Three people were arrested, but insufficient evidence led to their release. [237] Kori Lamaster (17), a formerly unidentified female American murder victim, was killed in 1993 after running away from home. The killer said he had seen the victims Oregon drivers license. Like in any area, Alaska true crimes are not hard to come by. On November 11, 2013, 19-year-old Miranda Barbour met Troy LaFerrara on Craiglist, and she agreed to have sex with him in exchange for money. 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. 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. The man passed it to a woman, who said Thomas had checked out. In 1985, two couples disappeared in the wooded areas of Pierce and Lewis counties. If you want to learn more interesting tales, then you need to read all about howTheres A Bermuda Triangle In Alaska And It Will Baffle You Beyond Words. The case inspired a mystery novel called "Facing September" by Sara Jenlink. They have DNA evidence but no source for it yet, according to Fox 10 Phoenix. The remote location and extreme weather hampered the investigation, but after failing to keep his story straight, Johnson confessed. The victim and the killer still remain unidentified. Tina's body was found three years later, miles away from Cabin 28. A squirrel hunter was taken into custody and questioned, but DNA evidence exonerated him in 1987. By Tom Brennan. It was then that things got weird. Atkinson was found tied to a tree with his throat slashed. Over 300 square miles were searched by plane and by foot but there were never any findings of Rhode or the plane. On November 18, 1978, an off-duty employee of the Burger Chef, a local fast food joint in Speedway, Indiana, found the restaurant's back door wide open. Around 10 that night, Margaret and Cathy walked them home and returned to the bar. In both cases, the women had tube socks tied around their necks. Jentz returned to Cline Falls 15 years later to investigate the crime herself, but the attacker was never found. Hamblens adoptive mother recently filed for custody of her grandson, Joel. To this day no one knows the fate of the Baychimo or why it could never be captured. Wasilla ; The city with highest murder rate in Alaska. On December 7, 1924, barber Nels Anderson and his wife, Annie, were bludgeoned to death with an ax they kept in their shop for chopping wood, leaving behind four children. Mary Badaracco disappeared on August 19, 1984. Here are the top 8 creepiest unexplained disappearances in Alaskas history. He was told she had boarded, but had disappeared, her belongings left behind and later given to charity. Thank you! Amy and Scott Fandel (Sterling, Alaska, 1978). one of Houston's most infamous unsolved slayings, as many as 10 people mysteriously disappeared. On them, Thomas, accompanied by a thin, dark-haired woman, buys chips, soda, two lighters, and a pack of cigarettes. In 2019, according to the FBIs Uniform Crime Report, there were 3 murders in Juneau, Alaska. On December 19, 1959, the entire Walker family was brutally murdered in their home in Osprey, Florida. The "Zodiac Killer" has been connected to five murders and two attempted murders between the 1960s and the 1970s, but has claimed responsibility for at least 37, sending coded messages to newspapers describing killing people. Officials have been unable to find concrete evidence tying Barbour to these alleged crimes, but she and her husband were both convicted of killing LaFerrara and given life sentences on September 18, 2014. Gang rivalries were suspected as a motive, but his death has spawned a host of conspiracy theories, including some that believe he's still alive. She opened the door to a man sitting on the bed. In 1981, Hollywood starlet Natalie Wood boarded her private yacht, Splendour, with her husband and captain Dennis Davern. The murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. For this list, we're looking at the most high profile and mysterious unsolved. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) releases Uniform Crime Reports (UCRs) every year which contain verified numbers and statistics regarding crime in every state and city in the United States, including murders in Alaska by year. Published: Sep. 5, 2016 at 3:07 PM PDT. 2 / 50. ricok/Shutterstock. He kept no permanent residence, opting instead to stay in hotels. Other unsolved murders in Alaska originate from the largest city by population in Alaska, Anchorage. In order to avoid detection, Keyes would fly to a location in the United States, rent a vehicle, and drive to another state in search of an unsuspecting victim (or victims), even going as far as to bury caches of money and weapons in multiple locations throughout the country to help him carry out his crimes. By Marti Rulli and Dennis Davern. These circumstances and the overall lack of progress in cracking the case led some to suspect that the police were involved in the deaths or in covering them up, the New York Times reports. There were other hunters in the forest that day and authorities ruled out an accident, according to Delaware Online. It is first in terms of dangerous cities in the state. It's been almost 40 years since the fire, the investigation and the discovery of the largest mass murder in the history of the state of Alaska. A simple Google search of list of murders in Alaska, all murders in Alaska, or list of Alaska murders will show you some of the most infamous Alaska murders, famous murders in Alaska, and some of the most notorious Alaska criminals. Various authors have claimed to have solved the case with books such as "Slaughter on North LaSalle" by Robert L. Snow and "The LaSalle Street Murders" by Carol Sissom, but the Indianapolis Police Department still considers it an open case. Sue's older daughter, Sheila, was the one to discover her family's murder. According to the Lexington Herald Leader, her mysterious killer became "a mythological figure in Lexington, a kind of all-purpose boogeyman." For now, no one knows! When she was found with her throat slashed in a utility room outside her garage in 1989, the killer left no clues and detectives were baffled. On September 10th, 1984 - two years after Alaska's largest unsolved murder - authorities announced that they had a suspect in custody. 39 years later, this case remains unsolved and is considered Alaska's largest mass murder. Police estimated that the boy was between 4 and 6 years old. Fink, a laundry owner living in NYC, came . "Alaska's Dirty Dozen," by Tom Brennan. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. The 8- and 13-year-olds, with their mother, Margaret, were visiting their aunt, Cathy, at a local bar in Sterling, Alaska. "We do believe that multiple people are responsible for this crime, and the investigation is ongoing," DeKalb County Police Sgt. That night, she was rejected by a man she liked, and texted a male friend in the early morning at 1:40. Maine's oldest unsolved murder case is that of 13-year-old Mary Catherine Olenchuk. The foggy morning on the last day of opening season Coulthurts ship sat anchored in the cove instead of joining in with the rest of the fleet. In 1931, a steam ship belonging to the Hudson Bay Trading Company, Baychimo, traveled the Beaufort Sea to Alaska heavy with fur cargo and men. She was found dead on August 22 in a barn inKennebunk with a rope around her neck. The book starts with the actual scene of the murders and continues on through the lives of those involved as well as two trials of the suspected killer. In 2018, a man reported finding human remains in Hobble Creek Canyon. In February 1984, Hansen plead guilty to killing four women and was sentenced to more than 400 years in prison. The homicide rate in Juneau, Alaska, in 2018 was around 3.13 per 100,000 residents. Abe Lebewohl was known as the mayor of Second Ave, feeding homeless people and high society members alike at his restaurant. The 8- and 13-year-olds, with their mother, Margaret, were visiting their aunt, Cathy, at a local bar in Sterling, Alaska. Even weirder, her disappearance was not reported and her purse was put into storage. A man identified only as "Gabby" left an old trunk in his friendNewell Sessions' shed inThermopolis in1986. With equity for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underserved victims not prioritized in the true crime communitytogether we can do better. They woke up to a truck driving over their tent. It was computer databases that picked up a similar killing there to those in Fairbanks and led investigators to his doorstep. The case is Alaska's biggest and most famous unsolved mystery. If so, they are long gone. That last text message, and her black purse, covered in months of snowfall, is all that Jael Tiara Hamblen left behind. See if you can decipher what really happened in these four twisted tales of lore in the Last Frontier. Henry was found naked, buried under a stack of boards. So when he didnt show up for his flight to Bethel on June 19. , 2001, his coworkers knew something was wrong. People who are falsely arrested get swept into the files as well. But no evidence of the money has ever been found, and Dominic didn't report her missing. Instead, she vanished off of the vacation cruise, Mercury. The elder Johnson arranged for him to accompany three Alaska Native men from the village of Kiana on a winter caribou trip. The vast wilderness that exists in our great state is one of the unique things about Alaska. There is a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the people who killed . This had happened before, and John and the children figured she would return. The pairs respective children were being looked after by Kendras mother. Eight people were slaughtered, including two small children and the Captians pregnant wife. Steven Pearsall and Christina White remain missing. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through . Witnesses say they saw a car flashing blue lights behind hers in what may have been someone impersonating a police officer, prompting the Honolulu Police Department to ban supplemental blue lights. He began killing women early in the decade, continuing into the 80s before finally getting caught. Boroski provided the police with a description and partial license plate of the man, but he was never identified. Alaska is a sprawling state with a population about the size of Seattle, but a staggering 59 percent of adult women in Alaska have . Celebrity Cruise, who owns the Mercury, didnt come under suspicion until Carvers father found out about his daughters vacation and called the cruise line. 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. An unidentified man in a red truck who was seen driving away around the same time Nick disappeared was deemed a suspect, but after countless leads, authorities are no closer to finding her. Jentz was left with broken bones, and Weiss was left blind. You can read the, In Craig, Alaska in 1982, Mark Coulthurst, his family, and his crew were brutally murdered aboard his seine ship, the Investor. 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. Out of all the cases on our list, the case of Thomas Nuzzi is definitely the eeriest. 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. skuggans caf lngtora. Jael Tiara Hamblen (Anchorage, Alaska, 2014). He also skips past the more recent case of serial killer Joshua Wade, who operated out of Anchorage during the aughts, primarily preying on Alaska Native women. Hours later, her car was found parked along the highway in Kailua, and her decomposing body was found 10 days later. Erin Marie Gilbert (Girdwood, Alaska, 1995). Some of the victims ran in bad circles, some had unintended conflicts with murderous individuals, some were chosen at random. Thomas Nuzzi and the couple havent been seen since. This one was different. The driver was headed for Alaska, and, despite saying he was going to Pendleton, Oregon, Jack went along for the ride. There were no signs of forced entry, leading police to believe she knew her attacker. After passing a lie detector test, however, investigators shifted their focus elsewhere. She is simply known as "Little Jane Doe" in theNational Center for Missing and Exploited Children's database. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed 18 times. But Brennan, who sticks to straight reporting in these accounts, doesnt delve into the legitimate privacy concerns raised by the practice. It was the biggest mass murder in Alaskan history and rocked the small fishing town of Craig, where it took place. Her husband reported her missing and immediately came under suspicion. 1 The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders. Soon after, he was cleared as a suspect. I also hate that you have to pay for unsolved 3D scene exploration, yet they claim the more coverage the better. No one knows for sure. As the pipeline boom flooded the state with money, crime figures swarmed in to grab some of it. Alaska is the most dangerous state in the U.S. for women. He was finally declared dead seven years later in 1982, though his body was never recovered, and speculations as to what happened abound to this day. They entered Alaska and, as the driver later told police, Jack annoyed him. Epicenter Press, 210 pages, 2020. 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. The crime scene was never found. In 1988, Jane Boroski, who was seven months pregnant, was approached in a convenience store parking lot by a man who proceeded to stab her 27 times. Having already hated her life here, and having no car or phone, Davis family was all she had left. as of August 2022, 30 degrees with freezing rain? All the Yet at the end of every winter they are found back in the lake when all access to the lake had been frozen off. 3. On June 12, 1977, eight-year-old Lori Farmer, nine-year-old Michelle Guse, and 10-year-old Doris Milner were camping with their Girl Scout troop at Camp Scott in Oklahoma. A Honolulu Police Department car. The cases were featured on the Investigation Discovery docuseries "Cold Valley" and the true crime podcast "The Trail Went Cold.". According to the arrest warrant, his fingerprint had been found at the scene, People magazine reported. Girdwood is a densely forested area. Six-year-old Morgan Nick waslast seen on June 9, 1995 at a ballpark in Alma, Arkansas,according to 5 News. Site designed & developed by WebSmith International. On January 21, she left her boyfriend's sister's house after having dinner. This time, she didnt. He was described as a dutiful worker. A friend, Mr. Guernsey, knew that Nuzzi had stayed at a Super 8 Motel. With the majority of Alaska uninhabited, its also easy to disappear and not be found, if thats what you want. The search was so unsuccessful, in fact, that Congress passed a law mandating that all civil aircraft in the U.S. be fitted with Emergency Locator Transmitters. She wrote a book about her experience called "Strange Piece of Paradise.". Are the Sodder children still out there somewhere? There are both killers from Alaska and killers who targeted Alaskans.