1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: Alvit couldn't keep her eyes off the woman sat alone 2 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: in the dining hall, with a glass of wine in 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: one hand and a book in the other. She'd arrived 4 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: at the hotel earlier that day and appeared to be 5 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: traveling alone, a feat which for women traveling in Norway 6 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy was positively unheard of. But it wasn't 7 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: just that which left the twenty one year old Alvet spellbound. 8 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: It was her whole demeanor. It was pure sophistication, from 9 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: the simple but elegant way she dressed to her confident 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: and worldly air. What do you think she does, she 11 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: said to Lilian, taking a rest by the bar. I'll 12 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: bet she's some kind of international businesswoman. Beats me, said Lilian, 13 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: as she gave the surface a quick wipe. What I 14 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: wouldn't give to be more like her, said Alvid ruefully. 15 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: Just then the woman looked up from her book and 16 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: winked directly at her. Shit, said Alvid, turning sharply away. Mortified, 17 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: that'll teach you to stare, said Lilian with a wry smile. 18 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: Alvid soon laughed it off and got back to work 19 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,679 Speaker 1: clearing tables on the other side of the room, still 20 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: unable to resist the occasional glance toward the beguiling new 21 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: guest as she cleared away the plates. It was October thirtieth, 22 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy, and the woman that had so captured Alvid's 23 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: imagination was Alexeya Zana Marchay, a Belgian tourist who'd recently 24 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: arrived in the country from Slovenia. Alexeya had booked a 25 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: five nights stay at the Hotel Neptune where Alvid worked 26 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: in Bergen, a pretty coastal town in the southwest of 27 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: Norway known as the gateway to the Fiords. Earlier that afternoon, 28 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: Alexeia had been shown to her room by Frank sivtson 29 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: the hotel's bell hop. Like Alvid, Frank too was a 30 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: little star struck by the woman's unusual presence, describing her 31 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: later like something he'd only ever seen in magazines before. 32 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: Though he attempted to speak to her in his broken English, 33 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: it was clear she had little time for idle chit chat, 34 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 1: and it was the same throughout her stay with Alexeia, 35 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: who was only ever seen alone, offering only the most 36 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: perfunctory of replies if any one attempted to engage her 37 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:51,399 Speaker 1: in conversation, and then when her five nights were up, 38 00:02:52,200 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: she was gone. It was two weeks later when a 39 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: woman named Elizabeth Leanhuer, traveling from Ostend in Belgium, checked 40 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: in to Bergen's Hotel hard to Hyman, barely a five 41 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 1: minute walk from Hotel Neptune. The receptionist couldn't help but 42 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: be impressed by how swiftly she filled in the hotel's 43 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:24,799 Speaker 1: registration form, writing in all the details, including her passport number, 44 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:30,799 Speaker 1: straight from memory. Not unlike Alexia at the Neptune, Elizabeth 45 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: too had an unusually confident air about her. She was 46 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: clearly well traveled and multi lingual, with sharp, striking features 47 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: and dark hair, leading some to suspect an Eastern European heritage. Later, 48 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: when she was shown to her room, she made a 49 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: bee line for the window. After taking a moment to 50 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: examine the street below and the apartment's opposite, she turned 51 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: back to the attendant and asked to be moved. Moments later, 52 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: she was shown into room four oh seven, which by contrast, 53 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: had a largely uninterrupted view, and agreed to take it. 54 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: Over the next four days, Elizabeth was seen occasionally coming 55 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: and going from the hotel. When she ate, she preferred 56 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: to order room service rather than sit in the dining room. 57 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: The staff thought it strange how long it would take 58 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,840 Speaker 1: for her to open the door when they delivered it. 59 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: While sometimes she wouldn't even open the door and simply 60 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: requested that it be left for her outside, on more 61 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: than one occasion, the food or coffee she'd ordered would 62 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: simply stay in the corridor untouched. On November twenty third, 63 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 1: Elizabeth checked out of the hotel and had the receptionist 64 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: order her a taxi to Bergen's station. When it arrived, 65 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: he helped load her two large suitcases into the back 66 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: and waved her on her way. Sometime later, in the 67 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: twilight hours, as gray clouds gathered in the skies above, 68 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: a young man made its way across the mountain slopes 69 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: just to the north of Lakes Fartetiquette, just east of Bergen. 70 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: Having set out from Arna just over a mile away. 71 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 1: He was nearing the end of his walk when he 72 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: saw a woman with dark shoulder length hair, dressed oddly 73 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,599 Speaker 1: for a trek through the mountains in city clothes, but 74 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: more than that, it was clear from the woman's face 75 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: that she was panicked and in a hurry to get somewhere. 76 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 1: For a moment, he thought she might say something to him, 77 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: But then she glanced back suddenly toward two men in 78 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: the distance, who were steadily heading toward them. Before long, 79 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,359 Speaker 1: the woman was past him and rushing onwards to wherever 80 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: she was going. The moment seemingly missed, the man turned 81 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: back toward Bergen and continued on his way. This moment, 82 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: and his failure to intervene, would haunt him for the 83 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: rest of his life. You're listening to Unexplained, and I'm 84 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: Richard McClean smith. The young girl's feet squelched in the 85 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,720 Speaker 1: mud as she climbed through the long grass up into 86 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:36,559 Speaker 1: the valley. It had just gone one on November twenty ninth, 87 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy, and the girl, only twelve years old, was 88 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: making good headway through his Darling or Ice Valley to 89 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: the south of Lakes Vartetiquette, just east of Bergen. She 90 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,479 Speaker 1: stopped to take a breath and gazed out at the 91 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: snow and pine covered hills around her and down toward 92 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 1: the still dark waters of the lake below. A little 93 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: further down the valley, her father and ten year old 94 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: sister did their best to keep pace, shouting for them 95 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: to hurry up. The girl turned and continued up the slope. 96 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: A few minutes later, having stepped into a clearing, she 97 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: was approaching a small scattering of boulders when she caught 98 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: the whiff of something odd in the air, like charcoal. 99 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: Almost it was odd since there wasn't a campfire in sight, 100 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: and since it was so damp and cold, there wasn't 101 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: likely to have been one any time recently. Then she 102 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: looked again at the patch of boulders and screamed. Nestled 103 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: in the middle of it was the unmistakable outline of 104 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: a human body lying on its back with its arms 105 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: outstretched before it that was completely burned all over. One 106 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: foot had fallen off, while the face had all but 107 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: melted entirely revealing teeth. At the sound of her screams, 108 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: the girl's father rushed quickly to get her, urging her 109 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: not to look as he turned her away from the 110 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: hideous sight and told her to join her sister further 111 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: down the mountain. It would be well over an hour 112 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: before the family made it back to Bergen, from where 113 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: they were able to inform the police about what they'd found. 114 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:33,599 Speaker 1: With every step on their return, pregnant with the terrifying 115 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: thought that a killer was stalking the mountains around them. 116 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: It was sometime in the afternoon that the call came 117 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: into the Burgen Central Police station alerting them to the 118 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: discovery of a burnt body in the mountains. A light 119 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: rain had begun to fall as the first officers arrived 120 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: at the scene. What they found there was like nothing 121 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: any of them adevoring counter before is Darlin, where the 122 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: corpse was found, was well known to the police as 123 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,439 Speaker 1: a local suicide spot, with it believed that people had 124 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: chosen to end their lives there since medieval times. A 125 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: number of deaths caused by walkers getting disorientated in fog 126 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: in the nineteen sixties had only helped to further slidify 127 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: the valley's nickname Death Valley. At the scene, police promptly 128 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: got to work combing the area for clues as to 129 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: what exactly might have happened. Certainly on a superficial level, 130 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:47,319 Speaker 1: it seemed to bear all the hallmarks of suicide. There 131 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: was the half drunk bottle of hard liquor, as well 132 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:54,560 Speaker 1: as a box of matches and two melted plastic bottles 133 00:09:55,080 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: which police assumed had contained petrol, Some speculated that pills 134 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: had probably been taken to Some fragments of clothing, or 135 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,479 Speaker 1: at least what was left of them, were also recovered, 136 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:13,079 Speaker 1: along with some rubber boots, an umbrella, and a fur hat, 137 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: all of which, coupled with the relatively small size of 138 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: the victim, led police to conclude that it was the 139 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: corpse of an adult female. However, no ide was found 140 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: at the scene. As such, police were left with the 141 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 1: unenviable task of combing through missing persons reports and hoping 142 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: for a call from concerned friends or relatives looking for 143 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 1: someone who hadn't been seen for some time. With the 144 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,560 Speaker 1: victim's death judged to have occurred almost a week previously, 145 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 1: for a town like Bergen, it wouldn't be long until 146 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: the pieces would start to fit together. And yet, after 147 00:10:55,840 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 1: two days of searching, investigators had no more what they'd 148 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 1: started with, but also something a little odd had been discovered. 149 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 1: Of all the items they recovered from the scene, none 150 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: had any identifying marks on them at all, no labels 151 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: on the bottles or even the items of clothes, all 152 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 1: having seemingly been purposefully removed. It was three days after 153 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 1: the body was found when the call came in from 154 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: Norway's National Criminal Investigation Service known as Krippos, who Burgen 155 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,319 Speaker 1: police had drafted in to assist with the unusual case. 156 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: Investigators had located two suitcases at Bergen train station which 157 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: had been unclaimed for over a week. Now finally it 158 00:11:48,840 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 1: seemed they had a break. The suitcases, unsurprisingly, were full 159 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:05,079 Speaker 1: of clothes, practical but stylish. There was make up too, 160 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,680 Speaker 1: of the expensive kind, brought from a well known shop 161 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: in Paris. All fairly standard, you might say. From there 162 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:18,200 Speaker 1: on in, however, things began to get a little strange. 163 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 1: A number of whigs were discovered among the clothes, as 164 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: well as a pair of non prescription glasses, the kind 165 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 1: you might wear as part of a disguise, say, as 166 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,959 Speaker 1: opposed to glasses that would help you see better. There 167 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 1: was a fair amount of money too, in multiple denominations, 168 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:43,079 Speaker 1: from Norwegian, German and Belgian to Swiss and English. They 169 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: also found a tube of bet novat x macream with 170 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: the patient's prescription label on it, but any hope of 171 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 1: finding a name was soon dashed when it was found 172 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: to have been deliberately scratched out, along with the name 173 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:01,320 Speaker 1: of the doctor who prescribed it. When the clothes were 174 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 1: examined closer, they too were found to have had their 175 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:11,680 Speaker 1: labels removed. No identity documentation was found at all, but 176 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: spirits was soon raised when officers discovered a note book 177 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: buried among the other items. Much like everything else, However, 178 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 1: it only served to deepen the mystery. Inside, investigators found 179 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:32,160 Speaker 1: what looked like some kind of alphanumeric code written out 180 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 1: in three separate columns, one reading, for example, ten M 181 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:45,319 Speaker 1: eleven M, sixteen M L seventeen M and continuing on 182 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 1: in a similar manner. A Swedish hiking map was also found, 183 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: with the name of five train stations written at the 184 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:58,679 Speaker 1: top of it. A thumb print extracted from the glasses, 185 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 1: matching that of corpse, provided some proof at least that 186 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 1: the suitcases had likely belonged to the deceased. However, with 187 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: no idea what the apparent code in the notebook alluded to, 188 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,200 Speaker 1: the only genuine clue investigators were left with was a 189 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: shopping bag for the Oscar road Vet footwear store located 190 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: in Stavanger, a coastal town roughly one hundred and twenty 191 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:33,000 Speaker 1: miles to the south of Bergen. This podcast is sponsored 192 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 1: by Better help. Is there something interfering with your happiness 193 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 1: or preventing you from achieving your goals. Better help will 194 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 1: assess your needs and match you with your own license 195 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: to professional therapist. It's not a crisis line or self help. 196 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: It's professional therapy done securely online with a broad range 197 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: of expertise that may not be locally available in many areas. 198 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: You can log into your account anytime and send a 199 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 1: message to your therapist. You'll get timely and thoughtful responses. 200 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: Plus you can shed weekly video or phone sessions so 201 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: you won't ever have to sit in an uncomfortable waiting 202 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 1: room as with traditional therapy. Better help is committed to 203 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: facilitating great therapeutic matches, so they make it easy and 204 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,479 Speaker 1: free to change therapists if need it. It's more affordable 205 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 1: than traditional online therapy, and financial aid is also available. 206 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: Better help want you to start living a happier life today, 207 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 1: and they have a special offer for unexplained listeners. Get 208 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: ten percent off your first month visit beetterhelp dot com, 209 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: forward slash Unexplained one zero. That's better help Help and 210 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: join the over two million people who have taken charge 211 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: of their mental health with the help of an experienced 212 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 1: professional that's better help dot com forward slash unexplained one 213 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 1: zero Rolph wrought Vett, was on duty in his father's 214 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,920 Speaker 1: shop when the woman came in. He remembered her well 215 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: because she took such an inordinate amount of time to 216 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: choose her shoes, eventually alighting on a pair of blue 217 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: rubber boots with a draw string at the front, the 218 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: same that were found at the scene of her death. 219 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: Rolph was the first to provide a description of the woman, 220 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: describing her as being around thirty years old, of medium height, 221 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: with long, dark hair and brown eyes, and having a 222 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 1: curvy figure. The woman didn't even buy the shoes once 223 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: she'd chosen them, deciding instead to come back the next 224 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: day to get them. This small detail suggested she'd likely 225 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: stayed in a local hotel overnight, prompting a number of 226 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: police to visit every hotel in town to see if 227 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:47,160 Speaker 1: anyone recognized the woman from Ralph's description, and finally they 228 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 1: got a hit. A receptionist at Stavanger's Saint smithn hotel 229 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,240 Speaker 1: identified her as one of their recent guests who'd stayed 230 00:16:56,280 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: at the hotel from November ninth to the eighteenth, and 231 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: from that they had a name, Fennella Lorc, a tourist 232 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: who'd been visiting Norway from Belgium. With huge relief back 233 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:16,479 Speaker 1: at Bergen police headquarters, investigators then began the laborious task 234 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: of trying to trace her last movements, starting first of 235 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,359 Speaker 1: all with whether she'd stayed in Bergen before she was 236 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:27,159 Speaker 1: found there, but no one under that name came up. 237 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 1: After consultation with police forces in Belgium, no Fennella Lork 238 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: or any one matching her description appeared to being reported 239 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:42,240 Speaker 1: missing any time recently either, and so the investigators tried 240 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:47,879 Speaker 1: something else. Armed with Fennella Lorc's alien registration form, a 241 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:52,359 Speaker 1: standard government form that all foreign guests staying at hotels 242 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:56,199 Speaker 1: in Norway were required to fill out, they requested the 243 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 1: names and forms of any foreign females who'd stayed in 244 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: Norway any time between Fenella's visit to Stavanger and late 245 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:18,119 Speaker 1: November when her body was found. What they discovered astonished them. 246 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: As the forms came in, investigators trawled through each and 247 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:27,960 Speaker 1: every one, looking for any that might match Fenella's. Incredibly, 248 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:32,720 Speaker 1: no less than seven individuals had filled out registration forms 249 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:39,119 Speaker 1: with the same, uncannily similar handwriting Genevieve Lancier stayed in 250 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,479 Speaker 1: Oslo from twenty first to the twenty fourth of March. 251 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 1: Claudia Tilt checked into two separate hotels in Bergen from 252 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: March twenty fourth to April first. Some months later, on 253 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 1: the night of October twenty ninth, a Claudia Nielsen stayed 254 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:03,639 Speaker 1: in Stavanger, while one Alexia Zanna Marshay appeared at the 255 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 1: Neptune Hotel in Bergen the following night, staying there until 256 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: November fifth. Then there was Vera Yaral, who stayed in Trondheim, 257 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:18,160 Speaker 1: another coastal town about four hundred miles northeast of Bergen, 258 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:22,160 Speaker 1: from the sixth to the eighth of November, followed by 259 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:26,399 Speaker 1: Fenella Lorkee who was identified as the victim, who checked 260 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: into the Saints Fithan Hotel back in Stevanger the following day, 261 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 1: and then finally the wasmers Elizabeth Leenhauer, who during her 262 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,880 Speaker 1: time in Bergen in mid November, also stayed in two 263 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:45,400 Speaker 1: separate hotels, eventually ending her time in the city at 264 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 1: the Hotel Order Hymen, from where she checked out on 265 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: November twenty third. All seven women had stated their nationality 266 00:19:55,119 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 1: as Belgian, with each providing their own individual passports as 267 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:06,400 Speaker 1: I dentification, and all quite clearly were the exact same person. 268 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 1: Needless to say, her identification as someone called Vanella Lorc 269 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:18,440 Speaker 1: was now thrown completely out of the window. However, with 270 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 1: this explosive new information, CRYPOS investigators took another look at 271 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 1: the cryptic columns of letters and numbers in her notebook 272 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:33,360 Speaker 1: and quickly identified a pattern they correlated precisely with when 273 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:44,560 Speaker 1: and where the woman had stayed in Norway. On December fifth, 274 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy, an autopsy on the deceased's body was finally 275 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: carried out and a more formal description of her began 276 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: to take shape. The woman had been one hundred and 277 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: sixty four centimeters tall and was described as having a 278 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:03,399 Speaker 1: slender build with broad hips, and had brown eyes and 279 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:07,560 Speaker 1: dark brown and blackish hair. She was aged somewhere between 280 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,359 Speaker 1: twenty five to thirty five at the time of her death. 281 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:15,680 Speaker 1: It was also determined that she'd never given birth. Ten 282 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: gold teeth in her jaw were of a kind most 283 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: often used in southern or central Europe, which suggested a 284 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: possible point of origin for her. But perhaps most significantly 285 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 1: of all were the fifty to seventy undigested tablets of 286 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 1: the sedative phenomel found in her stomach. For the Burgen police, 287 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: this was further evidence to support the suicide theory, since 288 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 1: it was considered inconceivable that anyone could have been forced 289 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:48,119 Speaker 1: to swallow so many pills. The woman's death was officially 290 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:51,359 Speaker 1: recorded as being caused by a combination of a drug 291 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:56,960 Speaker 1: overdose and carbon monoxide inhalation from the smoke generated by 292 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: her own body as it burned. In other words, the 293 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 1: woman had been alive when she caught fire, hinting again 294 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,880 Speaker 1: as far as the police were concerned that she'd done 295 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: it to herself. For the next few weeks, Bergen police 296 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: focused their energy on building a timeline of the deceased 297 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:27,120 Speaker 1: woman's last known movements. Anyone they could find who'd seen 298 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: or talk to her in her various guises was interviewed 299 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: from Alvid Rangnus and Lillian Kohne at Hotel Neptune in Bergen, 300 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:40,280 Speaker 1: who knew her as Alexia Zana Marchay, to the taxi 301 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:43,960 Speaker 1: driver who believed he was taking a woman called Elizabeth 302 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: Leenhouer from Bergen's Hotel Horde Hymen to Bergen station on 303 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:53,160 Speaker 1: November twenty third, a man who was quickly established as 304 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: the last person to see her alive, or painted a 305 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 1: picture of a mysterious Lona, at times a confidant, sophisticated, 306 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: multi lingual woman of the world, at other times anxious 307 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: and paranoid. Nothing was found, however, to help identify her. 308 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 1: In response, an image was compiled from the various descriptions 309 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 1: and release to the press in the hope that some 310 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:26,960 Speaker 1: one might recognize her, but no one came forward. When 311 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:31,200 Speaker 1: news of her numerous identities inevitably made their way into 312 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,440 Speaker 1: the press, rumors that she was some kind of secret 313 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 1: agent began to circulate, forcing the Burgen Police to hold 314 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:44,000 Speaker 1: a press conference to set the record straight. When asked 315 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:48,199 Speaker 1: if she was involved in espionach Oscar Hardness, head of 316 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:53,120 Speaker 1: criminal investigations, replied no, I think we can safely say 317 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 1: there's nothing to support this. Actually, we can completely rule 318 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: it out, and when asked if it was murder, Hardness 319 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: replied simply that there was no reason to assume that 320 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: it was. Meanwhile, in another section of the Bergen police station, 321 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: a message received via teleprinter was slowly printing itself out. 322 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,840 Speaker 1: It came from the security department of the Norwegian Armed 323 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:24,680 Speaker 1: Forces and seemed to paint a very different picture from 324 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:35,360 Speaker 1: the one that Oscar Hardness was quietly giving. A few 325 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: days before the police conference, sea fisher Burton Rot, working 326 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 1: out of a port in Stavanger, approached a security officer 327 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 1: at the uls Nest naval base, located on the city's 328 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 1: north shore. After seeing the image of the deceased woman 329 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:55,399 Speaker 1: in the paper. Rott believed he recognized her as someone 330 00:24:55,480 --> 00:25:00,439 Speaker 1: he'd seen acting suspiciously at the port in Tananger, another 331 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:06,120 Speaker 1: coastal town just to the west of Stavanger. Tananger also 332 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: just happened to be the place where a series of 333 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:13,720 Speaker 1: naval exercises involving a top secret and newly developed missile 334 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: known as a Penguin had just been carried out. The 335 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,800 Speaker 1: Penguin anti ship missile was one of the most advanced 336 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: forms of naval ordinance in the world at the time, 337 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,120 Speaker 1: and it also just so happened as the message from 338 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 1: that teleprinter was explaining that the unidentified woman had been 339 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,680 Speaker 1: in the precise place at the precise time on two 340 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,960 Speaker 1: occasions when this system was being tested, and on one 341 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:47,359 Speaker 1: occasion when Norway's twenty fifth missile boat squadron were conducting 342 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:52,920 Speaker 1: some missile related exercises. On each of these occasions, it 343 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:57,480 Speaker 1: was reported that Soviet boats were seen in nearby waters, 344 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 1: appearing just in time for the exercise, as if they 345 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: knew when and where exactly they were taking place. Furthermore, 346 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,280 Speaker 1: it was also found that the woman had arrived at 347 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,160 Speaker 1: Trondheim Airport on the same day that two Soviet spies 348 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,679 Speaker 1: known as Rubenov and Popoff, were also known to have 349 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 1: arrived at that airport. Though they are known to have 350 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:24,639 Speaker 1: left the airport before the unknown woman arrived, there was 351 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: nothing to suggest they hadn't performed some kind of dead 352 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 1: drop for her to later pick up. Whether any of 353 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 1: this was taken into consideration by the Burgen police is unclear. Publicly, 354 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: at least, they appeared to have made up their mind 355 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:46,640 Speaker 1: the woman, whoever she was, they believed, had committed suicide, 356 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: having been suffering from some kind of paranoid delusion or 357 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,160 Speaker 1: state that had compelled her to not only maintain a 358 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:59,600 Speaker 1: series of multiple alter egos, complete with disguises and fake passports, 359 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:03,639 Speaker 1: but also to make continual efforts to erase all evidence 360 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:06,879 Speaker 1: of her true identity, from cutting out the labels of 361 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:10,199 Speaker 1: her clothes to removing her name on the label of 362 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:16,640 Speaker 1: her Exma cream. Allied nations were approached and asked surreptitiously 363 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 1: if they had any operatives working in Norway at the time, 364 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: but all claimed not to know of any such thing. 365 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:35,640 Speaker 1: With over a hundred people interviewed during the three week investigation, 366 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:39,200 Speaker 1: the mysterious case appeared to have hit a dead end. 367 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:44,880 Speaker 1: On February fifth, nineteen seventy one, over two months since 368 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,920 Speaker 1: her body had been found. The unknown woman was laid 369 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:55,080 Speaker 1: to rest. A short service was held at Bergen's Molndar Cemetery, 370 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: led by a Catholic priest, chosen on account of the 371 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:01,840 Speaker 1: fact that many of the woman's aliases were the names 372 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:07,280 Speaker 1: of Catholic saints, after which her white coffin, laden with 373 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: tulips and carnations, was carried outside into the cold and 374 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:16,080 Speaker 1: rain as twelve men and women of the Bergen police 375 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: force followed behind. Another six carried it toward the unmarked 376 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: plot at the edge of the graveyard. Then, after a 377 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 1: few more words from the priest, the unknown Woman's body 378 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 1: was slowly lowered into the ground. The coffin was made 379 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:38,480 Speaker 1: of zinc to prevent disintegration in the event that any 380 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,960 Speaker 1: family or loved ones might come forward to claim the 381 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 1: woman's remains, but no one ever did, and in nineteen 382 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 1: seventy three the case was formerly closed. In twenty sixteen, 383 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:58,080 Speaker 1: with the Isdal woman, as she became known all but 384 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:04,840 Speaker 1: forgotten about, a team from Norway's public broadcaster NRK decided 385 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:07,600 Speaker 1: to turn their expert eye on it in the hope 386 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: that modern day forensic techniques might finally solve the mystery. 387 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:16,680 Speaker 1: New analysis carried out on her teeth revealed surprisingly that 388 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 1: she was in fact more likely to be forty to 389 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 1: fifty years old, while a DNA profile successfully extracted for 390 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:29,120 Speaker 1: the first time from preserved tissue samples, along with further 391 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:32,960 Speaker 1: handwriting analysis, appeared to narrow down her place of birth 392 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,400 Speaker 1: to somewhere close to the border of France and Germany. 393 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 1: Aside from that, little more concrete evidence has come to light. 394 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 1: Over the years, A number of people have come forward 395 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:50,360 Speaker 1: claiming to have small snippets of information that might help 396 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:54,200 Speaker 1: to identify the woman, but those two seemed to have 397 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:59,840 Speaker 1: led nowhere, and so the true identity of the Isdel 398 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,520 Speaker 1: woman and what happened to her which continues to haunt 399 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 1: all those who glimpsed, if only for a moment, this 400 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 1: most beguiling and enigmatic figure, from the numerous hotel staff 401 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 1: to the anonymous man stricken with guilt that you might 402 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 1: have well passed her in the mountains only hours before 403 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:28,840 Speaker 1: her death, remains a mysstory. If you enjoy Unexplained and 404 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 1: would like to help supporters, you can now do so 405 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:35,280 Speaker 1: via Patreon. To receive access to add three episodes. Just 406 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 1: go to patron dot com forward slash Unexplained Pod to 407 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:43,480 Speaker 1: sign up. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, featuring ten stories 408 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 1: that have never before been covered on the show, is 409 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 1: now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase through Amazon, 410 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements 411 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: have Unexplained, including the show's music, are produced by me 412 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:01,200 Speaker 1: Richard McClain smith. 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