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The Isdalen mystery

nrk.no

11–20 of 26 posts

Re: The Isdalen mystery

#11
post #3

There are some interesting theories and discussions about the case on the /r/UnresolvedMysteries subreddit[0]. My favorite one is that she might have been part of a check scams league[1]. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/search?q=isdal&... [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/3anykc...

Interesting. Also search for Isdalen https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/search?q=isdale...

Re: The Isdalen mystery

#15
post #7

Sadly it takes sensational stories like this get notice but in the US alone more than a half million get reported each year with nearly eight thousand missing at any one time At least here they have a body. There are tens of thousands of other bodies that cannot be identified in the US alone. So going forward it will probably take genetic sampling at birth so that everyone can be identified or every set of remains ca…

While universal genetic sampling probably isn't on the books in the near future, there's an obvious risk of mission creep with samples already collected for another purpose.

Here in Norway we've got an ongoing case in which the police (in Bergen, the same precinct which got the Isdalen case in the parent article in their laps) collected DNA samples from any male who volunteered to provide one to be checked out of a rape case. (They used cell phone position data to determine who had been in the immediate area around the time of the rape).

Anyone who provided a sample were assured that the sample would be destroyed once they were checked out - as would any data derived from it.

Guess what. The samples still exist, the unexpected twist being that the police wants to destroy them to keep up the populace's trust.

The national archives are the ones trying to preserve the samples on the grounds that they are, by law, material which fall under the authority of the national archives.

If the samples are in the end preserved, guess what:

a) Noone will ever volunteer DNA ever again, and:

b) Someone will at some point cross-reference the samples against other unsolved crimes, just in case.

Re: The Isdalen mystery

#16

Spoiler: "until now" means just some new media thing about it, no news

On the contrary! Here are some of the recent developments in the case:

- A brand new police-sketch of her face (after interviewing witnesses) aiming for photo realism. (As opposed to the sketch from the 70's which is more stylistic in nature.)

- Handwriting analysis of her diary, itineraries, etc. to narrow down where she could've been educated.

- A complete DNA profile from samples of her internal organs. (Samples were previously thought missing, but have recently been rediscovered.)

- Her teeth (also previously thought missing) have been sent for isotope analysis to narrow down her geographic area of origin. Her dental work is also being studied to match repair methods with country.

Re: The Isdalen mystery

#17
post #16

Spoiler: "until now" means just some new media thing about it, no news

On the contrary! Here are some of the recent developments in the case: - A brand new police-sketch of her face (after interviewing witnesses) aiming for photo realism. (As opposed to the sketch from the 70's which is more stylistic in nature.) - Handwriting analysis of her diary, itineraries, etc. to narrow down where she could've been educated. - A complete DNA profile from samples of her internal organs. (Samples w…

you mean teeth?

Re: The Isdalen mystery

#18
post #17
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary! Here are some of the recent developments in the case: - A brand new police-sketch of her face (after interviewing witnesses) aiming for photo realism. (As opposed to the sketch from the 70's which is more stylistic in nature.) - Handwriting analysis of her diary, itineraries, etc. to narrow down where she could've been educated. - A complete DNA profile from samples of her internal organs. (Samples w…

you mean teeth?

Yes! :)

Re: The Isdalen mystery

#19
post #7

Sadly it takes sensational stories like this get notice but in the US alone more than a half million get reported each year with nearly eight thousand missing at any one time At least here they have a body. There are tens of thousands of other bodies that cannot be identified in the US alone. So going forward it will probably take genetic sampling at birth so that everyone can be identified or every set of remains ca…

> So going forward it will probably take genetic sampling at birth so that everyone can be identified or every set of remains can be.

How many people are reported missing is irrelevant in this discussion; a better question is, how many unidentified bodies are found in the United States every year?

Re: The Isdalen mystery

#20
post #7

Sadly it takes sensational stories like this get notice but in the US alone more than a half million get reported each year with nearly eight thousand missing at any one time At least here they have a body. There are tens of thousands of other bodies that cannot be identified in the US alone. So going forward it will probably take genetic sampling at birth so that everyone can be identified or every set of remains ca…

> So going forward it will probably take genetic sampling at birth so that everyone can be identified or every set of remains can be. How many people are reported missing is irrelevant in this discussion; a better question is, how many unidentified bodies are found in the United States every year?

Yeah. I was once reported missing (by my mother) to the police because I didn't arrive from the big city in the bus she expected. I had just chosen the next one, two hours later.

I was 20 at the time and serving in the army. There I was actually leading company-strength motor marches.

Talk about overly worried parents.

As to your question, a quick Google arrives at a story claiming the number is 4,400:

"U.S. medical examiner and coroners' offices receive an estimated 4,400 unidentified human bodies every year, according to the first national census of medical-legal death investigations, "Medical Examiners and Coroners' Offices, 2004." Of these, about 1,000 are still unidentified after one year, and 600 are buried or cremated."

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/07/11/unidentified-hum...

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