The terrain is magnificent, brutal, and unforgiving- but beautiful- despite the circumstances. While the author seems to have made up his mind about that case- I’m still on the fence about it.īut overall, this is a harrowing, heart wrenching journey for all involved. I was familiar with one of these cases, having seen it featured on a true crime show several times. In reality, several of these cases can be linked back to criminal activities- maybe even a serial killer, or drug deals gone bad, while in other cases, suicide was a possibility, and of course, falling prey to the elements, wild animals, starving or drowning are the most likely and plausible explanations. People who, before their friend or loved one vanished, weren't given to fancy or conspiracies, will grasp at the ridiculous rather than face the truth. People in these situations will grab onto anything- and do mean- ANYTHING- that will give them some peace. This book, without needing to put too fine a point on it, shows just how agonizing that limbo is.

I can’t imagine someone in my life vanishing, being left in some tortuous limbo, not knowing what happened to them- knowing in some part your brain the truth of the situation, yet unable to give up hope- getting up every single day unable to fully move on with one’s life until the truth is finally known-either way. The subject of missing persons is one that bothers me immensely. Interspersed throughout are shorter stories of other missing persons who vanished in a wilderness location- highlighting once again the sheer volume of people who vanish, seemingly into thin air, and for those who do eventually get answers, it’s seldom a happy ending.

The primary focus of this book is the story of Jacob Gray, who disappeared in Olympic National Park and the sheer determination of his father to find out what happened to his son. I think that may be the most apt description of being caged in the relentless trap of 'not knowing'.

While watching an old episode of ‘Disappeared’ on Discovery plus recently, an anguished mother described her life as living somewhere between hell and hope. Sure, one could logically presume that someone who disappeared in such an environment got lost, suffered from hypothermia, drowned, or met up with a mountain lion or bear.īut, when search parties, helicopters, and endless attempts to locate the missing fail to find the person- one way or the other- the mystery is not so cut and dried. In this book, the author narrows the group of missing persons down to those who have vanished in wilderness areas- specifically national forest and parks. The stories behind each one is tragic and frustrating. It boggles the mind how many people are reported missing on any given day. The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America’s Wildlands by Jon Billman is a 2020 Grand Central Publication.

The cold vanish by jon billman