.Isdal Woman: A Cold War Murder Mystery - Biog > .
The Isdal Woman (Norwegian: Isdalskvinnen) is a placeholder name given to an unidentified woman who was found dead at Isdalen ("Ice Valley") in Bergen, Norway, on 29 November 1970. Although police at the time ruled a verdict of likely suicide, the nature of the case encouraged speculation and ongoing investigation in the years since. Nearly half a century later, it remains one of the most profound Cold War mysteries in Norwegian history.
In 2018, NRK and the BBC published a podcast series titled Death in Ice Valley, which included interviews with eyewitnesses and forensic scientists, also suggesting that the Isdal Woman's birthplace may have been southern Germany or the French-German border region, and that she was likely born c. 1930 (±4 years). She was also likely raised in French-speaking Belgium.
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Many questions remain unanswered about the case, especially the reasons for the woman's many identities and unexplained travel plans. Multiple investigations point to the possibility that she was a spy, given the Cold War context of the time. Norway had also experienced other strange disappearances in the 1960s, close to military installations, which also traced back to international espionage. The declassified records of the Norwegian Armed Forces also reveal that many of the woman's movements seem to correspond to top secret trials of the Penguin missile. A fisherman is also reported to have recognised the unknown woman while observing military movements in Stavanger. The possession of nine fake passports also imply the involvement of a very professional organization. Similarly, counter-intelligence activities by Mossad in Europe at the time may also be linked...
In 2017, stable isotope analysis of the woman's teeth (taken from her unburied jawbone[) indicated that the woman had been born in about 1930 in or near Nuremberg, Germany, but had moved to France or the France–Germany border as a child. This reinforced earlier analysis of her handwriting, which suggested that she had been educated in France or a neighbouring country. Analysis also indicated she had been to a dentist in either East Asia, Central Europe, Southern Europe or South America.In 2018, NRK and the BBC published a podcast series titled Death in Ice Valley, which included interviews with eyewitnesses and forensic scientists, also suggesting that the Isdal Woman's birthplace may have been southern Germany or the French-German border region, and that she was likely born c. 1930 (±4 years). She was also likely raised in French-speaking Belgium.
