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August 5, 2025 76 mins

In November of 1970, a hiker and his daughters stumbled upon a charred body in Norway’s remote Isdalen Valley. What followed was one of the most puzzling investigations in modern history. The woman had no ID, traveled under at least nine aliases, spoke multiple languages, and carried a suitcase full of wigs, forged documents, and coded notes. Was she a spy? A smuggler? Or simply someone trying to disappear? In this episode, we dive deep into the facts, the forensics, and the theories that still surround the case of the Isdal Woman.

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Sources:

A&E. (2021). The Isdal Woman Cold Case: Mystery Over Her Identity Endures. Retrieved from https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/isdal-woman

Criminal (Vocal Media). (2022). Autopsy and burial details including coffin and preservation.

Ferro, S. (2016, April 1). New evidence emerges in Norway’s most famous unsolved murder case. Mental Floss. Retrieved from https://www.mentalfloss.com/501142/new-evidence-emerges-isdal-woman-case-norway%E2%80%99s-most-famous-unsolved-murder-mystery Wikipedia+8heartstartspounding.com+8Reddit+8Mental Floss

Futility Closet. (2014, January 3). The Isdal Woman. Retrieved from https://www.futilitycloset.com/2014/01/03/the-isdal-woman/ Futility Closet

Gyr, M., & Lemcke, A. (2023, June 12). New leads in unsolved 1970 death point to Nazi‑allied Swiss banker. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/new-leads-in-unsolved-1970-death-lead-to-nazi-allied-swiss-banker-ld.1741613

Isdal Woman. (2024, May). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isdal_Woman A&E+9Wikipedia+9Mental Floss+9

Mental Floss. (2016). First isotopic analysis placing her origins near Nuremberg.

Mental Floss. (2016). Genoud connection highlighted in new leads.

Reddit thread. (2023, June 12). New info: Isdal Woman … r/UnresolvedMysteries. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/1iordb3/new_info_isdal_woman/

Scarlet & Black. (2021). Quick Cold Cases: The Isdal Woman. https://thesandb.com/36839/article/quick-cold-cases-the-isdal-woman/

Vocal Media. (2022). Mentions of espionage, smuggling, and sex work theories.

Vocal Media. (2022). The Isdal Woman of Norway. Retrieved from https://vocal.media/criminal/the-isdal-woman-of-norway Futility Closet+4J.A. Hernandez+4Medium+4

Vocal Media. (2022). Witness accounts related to Stavanger missile testing.

Wikipedia. (2024). “Penguin missile,” and Cold War testing relevance.

Wikipedia. (2024). DNA haplogroup H24 and forensic reopening via Death in Ice Valley.

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