A news story about a female hiker in a bikini who died tragically has brought the topic of hiking back into the spotlight. Historically, there’s a mysterious and eerie case known as the “Isdalen Woman.” To this day, the police have been unable to solve the case—no one knows her identity or how she died. It is considered one of the most perplexing unsolved mysteries in Norwegian history.
On November 29, 1970, a woman’s body was discovered in the Isdalen Valley near Bergen, Norway. At the time, a father and daughter were hiking on the northern peak of Isdalen when they found a body hidden among rocks. Part of the body was charred black, but the woman was not wearing any clothes. Around her were dozens of phenobarbital sleeping pills, a bag of lunch, an empty liquor bottle, two plastic bottles with a gasoline smell, a silver spoon, and a burned passport—seemingly all attempts to deliberately conceal her identity.
The autopsy report indicated that the woman had taken an overdose of sleeping pills (approximately 50 pills) and also died from carbon monoxide poisoning. She had bruises on her neck, and all fingerprints had been worn off her hands. The only clue was dental records showing she had visited a dentist in Latin America. Very little other information was available. Later, the police found two suitcases belonging to the woman at a train station in Norway. One suitcase contained 500 German marks, clothing with the labels cut off, a prescription bottle with no doctor’s name or date, 130 Norwegian kroner, a silver spoon similar to the one found at the scene, sunglasses with fingerprints, and an encrypted diary.
The police managed to decrypt the diary and traced it to a dress. They also found a postcard from an Italian photographer in one of the suitcases. The photographer said he had once driven the woman to the Alexander Hotel for a meal. She told him she was from a small town in South Africa and planned to stay in Norway for about six months. It was later discovered that she had used eight different passports. Witnesses also reported that the woman wore wigs, spoke multiple languages, and was highly cautious—she mostly stayed in her hotel room. She was about 164 cm tall, had small eyes and wide hips, and appeared to be between 30 and 40 years old.
Although some people later told the police they had seen the woman while hiking, along with two foreign men, she looked terrified, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t. However, the police simply said, “Forget it, the case has been closed as a suicide.” The police attitude has also raised questions—was this woman someone important or perhaps a spy?