Alaska is a land of mystery, danger, stunning beauty, and valuable resources. Over the decades, fortune seekers have been drawn to Alaska in search of gold, oil, fish, and crab. These fortune seekers are usually young men with little to lose and big dreams of becoming rich. Throughout Alaska’s history, a wave of crime has followed each economic boom, and in my podcast, I will tell you these stories of crime while I share a little about the rich cultural history and geography of this complex state I call home.
Kodiak, Alaska
I am so grateful that I stumbled across The Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier podcast. From the moment I started listening, I was hooked on the fascinating stories and engaging storytelling. Whether I'm at home or in the car, this podcast has become my go-to for entertainment. It's addictive, and I find myself eagerly awaiting each new episode. I can't even imagine what I'll do once I've caught up on all the episodes.
One of the best aspects of this podcast is the captivating storytelling. The host, Robin, does an incredible job of hooking listeners from the beginning and keeping them engaged throughout each episode. The stories are intriguing and unique, focusing on true crime cases from Alaska. It's refreshing to listen to a podcast where the same information isn't repeated over and over like in many other shows. Each episode feels fresh, with new details and perspectives that keep me wanting more.
Another great aspect of this podcast is its length. The episodes are just the right duration, allowing for thorough storytelling without dragging on unnecessarily. This makes it perfect for both short commutes or longer listening sessions at home. Additionally, Robin's narration skills are top-notch. Her voice is pleasant to listen to, making it easy to get lost in each story.
However, one downside of this podcast is its release schedule. While each episode is worth the wait, I can't help but wish for more frequent releases. I just can't get enough of these gripping tales from Alaska! It would be fantastic if there were more frequent updates so that fans like me don't have to endure long breaks between episodes.
In conclusion, The Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier podcast is a must-listen for true crime enthusiasts craving captivating stories from Alaska. With its engaging storytelling, excellent narration by Robin, and addicting nature, it has quickly become one of my favorite podcasts. Despite its infrequent release schedule, I highly recommend giving this podcast a listen. I guarantee you'll be as hooked as I am.
Most of us like to believe we can trust the police, but not everyone goes into law enforcement for the greater good. Some enter the police academy because they crave power over others and what better job than policing offers this power? I believe most police officers are good, and a few are bullies. John Patrick Addis, though, was the worst kind of police officer. He was a monster with a badge. Sources Puitt, Glenn. Ghost: The True Story of One Man's Descent into Madness and Murder Zekan, Karen. 10/19/1998. Remains identified as those of LV woman. Las Vegas Sun. Tataboline, Brant. 8/2/2003. Ex-trooper linked to second disappearance MURDER SUSPECTED: One more girlfriend missing; first was found dead in Southwest. Anchorage Daily New Cervone, Chellie. 2/15/2013. Joann Albenese, Las Vegas woman's death and disappearance. Las Vegas World News. Share your Alaska photos and tales at the Explore Alaska Facebook Event! Visit our Facebook Event: Explore Alaska from June 16 to June 30 and share your tales and post photos of Alaska. _________________________ _________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ https://youtu.be/7Fv52Bf8yfY ___________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Nineteen years after his son disappeared while climbing Mt. Denali in Alaska, Guy Waterman ascended a mountain ridge in New Hampshire in February 2000 and committed suicide by sitting in the snow in the bitter cold until he froze to death. The life stories of both Guy and Johnny Waterman exemplify the narrow line between passion and madness. Sources Brown, Chip. March 2003. The Last Cairn. Adventure. Brown, Chip. June 2000. “Much About This World”: The Life and Death of Guy Waterman Krakauer, John. 1996. Into the Wild. Anchor Books. New York, NY. Pavek, Alyssa. March 2017. John Mallon Waterman. Prezi. _____________________ _________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ https://youtu.be/7Fv52Bf8yfY ___________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
With landmarks bearing the names of Deadmen Valley, Headless Creek, Funeral Range, and Hell's Gate Rapids, you might think twice before planning a trip to Nahanni National Park in Canada. However, the legends behind these names make the park even more daunting. Sources Berge, Chloe. “The haunting history of this Canadian National Park.” March 9, 2020. Fodors.com. Malbeuf, Jamie. “Families call for case of mysterious 2005 deaths to be reopened.” May 7, 2018. CBS News. Peters, Hammerson. Legends of the Nahanni Valley. 2018. Western Canada. Hammerson Peters. Vučkovič, Aleska. “Valley of Headless Men: Mysterious decapitations in Canada's Nahanni Valley.” December 2021. Ancient Origins. _______________________ _________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ https://youtu.be/7Fv52Bf8yfY ___________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
When Bethany Correira disappeared, the residents of her hometown of Talkeetna, Alaska, immediately responded to search for one of their own. Sources Klinkhart, Gle nn. 2014. Finding Bethany. A True Crime Memoir. Securus Media. James, Daid. 2014. ‘Finding Bethany' details detective's quest to solve horrific murder Mystery at Bootlegger's Cove. Dateline. NBC. Johnson, Greg. 2-2008. Lawson draws 99 years. MatSu Valley Frontiersman. ________________ Take a trip to the wilderness of Alaska--if you dare! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ https://youtu.be/7Fv52Bf8yfY Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Most people understand they face the risk of encountering wild animals when they enter the woods in Alaska, but they do not expect someone to shoot them. When a series of murders occurred in parks and on trails near Anchorage in the summer of 2016, residents demanded more information from the police. Were the murders related to each other? Was a serial killer stalking the city? Was it safe to go hiking after dark? And what were the police doing to solve these murders? Police remained tight-lipped, and tensions rose. Sources Hopkins, Kyle. Dec. 30, 2016. TIMELINE: The life of accused killer James Dale Ritchie. KTUU News. Hopkins, Kyle. April 26, 2017. Serial killer: Police say James Dale Ritchie committed 5 murders in 2016. KTUU News James D. Ritchie. Murderpedia. James Dale Ritchie: A Serial Killer Caught By Chance. The Lineup. __________________________ Join the Readers and Writers Book Club for a Spring Fling Facebook Event and Explore the Haunted Harding House: April 15 - 29 Take a trip to the wilderness of Alaska--if you dare! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ https://youtu.be/7Fv52Bf8yfY Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
When testifying at his trial, Teddy Kyle Smith said he thought he was shooting Enukins in self-defense when he fired his rifle at Chuck and Paul Buckel. Few believed him, but his testimony highlighted the inequalities of jury selection in rural Alaska. Sources My primary source for this article was the Audible Original production of Midnight Son by James Dommek Jr. I highly recommend this three-hour audiobook. James Dommek Jr. does a fantastic job of telling this story from the viewpoint of a Native man from northwestern Alaska. It is a first-class production and a thought-provoking story. Anderson, Ben. “Kiana man found guilty of attempted murder in remote Alaska.” November 26, 2014. Anchorage Daily News. Demer, Lisa. “Troopers hunt for resident of Kiana – Teddy K. Smith should be considered armed and dangerous.” September 11, 2012. Anchorage Daily News. Dommek, James Jr. Midnight Son. 2019. Audible Original. D'Oro, Rachel. Alaska actor arrested, charged in shooting of 2 men near Kiana.” September 20, 2012. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. D'Oro, Rachel. “Inupiaq thriller ‘On the Ice' arrives in theaters today.” February 17, 2012. Anchorage Daily News. Grove, Casey. “Appeal challenges Alaska's exclusion of village residents from juries.” May 24, 2018. Alaska Public Media. Grove, Casey. “Troopers nab Kiana shooting suspect – Teddy Smith is arrested on river without incident.” September 21, 2012. Anchorage Daily News. Hopkins, Kyle. “Movie actor from Kiana still missing after mother's death – Gun-wielding man hasn't been heard from since Friday.” September 13, 2012. Anchorage Daily News. Hopkins, Kyle. “Village locked down after two hunters shot – The shooter is still on the loose after stealing the pair's boat.” September 20, 2012. Anchorage Daily News. “In the Court of Appeals in the State of Alaska: Teddy Kyle Smith v. State of Alaska.” April 2, 2021. JUSTIA US Law. “The ‘Enukins' – Little people of NW Alaska.” n.d. Bigfoot Encounters. ______________________________________ Join the Readers and Writers Book Club for a Spring Fling Facebook Event and Explore the Haunted Harding House: April 15 - 29 Take a trip to the wilderness of Alaska--if you dare! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ https://youtu.be/7Fv52Bf8yfY Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
Mechele Hughes-Linehan When a beautiful, intelligent, young woman pitted her three fiancés against each other, someone would die. Sources Brennan, Tom. 2015. Dead Man's Dancer. Epicenter Press. Kent https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Mans-Dancer-Mechele-Linehan/dp/1935347160/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Dead+Man%27s+Dancer%2C+Tom+Brennan&qid=1591316098&s=books&sr=1-1 Mechele K. Linehan. Murderpedia. https://murderpedia.org/female.L/l/linehan-mechele.htm Former Olympia mom wins appeal in Alaska murder case. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/former-olympia-mom-wins-appeal-in-alaska-murder-case/ John Carlin III Love and Death in Alaska. 48 Hours. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-presents-love-and-death-in-alaska-leppink-murder/ Holland, Megan. 5-15-2010. Freed from prison, Linehan sets up a new life. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/freed-from-prison-linehan-sets-up-a-new-life/article_50e3b67c-53e4-50cf-9255-9f115c89adaa.html] _______________________________________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ____________________________________________ The Crime is More Horrible Than You Can Imagine! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Alaska has spawned a long list of serial killers from the gold rush era in the early 1900s to the present day. Is Brian Steven Smith the latest member of this notorious fraternity? I did an episode on this case several months ago, but a great deal has happened with it since then. Smith's first two murder cases have moved through the court system, and the police have released information suggesting he has more victims. Sources Batts, Amber. “Anchorage police ignored warnings, let Brian Steven Smith keep killing.” August 18, 2024. This is How We Rise. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Anchorage jury sees horrific video evidence of woman's slaying.” February 13, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Are you guys in a rush?: Smith interrupted police interview to confess to second killing.” February 15, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “As Smith murder trial begins, a new explanation of how digital card showing killing got to police.” February 6, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Daughter of homicide victim testifies in Smith trial.” February 8, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Defendant in hotel killing indicted on additional charges: FBI ‘actively' assisting investigation – Court documents filed this week indicate an active, wide-ranging investigation that may extend beyond Alaska.” October 15, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Homemade silencers, Clorox and latex gloves: what police found in Brian Smith's home and truck.” February 21, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “'I have something to show you': Murder suspect texted Anchorage man in hours after hotel room killing, met him at Hillside park.” February 22, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Judge rules graphic video of killing can't be shown to Smith trial jurors --- yet.” February 9, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Jurors see interrogation video in which Smith admits to dumping body.” February 14, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Jury in Smith trial hears how railroad workers discovered body.” February 16, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriaul. “Family of missing Alaska woman believes she may be Brian Smith's third victim.” July 28, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Prosecutor says he ‘targeted the most vulnerable, and videos will prove it.' His defense says the evidence isn't so clear-cut.” February 7, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Smith found guilty on all charges in double murder trial.” February 22, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Victim's family members and activists pack court hearing of man accused of killing two Alaska Native women – Veronica Abouchuk's family members filled the courtroom as Brian Steven Smith pleaded not guilty to her murder.” October 22, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Brown, Lee. “Wife of ‘memory card' murder suspect Brian Smith shocked at his ‘dark' side.” October 24, 2019. New York Post. Deliso, Meredith, and Dhanika Pineda, “How a stolen phone led to a murder trial for deaths of 2 Alaska Native women.” February 9, 2024. ABC News. Hollander, Zac. “Anchorage man accused of hotel killing charged in the death of another woman – Brian Steven Smith, 48, now faces murder charges in the deaths of two women.” October 17, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Hollander, Zac and M.T. Boots. “Videos and photos show brutal attack of woman in Anchorage hotel room by man charged in her death, charges say – A 48-year-old Anchorage man was charged with murder in the death of a woman whose body was found along the Seward Highway south of Anchorage last week.” October 9, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Kuhn, Jonson. “APD says photos do not prove Alaska Native woman was murdered by Brian Smith.” July 29, 2024. KTUU. Ortiz, Aimee.
Alaska's slogan is the “Last Frontier.” To some people, this means Alaska is the Wild West, a place with less law and order where they can live as they choose. The man who called himself Papa Pilgrim believed moving his family to the wilderness of Alaska would offer him the opportunity to do anything he wanted. Papa Pilgrim was the worst kind of hypocrite because he hid his crimes behind his religious zeal. Like a charismatic cult leader, Pilgrim could appear charming and persuasive in public, but there was another side to him, and this was the side his family saw all too often. Sources Harden, Blaine. “A bulldozer runs through it.” September 28, 2003. Washington Post. Kirby, Mark. “Papa Pilgrim's progress: The dark tale of an Alaskan frontiersman.” November 19, 2008. Outside magazine. Kizzia, Tom. Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier. 2013. New York: Crown Publisher. Kizzia, Tom. “Hale clan details abuse at the hand of their father, ‘Papa Pilgrim.'” July 1, 2016. Anchorage Daily News. ___________________________________________________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ____________________________________________ The Crime is More Horrible Than You Can Imagine! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
When a shooting at a precious metals and coin shop in Anchorage left three men dead, the two survivors claimed the other one was responsible. It took six years, two trials, and more than one thousand pieces of evidence for a jury to unravel the whodunnit and decide which survivor was a murderer and which was another victim. Sources “Anchorage man gets 300-year sentence for 2017 triple murder in gold shop.” May 24, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Andrews, Lisa Demer Laurel. “With 35 homicides in 2017, Anchorage set a disturbing record. Why? – Anchorage police say citizens shouldn't fear for their safety, even with a record number of homicides and the lowest percentage of solved homicides in at least 20 years.” December 31, 2017. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Anchorage isn't a ghost town yet, But it's not the same. – In big and small ways, a pandemic has altered what Anchorage feels like to live in, from Coffee to court to riding the bus.” March 19, 2020. Anchorage Daily News. Clark, Taylor. “Man accused of triple murder in Anchorage gold store starts trial.” February 12, 2020. KTUU. Harris, David. “'It's been a long time coming': Man convicted in second trial for triple murder of friends at precious metals store.” November 7, 2023. Lawandcrime.com. Klint, Chris. “Anchorage man's fate again before a jury in Spenard triple homicide. November 2, 2023. Alaska Public Media. Klint, Chris. “Anthony Pisano sentenced to 300 years in Spenard triple homicide.” May 24, 2024. Alaska Public Media. “Suspect in killings at Alaska gold shop claims self-defense.” February 13, 2020. apnews.com. Williams, Tess. “Anchorage jury finds man guilty in gold shop triple murder.” November 7, 2023. Anchorage Daily News. Williams, Tess. “Anchorage triple homicide witness reenacts shooting during third day of testimony. – Prosecutors say 45-year-old Tony Pisano killed three men at an Anchorage gold shop in 2017.” February 20, 2020. Anchorage Daily News. Williams, Tess. “Conflicting narratives emerge on first trial over 2017 triple homicide at Spenard gold shop – An attorney for 45-year-old Anthony Pisano said the defendant shot two men in a Spenard gold shop out of self-defense and that the only surviving witness is responsible for third death.” February 12, 2020. Anchorage Daily News. Williams, Tess. “2nd trial begins in case of triple killing at Anchorage gold shop.” August 23, 2023. Anchorage Daily News. Williams, Tess. “Spenard triple homicide witness says he thought shooting was ‘horrific accident' – The only other person who witnessed the shooting at a gold shop described to jurors what happened. The defense disputes his account and says he's to blame for one of the deaths.” February 13, 2020. Anchorage Daily News. _______________________________________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ___________________________________________________________ The Crime is More Horrible Than You Can Imagine! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska.
Neil Mackay was ruthless in both his personal and business dealings, and associates learned not to cross him. When a car bomb instantly killed his ex-wife, Muriel Pfeil, police knew Mackay had planned her murder, but they could not find enough evidence to charge him with the crime. Sources: Associated Press. “Jury acquits Mackay of murder.” February 7, 1988. Brennan, Tom. Cold Crime. Chapter 10: “An angry man.” 2005. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press. “Dynamite expected in car bomb killing.” October 19, 1976. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Jenkins, Paul. “Alleged contract shooting victim dies.” November 12, 1985. Mroch, Courtney. “The ghost of the Snow City Café.” October 27, 2019. Turner, Wallace. “Alaskan murder: Enigma within an enigma.” June 30, 1987. New York Times. _______________________________________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ___________________________________________________________ The Crime is More Horrible Than You Can Imagine! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Mt. Iliamna is an active cone-shaped volcano located one hundred and forty miles (225 km) southwest of Anchorage and seventy miles (113 km) northwest of Homer. It is part of the Chigmit Mountains and rises from its base near Cook Inlet to 10,016 feet (3052.9 m), one of the highest peaks in the volcanically active area of the Alaska Peninsula. Ten glaciers radiate from the volcano's slopes. Iliamna last erupted in 1867, and observers have occasionally seen smoke wafting from the summit since then. However, it is the weather surrounding the mountain, not the volcanic activity, that makes Iliamna dangerous. Clouds frequently cloak the mountain's peak, and turbulent winds buffet this mountainous region, creating some of the most hazardous weather on the planet. Coastal fog and rain often create restricted visibility and a low ceiling. For aviators, flying in this area of the state can be challenging, dangerous, and sometimes deadly. Between 1958 and 1977, four mid-sized planes either crashed into Mt. Iliamna or were destroyed by the turbulence near the mountain, killing a total of seventy-nine people. Sources: Abbott, Jeanne. “No survivors found at site of plane crash.” September 9, 1977. Anchorage Daily News. “Clouds, rain hinder search.” February 14, 1977. Anchorage Daily News. “Ground party will investigate wreck of C-54 at Iliamna.” December 27, 1958. Anchorage Daily News. “Halt attempted to recover airmen on Mt. Iliamna.” December 29, 1958. Anchorage Daily News. Liefer, Gregory P. Aviation Mysteries of the North. “Cleared as Filed.” 2011. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants. Liefer, Gregory P. Broken Wings. “Turbulence Over Pedro Bay.” 2014. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants. Liefer, Gregory P. Broken Wings. “An Accumulation of Errors.” 2014. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants. “Mt. Iliamna crash hearing to open today.” November 9, 1977. Anchorage Daily News. “Mt. Iliamna – Where 15 Alaska airmen died.” December 27, 1958. Anchorage Daily News. “Pilots, AAI blamed for crash.” May 5, 1978. Anchorage Daily News. “Plane wreckage is identified as missing C-54.” December 26, 1958. Anchorage Daily News. Porterfield, Bob. “AAI crash probe opens.” November 10, 1977. Anchorage Daily News. Porterfield, Bob. “Federal findings show AAI plane's violation.” October 22, 1977. Anchorage Daily News. Porterfield, Bob. “Iliamna crash – why?” October 1, 1977. Anchorage Daily News. “Rescuers held off crash site.” September 8, 1977. Anchorage Daily News. Weller, Robert. “Controller at fault in air crash?” February 15, 1977. Anchorage Daily News. _______________________________________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ___________________________________________________________ The Crime is More Horrible Than You Can Imagine! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free,
In 1988, forty-four commercial fishermen died at sea near Kodiak, Alaska, making it the deadliest fishing year on record. That year, fishermen also earned $2.40 per pound for sockeye salmon, the highest price ever paid to fishermen for sockeye salmon before or since. Commercial fishing proved lucrative but dangerous in 1988. Alaska fishermen know their jobs involve risk. They work on the North Pacific, often in big seas and brutal weather, but no fisherman expects to be murdered by his crewman. Sources: Sullivan, Toby. 2016. Sea Stories: Missing brothers turn up dead in Uganik. Kodiak Daily Mirror. Shepard v. State (2/19/93) ap-1283 _________________________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ___________________________________________________________ The Crime is More Horrible Than You Can Imagine! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
The Greatest High-Seas Rescue in Coast Guard History Imagine alarm bells startling you from a peaceful sleep aboard a luxury cruise ship at 1:00 a.m. You didn't take the “abandon ship” drill seriously on your first afternoon on the boat, and now, you struggle to remember what to do in an emergency. You find your life jacket and open the door to your cabin. The passageway smells smoky, and you hear an explosion in the bowels of the large ship. You realize the boat is not moving, and you can't hear the rumble of the engines. Your concern morphs into panic as you race after the other passengers fleeing their cabins. The above scenario played out for passengers on the cruise liner Prinsendam in the early morning hours of October 4, 1980. Sources Day, Boswell. “The long blue line: Prinsendam – Coast Guard's ‘Miracle Rescue' over 40 years ago!” November 24, 2022. Commandant's Bulletin Magazine. Hartmeyer, Phil. Seascape Alaska 5: Gulf of Alaska remotely operated vehicle exploration and mapping: Search for Prinsendam.” September 5, 2023. NOAA Ocean Exploration. McClear, Rich. “35th Anniversary of the Prinsendam, Part 1: The Rescue.” October 21, 2015. KTOO. McClear, Rich. “35th Anniversary of the Prinsendam, Part 2: The Response.” October 21, 2015. KTOO. McClear, Rich. “35th Anniversary of the Prinsendam, Part 3: The Reporting.” October 23, 2015. KTOO. ___________________________________________________ The Perfect Gift for the True-Crime Addict in Your Family! Give a Gift Membership to the Last Frontier Club! ___________________________________________________________ The Crime is More Horrible Than You Can Imagine! _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Most teenagers fight with their parents, and during a heated argument, some kids might even scream, “I hate you” at their mother or father, but such disagreements signal normal growing pains. Few teens order a hit on a parent, simply because the child feels the parent is too strict. Matricide, the killing of one's mother, is uncommon, and matricide by a girl under the age of 18 is extremely rare. Of the few cases in recent history where a girl under the age of 18 killed her mother, the offender either had been abused by her mother, or the killer exhibited extremely antisocial behavior. Despite what she told her friends, Rachelle Waterman was neither abused nor antisocial. She appeared to be a normal, high-achieving junior in high school. Rachelle sang in the school choir and played on the volleyball team. Residents of Craig, Alaska adored Rachelle's mother, Lauri, who was active in her church, worked as a teacher's aide, and was always the first to volunteer to help with any community function. Rachelle's father, Carl “Doc” Waterman, was a well-liked, successful real estate agent in Craig. Sources: American teenage girl charged with murder of her mother. 2004. Wikinews. https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/American_teenage_girl_charged_with_murder_of_her_mother Demer, Lisa. 2011. Convicted killer testifies at Waterman trial. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/convicted-killer-testifies-waterman-trial/2011/01/27/ Fleeman, Michael. 2011. Love You Madly: The True Story of a Small-town Girl, the Young Men She Seduced, and the Murder of her Mother. St. Martin's True Crime. Kheiry, Leila. 2015. Alaska Court of Appeals Denies Rachelle Waterman Appeal. Alaska Public Media. https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/02/06/supreme-court-denies-rachelle-waterman-appeal/ Larson, John. Teen Blogger Murder Trial. How could Rachelle Waterman's fantasies spiral into her mom's murder? Dateline. NBC. ____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. __________________________________________ Check out Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier Gear Click the image to visit my store.
What was his name? How old was he? Where did he come from? What happened to him? These are a few of the questions concerning the man known as William Dempsey. Eyewitnesses saw him murder Deputy U.S. Marshal Isaac Evans, and a jury convicted him of killing Marie Lavor, but did he murder others? Was he a young man named William Dempsey, as he claimed, or did he steal the real William Dempsey's identity? One hundred years later, these questions continue to elude historians. Sources Herron, Charles.”Charles E. Herron questions arch-fiend and obtains inside information on Lavor murder.” September 6, 1919. Anchorage Daily Times. Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 1.” February 3, 2023. Homer News. Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 2.” March 23, 2023. Homer News. Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 3.” March 30, 2023. Homer News. Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 4.” April 6, 2023. Homer News. Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 5.” April 13, 2023. Homer News. Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 6.” April 20, 2023. Homer News. Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 7.” April 27, 2023. Homer News. Fair, Clark. “A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey Story – Part 9.” May 11, 2023. Homer News. Heaton, John W. 1915. Ed Krause. “William Dempsey.” Outlaw Tales of Alaska. TwoDot. Guilford, CT. “Deputy Marshal Evans dies of wounds received at hand of Dempsey – Bandit at large.” September 3, 1919. Anchorage Daily Times. “Last chapter of Lavor mystery has been told in confession of Wm Dempsey, confessed murderer.” September 6, 1919. Anchorage Daily Times. “William Dempsey, murderer of Deputy US Marshal Evans is captured this afternoon.” September 4, 1919. Anchorage Daily Times. _______________________________________________ Visit the Christmas Book Bazaar on Facebook. Meet the authors, win prizes, and shop for good deals on great books! I'll see you there! Featured Books for the Christmas Book Bazaar ______________________________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing.
We've all seen the horror movie where a stranger towers over his unsuspecting victim while she sleeps, and she awakes just in time to see him swing the machete toward her head. Imagine if this is no horror movie but a terrible, true event happening as you struggle to clear your mind from sleep and attempt to focus on your survival instincts. Now, what if you know the maniac wielding the machete, and he is someone close to you? Can you fathom anything so horrible? Elann Moren had no choice; she had to grapple with the situation and spring into action. In one moment, her beautiful, new life turned into a horrible nightmare. Sources Associated Press. “Another 189 years for Alaska machete murderer.” December 26, 2012. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Associated Press. “Man charged with killing father with machete.” December 4, 2007. MSNBC. Court of Appeals of Alaska, no. A-10635. Rogers v. State. June 15, 2012.https://caselaw McKinney, Deborah. “Palmer machete killer's sentences now total 498 years.” January 11, 2010. Anchorage Daily News. Wellner, Andrew. “Hero dog done in by tumor.” December 8, 2011. MatSu Valley Frontiersman. ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
When the Kotzebue police entered a bedroom in a house on the mayor's property on May 23, 2018, they found the lifeless body of twenty-five-year-old Jennifer Kirk curled at the foot of the bed. A rifle lay across her feet. She had strangulation marks on her neck and a bullet wound under her chin. Even before receiving the autopsy report, the Kotzebue police quickly ruled Kirk's death a suicide. Two years later, the police were called to an adjacent house on the same property to examine the body of Susanna Norton. They could not so easily dismiss Susanna's death because the medical examiner ruled it a homicide. Someone had strangled Susanna to death. The deaths of Jennifer Kirk and Susanna Norton, both Inupiaq women, highlight the continuing issue of violence against Alaska Native women. Sources: Boots, Michelle Theriault. “'No more silence': her kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder stunned a town and started a movement. Anchorage Daily News. College of Health. “Alaska Victimization Survey.” University of Alaska Anchorage. Dobbyn, Paula. “Victimization of Alaska women staggeringly high and rising.” October 12, 2021. Victims for Justice. Hopkins, Kyle. “For families in Northwest Alaska, questions remain about unsolved deaths and ‘suicides.'” November 21, 2023. Anchorage Daily News. Hopkins, Kyle. “One woman died on an Alaska mayor's property. Then another. No one has ever been charged.” November 11, 2023. Anchorage Daily News. _______________________________________ Visit the Christmas Book Bazaar for Fun, Games, and Good Deals on Great Books! ________________________________________________ Now Available at 25% off the Cover Price in The Reader's and Writers Facebook Club Christmas Book Bazaar _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
In one of my last episodes, I profiled Israel Keyes, a serial killer who moved to Anchorage in 2007. Many serial-killer experts consider Keyes to be one of the most intelligent, organized serial killers of all time. He randomly chose victims who lived thousands of miles from his home, and he stashed murder kits around the country, planning to access them at some future date. It is easy to understand why Israel Keyes wasn't captured sooner than he was. He methodically planned his crimes and always had an exit strategy. He only began making mistakes when his murderous impulses grew too strong for him to control, and these mistakes led to his apprehension. Around the same time Israel Keyes was active, another serial killer stalked the residents of Anchorage, but the story of Joshua Wade and his crimes is far different than that of Israel Keyes. Investigators consider Wade intelligent, but he did not stalk his victims or plan his crimes. His crimes were sloppy, happened on the spur of the moment, and usually were the result of him losing his temper. The legal system should have stopped Joshua Wade long before it did. Sources: Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Alaska Serial Killer Joshua Wade dies in Indiana prison.” June 20, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. “Convicted Killer Joshua Wade Claims Responsibility for Additional Murders.” June 20, 2014. U.S. Attorney's Office, Anchorage. Francis, Monte. Ice and Bone. Tracking an Alaskan Serial Killer. 2016. Denver, CO. WildBlue Press. “Joshua Wade – I Am Not a Serial Killer – Confesses to 5 Murders.” n.d. WickedWe. Shedlock, Jezy and Jill Burke. “Authorities: Joshua Wade admits to 3 additional killings.” June 20, 2014. Anchorage Daily News. __________________________________________________ Now Available at 25% off the Cover Price in The Reader's and Writers Facebook Club Christmas Book Bazaar _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Harvey Carignan was a vicious serial rapist and killer. He murdered his first victim in Alaska, and she should have been his last because the jury condemned him to death by hanging for the crime. Unfortunately, the sentence was overturned when it became clear a police officer had obtained Carignan's confession illegally. Instead of death, Harvey Carignan served eight years at Alcatraz and then headed out into the world to prey on more women. Sources Azarian, Nash. “Harvey Carignan: Harv the Hammer.” n.d. Serial Killer Magazine. Krauss, Louis. “Serial killer Harvey Carignan dies in Minnesota prison at 95.” March 16, 2023. Star Tribune. Rule, Ann. The Want-Ad Killer. 1983. New York, NY: Berkley. Murderpedia. “Harvey Louis Carignan.” n.d. _______________________________________________ https://youtu.be/7Fv52Bf8yfY ______________________________________________ Now Available at 25% off the Cover Price in The Reader's and Writers Facebook Club Christmas Book Bazaar Join the Club _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
“I'll tell you everything you want to know. I'll give it blow by blow if you want. I have lots more blow-by-blow A monster moved to Anchorage in 2007. Israel Keyes didn't look evil; he appeared normal. To those who crossed his path, he seemed like a dedicated businessman, a doting father, and a loving boyfriend. No one could see the darkness lurking inside him, but by the time he moved to Alaska, Israel Keyes was already a thief, an arsonist, a rapist, and a serial killer. He did not give up these hobbies when he arrived in Anchorage. Sources: Callahan, Maureen. American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century. 2019. New York: Viking. “FBI requests the public's assistance in case of serial killer Israel Keyes.” August 13, 2013. FBI. “Seeking information regarding serial killer case.” FBI. ______________________________________________ Now Available _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
When crew members decide to abandon a floundering ship in the North Pacific in the winter in twenty-foot seas, they know they are unlikely to survive, even when they do everything right. If the captain can send out a May Day, everyone dons a pristine survival suit and seals it around their face, and they deploy and enter a life raft, they still face a long list of things that could and often do go wrong. Proper gear, training, and the captain's strong, calm, logical voice significantly increase the crew's chances of survival. The crew of the F/V Saint Patrick had none of these things, and they paid a horrible price for their decisions. In the mid-1970s through the 1980s, the death rate for commercial fishermen soared to seventy-five times the U.S. national average for deaths on the job, and the mortality rate for fishing in Alaska in the winter peaked twenty-five times higher than the death toll for the rest of the commercial fishing industry. It was nine times more dangerous for an individual to take a job fishing in the winter in Alaska than to become a miner or logger, the two following most hazardous jobs. Strict changes in government oversight of mandatory safety equipment and crew training brought these numbers down. Many commercial fishermen did not welcome new regulations in their industry, but the Saint Patrick disaster demonstrated the necessity of these safety measures. Sources: Moore, Anthony. “F/V St. Patrick that sunk in Women's Bay, Kodiak in 1989 is leaking.” August 19, 2021. Radio Kenai. Resneck, Jacob. “Kodiak's ‘ghost ship' Saint Patrick remains pollution hazard decades later.” September 2, 2021. KTOO.Org. Sullivan, Toby. “The romance of the sea wears thin – The St. Patrick disaster, December 1981.” November 23, 2016. Kodiak Maritime Museum. Walker, Spike. Nights of Ice. “Journey of no return.” 1997. New York, NY. St. Martin's Press. Walker, Spike. Working on the Edge. Part Four: “The deadliest season: fishing the Gulf of Alaska aboard the Elusive and watching as Tragedy strikes the Alaskan Fleet.” Chapter 8. 1993. New York, NY. St. Marten's Press. ______________________________________________________ Now Available _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
People imagine snow, ice, and bitter cold when they think of Alaska in January, but Alaska is a big place. I live on Kodiak Island in the southern part of the state, and the winter temperature here averages around 35⁰F (1.7⁰C). That may seem cold if you are from California, South America, or Australia, but is not a harsh winter temperature for most of the United States. The following story, though, gives you a feel for Alaska at its coldest. This brutal crime occurred north of the Arctic Circle in January, where the temperature hovered at -50⁰F (-45.6⁰C) when someone shot three men on a caribou hunting expedition and left them to die in their tent. Sources Brennan, Tom. 2001. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 3: “The caribou murders.” 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press. Francis, Alfred. “Lone survivor says driver of snowmobile did shooting.” January 27, 1970. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “Court upholds murder charge, overturns drug conviction.” June 16, 1973. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “Defense seeks insanity ruling in killing of 3.” December 16, 1970. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “Johnson charged in triple murder.” January 30, 1970. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Supreme Court of Alaska. 511 P.2d 118 (1973). Johnson v. State. Justia.com. “Trooper investigating shootings on way to question lone survivor.” January 29, 1970. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. ________________________________________________ Now Available _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Klutuk is Alaska's version of the boogeyman – a terrifying character you tell stories about around the campfire. He is a man shrouded in mystery and myth. What was his actual name? Was he tall or short? How many men did he kill? Did he possess mystical powers? How did he die? One hundred years after he terrorized western Alaska, it is impossible to separate truth from fiction. Sources Dihle, Bjorn. “Klutuk, the mad trapper of Bristol Bay.” June 6, 2020. Outdoorlife.com. Heaton, John. “Klutuk: ‘The Man from the Mountain.'” 2015. Guilford, CT. TwoDot. Hunt, William R. Chapter 18: “Native Legends.” 1987. Norman, OK. University of Oklahoma Press. ___________________________________ My New Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560476951157 ___________________________________________________ Facebook Podcast Group (If not already a member, please try to join and let me know if you are admitted to the group) https://www.facebook.com/groups/704680564121523 Now Available _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Most parents can imagine no nightmare worse than the disappearance of a child, but how can a parent possibly cope when both of their children vanish, swallowed by the Alaska wilderness? Sometime during the late-night hours of Sept. 5 or the early morning hours of Sept. 6, 1978, Scott Fandel, 13, and Amy Fandel, 8, disappeared from their Sterling, Alaska home on the Kenai Peninsula, 136 miles (218.9 km) south of Anchorage. The mystery of what happened to the Fandel children has baffled Alaska State Troopers for over four decades. How can two kids vanish from their home without a trace? Age Progression ________________________________________________________ Now Available _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
If you want to murder someone, consider inviting them on a cruise. With little law enforcement oversight and a fear of negative publicity, cruise ship officials often prefer to look the other way and ignore unpleasantness on one of their vessels. Cruise ship officers have even been accused of covering up murder scenes or pretending missing passengers never existed. Cruise ships play an essential role in the tourism industry in Alaska. Cruise ships boost the economy of a handful of port towns in the state, and overland excursion packages tied to the cruise lines provide money to many interior regions of Alaska. While cruise ships are not the best way to visit the state's wild, remote regions, they offer a comfortable, easy way to get a feel for the 49th state. Many people think cruise ships provide a much safer way to travel, but do they? When Kenneth and Kristy Manzanares decided to celebrate their eighteenth wedding anniversary with a family cruise to Alaska, they probably looked forward to a relaxing week with their daughters and other family members. Instead, the trip ended in a bloody murder, and by the time the ordeal was over, their daughters had lost both of their parents. ____________________________________________________________ Now Available _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
The double homicide I describe in this episode occurred on a secure Coast Guard base near the town of Kodiak, Alaska, on Kodiak Island, approximately 60 miles from where I live. This murder happened toward the end of the most brutal winter anyone on Kodiak can remember, and when the police did not quickly apprehend the killer, tempers flared, and citizens carried firearms wherever they went. Our mail plane pilot, reporting the news to us on his weekly stop, compared the residents in town to a powder keg ready to blow. When it was all over, many in law enforcement and the judicial system praised the investigation, but at the time, it seemed as if no one was doing anything to look for and apprehend the killer. Sources: Associated Press. “Man arrested in 2012 Alaska Coast Guard base deaths.” November 21, 2015. KOMO News. Grove, Casey. “Wells convicted, again, of Kodiak Coast Guard double murder.” Alaska Public Media. Joling, Dan. “Car expert testifies in CG trial.” April 10, 2014. Ketchikan Daily News. Saint Louis, Julie. “Ninth Circuit orders new trial for man accused of Coast Guard killings.” December 9, 2017. Courthouse News. Silverman, Adam. “FBI: Coast Guard murder suspect resented co-workers.” February 19, 2013. USA Today. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, no. 14-30146. United States of America v. James Michael Wells. January 11, 2018 “Wives of murdered tower techs sue the Coast Guard for wrongful death.” August 16, 2016. _________________________________________________________________ Now Available _________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ________________________________ Join me on June 21st for a Book Blanket Beach Summer Solstice Party!! I will be hosting from 4:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. ADT (8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time). I plan to give away prizes, so don't miss it! _________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Imagine a small town where, between 1968 and 1983, the clergy sexually abused eighty percent of the children -- a village where today, the city government is forced to hire police officers with extensive criminal records, including domestic violence, because there is no state law enforcement in this remote area of Alaska. Imagine this same community where the violent murder of a young woman remains unsolved six years after her body was found bruised and bloody on a lonely beach. Now, put this village on an island at the southeastern end of Norton Sound, where it is exposed to the Bering Sea and some of the most hazardous weather in the world. This is the village of St. Michael, Alaska. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOW AVAILABLE! __________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Join Beach Blanket Books—a Facebook Event. It is happening now and lasts until the Summer Solstice on June 21st. I will host from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. ADT (8:00 to 9:00 p.m. EDT) on June 21st. Please stop by the event and say hi! Join in the games and win some prizes. Sign up now so you don't miss a thing! ________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ______________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
What happened on a foggy September day in 1982 in the small fishing village of Craig, Alaska? Many believe they know who killed the crew and passengers of the Investor, but only the killer knows why the massacre occurred. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ NOW AVAILABLE! __________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Join Beach Blanket Books—a Facebook Event. The Fun begins on May 15th and lasts until the Summer Solstice on June 21st. Join in the games and win some prizes. Sign up now so you don't miss a thing! ________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ______________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
By all accounts, Doctor Eric Garcia truly cared for Jordan Joplin, but Joplin considered his relationship with the doctor as a means to an end; or as the prosecutor put it, Garcia believed he was in a romantic relationship with Joplin, but Joplin considered it transactional. Garcia had money and objects of value, and Joplin wanted it all for himself. Sources “Anchorage jury finds Jordan Joplin guilty of murder in Dr. Eric Garcia case.” June 2, 2023. Ketchikan Daily News. Jordan Joplin Cole, Shannon. “WA man sentenced to 99 years for murder of Ketchikan doctor.” April 9, 2024. KTUU. Gremore, Graham. “Sean Cody star Jordan Joplin charged with murdering wealthy Alaskan surgeon.” February 6, 2018. Queerty. “Ketchikan doctor's death, home thefts investigated.” April 3, 2017. Anchorage Daily News. “Washington man held in Ketchikan murder.” July 24, 2017. Anchorage Daily News. Williams, Tess. “Jury convicts Washington man of murder in 2017 killing of Southeast Alaska surgeon – An Anchorage jury on Thursday found Jordan Joplin guilty on charges of first-and second-degree murder in the death of Dr. Eric Garcia.” June 1, 2023. Anchorage Daily News. Williams, Tess. “Trial begins for Washington man accused of killing Southeast Alaska surgeon – Prosecutors said Jordan Joplin killed Dr. Eric Garcia and stole hid money and belongings. Defense attorneys said Garcia used morphine to relieve pain and anxiety and the drug killed him.” May 8, 2023. Anchorage Daily News. __________________________________________________________________________________________ COMING SOON! __________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Join Beach Blanket Books—a Facebook Event. The Fun begins on May 15th and lasts until the Summer Solstice on June 21st. Join in the games and win some prizes. Sign up now so you don't miss a thing! ________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ______________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
People move to the Alaska wilderness either because they enjoy solitude and crave a subsistence lifestyle or because they wish to escape society. People who fall into this second category are either misfits who don't know how or don't want to blend in with others, or they are criminals, seeking to escape arrest and hoping to disappear into the vast wilderness. Many of my episodes have dealt with individuals who ran to Alaska from a life of crime elsewhere. They might have hoped to turn their lives around but instead, most brought their problems and psychopathic tendencies with them. Until Memorial Day weekend in 1997, Paul Stavenjord seemed to have succeeded at escaping his criminal past, but then something in him snapped, leaving two people dead and forever altering the course of Stavenjord's life. Sources: Brennan, Tom, 2003. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 7: “The bank robber next door.” 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press. Court of Appeals of Alaska, no. A-7418. Stavenjord v. State. March 28, 2003. Ice Cold Killers. Season 1, Episode 3: “Mountain man.” Menerey, Amy. “Convicted murderer's appeal denied.” April 8, 2003. Mat Su Valley Frontiersman. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ COMING SOON! __________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVELS, CHECK OUT THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ____________________________________________________________________________________ Join Beach Blanket Books—a Facebook Event. The Fun begins on May 15th and lasts until the Summer Solstice on June 21st. Join in the games and win some prizes. Sign up now so you don't miss a thing! ________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
As a state, Alaska has never had the death penalty. It was abolished in 1957, two years before Alaska became the 49th state in the union. However, from 1869 until 1957, twelve male felons were hanged for murder, robbery, and other crimes. This is the story about the unequal application of the death penalty in Alaska and why capital punishment was abolished in the state. Sources: Heaton, John W. Outlaw Tales of Alaska. “Fred Hardy.”2015. Guilford, CT. Rowman & Littlefield. Green, Melissa S. “A History of the Death Penalty in Alaska.” July 20, 2001. UAA Justice Center Website. Green, Melissa S. “The Death Penalty in Alaska.” Winter, 2009. Alaska Justice Forum. Kiffer, Dave. “Abolition of Alaska's Death Penalty.” October 15, 2005. Sitnews. Lerman, Averil. “The Trial and Hanging of Nelson Charles.” Spring, 1996. Alaska Justice Forum. ______________________________________________________________________________________ COMING SOON! __________________________________________________________________________ IF YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR NOVEL, CHECK OUT MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ____________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Anchorage, Alaska, is the small plane capital of the world, and flying in Alaska is a thrilling experience where you can view spectacular scenery and reach remote lakes, rivers, and stretches of wilderness that are inaccessible by road. For the commercial pilots who fly these small planes, though, the job can be stressful at times, and they must depend on their skills and common sense. Commercial pilots in Alaska have a tough job, but near the bottom of a pilot's list of concerns is the fear he will be murdered on the job. After all, who would want to kill his pilot? Sources: “Duryea v. State.” Court of Appeals No. A-6964. Court of Appeals of Alaska. Any Law. Rinehart, Steve. “Sniper fire kills pilot man who called plane in custody.” May 18, 1983. Anchorage Daily News. Sullivan, Patty. “Judge sentences killer to 50 years.” January 14, 1998. Anchorage Daily News. “William Duryea v. State of Alaska, Department of Corrections, and Joseph Schmidt, Commissioner of the Department of Corrections.” July 16, 2012. THE SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF ALASKA THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT AT PALMER. _____________________________________________________________________________________ NOW AVAILABLE THE AUDIOBOOK OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ____________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
On the evening of July 7th, 1979, a plane disappeared near Kodiak Island in fair weather and moderate seas. News agencies in Alaska reported little about the missing plane and its occupants. Although reports of the apparent fatal crash made more of a splash in Great Britain, official sources offered no comment about the loss of a man who had done so much to protect Britain against the USSR during the Cold War. Even now, the disappearance of Ian Mackintosh is cloaked in secrecy, and many wonder if he died in the plane crash or if the accident was a cover story, allowing Mackintosh to disappear. The 2012 book, The Life and Mysterious Death of Ian Mackintosh by Robert G. Folsom explores everything the author could uncover about a brilliant man's secret life and mysterious disappearance. Sources Folsom, Robert G. The Life and Mysterious Death of Ian Mackintosh.2012. Washington, D.C. Potomac Books, Inc. Mackintosh, Lawrie. “My brother, Ian Mackintosh.” OpsRoom.Org. MacLeod, Calum. “Did spy writer's disappearance mirror his fiction?” January 3, 2013. John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier. Ian Mackintosh. Check-Six.Com. ________________________________________________________________________________________ NOW AVAILABLE THE AUDIOBOOK OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ____________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
You might be familiar with the recent National Geographic documentary series, Alaska State Troopers. The show followed several troopers from different areas of the state as they made their daily rounds. Two of the troopers featured on the show were Sergeant Patrick “Scott” Johnson and Gabriel “Gabe” Rich. Both men worked out of the Alaska State Troopers' Fairbanks Rural Service Unit. A camera crew was not with the men on the fateful day of May 1st, 2014. Sources Chomicz, Dorothy. “Kangas found guilty of evidence tampering in Alaska State Trooper deaths.” April 23, 2015. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Chomicz, Dorothy. Arvin Kangas sentenced in case related to Alaska StateTrooper killings.” September 3, 2015. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Chomicz, Dorothy. “Courtroom tenses as Nathanial Kangas murder trial gets underway.” May 9, 2016. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Chomicz, Dorothy. “Pilot describes scene in Tanana minutes after troopers killed.” May 10, 2016. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Edge, Josh. “Man convicted in Tanana trooper killings sentenced to 203 years in prison.” November 3, 2016. Alaska Public Media. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOW AVAILABLE THE AUDIOBOOK OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ____________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
This story has all the elements of a Greek tragedy or a Shakespearean play, and it could easily inspire the plot of a movie or a mystery novel. Unfortunately, this is a true drama, and the outcome deprived children of their father and a wife of her new husband. We will never know how this event truly ended. The last few moments aboard the R66 helicopter and the pilot's mindset will remain a mystery. Did Andy Teuber's helicopter crash into the Gulf of Alaska because he purposely flew it into the ocean, sparing his family and himself the embarrassment of a tawdry, drawn-out court case that could land him in prison? Or was Teuber distracted and perhaps taking chances he wouldn't usually take because he was rushing to get home to his family in Kodiak before the news media broke the story about his messy affair? Some people believe the Anchorage Daily News, the largest newspaper in Alaska, bears a portion of the blame for Teuber's tragic death. If the paper hadn't rushed to print a story about Teuber before carefully fact-checking it, perhaps Andy Teuber would still be alive. Sources Downing, Suzanne. “‘He said, she said': Was this a case of journalistic murder?” March 3, 2021. Must Read Alaska. Hopkins, Kyle and Boots, Michelle T. “ANTHC boss resigned after employee accused him of ‘unrelenting' abuse.” March 2, 2021. Anchorage Daily News. Herz, Nathaniel. “Alaska's top tribal health executive, Andy Teuber, has resigned. February 23, 2021. Alaska Public Media – Anchorage. Hollander, Zac. “Alaska health executive's helicopter crashed during flight to reach family before report on allegations of sexual misconduct, pilot tells NTSB.” March 23, 2021. Anchorage Daily News. Hollander, Zac. “Missing Alaska health executive's ‘death by accident' verdict leaves questions surrounding helicopter crash.” April 28, 2021. Anchorage Daily News. Medred, Craig. “Speed kills.” March 24, 2021. Craig Medred News. Rivera, Daniella. “NTSB: Investigation into missing helicopter might not include examination of wreckage.” March 3, 2021. KTUU. Simard, Dylan. “Mask burning ceremony held in honor of Andy Teuber.” June 1, 2022. KMXT. Smith, Valerie. “Never found: the disappearance and presumed death of Alaska's Andy Teuber and everything that led up to his Robinson R66 crash on March 2, 2021.” September 26, 2022. Writing by Valerie. Accident Number: ANC21LA020. National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOW AVAILABLE THE AUDIOBOOK OF MASSACRE AT BEAR CREEK LODGE ____________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak ...
Gary Zieger, a brutal serial killer, stalked the streets of Anchorage in the early 1970s. We'll never know how many people Zieger killed, but eventually, the psychopath made a fatal mistake. Sources Brennan, Tom. Cold Crime. Chapter 8: “Alaska's Billy the Kid.” 2005. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press. Gordon, Mike. “The hired gun.” March 26, 2014. Turnagain Currents. Hale, Leland. “The lonesome death of Beth van Zanten: The killer is killed.” October 17, 2018. Butcher Baker. Hale, Leland. “Lonesome death of Beth van Zanten: Whodunnit.” October 18, 2018. Butcher Baker. __________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Now Available Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Neighbors suspected Elmer Haab was up to no good, and when his wife, Bonnie, mysteriously disappeared, they feared Elmer had done something to her. Alaska State Troopers also found the disappearance of Bonnie Haab suspicious, but with no body, there was little they could do. Sources: Anderson, Dianne. “Haab leads troopers to pyre where he burned wife's body.” July 17, 1969. Anchorage Daily Times. Anderson, Diane. “Man admits he cremated body of his wife.” July 16, 1969. Anchorage Daily Times. Anderson, Dianne. “The last time he saw Bonnie, her face was bruised and bleeding.” July 7, 19, 1969. Anchorage Daily Times. Brennan, Tom. Cold Crime. Chapter 2: “Mystery of Mendeltna Lodge.” 2005. Kenmore, WA. Epicenter Press. Drebert, Richard. “Ashes on the Mendeltna.” Cache of Grace. Maguire, Sean. “The Mendeltna Creek Lodge near Glenallen has burned down.” KTUU News. Webster, Dave. “Police crack theft ring; three sought.” February 22, 1968. Anchorage Daily Times. Webster, Dave. “Suspect in theft ring is arrested.” February 23, 1968. Anchorage Daily Times. “Elmer Haab nabbed by Arizona Sheriff.” April 10, 1968. Anchorage Daily Times. “Haab sent to Arizona.” September 4, 1969. Anchorage Daily Times. “Police jail theft suspect.” March 15, 1968. Anchorage Daily Times. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Plane crashes are far too common in Alaska, and many of these accidents are due, at least in part, to poor weather conditions. If commercial pilots refused to fly in marginal weather, though, they would not make money because the weather is often bad in Alaska. For those of us who live or work in remote areas, we must fly in small planes, and we can't always pick our weather. Mysteries abound in Alaska about airplanes that took off and were never seen again. The following is a story of one of the most famous airplane disappearances in the history of the state. Sources: Alpert, Bruce. “Author writes about disappearance of plane carrying Hale Boggs 43 years ago over Alaska.” June 16, 2015. Nola.com. Glass, Andrew. “Hale Boggs' plane vanishes in Alaska.” October 16, 1972. Politico. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/hale-boggs-plane vanishes-in-alaska-oct-16-1972-229692 Liefer, Gregory P. 2011. Aviation Mysteries of the North. Chapter 16: “Accident or conspiracy?” Publication Consultants: Anchorage. “New podcast Missing in Alaska takes on 50-year-old mysterious plane disappearance.” May 21, 2020. Inside Radio. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Listen to a new podcast! _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
The U.S. military defines a “Broken Arrow” as an “unexpected event involving nuclear weapons that result in the accidental launching, firing, detonating, theft, or loss of the weapon.” The first Broken Arrow event occurred in 1950 during a mission from Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska. Questions still surround this event and the mystery of what happened to the B-36 aircraft and the Mark IV atomic bomb it carried. Map Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada Sources Adams, Sharon. “The lost nuke of British Columbia.” January 26, 2022. Legion. Wreckage Clearwater, John M. “The first one to get away.” November/December 2004. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Liefer, Gregory P. Chapter 12: “Broken Arrow.” 2011. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants. Roos, Dave. “'Broken Arrow': When the first U.S. atomic bomb went missing.” January 13, 2020. History. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
After a string of murders of young women near Fairbanks in the late 1970s and early '80s, the abductions and murders mysteriously stopped. Troopers didn't believe the vicious killer had suddenly halted his murder spree, but they feared the predator had moved somewhere else. Unfortunately, at the time, they had no database to track the killer's movements beyond Alaska. Only the deductive reasoning and hard work of seasoned investigators traced the monster to his new hunting grounds, four thousand miles away. Sources: Brennan, Tom. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 9: “Having trouble with girls.” 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press. Capps, Kris. “Bunday never denied he was killer, trooper recalls.” March 17, 1983. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Capps, Kris. “Bunday was suspect in 1980.” March 17, 1983. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Fisher, Susan. “Authorities were awaiting more facts.” March 17, 1983. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Ice Cold Killers. Season 1, episode 5: “North Pole slay ride.” “Troopers release summary of Thomas Bunday murder case.” April 29, 1983. Fairbanks Pioneer All Alaska Weekly. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ For this offer, go to https://publication consultants.com At checkout, request an autographed copy, and you will receive a 30% discount. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Trailer for Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier Welcome to Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Listen to tales of true crime and mystery in Alaska. What evil lay in store for the residents of McCarthy, Alaska, when they gathered to meet their weekly mail plane? Did infamous serial killer Robert Hansen fly his victims into the wilderness and hunt them just as he had hunted the trophy animals hanging on the walls of his home? Who slaughtered the Coulthurst family and their crew on the Fishing Vessel Investor and then set fire to the boat? Who kidnapped the Fandel children? What horrors awaited the residents of Manley Hot Springs when they visited the boat landing? Why did a young man in Palmer, Alaska, attack his father and his girlfriend with a machete? Was the disappearance of the plane carrying Representatives Hale Boggs and Nick Begich an accident or something much more sinister? Why do so many people step into the Alaska wilderness and disappear? What is the Alaska Triangle, and is there any evidence that it actually exists? I invite you to listen to Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier and hear these and many other tales about the dark side of Alaska. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Read More Alaska Murder and Mystery ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds
A wealthy, powerful man, a beautiful widow, a scandalous affair, a murder, and a suicide: This true-life crime drama had it all, except for the answer to the question: Who killed Cecil Wells? Sources Bartlett, James T. The Alaskan Blonde. 2022. North Haven, CT. Territory Books. Johnny Warren Reamer, David. “In 1953, Cecil Wells was a rich and powerful Alaska Businessman. His murder made headlines nationwide.” August 30, 2020. Anchorage Daily News. “Wells, Cecil M.” Alaskahisitory.org. Anchorage 1910 – 1940. Legends and Legacies. https://www.alaskahistory.org/biographies/wells-cecil-m/ For more information on this case: Read The Alaskan Blonde by James Bartlett https://www.amazon.com/Alaskan-Blonde-Secrets-Hollywood-Shocked/dp/0984973028/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PUC5AS77DQ9&keywords=The+Alaskan+Blonde&qid=1700280903&s=books&sprefix=the+alaskan+blonde%2Cstripbooks%2C192&sr=1-1 Check out The Alaskan Blonde Website Watch my interview with James Bartlett, the author of The Alaskan Blonde. ________________________________________________________________________________ Read More Alaska Murder and Mystery _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Manley Hot Springs, located 160 miles west of Fairbanks, marks the end of the road, where civilization meets wilderness, and the boat landing in Manley Hot Springs offers the last portage for fishermen, trappers, and wanderers to launch their boats and travel further up the icy Tanana River. Because the road ends in Manley, residents admit they see their share of drifters and people trying to escape from somewhere or something. When Michael Silka arrived in Manley on Monday, May 13, 1984, folks accepted him as another straggler searching for a new life. They should have been terrified. Michael Silka was about to forever change sleepy Manley Hot Springs. Sources: Brenan, Tom. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 8: "Manley Hot Springs Murders." 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press. Hall, Jeff. "Michael Alan Silka and the firefight at Manley." Tactical Life magazine. Ice Cold Killers. Season 1, episode 5: "Frozen carnage." Murderpedia. "Michael Alan Silka." n.d. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Read More Alaska Murder and Mystery _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Alaska has spawned a long list of serial killers from the gold rush era in the early 1900s to the present day. Is Brian Steven Smith the latest member of this notorious fraternity? Sources: Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Defendant in hotel killing indicted on additional charges; FBI ‘actively' assisting investigation – Court documents filed this Kathlee Henry week indicate an active, wide-ranging investigation that may extend beyond Alaska.” October 15, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Victim's family members and activists pack court hearing of man accused of killing two Alaska Native women – Veronica Abouchuk's family members filled the courtroom as Brian Steven Smith pleaded not guilty to her murder.” October 22, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Brown, Lee. “Wife of ‘memory card' murder suspect Brian Smith shocked at his ‘dark' side.” October 24, 2019. New York Post. Hollander, Zac. “Anchorage man accused of hotel killing charged in the death of another woman – Brian Steven Smith, 48, now faces murder charges in the deaths of two women.” October 17, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Veronica Abouchuk Hollander, Zac and M.T. Boots. “Videos and photos show brutal attack of woman in Anchorage hotel room by man charged in her death, charges say – A 48-year-old Anchorage man was charged with murder in the death of a woman whose body was found along the Seward Highway south of Anchorage last week.” October 9, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Ortiz, Aimee. “Memory card found with brutal videos and photos leads to murder arrest.” October 9, 2019. The New York Times. Shapiro, Emily. “Memory card found on the street labeled “Homicide' leads to arrest of alleged killer.” October 11, 2019. ABC News. Staff Reporter. “Police identify 30-year-old woman as victim in video slaying – Kathleen J. Henry was beaten and killed in a Midtown hotel room last month, police say. Her killer allegedly captured the events in a video.” October 11, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Staff Reporter. “What we know about the Anchorage man accused in the brutal hotel-room killing of a woman – Charging documents say Brian Steven Smith shot video as he beat and choked Kathleen Jo Henry.” October 11, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Wieber, Aubrey. Anchorage woman whose remains were found earlier this year was slain, troopers say – Family described 27-year-old Shirley Skeek, born in Kake as the youngest of six kids, as a kind, smart and outgoing woman who was in a vulnerable state at the time of her disappearance.” December 30, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Read More Alaska Murder and Mystery _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier?
The brutal murders in 1987 of a mother and her two daughters terrified the residents of Anchorage. Who would commit such a barbaric act, and would he strike again? Sources: Barer, Burl. Murder in the Family. 2016. Denver: WildBlue Press. Brennan, Tom. Murder at 40 Below. Chapter 6: “The Newman family masasacre.” 2001. Kenmore, WA: Epicenter Press. “Murder in Alaska: The Newman family slaughter.” September 14, 2019. What Lies Beyond. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
What would you do to survive? Most of us believe there are some things we would never do, even if they could save our lives. However, until we find ourselves in a life-and-death situation, we can never know how far we might go for self-preservation. The marooned survivors from the James Allen did not hesitate to do what they felt was necessary to prolong their lives. Sources: De Armond, R.N. “The wreck of the James Allen.” December 1945. AlaskaWeb.Org. https://alaskaweb.org/jasallenwreck.html. Stein, Gary C. “Their Feast of Death: The wreck of the whaler James Allen.” 2018. Coriolis, Vol. 7, Number 2. Sullivan, Toby. “Wreck of the whaler James Allen.” June 8, 2022. Kodiak Daily Mirror. __________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Robert Hansen is Alaska's most notorious serial killer. Several television shows have portrayed Hansen's life; numerous books have detailed his horrific deeds; and a 2013 movie, The Frozen Ground, starring John Cusack as Hansen and Nicholas Cage as an Alaska State Trooper, chronicles Hansen's crimes and dramatizes the police investigation and apprehension of Hansen. I hesitate to repeat this story, but if my goal for this series is to recount some of the worst crimes in the history of Alaska, I would be remiss not to include those of Robert Hansen. This story is also important for two other reasons. First, it showcases the time during the construction and early operation of the trans-Alaska pipeline when thousands of people flocked to the state for jobs, and crime soared. Second, this case represents the beginning of the change in the criminal justice system in Alaska when investigative techniques, evidence processing, and in particular, dealing with sexual assault crimes and victims moved out of the dark ages and into the present. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
Christian Klengenberg greatly impacted Inuit settlements in the Arctic from Nome to central Canada. Many of his descendants are community leaders and active in Canadian politics. However, not all stories about Christian Klengenberg are good. He returned from one fateful voyage with only five of his nine crew members on board, and according to the remaining crewmen, Klengenberg murdered the four who were missing. Sources Harper, Kenn. “Christian Klengenberg, an Arctic enigma.” February 26, 2009. Nunatsiaq News. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Christian_Klengenberg_an_Arctic_enigma/ Harper, Kenn. “Christian Klengenberg: The rest of the story.” March 12, 2009. Nunatsiaq News. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Christian_Klengenberg_The_rest_of_the_story/ Hunt, William R. Distant Justice. Chapter 12: “Tough Characters.” 1987. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. __________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. · Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
In the early morning hours of Monday, April 26, 1993, someone brutally raped, stabbed and shot Sophie Sergie in a college dorm on the University of Alaska campus in Fairbanks. Several hours later, a janitor discovered Sophie's body stuffed in a bathtub in a second-floor bathroom in the dorm. No one saw or heard anything. Sophie's case soon went cold and remained cold for the next 18 years. Would her murder ever be solved? Sources: Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Troopers: Alaska Bureau of Investigation. “Cold Case Investigation Unit.” n.d. https://dps.alaska. gov/ast/abi/cold case Associated Press. “AST cold-case unit faces elimination.” April 10, 2015. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Bohman, Amanda. “New theory revives old murder case.” April 25, 2009. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Farneski, Anna. “Sergie was target of opportunity.” May 8, 1993. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Farneski, Anna. “While troopers hunt Sophie's killer, family tries to cope.” July 8, 1993. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Nolan, Caitlin. “Genealogy DNA leads to arrest in 1993 murder of Alaska student found dead in dorm bathtub.” February 18, 2019. Inside Edition. https://www.insideedition.com/genealogy-dna-leads-arrest-1993-murder-alaska-student-found-dead-dorm-bathtub-50844 Williams, Tess. “Jury finds Maine man guilty in Fairbanks cold-case murder.” February 10, 2022. Anchorage Daily News. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Now Available ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Listen to a New Podcast from the Members of Author Masterminds _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. · Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
What happened to Harold Enzler and Nancy Bellamy? They were alive and well one minute and gone without a trace the next. Did they pack their things and flee the state? Were they hiding from authorities? Or did someone murder Harold and Nancy and dispose of their bodies in a way so the troopers would never find them? ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now Available ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin _________________________________________________________________________________________ Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group! __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Listen to a New Podcast from the Members of Author Masterminds _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska. Subscribe to Robin's free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Author Masterminds ___________________________________________________________________________________ If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members. · Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store
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