Monday, February 10, 2014

Isdal Woman For Monday Mystery...!

Now here is one I don't think you have heard before, mainly because it's from Norway!

This is another one of those "long left unsolved" types of mysteries. It always bothers me a bit when a case goes this long without some type of solution. I hate to think of the family of the victim (if there is one) going all these years without knowing what happened to their loved one, ya know?

Isdal Woman

In November of 1970, hikers came across the charred, battered body of a woman in Norway’s Isdalen Valley. The body was surrounded by sleeping pills (many of which had been ingested) and bottles of gas. Her fingerprints were sanded off. She was later linked to a pair of suitcases found in a train station in Bergen; police found all the labels in her clothes had been removed. They also found 500 German marks, a prescription bottle for lotion (with the doctor’s name and date torn off), and a diary with coded entries. Her autopsy indicated dental work performed in Latin America. It was eventually discovered that the woman had traveled throughout Europe using different fake names. There were other clues; witnesses reported her in different wigs, changing hotels frequently, and speaking multiple languages.

Information on the case is scant and hard to come by; a witness came forward three decades later, claiming to have seen the woman in the forest followed by two men in black coats, saying the police told him to keep quiet when he initially reported what he’d seen. It is generally assumed that the Isdal woman must have been some sort of spy; 1970 would have been a ripe year for undercover activities in the Cold War. Despite one of the most massive investigations in Norwegian history, the woman’s identity will likely forever remain a mystery. Curiously—and very creepily—this tale bears a striking resemblance to the Taman Shud case in 1948 which also involved an unknown victim with tags removed from his clothes, a coded diary, and a suitcase turning up in a train station abandoned. That case is also still unsolved.

I got this story from Listverse where they have a large section devoted to mysteries and such! Do any of you have an interesting mystery that you think we should discuss here? If so, I'd sure like to hear it. I love this stuff!

Coffee outside once again! Man, being on the patio could become habit forming!

8 comments:

Mamahen said...

This is intriguing, and to have a similar case several yrs before makes it more so...the lables on.he clothes being removed has to be key I would think....ona different note, the patio sounds wonderful..snowed here all day yesterday current temp 13 with lows in single digits tonight :/

Chickenmom said...

Probably a spy. I'm surprised that a body was even found. I'd prefer your patio to our deck - it snowed again yesterday!

Momlady said...

You sure do come up with some good ones, HJ. Glad. to be back

linda m said...

Very intriguing case indeed. You are so good at finding these great mysteries. Coffee on the patio would indeed be delightful as it is -7 degrees here this morning. How about some waffles and syrup to go with the coffee!

Dizzy-Dick said...

In my opinion, it wasn't an accident . . . And I would think that the two cases are related and probably perpetrated by the same people or agency. Then there were the sleeping pills. . .

JO said...

Good one. Could be suicide or yes murder. the spy's of old were trained to take their own lives. The person claimed to have seen to men in long black coats could have been making that up or maybe he was part of it. This one could be a great conversation piece lol

Coffee on the patio can be habit forming. Need to clean my porch up.

MamaHen said...

I love any kind of mystery stuff too. I often thought I would have enjoyed being a detective although I'm sure some of the cases would be hard to endure.

HermitJim said...

Hey Mamahen...
I don't see how they can be anything but related. Too coincidental, if you ask me!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Phyllis...
I think you're right about the spy thing!

Started off nice today, but now it's getting cold again!

Thanks for dropping by this morning!



Hey Momlady...
Good to see you back! I hope you had a good time at the retreat.

Thanks for coming over!



Hey Linda M...
I'm always happy to find something I can share that folks will find interesting.

Waffles are always good!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Dizzy...
I think you are correct on all counts! Sure seems like the same folks were involved somehow!

Thanks for the visit today!



Hey Jo...
That's the thing about this sort of mystery. We could discuss it all day and never come to any solid conclusions!

I reckon that you and I are having the same king of weather.

Thanks for dropping by, sweetie!



Hey Annie...
I'm sure that you would become used to all the bad things you'd see. Might not sleep too well afterwards, though.

Thanks so much for coming over today!