Disappearance of Erin Marie Gilbert

Erin Marie Gilbert (born May 4, 1971) was an American woman who disappeared on July 1, 1995, while attending the Girdwood Forest Fair in Girdwood, Alaska. Gilbert was raised in Everett, Washington, later moved with her father to Baltimore, Maryland, where she studied English at community college, and subsequently lived in San Francisco, where she worked for a time as a model. In 1994 she relocated to Alaska, living with her elder sister Stephanie and Stephanie's husband at Elmendorf Air Force Base, and worked as a nanny for a family known to her sister.

On July 1, 1995, Gilbert traveled to the Girdwood Forest Fair with David Combs, a man she had met several days earlier at a bar called Chilkoot Charlie's in Anchorage. The pair left Anchorage around 4:00 p.m. and were last seen together at the fair's beer garden around 6:00 p.m., after which they left the fairground. Gilbert was reportedly wearing a black leather jacket, a black-and-white shirt, mountain boots, and black jeans at the time.

According to Combs' account, upon returning to his car the two discovered the battery was dead because he had left the headlights on. He said he told Gilbert he would walk to a nearby friend's home for help, and that this walk took approximately two hours, during which he could not locate the residence. When he returned to the car, Gilbert was no longer there. Combs said he assumed she had gone back to the fair, and after managing to start the car, returned to the fairgrounds and searched unsuccessfully for her until about 1:00 a.m.

The next morning, July 2, Combs called Stephanie's household to ask whether Gilbert had returned home, prompting Stephanie and her family to search the fairgrounds and surrounding woods themselves. Alaska State Troopers subsequently organized a large-scale search involving helicopters and search dogs, and were assisted by Alaska Mountain Rescue and the Nordic Ski Patrol, but no trace of Gilbert was recovered.

The case saw renewed public attention in 2017. Police lieutenant Randy McPherron stated publicly that investigators did not know whether foul play was involved, noting the absence of witnesses, human remains, or a crime scene, and said "somebody knows something." At that time, Gilbert's family offered a $35,000 reward for information regarding her disappearance. Combs declined to speak with the press when contacted. No arrests or charges have been reported in connection with Gilbert's disappearance, and her case remains unresolved. The case has since been the subject of podcast coverage, including a 2019 series on Alaska Unsolved and a 2020 episode of The Vanished.