Death of the Isdal Woman — the full case file

The Isdal Woman's remains were kept in a zinc coffin in case of future disinterment. An unidentified woman was found dead and severely burned in Isdalen ("Ice Valley") near Bergen, Norway, on 29 November 1970. Despite an extensive investigation revealing multiple false identities, her identity and the circumstances of her death remain unresolved more than fifty years later. On November 23, 1970, Woman checks out of Room 407 of Hotel Hordaheimen in Bergen; last confirmed sighting alive. On November 29, 1970, Charred body of the woman discovered in Isdalen, Bergen, by a hiker and his two daughters. In December 1970, two suitcases belonging to the woman found abandoned at Bergen railway station. On February 5, 1971, Woman given a Catholic burial in an unmarked grave at Møllendal graveyard, Bergen. In 1991, an anonymous taxi driver comes forward stating a second man joined the woman's ride to the railway station. In 2005, a Bergen resident reports a 1970 sighting of a woman matching the composite sketch near Fløyen, five days before the body was found. In 2016, Case reopened; NRK commissions new forensic sketches from artist Stephen Missal. In 2017, Stable isotope analysis of the woman's teeth indicates birth around 1930 near Nuremberg, Germany. In 2018, NRK and BBC World Service publish the podcast series 'Death in Ice Valley.'. In June 2019, BBC reports new listener-sourced clues following the podcast series. In 2019, a Forbach resident claims a relationship with the woman in 1970, published in Le Républicain Lorrain. On June 12, 2023, Neue Zürcher Zeitung article suggests possible connections to a Swiss banker and alleged Norwegian intelligence interference in the investigation. The case is recorded as cold and remains unsolved. This case file is kept in memory of Isdal Woman. The full sourced case file, with every fact cited, is at casepin dot org.

Transcript from the video’s narration track. For every source, open the case file.