The vanishing harbor seal is not the only mystery of Lake Iliamna deep waters. Elizabeth Salgado went missing after leaving her school in Provo, Utah, in 2015. It was the biggest mass murder in Alaskan history and rocked the small fishing town of Craig, where it took place. It remains the biggest unsolved murder case in Alaska history. a mythological figure in Lexington, a kind of all-purpose boogeyman. Robert and Helen Sims and their daughter Joy were found bound, gagged, stabbed, and shot in their Tallahassee home onOctober 22, 1966, WCTV reports. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our, Donna Svennevik/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images, Donna Hageman/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images, Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images, That's when our nightmare started 30 and a half years ago, What Happened in Craig: Alaska's Worst Unsolved Mass Murder, They have DNA evidence but no source for it yet. A killer shot the entire Coulthurst family and their crew on a fishing boat in Craig, Alaska and 35 years later, he's never been caught. The murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 remains the state's most high-profile unsolved mystery. WALES, Alaska (AP) A polar bear has attacked and killed two people in a remote village in western Alaska, according to state troopers. The case remains unsolved. Around 10 that night, Margaret and Cathy walked them home and returned to the bar. Police suspect that her death may have been the work ofRandall Woodfield, a former Green Bay Packer who became known as the "I-5 Killer." Soon after, he was cleared as a suspect. Although Alaskas entire population is only 731,545 as of 2019, which is smaller than the total population of Rhode Island, Alaska has had more than its fair share of serial killers over the years. Alaska: The Investor murders. The Alaska Triangle! With the majority of Alaska uninhabited, its also easy to disappear and not be found, if thats what you want. "The members of the criminal investigation division of the Provo Police Department have dedicated thousands of hours, and exhausted hundreds of leads, which includes traveling to Mexico with the FBI, to try to find facts about her disappearance. master's degree in botany at the University of Maryland, found bound, gagged, stabbed, and shot in their Tallahassee home onOctober 22, 1966, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, her car was found parked along the highway in Kailua, wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone with the murder, Investigation Discovery docuseries "Cold Valley", Midlothian, Illinois, home's basement window, There were just too many suspects. "There were just too many suspects. Wednesday. We have his body, we know what happened to him, but we dont know who he. Dawes County Attorney Vance Haug said his death is an "unresolved death case.". Witnesses say that they saw her standing next to a maroon car driven by a man in his 30s on August 9, 1970. These murders continue to bamboozle police forces around the world to this day. By DAVE KIFFER. A Honolulu Police Department car. It was the biggest mass murder in Alaskan history and rocked the small fishing town of Craig, where it took place. Lizzie Bordenallegedlytook an ax and gave her mother 40 whacks, when she saw what she had done sheallegedlygave her father 41. When DNA testing technology became available, the bones were identified asJoseph Mulvaney. By John Gramlich. A squirrel hunter was taken into custody and questioned, but DNA evidence exonerated him in 1987. We have his body, we know what happened to him, but we dont know who he is. So, what exactly are the statistics, and why is Alaskas crime rate so high? The Herald Leader also called her murder "Lexington's most notorious cold case.". The Casino, another ship at the dock, headed out to assist the Investor when they momentarily stopped to speak with the man on the returning skiff. Alaska is no stranger to violent crime. However, the case presented by state prosecutors over the next several years would leave behind several questions, which remain unanswered today. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. At home, the Lupton children visited Cathy. A historic marker was mounted for "The Boy in the Box" in Philadelphia in 2017. as of August 2022, 30 degrees with freezing rain? ", investigators considered him the prime suspect. JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family's home on December 26, 1996. Its more than likely that these cases will remain unsolved. Worried, Margaret tried to leave work early, but her boss wouldnt allow it. 3. Alaska is a vast place. The Black Dahlia murder case. The man passed it to a woman, who said Thomas had checked out. These are the only clear details about the case. When Sessions decided to open it years later, he found human bones. He terrorized the town before being reassigned to Texas. He was described as a dutiful worker. They would come back some 4 hours later to find a pot of water boiling on the stove next to an unopened box of macaroni and cheese and a can of tomatoes. Rhode, who was the Regional Director of Fish and Wildlife, took a small bush pilot out along with him and his son to make several stops before flying back toward Porcupine Lake. These Anchorage, Alaska, unsolved murders include the 1965 murder of Yvonne Shock, 1991 murder of Shawna Evon, 1992 murder of Teresa Stirling, 1994 murder of John Michael Martin, and the 1995 murder of Sophie Marar, among many others. one of the highest-profile unsolved-mysteries in Philadelphia history. The killer may have impersonated a police officer. There are rumors of an underground cave where the seals would have access to freshwater in order to survive the winter under the ice but the theory of the cave has yet to be proven true. Although at first glance, crimes in Alaska are not statistically more significant than other states, it is very important to remember that the total population of Alaska is much smaller than that of Rhode Island, the smallest state in the United States. Nothing came of this, however. Editor's Note: Warning that these accounts may be upsetting to some as they describe details of real-life cases. According to the CDC, Alaska murders rate is 10.8, meaning that nearly 11 people are murdered per 100,000 in Alaska alone. Brandon Irlmeier's death is just one of 4,200 cases involving murdered and missing Alaska Natives that have gone unsolved, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. HAWAII: Lisa Au's murder has been called "one of Hawaii's biggest unsolved mysteries" by local news station KHON2. While there had previously been active serial killers in the area, none had used the method of operation from event to event. By Tom Brennan. The perpetrator or perpetrators were never found. Around 10 that night, Margaret and Cathy walked them home and returned to the bar. Four of their nine children escaped. A tip in 1985 alleged that Mary's death was a hit by Hell's Angels, but the case is still cold. These murders remain unsolved. Sixty years later, his identity and that of his killer hasn't been discovered. Henry was found naked, buried under a stack of boards. These two options were of little use when Sophie Sergei was murdered in Bartlett Hall on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus in 1993. one of Houston's most infamous unsolved slayings, as many as 10 people mysteriously disappeared. From 1935 to 1938, the "Cleveland Torso Murderer" beheaded and frequently dismembered their victims seven men and five women in total. Alaska In a fishing village in Southeast Alaska, a family and its crew members were enjoying what they probably thought was just an ordinary day on their boat in 1982. On October 27, 1961, 19-year-oldBetty Gail Brown was found in her car in front ofTransylvania College's Old Morrison building, strangled to death with her own bra. Take them to church, its very important to me. While no reference to suicide is explicitly made, here, it is considered a possibility. Truthfully, there can be. one of the biggest crime scenes in US history, one of the state's biggest murder mysteries. On December 30, 2000, a gruesome murder occurred in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo, Japan. According to the CDC, Alaskas overall homicide rate is 10.8, meaning that nearly 11 people are murdered per 100,000 in Alaska alone. They woke up to a truck driving over their tent. Deputies reportedly lost evidence during the investigation, and a detective bought a truck from an acquaintance of one of the victims and was seen in it the day she disappeared. Although we do not yet know the statistics for how many murders in Alaska 2021, how many murders in Juneau, Alaska, 2021, how many homicides in Juneau, Alaska, 2021, or how many homicides in Alaska 2021, we do have the published report and official data from 2019. He began killing women early in the decade, continuing into the 80s before finally getting caught. Captain John Cornwell didnt expect an early winter and was caught by surprise when his ship was brought to a shuddering halt in the pack ice. led some to suspect that the police were involved in the deaths or in covering them up, rampant misconduct and trafficking inside the jail, standing next to a maroon car driven by a man in his 30s, Lizzie was acquitted of her parents' murder in 1893, abducted, in some cases sexually assaulted, and killed four children between 1976 and 1977, found dead in Spring Brook Township in 1974, disappeared in Simpson County in August 2009, the only decapitation in the US that involved a person that young. Maine's oldest unsolved murder case is that of 13-year-old Mary Catherine Olenchuk. Dig deeper Instead, she vanished off of the vacation cruise, Without telling her family, she boarded the vessel in Seattle, Washington on August 27, , 2004 and was last seen by a cabin attendant the next day. He told her to leave. The jury didnt buy it, but he was only sentenced to four years, which Kiana residents justifiably offered as proof that Native lives are devalued in Alaskas criminal justice system, a problem that persists. 09: Hwaseong Serial Murders. In order to understand this shockingly high number, we must consider the murder rates for the largest cities in Alaska. Dogs tried to track her scent, at one point leading authorities to a pay phone down that road which John Davis said his wife had used the night before her disappearance. The unsolved case is the subject of the book "The Kill Jar" by J. Reuben Appelman and the Hulu docuseries "Children of the Snow.". According to The Doe Network, an undated note written by Sandra was later found. But after 100 years, the identities of the victims remain unknown. Hotel staff later described the womans companion as tall, dark-skinned with rotting teeth. Surprisingly, the overall crime rate in Alaska as well as the homicide rate in Alaska are very high, regardless of the states relatively low population when compared to other states in the United States. Nobody has come forward with any information. The childrens maternal uncle, Terry Schonfelder, implicated Amy and Scotts estranged father, Roger Fandel, in the disappearances. A Mormon mother of two, Davis moved to Chugiak, Alaska from Utah in 1974. The only rent he paid was for a storage unit in Anchorage. If you know of any more unsolved mysteries in Alaska, leave us the story in a comment, we would love to hear more of these unsettling tales! In actuality, they were erased every 30 days. What . Then Mike Riemer disappeared, while his girlfriend, Diana Robertson, was found dead. Its a handy system for authorities, and has undoubtedly sped the capture and trial of perpetrators. Only one man has been brought to trail for these gruesome murders, John Kenneth Peel, a young man who matched the picture description of the man on the skiff and who had previously crewed a ship for Coulthurt in the past. One of the most notorious cold cases in recent state history, it took a quarter century before the convergence of precise DNA sequencing, home sample kits, online databases, and a persistent investigator brought an arrest. So the question has to be asked: what happened to Merrian Lynn Carver between August 27th and 28th? Brennan offers these and other tales in a book that delves into the events that have made Alaska so violent. When a woman walking her dog found a human bone in 2009, she had no idea she had come across one of the biggest crime scenes in US history. As youll see on this list, some defy explanation or even logic. She is simply known as "Little Jane Doe" in theNational Center for Missing and Exploited Children's database. Twenty-five people have been murdered in Anchorage so far in 2016 with arrests in just 11 of the homicides, according to Anchorage police. She was found not guilty in 2015. A man confessed to the crime in 1965, saying he had been drunk, but the jury didn't buy it and the trial ended in a hung jury. Nearby lakes were searched. Over the next few decades, authorities tried to track this man down, but to no avail. Johnson encountered 50 below zero temperatures and had communication difficulties with the the trio, who sometimes spoke in their native language, leaving the young man convinced they were mocking him. He kept no permanent residence, opting instead to stay in hotels. As one of the largest cities in Alaska featured on our list of the most dangerous places, Anchorage has a population of more than 286,388, which puts it in 1st in terms of size. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through . As of this year, the largest city in Alaska, Anchorage, had a population of well over 282,000 residents. Published: Sep. 5, 2016 at 3:07 PM PDT. According to the arrest warrant, his fingerprint had been found at the scene, People magazine reported. While he went to the bank to sign some papers, he gave her a dollar to buy a soda from a vending machine and told her to meet him back at his truck in 15 minutes. Authorities took a fresh look at the case in 2021. Alaska is no stranger to violent crime. However, Alaska has had much more than its fair share of serial killers over the years. The case was featured on People Magazine Investigates on Investigation Discovery, and is the subject of the true crime book "What Happened in Craig: Alaska's Worst Unsolved Mass Murder.". Casea Peterson grew up archery hunting, fishing, and camping throughout the Pacific Northwest. On September 10th, 1984 - two years after Alaska's largest unsolved murder - authorities announced that they had a suspect in custody. 1929: Isidor Fink. But Brennan, who sticks to straight reporting in these accounts, doesnt delve into the legitimate privacy concerns raised by the practice. 22 | The Setagaya Family Massacre. He claimed a psychic lapse led to his actions. A man namedJohn Mark Karr confessed to the murder in 2006, but it was ruled to be false since he couldn't provide any additional details and his DNA didn't match what was discovered at the scene. seek new info in unsolved 1996 murder of Amber . Thank you! AK Craft Brew & Barleywine Festival Giveaway. He was told she had boarded, but had disappeared, her belongings left behind and later given to charity. Though, as her family stated, she wouldnt have done so alone. Readers will almost need a scorecard to keep track of all the underworld figures wandering through this one. Police estimated that the boy was between 4 and 6 years old. Aliens! The "Tube Sock Killings" were featured on "Unsolved Mysteries.". With subzero temperatures, rapidly changing weather, and all manner of obstacles, accidents do happen. When the owner of the legendary 2nd Ave Deli on the Lower East Side was killed in 1996, it shocked New York. Many buildings are abandoned and left to fall down on their own, garnering stories of hauntings within their walls. But when the blaze was finally put out, firefighters found no trace of their other five children. The disappearance of Alaska secessionism advocate Joe Vogler in 1993 prompted widespread rumors that he had been assassinated for political purposes, although in the end the motive proved to be more mundane: a botched robbery. The 11 women buried there had all had connections to drugs and prostitution, and it took police a year to identify all of the remains. And the horror wrought by serial killer Israel Keyes still evokes chills, both for murders he committed and his ability to escape detection for so long. 3. While the, stopped in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, Carver would never see those places. Jael Tiara Hamblen (Anchorage, Alaska, 2014). As of 2019, the murder remains unsolved. Steven Pearsall and Christina White remain missing. Read more about this infamous ghost ship in, Every year Alaskas largest lake freezes over and the large population of freshwater harbor seals magically disappear. Over 50 years later, the case remains cold. Eight people were slaughtered, including two small children and the Captians pregnant wife. We believe the more resources we can provide to digital volunteers and citizen solvers mean more citizen detective communities. Epicenter Press, 210 pages, 2020. Tina's body was found three years later, miles away from Cabin 28. 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