1 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: Around two a m. On November twenty eighth, nineteen fifty three, 2 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:20,799 Speaker 1: the grand colonnaded lobby of New York's Statler Hotel was 3 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 1: quiet as night manager armand pass Story ambled towards the 4 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: reception desk. The silence came as a relief to pass 5 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: Story after a hectic few hours dealing with boisterous guests 6 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:41,160 Speaker 1: enjoying the Thanksgiving weekend. Now with pretty much everybody having 7 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: gone to bed, he could finally relax. Even the Manhattan 8 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: street outside was deserted as he approached the desk, when 9 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: the silence was suddenly punctured by the sound of shattering glass, 10 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: followed a few seconds later by the sense of something 11 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: outside falling and landing with a crunching thud on the sidewalk. Pastori, 12 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: his mind fuzzy with panic, immediately sprinted out into the 13 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:19,199 Speaker 1: street outside on Seventh Avenue. He found a middle aged 14 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: man crumpled on the ground, his legs shattered and his 15 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: body twisted at an unnatural angle. He was wearing his 16 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: undershirt and shorts as though he'd just gotten out of bed. 17 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: Pastore glanced upwards at the vast, darkened facade of the 18 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: hotel and saw light shining through a broken window thirteen 19 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: floors up, a dangling curtain flapping in the breeze. Turning 20 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: back to the man, he saw with horror that he 21 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: was trying to speak. Incredibly, the man was still alive. 22 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: Pastore staggered forward and kneeled down beside him, Cradling the 23 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: man's head in his hands. He tried hard to understand 24 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: what he was mumbling in his faint, hoarsey voice, but 25 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:19,119 Speaker 1: it was unintelligible. What's your name, he asked the man urgently, 26 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: but the man did not reply. I'm going to get help. 27 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: Don't move, he said, getting up quickly, But no sooner 28 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: had the words left his mouth, he could see that 29 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: it was too late. The stranger took one last labored 30 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:41,959 Speaker 1: in hail, and then stopped breathing. His broken body went limp. 31 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: Pastore drew his hand up to his mouth and stepped back, 32 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:52,080 Speaker 1: glancing up at the curtains still flapping in the wind above. 33 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,640 Speaker 1: There was simply no way, he thought that the fall 34 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: was an accident. Either this poor man jumped from the 35 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:05,839 Speaker 1: window himself, or he'd been thrown out of it. When 36 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: the police arrived moments later, Pastore escorted them to the 37 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: thirteenth floor. As they walked down the corridor towards Room 38 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: ten eighteen A, he prayed silently that they'd find the 39 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: answers they were looking for behind that locked door. You're 40 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: listening to Unexplained, and I'm Richard McLean Smith. Frank Olsen 41 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: never envisaged himself working for the CIA. Born to Swedish 42 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: immigrants in nineteen ten, he grew up in a small 43 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: mining town in Wisconsin and was entranced by agriculture and 44 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: rural life. But he was also an exceptional student, and 45 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: so instead of becoming a farmer like other young men 46 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: men in his area at the time, he went to college. 47 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: There he studied agronomy, the science of crop production, and 48 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: eventually earned a PhD in the subject. When World War 49 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: II broke out, Olson felt called to serve his country, 50 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: and he became an Army scientist for the US Chemical Corps. 51 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: Assigned to the Biological Warfare Program, he worked alongside a 52 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:31,359 Speaker 1: handful of other scientists on aerosol technologies that could be 53 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: used against enemy combatants. Though the war ended in nineteen 54 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: forty five, the Army's efforts to produce biological weapons continued. 55 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: Olson stayed on at Fort Detrick in Maryland, where he 56 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: worked on a number of highly classified experiments involving airborne 57 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: viruses and toxic bacteria. There was a feeling of urgency 58 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: about this research, a sense that America was in a 59 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: high stakes arms race against an increasingly dangerous enemy. Military 60 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: and intelligence officials feared that the government of the Soviet 61 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: Union had already mastered airborne biological warfare, and that they 62 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: could at any moment launch an invisible attack on the 63 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:24,600 Speaker 1: US that would be undetectable until it was too late. 64 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: In the early days of the Cold War, this paranoia 65 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 1: led to the creation of a brand new, highly classified 66 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: division at Detrich. The exact nature of the Special Operations 67 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: Division's work was a mystery to everybody except the select 68 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:49,119 Speaker 1: few who worked there, and in nineteen forty nine, Frank 69 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: Olsen was invited to join them, rising quickly through the ranks, 70 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: within a year, he'd become chief of the Special Operations Division, 71 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: or SOD. But despite this rapid ascent, he seemed ill 72 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: suited to the work. Many of the sod's experiments involved 73 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: testing poisonous gases on animals, which never sat well with Olson. 74 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: At times, he would arrive at work in the morning 75 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 1: to find his laboratory littered with dead monkeys. Other colleagues 76 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: simply shrugged it off, but Olsen found it deeply upsetting. 77 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: By the early nineteen fifties, Olson was married with three 78 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: young children. It was about this time that his wife, Alice, 79 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: began to notice a change in her husband. He seemed 80 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: to have lost his energy and often came home from 81 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:53,280 Speaker 1: Detrich in a dark, reflective mood. It seemed as if 82 00:06:53,320 --> 00:07:03,720 Speaker 1: his work was draining the life out of him. In 83 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:08,360 Speaker 1: early nineteen fifty three, Olson resigned suddenly as chief of 84 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: the SOD, claiming that the stress of the job was 85 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: giving him stomach holsers. Nonetheless, he continued working within the 86 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: division in a reduced capacity, clearly unwilling to walk away 87 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: from his work completely. It was around this time that 88 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: Olson also joined the CIA, where he began work on 89 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: covert projects designed to preempt an enemy attack, including one 90 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: project known as m k Ultra, where now the focus 91 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: was on the mind rather than the body. The program 92 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: was established in response to the conviction among some in 93 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: the U. S Military that communist forces in the Soviet 94 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: Union and China had developed a strange brainwashing technique which 95 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: could be used to extract secrets from captured U S civilians, 96 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: and so the CIA began to develop a mind control 97 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: program all of its own. Of course, Olson couldn't discuss 98 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: the details of his work with anyone outside of the agency, 99 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: but it was clear to anyone around him that, for 100 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: some reason, his work was taking a heavy toll. After 101 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: a covert trip to Europe in the summer of nineteen 102 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: fifty three, he came back more withdrawn than ever. In fact, 103 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: he seemed almost haunted by something. But his wife's urging, 104 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: Frank agreed to take some time off. In August of 105 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: that year, he spent two weeks in the Adirondack Mountains 106 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: in northeastern New York State, helping his brother in law 107 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:58,319 Speaker 1: to reroof a family cabin, but the trip had little 108 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: effect with Olson's His brother in law convinced that Frank 109 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: was in the grip of some deep moral crisis. He'd 110 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: even taken to reading the Bible every night, as if 111 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,680 Speaker 1: he were seeking absolution for something. It was a few 112 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: months later when Olsen received an invitation to an off 113 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: site agency retreat hosted by Sidney Gottlieb, a senior chemist 114 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: who headed much of the CIA's most closely guarded research, 115 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: including MK ULTRA. Held at a cabin in Deep Creek Lake, 116 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:39,559 Speaker 1: a quiet spot nestled in the picturesque mountains of West Maryland, 117 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,439 Speaker 1: the retreat would be a chance for the CIA's most 118 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: trusted scientists to enjoy some well earned rest and relaxation 119 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: ahead of the Thanksgiving break, and discussed their ongoing projects. 120 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: At least that was the pitch. The true purpose of 121 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: the meeting was something else entirely. On Wednesday, November eighteenth, 122 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: Frank drove out to Deep Creek Lake, where he soon 123 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,719 Speaker 1: met up with his colleagues. The first evening was uneventful. 124 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: The group gathered for drinks and dinner and compared notes 125 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: on their current research. All of the men present worked 126 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: on highly classified projects and shared the same security clearance. 127 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 1: As much as anything, it was a relief simply to 128 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: be all the way out there where they could speak 129 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: freely about their work outside of the lab, far from 130 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: civilian ears. That convivial atmosphere continued into the next day, 131 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 1: and after spending the afternoon fishing and boating on the lake, 132 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:00,439 Speaker 1: the men dined together again. Once they'd finished with dessert, 133 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: As the men lit cigarettes and cigars and settled a 134 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 1: little deeper into their chairs. Sydney Gottlieb poured out glasses 135 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: of quantroll for everyone. Together. They raised their tumblers, clinking 136 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: them jovially, and made a toast to the future. Within 137 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: half an hour, the atmosphere began to shift. Some of 138 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: the men fell silent or became unsteady on their feet. 139 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: Are any of you feeling strange? Gottlieb basked. Frank looked 140 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:42,680 Speaker 1: down at the ground the room suddenly feeling strange and distant, 141 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: as the pattern of the rug seemed to be shifting, 142 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:52,959 Speaker 1: undulating like a snake twisting around his feet. His thoughts 143 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:57,679 Speaker 1: flashed back to the toast. An image of Gottlieb floated 144 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: across his mind, pouring quant but not taking a drink 145 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:07,839 Speaker 1: for himself. The sound of Gottlieb's voice brought him back 146 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 1: to the room. He tried to focus on the words 147 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,439 Speaker 1: coming out of his mouth. It was something about the 148 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: quantroe being spiked with LSD by sergic acid diethylamite or LSD, 149 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: first synthesized in nineteen thirty eight by Swiss chemist Albert Hoffmann, 150 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: is a fast acting and highly potent psychedelic drug. It 151 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 1: works by flattening the function of the brain, where ordinarily 152 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 1: separate networks of the brain work independently to control how 153 00:12:49,559 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 1: we see, move, hear, and comprehend. With LSD, those barriers 154 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:00,120 Speaker 1: are broken down. Things we take for granted as being 155 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: solid and immutable start to dissolve. Depending on the dosage, 156 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: its effects can range from mild shifts in perception and 157 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 1: mood to extremely vivid hallucinations and bizarre thoughts. The experience 158 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: can be euphoric or utterly terrifying. It's not clear exactly 159 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 1: what causes someone to have a bad trip, but research 160 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: suggests that the effects of psychedelics depend heavily on a 161 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:34,680 Speaker 1: person's social surroundings, their mindset when they take the drug, 162 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: and their expectations of it. It's known as set and setting. 163 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 1: Being unknowingly dosed with LSD at a work gathering was 164 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: not a healthy combination. Back at their table in the restaurant, Sydney, 165 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:55,080 Speaker 1: Gottlieb told the astonished men that they were all guinea 166 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,480 Speaker 1: pigs in an experiment designed to test what would happen 167 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:03,040 Speaker 1: if an American song scientist was captured and drugged with LSD. 168 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,559 Speaker 1: Would they be able to resist the drug's effects, or 169 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:12,840 Speaker 1: would they betray their country and reveal the CIA's secrets. 170 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: But it soon became clear to Gottlieb that the experiment 171 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: was a failure. After the men recovered from the shock 172 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: of finding out they'd been drugged, Gottlieb could only look 173 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 1: on in frustration as they quickly descended into laughter and 174 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 1: marveled at the strange colours and sounds their drugged brains 175 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 1: were conjuring up. The details of exactly what happened during 176 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: the rest of that bizarre, acid fueled night are known 177 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: only to the men who were there. The next morning, 178 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 1: still feeling the residual effects of the drugs, the men 179 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: all departed the cabin and drove home to their family 180 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: in time for the weekend. It can take up to 181 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: a day for LSD to leave your system, but even 182 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 1: once it does, the psychological effects can linger for days, weeks, 183 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,720 Speaker 1: or even longer. When Frank Olsen returned to his home 184 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: in Frederick, Maryland, his wife Alice immediately noticed that something 185 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:27,600 Speaker 1: was wrong. If he spoke at all, he was monosyllabic 186 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 1: at best, and he had withdrawn further into himself. When 187 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: she pressed him for details about what had happened. At 188 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 1: the cabin, Frank was reluctant to tell her anything. Eventually, 189 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 1: he said only that the meeting had not gone well. 190 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: He'd lost control, he said, and made a terrible mistake. 191 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: Frank seemed consumed by shame and said his colleagues had 192 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: laughed at him. A confused Alice tried to get him 193 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,840 Speaker 1: to tell her what the mistake was, but it was 194 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: to no avail. Perhaps if Alice had known about the LSD, 195 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: she might have thought her husband's mood was simply down 196 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: to paranoia, a common side effect of a bad trip, 197 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: but as it was, she was left bewildered and alarmed. 198 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 1: Frank didn't seem himself at all. On Monday morning, he 199 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: headed into work early and went straight to see his boss, 200 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: Vincent rwit Rewit had been at the retreat too, and 201 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 1: had found his own LSD experience deeply frightening. That morning, 202 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: he was on edge, so when Frank showed up at 203 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: his office, his face gaunt and pale, Ruit wasn't surprised, 204 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: but he didn't anticipate what happened next. Olson became agitated 205 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 1: and asked Ruit if he wanted to fire him or 206 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: if he should quit. Sensing Olson's suddenly insecurity. Ruitt did 207 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: his best to try and calm him down, telling him 208 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: that his work was invaluable and that there was absolutely 209 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 1: no reason for him to resign, and eventually Frank relented, 210 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,959 Speaker 1: but the following morning, he was back in Ruitt's office 211 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:29,920 Speaker 1: demanding that he accept his resignation. After calming Olsen down 212 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 1: once more, Vincent Rwitt called Sidney Gottlieb to report what 213 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 1: was going on. Olsen clearly had had some kind of 214 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:43,959 Speaker 1: mental break on account of the LSD trip, surely thought 215 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:49,400 Speaker 1: Gottlieb had planned for something like this. Gottlieb then met 216 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: with Olson himself, and after concurring with Ruitt's assessment, he 217 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:58,880 Speaker 1: and his deputy, Robert Lashbrook, arranged for Olsen to see 218 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:04,359 Speaker 1: a doctor in US York City named Harold Abramson. Abramson 219 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: was chosen because he had deep ties to the CIA 220 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:12,679 Speaker 1: and was also involved in their mind control research. He 221 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 1: had equal security clearance, which meant that Olson could speak 222 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: freely in his presence. There was just one problem. Abramson 223 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: was not a psychiatrist. He was an allergist whose pioneering 224 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: research into LSD was currently being funded by the CIA. 225 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 1: He had absolute loyalty to the agency, which is why 226 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:41,640 Speaker 1: Gottlieb trusted him with such a sensitive matter. During their 227 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:46,199 Speaker 1: meeting in Manhattan, Olsen told Abramson that he hadn't felt 228 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:51,399 Speaker 1: like himself ever since being dosed with LSD. He wasn't 229 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 1: sleeping well, had lost his ability to concentrate, and was 230 00:18:55,760 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: struggling with basic cognitive tasks. Sadly for Olsen, Abramson had 231 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 1: no interest in providing him with any psychiatric advice, nor 232 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:12,439 Speaker 1: did he have any ability to do so. Instead, he 233 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 1: prescribed a sedative and a bottle of bourbon for his 234 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,399 Speaker 1: sleeping troubles, and assured him that the rest of his 235 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,119 Speaker 1: symptoms would clear up once he got a good night's rest, 236 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: and for the next few days it worked. Frank seemed 237 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:32,959 Speaker 1: calmer after seeing Abramsom, much to Gottlieb and Lashbrook's relief, 238 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 1: but they wanted to make sure he was absolutely on 239 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:41,920 Speaker 1: the right track and recommended another expert that he should see. 240 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:46,359 Speaker 1: John Mulholland was not a doctor. He was a magician 241 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 1: who'd been enlisted by the CIA some years earlier to 242 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:55,720 Speaker 1: write a manual on the art of deception, concealment, and misdirection. 243 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 1: Why Olsen was taken to see mul Holland. Is a mystery. 244 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:06,240 Speaker 1: Perhaps the CIA hoped that hypnosis could help to soothe 245 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: Olson's panic, but whatever Mulholland did, it backfired. Frank was 246 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,679 Speaker 1: accompanied to his meeting with John Mulholland by his boss, 247 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: Vincent Ruitt and Sydney Gottlieb's assistant Robert Lashbrook, who both 248 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: seemed keen not to let him out of their sight. 249 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:40,480 Speaker 1: Barely minutes after it started, Olson became distressed and disorientated 250 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 1: and didn't seem to understand what was happening. He asked Ruitt, 251 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: what are they trying to do with me? Are they 252 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:53,360 Speaker 1: checking me for security? That night, once back at his hotel, 253 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 1: Frank somehow escaped from his CIA chaperones. He spent the 254 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:04,200 Speaker 1: next few hours vacantly wandering the streets of Manhattan, discarding 255 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:08,479 Speaker 1: his wallet and ID cards in the process. He seemed 256 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 1: calmer by the morning of Thanksgiving Day, November twenty sixth, 257 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: and was determined to make it home to his family 258 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: in time for dinner. So Olson, Ruit, and Lashbrook flew 259 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:24,160 Speaker 1: back to Washington, d C. And started on the drive 260 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: back to Maryland. They were only a few minutes into it, 261 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 1: when Olson became agitated again. He yelled to the driver 262 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,160 Speaker 1: to pull over and told Ruit that he couldn't bear 263 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: to face his family. He was too ashamed, he said, 264 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 1: and too mixed up. He begged Ruit just let me disappear, 265 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 1: but Ruit refused to let him out. Olsen then asked 266 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,640 Speaker 1: Ruitt to turn him into the police instead. They were 267 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: looking for him anyway, he said, his tone desperate, disturbed, 268 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: and confused. Ruitt asked the driver to turn the car around. 269 00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: They needed another session with Harold Abramson. The trio then 270 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,440 Speaker 1: promptly returned to New York, where they shared a somber 271 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:19,440 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving dinner in Midtown. While back in Frederick, Maryland, Alice 272 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 1: Olsen and the children ate their Thanksgiving dinner with an 273 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 1: empty chair at the table. The following day, Olson, Lashbrook, 274 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,680 Speaker 1: and Ruit took a taxi to Abramson's weekend home in 275 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:39,159 Speaker 1: Long Island. During his second session with Abramson, Olsen complained 276 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:43,199 Speaker 1: that some people were out to get him, leading Abramson 277 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:48,520 Speaker 1: to conclude that he was suffering from severe psychosis. After 278 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:52,880 Speaker 1: convincing Frank that he needed to be hospitalized, Frank agreed 279 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: to check himself in voluntarily. Arrangements were made for Frank 280 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: to be admitted to Chestnut Lodge, a psychiatric hospital in Rockville, Maryland, 281 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:08,400 Speaker 1: the following day. Later, he and Lashbrook returned to Manhattan 282 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:20,400 Speaker 1: to stay one more night. On November twenty eighth, Lashbrook 283 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:24,959 Speaker 1: and Olson checked into the Statler Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. 284 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: They were given room ten eighteen, a thirteen floors up. 285 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:36,240 Speaker 1: They ate dinner together at the hotel's restaurant. Olson seemed 286 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,639 Speaker 1: much calmer and even a little relieved by the prospect 287 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:43,600 Speaker 1: of being hospitalized. He told Lashbrook about the books he 288 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:48,160 Speaker 1: planned to read during his time at Chestnut Lodge. Alice 289 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: was pleasantly surprised by Olson's relaxed tone when he called 290 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:56,119 Speaker 1: her from the room that night. He seemed almost like 291 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 1: his old self. He told her that he was feeling 292 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,880 Speaker 1: much better and looked forward to seeing her the next day. 293 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,160 Speaker 1: Chestnut Lodge was a short drive from their home in Frederick, 294 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,840 Speaker 1: and she planned to visit him as soon as he'd 295 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:14,639 Speaker 1: been admitted. Olson and Lashbrook watched TV for about an 296 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 1: hour and then went to bed around ten thirty pm. 297 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: According to Lashbrook's account, he was jolted awake a few 298 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: hours later by the sound of glass shattering. Disorientated and 299 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:32,640 Speaker 1: half asleep, he felt a vicious cold breeze whip through 300 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 1: the room. He fumbled for the bedside lamp, switching it on. 301 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,240 Speaker 1: He saw that Olson's bed was empty, and that the 302 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:46,840 Speaker 1: window was completely smashed and the floor covered in broken glass. 303 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: It's been speculated that Lashbrook must have gone to the window, 304 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:56,199 Speaker 1: he must have seen Olson's body on the sidewalk, but 305 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: for some reason he didn't rush down to join hotel 306 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:05,159 Speaker 1: manager Armand Pastore at his side. Instead, he stayed in 307 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: the room, picked up the phone and dialed Harold Abramson. 308 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:17,159 Speaker 1: When Abramson picked up, Lashbrook said three words, well he's gone, 309 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:24,320 Speaker 1: and Abramson responded, that's too bad. Then Lashbrook hung up 310 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:35,960 Speaker 1: the phone. When Statler hotel manager Armond Pastore and the 311 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: police knocked on the door of ten eighteen A, there 312 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: was no answer. Pastore opened it using his master key 313 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:48,960 Speaker 1: and invited the officers to enter before him. The room 314 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,879 Speaker 1: was empty and freezing cold from the broken window. The 315 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:58,239 Speaker 1: curtain still fully drawn, belowed in the night air. One 316 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: of the officers noticed that the bathroom door was closed, 317 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:07,879 Speaker 1: but the light inside was on. They pushed open the door. Inside, 318 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:12,080 Speaker 1: they found Robert Lashbrook sitting on the closed toilet with 319 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:16,320 Speaker 1: his head in his hands, seemingly in a state of shock. 320 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,199 Speaker 1: He told the police that he'd been woken by the 321 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,359 Speaker 1: sound of the window breaking, then switched on the light 322 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,679 Speaker 1: to find that Olsen had gone. Only when he walked 323 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 1: over to the window did he realize what had happened. 324 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: He identified himself and Olson as government employees without mentioning 325 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:39,880 Speaker 1: the CIA, and said that he had no idea why 326 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:44,879 Speaker 1: Olsen had jumped. It seemed strange to pass dory. In 327 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:47,840 Speaker 1: all of his years in the hotel business, he'd never 328 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 1: heard of anybody taking a running jump through a closed 329 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 1: sash window with the curtains still drawn. But the police 330 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,879 Speaker 1: seemed to take it all at face value, and in 331 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:04,720 Speaker 1: his official report, the lead detective described Olson's death as 332 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:11,080 Speaker 1: a suicide. A few hours later, in Frederick, Maryland, Eric Olson, 333 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,119 Speaker 1: Frank's nine year old son, was woken up by his mother. 334 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:21,040 Speaker 1: She looked sad and pale. She took Eric downstairs and 335 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 1: led him into the living room, where his father's boss, 336 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:29,440 Speaker 1: Vincent's Ruit, was waiting on the couch. Ruit told Eric 337 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,359 Speaker 1: that there'd been an accident in New York. His father 338 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:37,439 Speaker 1: had fallen or jumped to his death from the window 339 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:42,520 Speaker 1: of his hotel room. Nine year old Eric Olson's grief 340 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 1: was fogged by confusion. Just two days before, he'd been 341 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 1: expecting his father home for Thanksgiving. Now he was dead, 342 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 1: and no version of the story seemed to make any sense. 343 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,159 Speaker 1: But being only nine years old, he had no reason 344 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:05,560 Speaker 1: to doubt what this respectable grown up man was telling him. 345 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:11,000 Speaker 1: Frank's wife, Alice, was later told that family members shouldn't 346 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:14,400 Speaker 1: view the body due to the extent of the injuries 347 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: that Olson had suffered from his fall. A few days 348 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,199 Speaker 1: after his death, Frank Hulsen's funeral was held with a 349 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 1: closed casket. Alice, unwilling or unable to talk about what 350 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 1: had happened, discouraged her children from asking questions about their 351 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,920 Speaker 1: father's death. Over and over again. She would tell them, 352 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: you are never going to know what happened in that room. 353 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:51,440 Speaker 1: The Medical Examiner's office listed Frank Olsen's cause of death 354 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:57,680 Speaker 1: as multiple fractures, shock, and hemorrhages, but no autopsy was 355 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:02,960 Speaker 1: ever performed on Olsen's body. As a result, nobody seemed 356 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,880 Speaker 1: to take note of the distinctive head wound on his 357 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 1: left temple, and how inconsistent it was with the rest 358 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:14,719 Speaker 1: of his injuries, both in its position and its severity, 359 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,840 Speaker 1: the kind of injury caused by a sharp blow to 360 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:24,040 Speaker 1: the head at close range. Had a pathologist seen it, 361 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:28,000 Speaker 1: they might well have drawn the conclusion that Frank Olsen 362 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:32,800 Speaker 1: had been knocked unconscious before he went through the window, 363 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:38,440 Speaker 1: that he'd fought to stay alive and lost, and that 364 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 1: when he dasht through it to just let him disappear, 365 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: he wasn't simply lost in a fog of depression, but 366 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: was in fact a condemned man begging for his life. 367 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: You've been listening to Unexplained Season seven, episode one, The 368 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:03,400 Speaker 1: Fall Without End, Part one. The second and final part, 369 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: will be released next Friday, August fourth. This episode was 370 00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:16,480 Speaker 1: written by Emma Dibden Unexplained as an Avy Club Productions 371 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 1: podcast created by Richard mclin Smith. All other elements of 372 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 1: the podcast, including the music, are also produced by me 373 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: Richard mc clain smith. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, with 374 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 1: stories never before featured on the show, is now available 375 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:38,240 Speaker 1: to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, 376 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:42,120 Speaker 1: and other bookstores. Please subscribe to and rate the show 377 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:45,320 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts, and feel free to get 378 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,760 Speaker 1: in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories 379 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 1: you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation 380 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 1: of your own you'd like to share. You can find 381 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:57,800 Speaker 1: out more at Unexplained podcast dot com and reach us 382 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 1: online through Twitter at Unexplained and pod, and Facebook at 383 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:05,880 Speaker 1: Facebook dot com. Forward slash Unexplained Podcast