What have we learned about the Isdal Woman? Death in Ice Valley, Episode 10 - BBC World Service

Engravings on a spoon, and a time of violence. What have we learned about the Isdal Woman, and what is still to be uncovered?
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This is the story of a woman travelling in Norway in 1970 who died a terrible death, and left behind her a trail of strange clues. Her real identity has remained unknown for more than 50 years, and it remains one of the world's most intriguing unsolved mysteries.
Death in Ice Valley is an original podcast series made by the BBC World Service and NRK. It's presented by Marit Higraff and Neil McCarthy.
This episode was first broadcast in June 2018. Some details and information on the case that subsequently came to light are covered in episode 11.
Sound design: Phil Channell
Additional investigation: Ståle Hansen and Øyvind Bye Skille from NRK
Series editor: Philip Sellars
BBC World Service editor: Jon Manel
Podcast studio mixed by Donald MacDonald
Death in Ice Valley is written and produced by Neil McCarthy
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There's more information on our website, and you can listen again and download the podcast: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p060...
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[@ivyblue551]

The Isdal woman used the last name before she died twice , where she did not use any of the others but once. Just for fun her names also if rearraged form anagrams. Some of the anagrams found was Cleaner, Cleaners, The German wolf is here. If perhaps she was a spy this would make sense all the jumping around and using random names. There seems to be this connection between her and Jenifer Fairgate who was also found in Oslo with very errie, similarities and then again an older gentlemen who was found also in Norway on the train tracks. All of them where nomadic in nature , mysterious and removed all the labels from their garments and other various items but a few. No one knows who they are and the bodies where never claimed by anyone. I think there is a huge connection between these three and it makes me wonder about the other twelve that have went missing..

[@CriticalityIncident]

The more I learn about this case, the more it feels like she's trolling all of us from the grave.

[@johnallen6945]

Just a thought. Dancers would have all the furniture taken out of a room to dance.

[@theonlydjtopcat]

@20:40 not exactly true, Ahmed Bouchiki wasn't the main target (Salameh), but he was closely connected to PLO cells in Norway according to the late Mossad agent Sylvia Rafael and others. When asked why her team killed an innocent man she allegedly replied "Who said he was innocent?" The reason they found him was that a known PLO courier was talking to him at the pool he worked at. He was the older brother of the Gipsy Kings band founder Chico Bouchiki. It was still cold blooded to gun him down in front of his Norwegian wife, but Salameh actually got him killed by misleading Mossad. Eventually they got Salameh. The only reason they were caught is because the two new Norwegian born Mossad agents forgot to switch cars as instructed, and drove straight to the airport. Norwegian secret police easily followed them and they were arrested. Rafael turned herself in, and got a country club light sentence. Her Norwegian guard would take her out to go shopping. It was all a PR stunt.

[@neptune5728]

Not quite "rostfrei"/stainless if the knife is rusty....

[@michaelstamper5604]

Late to the party, I know, but have listened to the whole series several times, I am wondering if the spoon was ever checked for fingerprints? And if any were found, were they the Isdal woman's, or someone else's? Just thinking that, if I suspected someone might try to kill me, I would want to leave behind something to point towards the person responsible. Eg, their fingerprints on something.

[@theonlydjtopcat]

The spoon is from Austria, and was common in all parts of Germany. Whether it had special meaning to her no clue.

[@An.Individual]

Does anyone know where her body was found? I would have appreciated it if they had told us. what3words or GPS Coordinates.

[@leviackerman8630]

Maybe that girl was a govt spy, she was specifically following somebody that's why she got so many passports and getup changers like (wigs) in order to hide her previous self, the reason why she has been changing her room was to be closer to the person whom she was following, and after completing her work she decided to go back to her place with her 2 suitcases (I don't know where) and someone might have abducted her making her leave her suitcases there itself and the kidnappers might have killed her in the death valley. Cause deaths are usual in that place, In order to make sure she dies they must have fed her with 50 sleeping pills, and they must have burned her with some acidic chemicals, stored in glass bottles cause plastic bottles will melt, and while burning her those 50 pills in her stomach might have regained her consciousness and she might have fight backed like making her hands like guarding herself and the kidnappers might have hit her in the neck to make her die and left. The only problem here in this theory is that why was her watches and accessories were removed and placed separately aside Source: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5CmhHRtnNN3pLM

[@franziskakre8309]

But maybe she was not a Jew but a German Sinta? Sinti and Roma were murdered in the concentration camps too. The most of them have dark hair and many of them were or are Christians.

[@ZardozCologne]

I think, I read that her DNA was analysed and shows no pattern typically for gypsies

[@VersusARCH]

I don't think she was a member of was Mossad. East German or Soviet intelligence services make far more sense. She left Germany as the Nazis came to power - her parents might have been German communists rather than Jews (to be fair they could have been both). Norway was important for NATO as a listening post against USSR, particularly the Soviet Navy (SOSUS barrier), and was therefore far more interesting to Soviet rather than Israeli spies. Although, given her frequent movements all over Europe she was more likely a courier and her assignment may not have been connected with spying of Norway. Sommerton Man also seems to have been a Soviet spy.

[@ur-inannak9565]

It was already established her MO was the opposite of what would be expected of KGB, though East Germany could be possible. Sommerton Man was a normal Australian guy named Charles Webb that killed himself after his marriage failed and possibly also because of gambling debts.

[@Earth098]

What if she was hunting Nazis, and what if she was not interested in the Penguin misile test, but that fisherman?.....perhaps that's why police gave him the gun

[@ur-inannak9565]

I agree, the fisherman was probably a disguise for Mengele or one of his ilk. She almost had him until she was intercepted by Red Skull.

[@jantaljaard835]

The Mossad theory is plausible.

[@wcraigburns3458]

Could she have been a drug user ? Bad teeth , spoons bad smell or was she suffering from a disease ?

[@ZardozCologne]

the pils found with her were also medicine to cure a mental illness

[@lilacsunshine3044]

@@ZardozCologne The sleeping pills/?

[@ZardozCologne]

@@lilacsunshine3044 Yes, they were no sinple sleeping pils