck with her husband in it.

Sources:

Neighbor jailed in bombing of guardsman. 11/10/1993. Anchorage Daily News.https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/0F78EA61D7B5E22?search_terms

Love may be bomb motive friends say suspect had crush on wife of slain man. 11/11/1993. Anchorage Daily News.https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/0F78EA16B5AAD13A?search_terms

Indicted for murder grand jury cites alleged love-sick bomber. 11/20/1993. Anchorage Daily News. https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/0F78EA41ED13BA65?search_terms

2nd man arrested in truck bombing Troopers say suspect held in Washington faces murder charge for Wasilla blast. 3/4/1994. Anchorage Daily News. https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/0F78EC96B3F4A800?search_terms

Police followed trail left by blind poodle. 3/9/1994. Seattle Times. https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19940309&slug=1899341

Murder suspect fights extradition. 4/5/1994. Anchorage Daily News.https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/0F78ECBE385D18DD?search_terms

Affair fact or fantasy figures large as bomb victim's widow sues accused man, their relationship takes center stage. 5/5/1994. https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/0F78EB491CFEF77D?search_terms

Bomb suspect pleads not guilty to murder. 6/25/1994. Anchorage Daily News. https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/0F78EB81C856C7E9?search_terms

Neighbor Convicted of Wasilla Bomb Murder. 10/21/1994 Daily Sitka Sentinel.  https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/13043179/

Bomb case bound for federal court – 5 charges filed in slaying. 12/19/1996. Anchorage Daily News. https://adn.newsbank.com/doc/news/0F7933BEEA0ABAC4?search_terms

United States v. Geiger. 8/31/2001. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. https://casetext.com/case/us-v-geiger-4

____________________________________________________________________________________________

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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As soon as detectives saw her body, they knew someone had violently abused and murdered her. Forty-one years later, investigators believe they finally know who killed Shelley Connolly.
Sources:
DNA links Oregon man to 1978 cold case murder of Shelley Connolly https://www.ktva.com/story/40997206/troopers-arrest-man-accused-of-1978-cold-case-murder-of-shelley-connolly

Oregon man arrested, charged with teen’s murder in 41-year-old Anchorage cold case https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/09/03/oregon-man-arrested-for-teens-murder-in-41-year-old-anchorage-cold-case/

Details about Gresham suspect emerge from 1978 Alaska cold case https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2019/09/details-about-gresham-suspect-emerge-from-1978-alaska-cold-case.html

Alaska’s DNA detectives make an arrest 41 years after teen’s murder https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Alaskas-DNA-detectives-make-an-arrest-41-years-after-a-teens-murder--559314791.html

Bail reduced for suspect in 1978 cold case murder of Shelley Connolly https://www.ktva.com/story/41969168/bail-reduced-for-suspect-in-1978-cold-case-murder-of-shelley-connolly

 

____________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money often leads to greed and sometimes even to murder, so we should not be surprised to learn about a miner killing other miners for their gold, the rawest form of currency. This story sounds believable from our jaded twenty-first-century perspective. In 1939, though, to the miners in Cache Creek country, the residents of Talkeetna, and people in Anchorage, the murders at Cache Creek represented the worst type of betrayal of the code of trust and respect followed by the independent men and women who labored in the mud to eke out a living and extract a valuable mineral from the earth. When the FBI did not quickly apprehend the killer, miners began to lock their cabins and fear their neighbors.

 

Sources:

I based this story almost entirely on the book The Mystery of the Cache Creek Murders by Roberta Sheldon, published in 2001. I have only outlined the basics of the murders in this newsletter, so if you want more details, not only about the murders but also about the life of a gold miner in Alaska in the 1930s and 40s, I recommend Ms. Sheldon’s book. She presents the context of these murders against the backdrop of the years leading up to WWII, and she gives the reader a glimpse of how the FBI operated in those years and the near lack of law enforcement in the wilderness of Alaska.

Sheldon, Roberta, 2001. The Mystery of the Cache Creek Murders. Publication Consultants.

Alaska’s “Gold Rush” Years 1832 – 1913. History of Mining in Alaska. http://www.alaskaminers.org/mining-history-in-ak

Dunham, Mike, 2012. Fire destroys historic Forks Roadhouse in Susitna Valley. Anchorage Daily News.https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/fire-destroys-historic-forks-roadhouse-susitna-valley/2012/04/05/

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
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NEW BOOK RELEASE

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When a small Alaska town loses one of its children, the entire community grieves, and when a monster brutally rapes, murders, and discards that child, the residents cry out for answers and justice. In the case of Jessica Baggen, the folks in the community of Sitka, Alaska, would not have those answers for twenty-four years.

Sources

Boots, Michelle T. 8-11-2020. Suspect in 1996 cold-case murder of Sitka girl killed himself last week in Arkansas, troopers say. Anchorage Daily News. Available at https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2020/08/11/troopers-announce-theyve-identified-killer-in-1996-sitka-cold-case-murder-of-teenage-girl-arkansas-suspect-kills-himself/#:~:text=When%20cold%20case%20investigators%20traveled,the%20Alaska%20State%20Troopers%20Tuesday.

Boots, Michelle T. 9-9-2020. 23 years ago, Alaska tried the wrong man for the murder of a Sitka teenager. Now police say they’ve found the real killer. Why wasn’t he a suspect all along? Available at https://www.ktoo.org/2020/09/09/23-years-ago-the-state-of-alaska-tried-the-wrong-man-for-the-murder-of-a-sitka-teenager-now-police-say-theyve-found-the-real-killer-why-wasnt-he-a-suspect-all-along/

1996 Cold Case Solved: Jessica Baggen Killer Identified Through DNA. Public Information Office. Alaska Department of Public Safety. Available at https://dps.alaska.gov/AST/PIO/PressReleases/1996-Cold-Case-Solved-Jessica-Baggen-Killer-Ident

Genetic genealogy can help solve cold cases. It can also accuse the wrong person. 11-7-2019. PBS News Hour. Available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/genetic-genealogy-can-help-solve-cold-cases-it-can-also-accuse-the-wrong-person

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.


______________________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 

Miranda Barbour

In December 2013, after police arrested Miranda Barbour, 19, for the murder of Troy LaFerrara in Pennsylvania, Miranda told a news reporter she had murdered between 22 and 100 people. She said she killed a few in North Carolina, Texas, and California, but she claimed most of the murders occurred in her home state of Alaska. Her statement startled law enforcement officials across the country, but they soon began to question her declarations. Was her claim of serial murders real, a cry for attention, or was she attempting to lay the foundation for an insanity defense? After the brutal killing of LaFerrara, though, few investigators doubted Miranda could have killed before, and most believed if she hadn’t been stopped, she would have killed again. What should we think, then? Is Miranda Barbour a serial murderer, a pathological liar, or both?

Elytte Barbour

Sources:

BBC Miranda Barbour, Serial Killer or Liar https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6w80lb

Miranda Barbour. Murderpedia https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/barbour-miranda.htm

Wenner, David.2-21-2014. North Carolina town copes with connection to couple accused of Craigslist killing. Penn Live Patriot News https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2014/02/miranda_barbour_craigslist_sat.html

Lysiak, Matthew. 4-28-14. Exclusive: Craigslist Killer Miranda Barbour Tells How and Why She Killed. Newsweek Magazine. https://www.newsweek.com/2014/05/09/exclusive-craigslist-killer-miranda-barbour-tells-how-and-why-she-killed-248670.html

Scarcella, Francis. 12-7-2013. Pal: Newlyweds Sat, Watched Investigators Comb Murder Scene. The Daily Item. https://www.dailyitem.com/news/pal-newlyweds-sat-watched-investigators-comb-murder-scene/article_751c6fcb-9a43-5be0-a64e-2090305ef9e0.html

Burke, Jill.3-16-2014/ Accused Craigslist killer Miranda Barbour had traumatic start to life. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/crime-justice/article/accused-craigslist-killer-miranda-barbour-had-traumatic-start-life/2014/03/17/

Associated Press. 9-18-2014. ‘Craigslist Killers’ Miranda and Elytte Barbour Sentenced to Life in Prison. People.com https://people.com/crime/craigslisit-killers-miranda-and-elytte-barbour-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/

__________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!
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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free,

When someone brutally murdered the postmistress of Ruby, Alaska, a small village on the Yukon River, the Alaska State Troopers believed they had a ‘locked-room” mystery on their hands. They suspected one of the villagers of killing Agnes Wright. After all, there are only two ways into and out of Ruby: either by boat on the Yukon River or by air travel on a small bush plane. Neither method of transportation is inconspicuous to or from a village where everyone knows everyone else, and a stranger’s presence warrants stares and whispers. Since the troopers heard no credible accounts of a stranger in town on the day of the murder, they began with the premise that one of the villagers committed the crime. But who in this small village hated Agnes Wright enough to beat her savagely and then shoot her?

Sources:

Historic Ruby

 1996 Postmaster. Behind the Badge. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Smithsonian U.S. Postal Museum. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/behind-the-badge-case-histories-assaults-and-murders/1996-postmaster

Murphy, Kim. 8-2-1996. Murder in a Town Full of Suspects. Los Angeles Times.                             https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-02-mn-30531-story.html

More Details Emerge in Killing of Postmaster. 7-19-1996. Daily Sitka Senitinel. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10310101/more-details-emerge-in-killing-of/

 

 

 

 

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NEW BOOK RELEASE
 


Watch the trailer to learn more about this non-fiction wildlife book.





 



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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
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______________________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 



 

 

Was the wreck of the Clara Nevada a terrible accident or the greatest mass-murder in Alaska history?

Superstitions swirl around boats, and some captains believe bizarre myths. Renaming a vessel remains foremost among the maritime harbingers of bad luck, and if you dare change the name of your boat, you must follow a strict protocol to avoid certain doom. The Clara Nevada did not even complete her maiden voyage under her new name. Is this boat the case study to prove the truth of the old mariner’s superstition, or did her captain plot her demise?

On February 5, 1898, the SS Clara Nevada departed Skagway, Alaska, headed for Juneau and then Seattle. Hurricane-force winds of 90 knots (100 mph 161 km/h) pummeled the vessel with following seas of twelve to fifteen feet (4-5 m) as the helmsman attempted to navigate the infamous Lynn Canal of Alaska’s Inside Passage. When the decrepit old ship reportedly struck a rock and sank, the news surprised no one. Searchers found the body of only one man, the ship’s purser, but news reports speculated no one survived such a horrific accident.

The loss of the Clara Nevada at first seemed a tragic but foreseeable accident, and no one doubted the negligence of the ship’s owners and captain. Before long, though, folks began asking questions, and the Seattle newspapers speculated wildly about the disaster. Crewmen believed to have died in the wreck turned up alive and well. Even the captain materialized and wasted little time beginning his next venture to ferry prospectors to the goldfields.

What happened on February 5, 1898, aboard the Clara Nevada? Was the wreck an accident, or did the captain and a few crewmen perpetrate the worst mass-murder in the history of Alaska?

Sources
The Clara Nevada; Gold, Greed, Murder and Alaska’s Inside Passage. Levi, Steven C. 2011. History Press. This book was my main source for this article. It covers the sinking of the Clara Nevada and the exploits of Captain C.H. Lewis in much more detail than I’ve included here. The author also describes the challenges involved in trying to research a maritime disaster in Alaska in the late 1800s. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about the Clara Nevada or get a feel for the atmosphere in both Seattle and Skagway during the Klondike gold rush.

Gold on the Clara Nevada: Cold Case Gets Hot. National Underwater and Marine Agency. Available at:

Chilkoot Trail

https://numa.net/2014/05/gold-on-the-clara-nevada-cold-case-gets-hot/

Eldred Rock Lighthouse, Alaska. Lighthousefriends.com. Available at: https://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=828
Clara Nevada. Hougen Group. Available at: www.hougengroup.com/yukon-history/yukon-nuggets/clara-nevada/

The Clara Nevada’s sinking may always remain a mystery. 08-26-2012.James, David. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Available at: www.newsminer.com/the-clara-nevada-s-sinking-may-always-remain-a-mystery/article_b217c23-97Of-58cd-972d-411d91575508.html

Captain Lewis

The 2007 Hassler Expedition; The Hassler’s last days and the wreck of the Clara Nevada. National Marine Sanctuaries. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Available at: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/maritime/expeditions/hassler/last_days.html

SS Clara Nevada.Shipwrecks in Pacific Waters: 1800s. Maritime Heritage. Available at: https://www.maritimeheritage.org/ships/SS-Clara-Nevada.html

Clara Nevada. Skagway Stories. Available at: www.skagwaystories.org/2011/02/04/clara-nevada/

Haunted Inside Passage: Ghosts, Legends, and Mysteries of Southeast Alaska. Dihle, Bjorn. 2017. Alaska Northwest Books.

Eldred Rock

 

 

 

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Would you recognize a serial killer if you rubbed elbows with him in a bar or if he struck up a conversation with you on a hiking trail? Maybe something about the person would set off alarm bells, especially if you found yourself alone with him. A sociopath or a psychopath can often present a charming demeanor, though, so most of us would never notice the predator in our midst. We might not realize the friendly stranger is a brutal murderer until we read the news the next day.

I learned about the killing spree of John Fautenberry in a Facebook message from a reader named Brian Akre. Brian was an Associated Press correspondent in Juneau, Alaska, in 1991, when he encountered Fautenberry at a bar on the night Fautenberry murdered his last victim. Brian said he talked to Fautenberry at the bar and saw him with the man he would murder a few hours later. Brian said, "It was a weird experience. When I saw the news story in the Juneau Empire and realized it was the same guy I had seen at the bar, it sent a shiver down my spine. He just seemed like any other loud, intoxicated guy at a bar on any Saturday night." Akre said the incident at the Juneau bar was the closest he ever wanted to come to meeting a serial killer.



Sources:

John Joseph Fautenberry. Murderpedia. Available at https://murderpedia.org/male.F/f1/fautenberry.htm

John Fautenberry. Wikipedia. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fautenberry

John Joseph Fautenberry. Clark Prosecutor. Available at http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/fautenberry1170.htm



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 

When a son disappears, his parents suffer a blow from which they will never recover, but how do parents cope when two of their sons vanish? Imagine if those two brothers disappeared a decade apart.

I’ve mentioned before the alarming statistics about the number of people who disappear in Alaska. People walk into the woods and never return. They go out to sea on a boat, and the vessel vanishes. Far too many have climbed into the cockpit of an airplane and evaporated into thin air. In this episode, though, I’ll tell you the tragic, unbelievable account of the disappearance of two brothers.

Alaska State Troopers Department of Public Safety: (907) 269-5511
Sources:
Michael Palmer

Michael Timothy Palmer. The Charley Project.
https://charleyproject.org/case/michael-timothy-palmer

Michael Palmer Age Progression to 28

 

Charles Edwin Palmer V. The Charley Project.
https://charleyproject.org/case/charles-edwin-palmer-v

Aho, Karen. 7-17-1991. Police Press Hunt for Missing Teen. AK Fatal.
https://www.akfatal.net/Palmer%2006-04-97.htm

Charles (Chucky) Palmer

KTNA Staff. 5-4-2011. Missing person case from last year still a mystery. KTNA Community Radio for the Susitna Valley.
https://ktna.org/2011/05/missing-persons-case-from-last-year-still-a-mystery/

12-29-2012. Overlapping Disappearances: the Brothers Palmer. Ididitforjodie.
https://ididitforjodie.com/2012/12/29/overlapping-disappearances-the-brothers-palmer/

 



_________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_________________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.
________________________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

______________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

You might not associate The Birdman of Alcatraz with Alaska, but Robert Stroud, often called the Birdman, once lived in Alaska, and after murdering a man in a Juneau bar, he spent the rest of his life, 54 years. He was in solitary confinement for 42 of those years. Stroud is one of Alaska’s most famous criminals, and if you are like me, you will find his story is fascinating.

 

Sources:

Robert Stroud Biography (1890-1963). Biography.
https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/robert-stroud-birdman-of-alcatraz

Robert Franklin Stroud. Murderpedia.
https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/stroud-robert.htm

Brennan, Tom. 2001. Birdman of Alcatraz. Murder at 40 Below. Epicenter Press

Bovsun, Mara. 2019. Justice Story: How the “Birdman of Alcatraz” soared to fame. New York Daily News.
https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ny-birdman-of-alcatraz-20191110-o4bduk3cjzg43e5h2pxrojec4i-story.html

 



__________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

______________________________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Twitter
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Retirees Robert and Dagmar Linton eagerly embarked on a long-planned camping trip in the Pacific Northwest, and they promised their children they would be careful. The Lintons did not express concerns about their journey, but Dagmar made sure their wills and affairs were in order before they left home. Was she just cautious, or did she have a premonition something terrible would befall them? Her son and daughter would always wonder if their mother had concerns, and they would never know what exactly happened to their parents.

Kenny Lake

Sources
Charles T. Sinclair. Murderpedia. Available at: https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/sinclair-charles.htm

Charles T. Sinclair. Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_T._Sinclair

Smith, Pete. 1-18-2016. 2015 Coin Shop Murders Add to a Long List of Tragic Ends for the Hobby. Coinweek.com. Available at: https://coinweek.com/people-in-the-news/crime-and-fraud/2015-coin-shop-murders/
McMillan, Penelope.

11/23/1990. Suspect in Murder Spree Takes Secrets to the Grave: Serial killings: Detectives are convinced the man who died in Alaska cell left trail of bodies across West. Los Angeles Times. Available at: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-23-mn-5200-story.html

Ice Cold Killers. Season 2, Episode 3. Devil’s Den.

 

 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Who brutally raped and murdered James and Anne Benolken in their Juneau apartment in 1982? Nearly four decades later, many questions remain unanswered.

Emanuel Teller and Newton Lambert



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources
Sources
Starr, Douglas. 12-1-2013. Do police interrogation techniques produce false confessions?https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/12/09/the-interview-7

Episode 4: The Benolken Murders, the police investigation and Special Agent Malone
Leo Helmar. Murder Alaska https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7LCJWKcgiQ

Episode 2: Introduction to the Benolken Case. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/alaska/comments/5vnlq5/murder_alaska_podcast_episode_2_introduction_to/

Episode 3: About the brutal murders of James and Anne Benolken in Juneau, Alaska in 1982

Who Really Murdered the Benolkens? KTOO Public Media
https://www.ktoo.org/2012/07/19/who-really-murdered-the-benolkens/

Juneau man wants DNA tested, seeks review of nearly 30-year old homicide conviction. KTOO Public Media.
https://www.ktoo.org/2012/07/13/juneau-man-wants-dna-tested-seeks-review-of-30-year-old-homicide-conviction/

Integrity of preserved evidence from Benolken double homicide is questioned
https://www.ktoo.org/2013/01/10/integrity-of-evidence-from-benolken-double-homicide-is-questioned/

Court to issue opinion on possible DNA testing in decades-old Juneau homicide. KTOO Public Media. Matt Miller.
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2017/02/07/court-to-issue-opinion-on-possible-dna-testing-in-decades-old-juneau-homicide/

Court upholds appeal in 36-year-old murder case
https://www.juneauempire.com/news/court-upholds-appeal-in-36-year-old-murder-case/

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) The Alaska Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling denying DNA evidence in the case of Newton Patric Lambert Friday Saturday, November 17th, 2018 8:13 am
http://www.kinyradio.com/news/news-of-the-north/dna-ruling-upheld-in-homicide-case/

Who is Michael P. Malone? Corrupt F.B.I. Agent’s Testimony Sent Innocent Man to Prison; Donald Eugene Gates was Convicted of Rape-Murder He Did Not Commit

https://www.whistleblowersblog.org/2014/08/articles/intelligence-community-whistleblowers/who-is-michael-p-malone-corrupt-f-b-i-agents-testimony-sent-innocent-man-to-prison-donald-eugene-gates-was-convicted-of-rape-murder-he-did-not-commit/

______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry. Become a Patron!

______________________________________________________________________________

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___________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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__________________________________________________...

When doing a podcast about murder and mystery in Alaska, it is difficult to avoid the subject of "The Alaska Triangle." First named in 1972, the Alaska Triangle stretches from Anchorage in southcentral Alaska to Juneau in the southeast panhandle to Utkiagaviq (formerly Barrow) on Alaska's northern coast. Since 1988, more than 16,000 people have vanished from this area, and every year, approximately four people go missing per every 1000 Alaska residents. This rate is twice the national average.

I was surprised when I first learned how many people disappear in Alaska, but I don't need an underground pyramid or mysterious magnetic vortices to explain the statistics. I also don't understand the need for a triangle since people disappear throughout the state, not just in the area outlined by a geometric figure's hypothetical lines. I guess a triangle conjures up the aura of the Bermuda Triangle, though, and suggests the possibility of mysterious forces at play.

Honestly, I've always found the idea of an ominous Alaska Triangle laughable. Still, this year, I've received a flurry of questions about the Alaska Triangle, including queries from the producers of two television shows, wanting to know more about the mystical phenomenon. The popular U.S. show, The Blacklist, featured an episode on the Alaska Triangle, and I think it sparked a good deal of interest in the subject.

Many of the mysteries I've profiled on this podcast have taken place in the vast section of the state defined by the outline of the triangle. Most of the state's population resides within this area, though, so it's no surprise more people vanish there. Many disappearances and other mysteries in Alaska have never been solved. Planes vanish, boats disappear, UFO sightings baffle military officers, and in one instance, the population of an entire village fled their homes to escape a giant, hairy, manlike creature.

Let me tell you a few stories, and then I'll explore the validity of the Alaska Triangle. My friend and fellow podcaster, Mary Ann Poll, who has the popular podcast Real Ghost Chatter, is better than I am at explaining the realm of the mystical, so I’ve invited her to help me describe one of the theories about the Alaska Triangle. Then, if you want to hear more stories about mysterious disappearances in Alaska, she has asked me to be a guest on her podcast, where I have one more incredible story of mystery for you.

 

Sources:

Liefer, Gregory P. 2011. Chapter Eleven: Without a Trace. Aviation Mysteries of the North. Publication Consultants. Anchorage, AK.

Gough, Cody. 2019. Thousands of People Have Mysteriously Disappeared in Alaska's Bermuda Triangle. Discovery. https://www.discovery.com/exploration/Alaska-Bermuda-Triangle

The Alaska Triangle – Disappearing Into Thin Air. Legends of America. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/alaska-triangle

LeBlanc, Jocelyne. 2018. 10 Facts About the Little-Known Alaska Triangle. Toptenz.net. https://www.toptenz.net/10-facts-about-the-little-known-alaska-triangle.php

The Alaska Triangle – courtesy of the Locations Unknown Podcast. 2019. https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/2019/11/26/the-alaska-triangle-courtesy-of-the-locations-unknown-podcast

Conger, Cristen. Why has part of the Alaska wilderness been called the Bermuda Triangle? How Stuff Works. https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/alaska-bermuda-triangle.htm

Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Airlines_Flight_1628_incident

Weiss, Lawrence D. 2019. Unfriendly skies: The extraordinary flight of JAL 1628. Alaska's best known UFO encounter. https://www.anchoragepress.com/news/unfriendly-skies-the-extraordinary-flight-of-jal-alaska-s-best/article_8e2d3270-f9d5-11e9-b9db-7ba9229138ae.html

Sitka, Alaska

We all know married couples who seem to thrive on discord. These are the people we avoid joining for dinner and the ones in whose presence we squirm as they argue, yell, and threaten. We wonder why they got married, and if they divorce, we’re certain no one else would want either one of them. Still, I’ve met couples who not only manage to survive their contentious relationships but enjoy sparring with their partners. Marriage is hard, but most of us try, at least for a while, to make a relationship work, and if it doesn’t work, we leave and go our separate ways. Jane and Scott Coville constantly fought, even before they moved to Alaska and married, but Jane did not divorce Scott; there was no need to sever ties with him because Scott conveniently disappeared. Did he grow disillusioned with Jane, marriage, and life in Alaska? Did Scott take off on his own for an adventure somewhere else, a place far away from his current responsibilities, or did something much more sinister happen to Scott Coville?





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 
Sources:
James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman. 11-22-2017. Small Town Murder Podcast #45. The Hottest Cold Case Around in Sitka, Alaska. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/small-town-murder/e/52324451?autoplay=true

Scott Michael Coville. The Charley Project. http://charleyproject.org/case/scott-michael-coville

Grove, Casey. May 31, 2016. Mother in cold case describes years wondering about her son. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/mother-cold-case-describes-years-wondering-about-her-son/2010/11/28/

Jane Reth. Murderpedia. https://murderpedia.org/female.R/r/reth-jane.htm

Sitka, Alaska. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitka,_Alaska

________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry
Become a Patron!

________________________________________________________________________

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___________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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______________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



 

On November 12th, 2015, Peter, the Island Air, mail-plane pilot, landed at Port William Wilderness Lodge on Shuyak Island. The lodge occupies an old cannery, and Peter found this stop memorable because instead of both of the lodge’s caretakers greeting him, as usual, only one caretaker, 44-year-old Steven Ridenour, met the plane. Peter wondered why the other caretaker, Steven McCaulley, 56, also did not arrive to help unload the freight. Since the tide was high, the plane could not pull up to the beach, and Ridenour had to ferry the mail to shore by boat. Without McCaulley there to assist, the job proved difficult and time-consuming. Peter also found it curious that Ridenour simply stacked the freight above the high-tide mark, grabbed his gear, and jumped on the plane for a ride back to Kodiak. Ridenour then flew to Anchorage where he lived.

On November 15th, Steven Ridenour called the manager of Port William Wilderness Lodge, told him he’d quit his job, and asked for his past four paychecks. On November 17th, Steven Ridenour’s brother, Don, called the lodge manager and said his brother sent him and other family members Facebook messages stating he killed his fellow caretaker, Steven McCaulley, in self-defense, and he needed money to leave the state. The manager contacted the Alaska State Troopers and requested a welfare check on McCaulley at the lodge.


SOURCES:
Christiansen, Scott. 3-17-2017. I killed a man on Shuyak who tried to kill me with a chainsaw. Kodiak Daily Mirror. Available at http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/news/article_533bfb52-0abc-11e7-bc83-97c66a534f34.html

Christiansen, Scott. 3-15-2017. Shuyak Island killing case goes to trial. Kodiak Daily Mirror. Available at http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/news/article_cc2b2096-0923-11e7-a7e6-7b4185115b1c.html

Christiansen Scott. 4-7-2017. Murder defendant’s phone messages point to heavy drinking. Kodiak Daily Mirror. Available at http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/news/article_2f0b2b10-1b3b-11e7-8882-af591c19cbde.html

Associated Press. 9-20-2018. Anchorage man sentenced to 62 years in murder of co-worker at lodge near Kodiak. Anchorage Daily News. Available at https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2018/09/20/anchorage-man-sentenced-to-62-years-in-murder-of-co-worker-at-lodge-near-kodiak/

__________________________________________________________________________
If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry
Become a Patron!

__________________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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___________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Tazlina, Alaska, an unincorporated village located 187 miles (301 km) northeast of Anchorage, is nestled along the banks of the Copper River. In 1991, 241 people lived in Tazlina. Eleven-year-old Mandy Lemaire, her parents, and brothers had just moved to Tazlina from Anchorage a year earlier. Mandy’s parents felt Tazlina would be a safer place to raise their children and a place where their kids could learn to hunt and fish and enjoy the Alaska outdoors.

Soon after moving to Tazlina, Mandy made friends with Erin, a girl who lived three-quarters of a mile down the road. On August 22, 1991, with only a few days left before the beginning of the school year, the girls asked their parents if they could get together to play. Mandy invited Erin to her house, and with their parents’ permission, Mandy planned to walk halfway to Erin’s where the two girls would meet and then return to Mandy’s house. Mandy’s mother was reluctant to let her daughter walk by herself, not because she was worried about humans, but because they lived in the Alaska wilderness, and she was concerned Mandy might run into a bear or a moose. Mandy would not have to walk far, though, before meeting Erin, and Mandy’s mother watched her walk down the road. Mandy had long, blond hair and wore a pink jacket. Mandy’s mother knew Mandy would only be out of her sight for a short while before she rendezvoused with Erin.

A half-hour later, Erin arrived alone at the Lemaire house. She said she saw no sign of Mandy during her walk. She waited for Mandy for several minutes at the halfway point but then decided to walk the rest of the way to Mandy’s house on her own. Mandy’s parents, Valerie and Dave, were not immediately concerned and guessed the two girls had somehow missed each other. They followed the path Mandy would have taken along a neighborhood airstrip, but when they saw no sign of their daughter, they alerted others in the small village, and soon neighbors organized a community-wide search.


Sources
Brennan, Tom. 2005. A Young Girl is Missing. Cold Crime. Epicenter Press ISBN 9780974501444.

Fear Thy Neighbor. 1-14-2014. Ice Cold Killers. Season 2. Episode 2.

Forensic Files. 10-8-2003. Share of Influence.



Charles Smithart

____________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry
Become a Patron!

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___________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
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___________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

It took a horrible murder for Alaska to revise its statutes for the criminally insane from some of the most lenient sentencing laws in the country to the strictest laws in the U.S. for the insanity defense.

On the night of May 3, 1982, one veteran Anchorage police officer was quoted as saying, “This has got to be one of the grisliest nights I’ve ever seen.” Within an hour, seven people lost their lives. Three died in the Black Bull bar in the Muldoon section of Anchorage, and the other four were shot in Russian Jack Springs Park in East Anchorage. At first, investigators wondered if the two crime scenes were connected, but they soon learned nothing linked the two horrific events.

Russian Jack Springs Park



 

Russsian Jack
Sources
Ice Cold Killers Season Two, Episode One: Blood Red Sun.

Brennan, Tom. 2001. By Reason of Insanity. Murder at 40 Below. Epicenter Press.

Murderpedia, Charles L. Meach III. Available at https://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/meach-charles.htm

New York Times (1982), New Law on Insanity Plea Stirs Dispute in Alaska. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/22/us/new-law-on-insanity-plea-stirs-dispute-in-alaska.html

____________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry
Become a Patron!

_____________________________________________________________________________

Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.



____________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join me on:
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Twitter
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Bonnie Craig

I can’t imagine the agony of losing a child for any reason, but how does a mother cope when she learns someone murdered her daughter, and she knows terror and pain must have marked the last moments of her child’s life? The book Justice for Bonnie deals with this issue. The well-written book profiles a mother’s fight to learn the truth about what happened to her daughter.

Kenneth Dion Anchorage Daily News
Sources:
To read more about Bonnie Craig and her mother’s fight for justice, I highly recommend Justice for Bonnie.

Holland, Magan. 5/2/2007. DNA links prison inmate to 1994 Bonnie Craig murder. Anchorage Daily News.
http://www.sitnews.us/0507news/050207/050207_shns_dna_arrest.html
Mann, Camille. 5/18/2011. Kenneth Dion, ex-soldier on trial for 1994 murder of Alaska coed Bonnie Craig. CBS News.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kenneth-dion-ex-soldier-on-trial-for-1994-murder-of-alaska-coed-bonnie-craig/
http://www.sitnews.us/0507news/050207/050207_shns_dna_arrest.html
6/15/2011. Dion Convicted of Killing Bonnie Craig 17 Years Ago. Alaska Public Media.
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2011/06/15/dion-convicted-of-killing-bonnie-craig-17-years-ago/

Grove, Casey. 10/31/2011. Bonnie Craig’s killer sentenced to 124 years in prison. Anchorage Daily News.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/bonnie-craigs-killer-sentenced-124-years-prison/2011/10/31/

__________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry
Become a Patron!

___________________________________________________________________________

Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.



_________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.

Join me on:
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

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Readers and Writers Book Club Member Benefits Include:
Save money on books—Fifty Percent Discount.
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Exclusive, free access to the author’s finest short, timely articles.
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Join the club!

________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

John Patrick Addis

Most of us like to believe we can trust the police, but not everyone goes into law enforcement for the greater good. Some enter the police academy because they crave power over others and what better job than policing offers this power? I believe most police officers are good, and a few are bullies. John Patrick Addis, though, was the worst kind of police officer. He was a monster with a badge.
Sources
If you would like to read more about John Patrick Addis and his downward spiral from a respected Alaska State Trooper to a murderous felon, I suggest you read Ghost: The True Story of One Man’s Descent into Madness and Murder by Glenn Puit.

Zekan, Karen. 10/19/1998. Remains identified as those of LV woman. Las Vegas Sun.
https://lasvegassun.com/news/1998/oct/19/remains-identified-as-those-of-lv-woman/

Tataboline, Brant. 8/2/2003. Ex-trooper linked to second disappearance
MURDER SUSPECTED: One more girlfriend missing; first was found dead in Southwest. Anchorage Daily News.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thecyberseekerssociety/ex-trooper-linked-to-second-disappearance-t1049.html

Cervone, Chellie. 2/15/2013. Joann Albenese, Las Vegas woman’s death and disappearance. Las Vegas World News.
http://www.lasvegasworldnews.com/joann-albanese-las-vegas-womans-death-and-disapperance/12605/

___________________________________________________________________________
If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry
Become a Patron!
____________________________________________________________________________
Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.



___________________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter.
Join me on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out my books at Author Masterminds

______________________________________________________________________



Do you enjoy reading? The Reader's and Writer's Book Club received a facelift and has a new home. Be sure to take a look.

Readers and Writers Book Club Member Benefits Include:
Save money on books—Fifty Percent Discount.
Access to Author Masterminds author podcasts.
Exclusive, free access to the author’s finest short, timely articles.
Participate in the Battle Of The Books.
Participate in monthly book club meetings.
Participate in raffles and prizes.
Participate in Monthly Book Club Discussion with Authors
Receive new and upcoming book club benefits.
Join the club!

_______________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Talkeetna, Alaska, is considered the gateway to Mt. Denali (McKinley), the highest mountain in North America. In the summer, tourists, including mountain climbers, hikers, flight-seers, and those who just want to view the majestic mountain, flock to Talkeetna. In the winter, though, the tourists leave, and the 800 residents who remain settle down to quiet lives, watching magnificent displays of the northern lights, playing in the deep snow, raising their children, and gathering for social events to help them forget the cold, dark winter. Talkeetna is a small town where nearly everyone knows everyone else, and when Bethany Correira disappeared, residents immediately responded to search for one of their own.

Billy and Linda Correira moved to Talkeetna in the 1970s. They built a log cabin near a pond and raised two sons and two daughters. Linda home-schooled her kids, taught them to be independent, and told them they could accomplish anything they wanted in life. Bethany, the second oldest child, was sweet and self-sufficient. Before she was twenty years old, Bethany had gone to Nepal as a Christian missionary, sailed in the South Pacific while working as a nanny for a doctor’s family, and worked in base camps with climbers at the base of Mt. Denali. She sewed patches on her favorite backpack from all the places she had traveled. Bethany was athletic, smart, beautiful, and knew how to take care of herself.

Bethany Correira

Glen Klinkhart

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Lawson (center)

 

 

 

 

 

 
Sources:
Klinkhart, Glen. 2014. Finding Bethany. A True Crime Memoir. SecurusMedia.

James, David. 2014. 'Finding Bethany' details detective's quest to solve horrific murder
https://www.adn.com/books/article/finding-bethany-details-detectives-quest-solve-horrific-murder/2014/07/20/

Mystery at Bootlegger’s Cove. Dateline. NBC.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24831943/ns/dateline_nbc-crime_reports/t/mystery-bootleggers-cove/#.XwJv8ShKgeE

Johnson, Greg. 2-2008. Lawson draws 99 years. MatSu Valley Frontiersman.
https://www.frontiersman.com/news/lawson-draws-99-years/article_d21b98e0-cace-5983-aeea-f5eea9a06570.html

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
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Do you enjoy reading? The Reader's and Writer's Book Club received a facelift and has a new home. Be sure to take a look.

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Most people understand they face the risk of encountering wild animals when they enter the woods in Alaska. What people do not expect is to be shot and killed while hiking on a remote trail, so when a series of murders occurred in parks and on trails near Anchorage in the summer of 2016, residents demanded more information from the police. Were the murders related to each other, was a serial killer stalking the city, was it safe to go hiking after dark, and what were the police doing to solve these murders? Police remained tight-lipped, and tensions rose.

Colt Python

 

Jame Dale Ritchie

 

 

 

 

 
Sources:
Hopkins, Kyle. Dec. 30, 2016. TIMELINE: The life of accused killer James Dale Ritchie. KTUU News.
https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/TIMELINE-The-life-of-accused-killer-James-Dale-Ritchie-408889305.html

Hopkins, Kyle. April 26, 2017. Serial killer: Police say James Dale Ritchie committed 5 murders in 2016. KTUU News https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Serial-killer-Police-say-James-Dale-Ritchie-committed-5-murders-in-2016-420514763.html

James D. Ritchie. Murderpedia. https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/ritchie-james.htm

James Dale Ritchie: A Serial Killer Caught By Chance. The Lineup. https://the-line-up.com/james-dale-ritchie-a-serial-killer-caught-by-chance

____________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.

Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.

· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry

Become a Patron!

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Check out the store: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier merchandise.

 

 

 

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Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter.

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

As troopers investigated the death of Kent Leppink, they uncovered a complex web of lies, seduction, and betrayal, with Mechele Hughes at the center of it all. Mechele was only 23 years old when someone murdered Kent Leppink on a remote trail, but the beautiful young woman already had accumulated three fiancés who lavished her with furs, jewels, and money.

Mechele Hughes Linehan

Kent Leppink

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Carlin III

Great Alaskan Bush Co.

 

 

 

 

 
Sources:
Brennan, Tom. 2015. Dead Man’s Dancer. Epicenter Press.
https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Mans-Dancer-Mechele-Linehan/dp/1935347160/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Dead+Man%27s+Dancer%2C+Tom+Brennan&qid=1591316098&s=books&sr=1-1

Death of Kent Leppink. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kent_Leppink

Mechele K. Linehan. Murderpedia.
https://murderpedia.org/female.L/l/linehan-mechele.htm

Former Olympia mom wins appeal in Alaska murder case.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/former-olympia-mom-wins-appeal-in-alaska-murder-case/

Love and Death in Alaska. 48 Hours. CBS News.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-presents-love-and-death-in-alaska-leppink-murder/

Holland, Megan. 5-15-2010. Freed from prison, Linehan sets up a new life. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/freed-from-prison-linehan-sets-up-a-new-life/article_50e3b67c-53e4-50cf-9255-9f115c89adaa.html

_____________________________________________________________________
Would you like to help support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry

I am celebrating the grand opening of the Last Frontier Club until the end of June. The names of everyone who joins before then will be placed in a drawing to win Last Frontier Club merchandise, autographed copies of my books, handmade glass jewelry, and more.

Follow the link and join the club now!
Become a Patron!
___________________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter.
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Alaska’s slogan is “The Last Frontier,” and to some people, this means Alaska is the wild west, a place with less law and order, and someplace they can live as they choose. The man who called himself Papa Pilgrim believed moving his family to the wilderness of Alaska offered him the opportunity to do anything he wanted. Papa Pilgrim was the worst kind of a hypocrite because he hid his crimes behind his religious zeal. Like a charismatic cult leader, Pilgrim could appear charming and persuasive in public, but there was another side of Papa Pilgrim, and this was the side his family saw all too often.

No one knew of the horrors the Pilgrim family endured at the hands of their father, high on the mountain above McCarthy Alaska.

Robert Hale aka Papa Pilgrim



 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 



 
Sources
Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier. Kizzia, Tom. 6-16-2013. Crown Publisher
https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Kizzia-Pilgrims-Wilderness-Frontier/dp/B00HTJZ38E/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Papa+Pilgrim&qid=1589405614&s=books&sr=1-1

Papa Pilgrim’s Progress: The Dark Tale of an Alaskan Frontiersman. Kirby, Mark. 11/19/2008. Outside Magazine.
https://www.outsideonline.com/1928141/papa-pilgrims-progress-dark-tale-alaskan-frontiersman#close
Hale clan details abuse at the hand of their father, 'Papa Pilgrim'. Kizzia, Tom. 7-1-2016. Anchorage Daily News.
https://www.adn.com/projects/article/hale-clan-details-abuse-hand-their-father-papa-pilgrim/2013/07/12/
Robert Allen Hale. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Allen_Hale

_____________________________________________________________________

Would you like to help support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry

I am celebrating the grand opening of the Last Frontier Club until the end of June. The names of everyone who joins before then will be placed in a drawing to win Last Frontier Club merchandise, autographed copies of my books, handmade glass jewelry, and more.

Follow the link and join the club now!
Become a Patron!

___________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter.

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.


__________________________

Muriel Pfeil

Neil Mackay was ruthless in both his personal and business dealings, and associates learned not to cross him. When a car bomb instantly killed his ex-wife, Muriel Pfeil, police knew Mackay had planned her murder, but they could not find enough evidence to charge him with the crime. Muriel's brother, Bob, believed Mackay murdered his sister, and he fought Mackay for custody over Neil and Muriel's son. Mackay became enraged and obsessed with Bob Pfeil and plotted how to destroy his nemesis.

Bob Pfeil

 

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I have a special treat for you this week. My friend and fellow author and podcaster, Mary Ann Poll, and I are doing cross-over podcasts. Mary Ann hosts the popular podcast, Real Ghost Chatter, and I am a guest on her podcast this week.

In this episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, I tell you the story about the brutal murder of a woman in downtown Anchorage. Then, on Real Ghost Chatter, Mary Ann and I discuss the ghost of this woman who reportedly haunts the Anchorage café where she once had her travel agency. Mary Ann and I also explore some other Anchorage hauntings.

You can find Real Ghost Chatter with Mary Ann Poll at https://anchor.fm/mary-ann-poll

______________________________________________________________________
Sources
An Angry Man. Cold Crime: Brennan, Tom. 2005. Cold Crime. Epicenter Press. https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Crime-Detectives-Alaskas-Sensational/dp/0974501441/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Cold+Crime%2C+Tom+Brennan&qid=1574108038&s=books&sr=1-1

10-19-1976. Dynamite Expected in Car Bomb Killing. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=17887295&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjMxODI2MDE1LCJpYXQiOjE1ODczNDQzNjEsImV4cCI6MTU4NzQzMDc2MX0.mlirb-0MYcf3fN2U6TKpbTm4O59gtNdcfb0BNvDMFYY

Jenkins, Paul. 11-12-1985. Alleged Contract Shooting Victim Dies. AP Press.
https://apnews.com/31a0160ee34f2987548f678d7358cb99

Turner, Walace. 6-30-1987.Alaskan Murder: Enigma Within an Enigma. New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/30/us/alaskan-murder-enigma-within-an-enigma.html

2-7-1988. Jury Acquits MacKay of Murder. AP Press.
https://apnews.com/3a33ee9d7d1837d298e5930405c7d10d

Mroch, Courtney. 10-27-2019. The Ghost of the Snow City Café. Haunt Jaunts.
https://www.hauntjaunts.net/the-ghost-of-the-snow-city-cafe/

_______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________
Would you like to help support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.

· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry

Follow the link and join the club now!

Become a Patron!

____________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter.

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter,

During the summer of 1988, I remember the whispers spreading across the island, first about two missing brothers who were fishermen in Uganik Bay, and later, about the mother of those two men discovering their bodies buried in a shallow grave near their fish site. It was the first double homicide in recorded history on Kodiak Island. Uganik Bay, where the murders occurred, is only 30 air miles from where I live, but it’s fifty miles by boat, a world away on Kodiak Island.

Forty-four fishermen died at sea near Kodiak, Alaska in 1988; it is the deadliest fishing year on record. 1988 was also the year fishermen earned $2.40 per pound for sockeye salmon; the highest price ever paid for sockeyes before or since; commercial fishing proved lucrative but dangerous in 1988.
Alaska fishermen know their jobs involve risk. They work on the North Pacific, often in big seas and brutal weather, but no fisherman expects to be murdered by his crewman.




Sources
Sullivan, Toby. 2016. Sea Stories: Missing brothers turn up dead in Uganik. Kodiak Daily Mirror.
http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/community/article_37f0be0c-485a-11e6-a26e-6ba696185b1e.html

Shepard v. State (2/19/93) ap-1283
http://touchngo.com/ap/html/ap-1283.htm

___________________________________________________________________

Would you like to help support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.

Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska
· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry
Follow the link and join the club now!
Become a Patron!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to my free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter.

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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.





I am excited to have my novel, Karluk Bones included in the Battle of the Books. Enter the Battle of the Books, and you could win a win a $500 Amazon Gift Card!

We’ve all seen the horror movie where a stranger towers over his unsuspecting victim while she sleeps, and she awakes just in time to see him swing the machete toward her head. Imagine if this is no horror movie but a terrible, true event, happening as you struggle to clear your mind from sleep and attempt to focus on your survival instincts. Now, what if you know the maniac wielding the machete, and he is someone close to you? Can you fathom anything so horrible? Elann Moren had no choice; she had to grapple with the situation and spring into action. In one moment, her beautiful, new life turned into a horrible nightmare.
Elann awoke in the middle of the night to see a shadowy figure walk into her bedroom. It was too dark to make out the individual’s features, but she could see the person holding something long and slender in his hand. She thought the object was a stick, and when the shadow began hitting her sleeping boyfriend with the stick, she reached over to grab the offending object and stop the beating. After two of her fingertips fell from her hand, she realized the attacker gripped a machete, not a stick.

 

 

Erin Rogers

 

 

 

Erin Rogers

 

 

 

Bear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Sources
Another 189 years for Alaska machete murderer. Daily News Miner. http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/another-years-for-alaska-machete-murderer/article_04ea3828-f472-523f-bed3-d5b2ceae7e02.html

Man charged with killing father with machete. MSNBC. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/22101555/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/man-charged-killing-father-machete/#.XlGWEEBFweE

Palmer machete killer's sentences now total 498 years https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/palmer-machete-killers-sentences-now-total-498-years/2010/01/11/

Rogers V State. Find Law. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ak-court-of-appeals/1607160.html

Hero dog done in by tumor https://www.frontiersman.com/news/hero-dog-done-in-by-tumor/article_7bc08a86-a809-569c-91f3-aa23c18e0fc5.html

___________________________________________________________________

Would you like to help support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join the Last Frontier Club.

Each month I will provide one or more of the following to club members.

· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only to club members.

· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.

· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

· Merchandise or discounts on MMLF merchandise or handmade glass jewelry

Follow the link and join the club now!

Become a Patron!

Subscribe to my Murder and Mystery Newsletter

Join me on:
Facebook
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joshua Wade

In my last episode, I profiled Israel Keyes, a serial killer who moved to Anchorage in 2007. Many serial-killer experts consider Keyes to be one of the most intelligent, organized serial killers of all time. He randomly chose victims who lived thousands of miles from his home, and he stashed murder kits around the country, planning to access them at some future date. It is easy to understand why Israel Keyes wasn’t captured sooner than he was. He methodically planned his crimes and always had an exit strategy. He only began making mistakes when his murderous impulses grew too strong for him to control, and these mistakes led to his apprehension.

Around the same time Israel Keyes was active, another serial killer stalked the residents of Anchorage, but the story of Joshua Wade and his crimes is far different than that of Israel Keyes. Investigators consider Wade intelligent, but he did not stalk his victims or plan his crimes. His crimes were sloppy, happened on the spur of the moment, and usually were the result of him losing his temper. The legal system should have stopped Joshua Wade long before it did.

Della Brown

Mindy Schloss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Sources:
Francis, Monte. 4-16-2016. Ice and Bone. Tracking an Alaskan Serial Killer. WildBlue Press.

Joshua Wade – I Am Not a Serial Killer – Confesses to 5 Murders. https://wickedwe.com/joshua-wade-killer-confesses-murders/

Jerzy Shedlock, Jill Burke. 6-20-2014. Authorities: Joshua Wade admits to 3 additional killings. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/authorities-joshua-wade-admits-3-additional-killings-0/2014/06/20/

U.S. Attorney’s Office. 6-20-2014. Convicted Killer Joshua Wade Claims Responsibility for Additional Murders. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/anchorage/news/press-releases/convicted-killer-joshua-wade-claims-responsibilty-for-additional-murders

Modern, possibly still active serial killers, part 6: Joshua Wade. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/serialkillers/comments/8rjssa/modern_possibly_still_active_serial_killers_part/

____________________________________________________

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know. I’ll give it blow by blow if you want. I have lots more stories to tell.”

Israel Keyes

A monster moved to Anchorage in 2007. Israel Keyes didn’t look evil; he appeared normal. To those who crossed his path, he seemed like a dedicated businessman, a doting father, and a loving boyfriend. No one could see the darkness lurking inside him, but by the time he moved to Alaska, Israel Keyes was already a thief, an arsonist, a rapist, and a serial killer. He did not give up these hobbies when he arrived in Anchorage.

Israel Keyes had been planning to burglarize the Common Grounds stand for several days, and on the snowy night of February 1st, he pulled a ski mask over his face, parked his car down the road, and walked to the stand. He hadn’t decided what he would do when he reached the stand. He planned to rob the shop, and if conditions were right, he would kidnap the barista. Keyes arrived at the stand at 7:55 and calmly ordered a large Americano. Eighteen-year-old Samantha Koenig prepared the drink, but when she turned around to hand it to him, she gasped at the .22 Taurus handgun Keyes pointed at her. He told her to turn out the lights and then hoisted himself through the window and inside the coffee stand. Samantha apparently was so terrified by the intruder and his gun, she forgot to push the panic button.
Sources:
Seeking Information Regarding Serial Killer Case – FBI
https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/newss-seeking-info-serial-killer/view

Israel Keyes. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Keyes

Callahan, Maureen. 2019. American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century.

FBI Requests the Public’s Assistance in Case of Serial Killer Israel Keyes
https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/portland/press-releases/2013/fbi-requests-the-publics-assistance-in-case-of-serial-killer-israel-keyes

_________________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to my Murder and Mystery Newsletter with links to all my podcast episodes.

Join me on:
Facebook
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Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com

Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Bitter cold, a clash of cultures, and a language barrier all played a part in this crime, but the primary cause, sadly, was something we see every day in all cultures. A father gave his son a gift he believed would make his son more of a man and help him find his way in the world. Unfortunately, the father did not understand his son and his son’s problems, and his well-meaning present ended up causing his son great harm and ending the lives of three good men.

Kiana, Alaska is an Inupiaq Eskimo village with approximately 300 residents located in Northwestern Alaska, 30 miles (48.3 km) north of the Arctic Circle and 57 miles (91.7 km) east of Kotzebue. The village sits near the confluence of the Squirrel and Kobuk Rivers. In late January at the Arctic Circle, the sun rises just before noon and sets in the late afternoon. Bitter cold temperatures hold a grip on Kiana in January, but the folks who call the Arctic tundra home, are well adapted to frigid temperatures and limited daylight.

On January 25th, 1970, a pilot flying a local physician on a wolf-hunting trip buzzed low over the Kobuk River and was surprised to spot a man holding his hands above his head. The man was miles from any habitation, standing in the middle of the frozen tundra. When the Cessna flew over him, the man collapsed onto the snow, and the pilot landed the plane on its skis near him.

The pilot and doctor soon realized the young man was little more than a teenager, and blood spattered his clothing. He got to his feet and could barely walk as he stumbled toward the plane. The physician helped him into the back of the plane, and the young man told the doctor and pilot he had been part of a hunting party of four men. The other men all had been murdered, but he managed to escape. He explained the bodies of the other men were miles away at their camp on the Kobuk River. He left them there and walked all night, trying to make his way back to Kiana. After telling his story, the young man lost consciousness.
Sources
Johnson v. State. Available at https://law.justia.com/cases/alaska/supreme-court/1973/1477-1.html

Brennan, Tom. 2001. The Caribou Murders. Murder at 40 Below. Epicenter Press.

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Just Released: Karluk Bones: What story would the bones found in the Kodiak wilderness tell?

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Most parents can imagine no nightmare worse than the disappearance of a child, but how can a parent possibly cope when both of their children vanish, swallowed by the Alaska wilderness?

Some time during the late-night hours of September 5 or the early morning hours of September 6, 1978, Scott Fandel, 13, and Amy Fandel, 8, disappeared from their Sterling, Alaska home on the Kenai Peninsula, 136 miles (218.9 km) south of Anchorage. The mystery of what happened to the Fandel children has baffled Alaska State Troopers for over four decades. How can two kids vanish from their home without a trace?

At 10:30 pm on Sept. 5, 1978, Scott and Amy Fandel seemed safe and happy. Less than four hours later, they were gone, never to be seen again. Where did they go? What could have happened to them? Investigators spent thousands of hours running down hundreds of leads which led nowhere. One former Alaska State Trooper said they chased “quirks and spider web leads,” but they never got any closer to finding the children.

Scott Fandel would be 54 years old, and Amy would be 49 if they are still alive today. These are their age-progression photos from The Charley Project.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Scott and Amy Fandel, please contact the Alaska State Troopers.

                                                          Scott Curtis Fandel

Scott, circa 1978

Age-progression to age 48 (circa 2011)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amy Lee Fandel

Amy, circa 1978

Amy, Age-progression to 46 (circa, 2016)

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

STILL MISSING by SHEILA TOOMEY. Anchorage Daily News.
September 4, 1988

The Theories of the Fandel Children’s Disappearance
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/cold-case-spotlight/theories-fandel-children-s-disappearance-n385361

The Disappearance of Amy and Scott Fandel
https://truecrimediscussions.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-disappearance-of-amy-and-scott.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR10JwJblisTkaho3c_uhmWqNX0FZZRoOf31fCQtAyekfaEIgP_8-hxdrxY

Scott and Amy Fandel Missing. Facebook Page. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/scottandamyfandelmissing/photos/

Amy Lee Fandel. The Charley Project. Available at: http://charleyproject.org/case/amy-lee-fandel

Scott Curtis Fandel. The Charley Project. Available at: http://charleyproject.org/case/scott-curtis-fandel

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 

Gary Zieger

Gary Zieger, a brutal serial killer, stalked the streets of Anchorage in the early 1970s. We’ll never know how many people Zieger killed, but eventually, the psychopath made a fatal mistake.

During the period when serial killer Robert Hansen terrorized Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska, another brutal murderer roamed the same area. While Hansen selected and hunted his prey, Gary Zieger used women and men for his satisfaction and then simply discarded them. Zieger seemed unwilling or unable to control himself and was sure to self-destruct.

When two hikers discovered the body of Celia Beth Van Zanten at McHugh Creek State Park south of Anchorage, they knew she had suffered a horrible death. Someone had gagged her and tied her hands behind her back with speaker wire; her body was naked below the waist. The pathologist later determined Beth had been raped and her chest slashed with a knife. She was still alive when she was either thrown or fell into a ravine. She apparently tried to climb out of the steep-walled crevice, but with her hands tied behind her back, she had no way to pull herself up the cliff, and she repeatedly fell until she froze to death in the frigid December weather.

Investigators discovered tire tracks turning lazy circles in the parking lot of the campground, and they deduced Beth escaped her attacker, ran down the steep slope, and probably fell into the ravine. Her abductor circled the parking lot waiting for her to reappear, but when she never did, he finally left.

Beth disappeared on December 23, 1971, while walking from her house to a local convenience store. What happened during her short walk down the street?

Soon after the hikers discovered Beth Van Zanten’s body on Christmas day, 18-year-old Sandra Patterson, the daughter of an Alaska State Trooper, came forward to report her abduction on December 19th. Sandra worked as a prostitute to support her heroin addiction. She was working in the parking lot of the Nevada Club in Anchorage when a man pointed a gun at her and told her he would kill her if she didn’t do what he wanted. She described her attacker as a slender man in his mid-twenties wearing horn-rimmed glasses. The man drove Sandra to a motel on the Kenai Peninsula, nearly one-hundred miles south of Anchorage and raped her. On the drive back to Anchorage, he threatened to kill her if she reported him to the police. Sandra complied with his demands to remain silent until she heard about Beth Van Zanten’s murder, and then she knew she had to come forward and tell authorities about her abduction.

Police asked Sandra to study a book of photos of known sex offenders to see if she could pick out the man who had kidnapped and raped her. She immediately identified her attacker as Robert Hansen. Hansen’s photo was in the book because he was awaiting trial for the attempted kidnapping of a young Anchorage woman.

Hansen was initially charged with kidnapping and raping Sandra Patterson, but prosecutors considered Patterson an unreliable witness, and the charges were eventually dropped. Meanwhile, nothing tied Hansen to the murder and abduction of Beth Van Zanten, and to this day, authorities remain unsure whether Beth was murdered by Hansen, by someone she knew, or by another brutal killer named Gary Zieger.
Sources:
Brennan, Tom. 2005.  Alaska’s Billy The Kid Brennan, Cold Crime. Epicenter Press.
Butcher Baker: Lonesome Death of Beth Van Zanten: The Killer is Killed by Lealand E. Hale
Turnagain Currents: The Hired Gun by Mike Gordon

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Main Coast Guard BaseKodiak, Alaska

The double homicide I describe in this episode occurred on a secure Coast Guard base near the town of Kodiak, Alaska on Kodiak Island, approximately 60 miles from where I live. This murder happened toward the end of the most brutal winter anyone on Kodiak can remember, and when the police did not quickly apprehend the killer, tempers flared, and citizens carried firearms wherever they went. Our mail plane pilot, reporting the news to us on his weekly stop, compared the residents in town to a powder keg ready to blow. When it was all over, many in law enforcement and the judicial system praised the investigation, but at the time it seemed as if no one was doing anything to look for and apprehend the killer.

On April 12th, 2012, meteorologists predicted the temperature on Kodiak would soar to 50 degrees, and if it did, the residents of the island would enjoy the warmest day since October. Spirits lifted in Kodiak with this promise of spring, but the upbeat moods didn’t last long. Around 8:30 that morning, rumors spread through town indicating someone had been murdered at the Coast Guard base. When the rumors became more specific, and the whispers suggested the shooting happened at the rigger shop, the families of the small crew of men who worked there waited in dread. Soon, those rumors were confirmed. Not only had one man been killed, but two men were dead.

James Wells, left





Sources:

Two killed in shooting at Coast Guard communications station. Kodiak Daily Mirror, April 13, 2012.

Coast Guard killer thought still at large. Kodiak Daily Mirror, April 16, 2012.

Shooting investigators focus on Bell's Flats home. Kodiak Daily Mirror, April 18, 2012.

FBI failing to reach Kodiak residents. Kodiak Daily Mirror, April 27, 2012.

FBI asks Alaskans' help as it seeks Coast Guard murder weapon. Kodiak Daily Mirror, May 16, 2012.

Kodiak man arrested for Coast Guard double murder. Kodiak Daily Mirror. February 15, 2013.

Man arrested in 2012 Alaska Coast Guard base deaths
https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/man-arrested-in-2012-alaska-coast-guard-base-deaths-11-21-2015

Coast Guard double murder trial to begin Monday. Kodiak Daily Mirror, March 28, 2014.

Investigators testify in Coast Guard murder case. Kodiak Daily Mirror, April 11, 2014.

Car expert testifies in Coast Guard double homicide. Kodiak Daily Mirror. April 16, 2014.

Investigators testify in Kodiak double murder case
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/10/investigators-testify-in-kodiak-double-murder-case/

Kodiak quiet before verdict. Kodiak Daily Mirror, April 25, 2014.

Wells guilty of murdering two at Coast Guard. Kodiak Daily Mirror. April 25, 2014.

Update: Wells gets four consecutive life terms sentence. Kodiak Daily Mirror, July 8, 2014

Ninth Circuit Orders New Trial for Man Accused of Coast Guard Killings
https://www.courthousenews.com/ninth-circuit-orders-new-trial-for-man-accused-of-coast-guard-killings/

FBI: Coast Guard murder suspect resented co-workers
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/19/coast-guard-murder-suspect-resented-co-workers/1931741/

Wells convicted, again, of Kodiak Coast Guard double murder
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/10/08/wells-convicted-again-of-kodiak-coast-guard-double-murder/

Wells guilty of double murder http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/news/article_c40f8b96-eabb-11e9-aefb-5fe63cfb932e.html

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Paul Stavenjord

People move to the Alaska wilderness either because they enjoy solitude and crave a subsistence lifestyle or because they wish to escape society. People who fall into this second category are either misfits who don’t know how or don’t want to blend in with others, or they are criminals, seeking to escape arrest and hoping to disappear into the vast wilderness. Many of my episodes have dealt with individuals who ran to Alaska from a life of crime elsewhere. They might have hoped to turn their lives around but instead, most brought their problems and psychopathic tendencies with them.

Until Memorial Day weekend in 1997, Paul Stavenjord seemed to have succeeded at escaping his criminal past, but then something in him snapped, leaving two people dead and forever altering the course of Stavenjord’s life.

Sources:

Ice Cold Killers. Season 1, Episode 3. Mountain Man

Brennan, Tom. 2003. The Bank Robber Next Door. Murder at 40 Below. Epicenter Press



Stavenjord V. State: Available at: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ak-court-of-appeals/1436854.html

Convicted murderer's appeal denied. Available at: https://www.frontiersman.com/news/convicted-murderer-s-appeal-denied/article_036c56da-e079-5f2d-b30f-692794ae1d34.html

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Trooper Gabe Rich and Sgt. Scott Johnson

You might be familiar with the recent National Geographic documentary series, Alaska State Troopers. The show followed several troopers from different areas of the state as they made their daily rounds. Two of the troopers featured on the show were Sergeant Patrick “Scott” Johnson and Gabriel “Gabe” Rich. Both men worked out of the Alaska State Troopers’ Fairbanks Rural Service Unit. A camera crew was not with the men on the fateful day of May 1st, 2014.

Other than federal officers, the Alaska State Troopers are the most geographically extended peace officers in the country, and they have little if any backup. The state of Alaska is 1/5th the area of the entire lower 48, and only 1300 troopers patrol this area. Cities and larger towns have local police officers, but they only patrol within the city limits. Those 1300 troopers patrol most of the rest of the state.

Many Alaska Native villages are too small to have a trooper post, so they hire a Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO). The Alaska State Troopers manage the VPSO program, and VPSOs are state-trained peace officers hired to carry out basic police tasks in the villages. The VPSO maintains close contact with the troopers, and if a situation escalates, he or she will call the nearest trooper post and request assistance. Troopers then fly to the village and take command of the situation. When the troopers arrive in a remote village, they are uncertain of what to expect and know backup is at least one and possibly several hours away from them. They have difficult jobs, and as this story will show, the job of a trooper can be extremely dangerous.

Arvin Kangas

Nathanial Kangas

Sources:

Arvin Kangas sentenced in case related to Alaska State Trooper killings. Available at:
http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/arvin-kangas-sentenced-in-case-related-to-alaska-state-troopers/article_3e239ce2-52a4-11e5-8ffc-8fe41e0bebe8.html

Kangas found guilty of evidence tampering in Alaska State Trooper deaths. Available at:
http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/kangas-found-guilty-of-evidence-tampering-in-alaska-state-trooper/article_7ba83be0-e9f9-11e4-9abf-bf2f6471558d.html

Courtroom tenses as Nathanial Kangas murder trial gets underway. Available at: http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/courtroom-tense-as-nathanial-kangas-murder-trial-gets-underway/article_fffdbe58-1629-11e6-ad25-1b984e65b3c5.html

Pilot describes scene in Tanana minutes after troopers killed. Available at:
http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/pilot-describes-scene-in-tanana-minutes-after-troopers-killed/article_ea505d94-170b-11e6-8ac3-9bbc373de2ef.html

Man convicted in Tanana trooper killings sentenced to 203 years in prison Available at:
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2016/11/03/man-convicted-in-tanana-trooper-killings-sentenced-to-203-years-in-prison/

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________________________________________________________________________
Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Anchorage, Alaska is the small plane capital of the world, and flying in Alaska is a thrilling experience where you can view spectacular scenery and reach remote lakes, rivers, and stretches of wilderness that are inaccessible by road. For the commercial pilots who fly these small planes, though, the job can be stressful at times, and they must depend on their skills and common sense. Every year, small plane crashes make the news in Alaska, and sadly, I have known too many pilots who have been injured or killed in crashes. Pilots know their jobs can be dangerous, and commercial pilots are sometimes pressured by their passengers or bosses to fly in marginal weather conditions. The weather might be beautiful in the morning when the pilot leaves base, but he knows conditions can change quickly and weather patterns often vary from one mountain pass to the next. Commercial pilots in Alaska have a tough job, but near the bottom of a pilot’s list of concerns is the fear he will be murdered on the job. After all, who would want to kill his pilot?

I imagine when pilot Robert Feather headed to work at JayHawk Air on the morning of May 15th, 1993, he did not consider he might be murdered by one of his passengers. Maybe he worried about weather conditions or perhaps he was concerned about a strange noise he heard in the plane’s engine the previous day, but murder would not have crossed his mind. Later that afternoon, when a passenger fired a single shot at him, Robert Feather did not have time to think about anything. Within seconds, bullet fragments hit him in the head and killed him.

Sources:

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION FOR CROSS SUMMARY JUDGMENT. Available at: https://www.acluak.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/duryea_v._alaska_decision.pdf

Duryea v. State November 17, 1999, WILLIAM E. DURYEA, APPELLANT, v. STATE OF ALASKA, APPELLEE. Available at: http://ak.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19991117_0042378.AK.htm/qx

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 Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Michael Silka

Manley Hot Springs, located 160 miles west of Fairbanks, marks the end of the road, where civilization meets wilderness, and the boat landing in Manley Hot Springs offers the last portage for fishermen, trappers, and wanderers to launch their boats and travel further up the icy Tanana River. Because the road ends in Manley, residents admit they see their share of drifters and people trying to escape from somewhere or something. When Michael Silka arrived in Manley on Monday, May 13, 1984, folks accepted him as another straggler searching for a new life. They should have been terrified. Michael Silka was about to forever change sleepy Manley Hot Springs.

Sources:

Ice Cold Killers: Season 1, Episode 5: Frozen Carnage



Tactical Life. Michael Alan Silka and the Firefight at Manley. Available at: https://www.tactical-life.com/lifestyle/military-and-police/firefight-at-manley/ 

Michael Silka -Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Silka

Michael Alan Silka Murderpedia: https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/silka-michael.htm

Murder at 40 Below: Manley Hot Springs Murders



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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

On October 16th, 1972, a Cessna 310 with the tail number N1812H operated by Pan Alaska Airways disappeared somewhere between Anchorage and Juneau, Alaska. The plane was piloted by Don Jonz, 38, the chief pilot for Pan Alaska. Jonz was a military veteran with more than 17,000 hours of flight time. The passengers on the plane were Alaska Congressman Nick Begich, 40, his aide Russell Brown, 37, and Louisiana Congressman Hale Boggs, 58, the U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader. The three men were planning to attend an election rally for Begich in Juneau.

Was the disappearance due to an accident or something far more sinister?

References include:

Forty years ago yesterday, Hale Boggs, a powerful Democratic congressman with a colorful past, disappeared in a small plane over Alaska

New Details Uncovered in 1972 Disappearance of Congressman Hale Boggs

Hale Boggs’ Plane Vanishes in Alaska: Oct. 16, 1972

Author Writes About Disappearance of Plane Carrying Hale Boggs 43 Years Ago Over Alaska

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

After a string of closely spaced murders of young women near Fairbanks in the late 1970s and early 80s, the abductions and murders stopped. Troopers didn’t believe the vicious killer had suddenly quit murdering young women, but they thought the predator had moved somewhere else. Unfortunately, at the time, they had no database to track the killer’s movements beyond Alaska. Only the deductive reasoning and hard work of seasoned investigators traced the monster four thousand miles to his new hunting grounds.

Further Reading:



Ice Cold Killers: North Pole Slay Ride

Wikipedia: Thomas Bunday

Fairbanks Daily News Miner: Who was Thomas Richard Bunday?

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

This episode covers the 1987 murders of a mother and her two daughters. This crime angered and terrified Anchorage residents, and they wondered who could commit such a brutal act, and would he strike again?

For More Information about the Newman murders:

                  

 

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 

Investigators believe Robert Hansen murdered at least thirty women in Alaska between 1971 and 1983. With some of his victims, Hansen brutally raped them and then told them to run while he hunted them down as if they were big game trophies.

Further Reading:





Robert Hansen

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.



 

In the early morning hours of Monday, April 26, 1993, someone brutally raped, stabbed and shot Sophie Sergie in a college dorm on the University of Alaska campus in Fairbanks. Several hours later, a janitor discovered Sophie's body stuffed in a bathtub in a second-floor bathroom in the dorm. No one saw or heard anything. Sophie's case soon went cold and remained cold for the next 18 years. Would her murder ever be solved?

Sources include:

25 Years After Sophie Sergie Was Found Dead in a UAF Bathtub, Maine Man Charged with Murder: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/02/16/25-years-after-a-woman-was-found-dead-in-a-uaf-bathtub-alaska-state-troopers-make-an-arrest/

Death in Bartlett Hall: http://www.uafjournalism.com/extreme/index.php/sophie-sergie-murder/46-investigatorrevisitssophie-sergiemurderrder-of-sophiesophie-sergiemurder

26 Years After Woman Found Dead in College Dorm Bathtub, Police Arrest Suspected Killer: https://pressfrom.info/us/news/crime/-246837-26-years-after-woman-found-dead-in-college-dorm-bathtub-police-arrest-suspected-killer.html

Budget Cuts Would Eliminate Alaska Cold Case Unit: https://www.adn.com/crime-justice/article/ast-cold-case-investigation-unit-be-cut-current-state-budget/2015/04/09/

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter.

What happened on the F.V. Investor on a September night in 1982 in the sleepy village of Craig, Alaska? By the time investigators extinguished the flames on the burning vessel, the remains of eight people had been reduced to little more than bone fragments. Who committed this violent crime, and what was the motive?

Further Reading:



PEOPLE Explains: The Mystery of Who Massacred 8, Including a Family, on Fishing Boat in Alaska

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter.

What happened to Laura Henderson? One of the most controversial court cases in the history of the state of Alaska resulted from the disappearance of a woman on Kodiak Island in 1986. At best, this case is an example of an inept police investigation, a prosecution determined to win at any cost, and inadequate defense counsel. At worst, this case represents a corrupt police force and perhaps even a corrupt judicial system.  To this day, though, people still ask, "What happened to Laura Henderson?"

 

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter.

 

 

 

The residents living within a fifty-mile radius of McCarthy, Alaska enjoyed their solitary lives, but they looked forward to gathering and socializing each Tuesday while they waited for their mail plane. Everything changed on March 1st, 1983. Mail day would never be the same again.

 

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. Sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.