23 March
Videos
The Isdal Woman: Norway’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery
- tcweekly
- bergen, harloween, norway, Stephanie harlowe, the isdal woman, true crime, unsolved mystery
- 39 Comments
Unraveling the Enigma: Delving into the Intriguing Case of the Isdal Woman – Norway’s Most Perplexing Unsolved Mystery. Known as the “Isdal Woman,” this unidentified woman was found deceased in a remote valley in Norway in 1970, her identity and cause of death still remain a mystery to this day. The case is surrounded by a web of cryptic clues, including multiple false identities, burned passports, and suspicious circumstances that point to foul play. Join me as I meticulously dissect the evidence and uncover the secrets hidden within this baffling case.
@ashleyrichards5194
Is there any genetic material to see if she has living relatives??
@ashleyrichards5194
I LOVE her inclusion of history, geography, scientific explanations etc
@oliviannie9705
The Cold War? Men waving around their big sticks. Best description I've ever heard!
@martkbanjoboy8853
One of the Bergen hotel staffers said they once heard her speaking in what they thought was her native language(?) – a peculiarly specific thing to admit. Further to this, they said it struck them as such an odd sound they felt like laughing. This is how I felt the first time I heard the Flemish dialect.
@martkbanjoboy8853
The latest info which broke after this vid I think, is that she may have been in the employ of PLA rounder and Swiss banker, François Genoud. There is a very good article with this info at NZZ. I think this poor dear lady may have been from Flanders, or may have been Netherlandish as I suppose it is possible some areas of Holland may speak a similar dialect to the distinctive Flemish dialect, usually associated with West and East Flanders. Europeans from this area are way more 'language fluid' 😅 than typical Westerners. Languages are learned, they are not always an indicator of citizenship. In addition, there was a vast exodus of millions of European citizens starting around 1944 in a colossal game of global musical chairs. She was born into this World. The whole case makes me sad. TCOB in the typical Worldly millieu is a sad business ran by sad characters. 'Twas ever thus. Also it seems that Belgium has at times been a node of mysterious human activity that never gets resolved. In the modern parlance, such people are said to be 'disappeared.'
When needful things dictate god's beautiful creature is killed so callously and indifferently. . .ź
@overwhelmedmama1962
I think she was definitely in a secretive occupation. I also think that, since they thought she was burned BEFORE being burned again, that it was a setup where she was found. I believe she was murdered and burned. They may have force-fed her the pills and put more in her mouth to make it look like a suicide. Also, agree with you on pharma…it's sketchy as all get-out.
@jesshughes776
I BELIEVE SHE WAS A SPY. THE 2 MEN SEEN IN PURSUIT OF THE ISDAL WOMAN BY THE HIKING MAN WERE MOST LIKELY HIGH RANKING-SECRET GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS GIVEN THE TASK OF KILLING HER AS THEY DID AS A WARNING TO WHOEVER SENT HER.
@theonlydjtopcat
Really enjoyed this video Stephanie minus the unnecessary long history of Norwegian royalty lesson. No offense, but it was like listening to the audiobook of Tolkien's Silmarillion.
My personal feeling is this case will probably never be solved, that is to the public anyway. I have zero doubt the Norwegian government knows not only who the woman was, but what her purpose in Norway was in 1970. She left and came back, stood out like a sore thumb among the mostly pasty white Nordics of small town Norway, and didn't cover her tracks. Good spies are stationary, have solid "legends" cover stories, and stay in the shadows. The exact opposite of this woman. Ironically the DNA and carbon tests just opened up more rabbit holes to dive down. Being possibly born in the early years of Nazi Germany doesn't just automatically mean she was a Jew, or Roma/gypsy, she also could have had a diehard Nazi family, and grew up with their ideals traveling with them as the war went on. Perhaps helping Israel's enemies later in life which could have put her on the Israeli radar. Hunter, or hunted? It can go either way. Online theories are endless without more meat, and it's funny you mentioned David Morgan because he has over the years come up with about 50 of them himself lol He's the Dan Brown of amateur Isdal Woman detectives Lol His latest is that she was a hippie tourist from Seattle! I'm far more pragmatic. I believe the only two ways this case will be officially solved with allowed public knowledge is 1.Government files on the case are made public 2. Her DNA is allowed to be checked against larger public databases. Same deal with the Jennifer Fairgate case 25 years later. Btw I believe Israel is connected to both, but the two are not to each other as some have theorized due to coincidences such as fake use of Belgian addresses, speaking German, tags removed etc etc.
@jesshughes776
NOT ONLY WAS THERE NO FIRE AROUND HER. HER RIGHT FOOT HAD BEEN CRUDELY CUT OFF, MOST LIKELY BEFORE SHE WAS BURNED. THE FLESH ALSO LOOKS TO HAVE BEEN BURNED OR REMOVED FROM THE TOES ON HER LEFT FOOT. SHE SLOWLY DIED THE MOST HORRIFIC-EXCRUCIATING DEATH I'VE HEARD OF.
@jesshughes776
CLEARLY SHE WAS A SPY. THE NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENT KILLED HER INTENDING HER TO BE FOUND. SHE WAS A MESSAGE TO WHO SENT HER.
@Jay-n262
This case has always intrigued me, I hope we get answers on who she was in the near future.
@zoesautistic
20 minutes in. My first guess is she's a spy or a DV victim
@stormylaflin9647
Time traveller
@jesicabrown8732
My great grandma was from Norway. I never met her unfortunately. I would have loved to hear some stories. I would love to go there one day but that's a very very long plane ride😂
@sharminmohammad745
She’s a spy.
@craftwhimsy4776
Women who trained in “sexpionage” were called “swallows” 💀
@damien706
They really treated her with respect with the burial, and the forethought of preserving her
@CL-we8tn
Alsace and Lorraine was part of Germany, then France then Germany, and they went back and forth every war they fought until after ww2, now it's French, the people there can be French or German first language speakers, and they speak a dialect of French with German words. It could be she came from here and after WW1 went to Germany. After ww2 the first thing they did was hunt the nazis, assuming she was not a nazi she could have found herself in east Berlin in 1949. Very confusing because she was almost making a trail instead of trying to hide one.
@CL-we8tn
If everybody's DNA was available it would cut unknown crime by 100%. There would still be crime, but only the stupid and the psychos would try. I would love crime to be a thing of the past. I would love every deceased unknown person to be able to be identified. As for pharmaceutical companies, go for it, make medicines, make them expensive. For every big company making 1 expensive drug, there are thousands making generic drugs at cheap prices, which would mean more affordable drugs for masses of poor people and the roll on effect is that private Healthcare would also become affordable and many of these companies have extensive exclusions, like any drug for mental health is excluded but drugs for cholesterol are included. It would force these companies to include more chronic conditions, thereby enabling better health care for breadline people. If the majority of the population don't do crime, and are healthy, their DNA is just going to sit there.
About cancer, cancer is your own body turning on you, there are thousands of different kinds of cancers, to make a cancer drug, you will always be making a generic variety that most cancers respond to. Otherwise drug companies would have to make a drug, just for your cancer as everyone's DNA is different. There will always only be 3 ways to kill cancer, burn it, cut it out, or poison it.
@brookescott3244
1:20:03 AGREED. They have many cures but choose to profit off of ill humans instead of healing them. Pure evil.
@nikitaagreene
reminds me a bit of the oslo woman in room 2805
@jaimegibbs2751
Some people rub garlic/onions on thier feet to heal illnesses… that could be a reason she smelled like garlic….
@CenterWingExtremist
You will have nothing and you will be happy, including your dna.
@BlueDejavu.
The fact she had so many police officers at her funeral stuck out to me. Like she was one of their own without saying she was. I understand the need for pallbearers at such a short notice but the whole force was out for her service. Spy angle can be a possibility. Sloppy one who cover was blown or realized she was just a pawn in something bigger.
@Sam-nx5ch
This is a great episode, but I beg of you to check the pronunciation of places and historical figures you plan to say over and over again.
@sarapurdy8712
Me, 3 yrs in the future 👋…. trying to download this so I can listen to it on the way to work… can't download cause it has a warning on the video that this video is disturbing in content… me 3 minutes before downloaded 3 other of your videos for the same purpose with no issue hmmm suspicious YouTube suspicious 🤔 👀 🤔
@katekimberly426
It is only my assumption, but since the deceased woman had a trace of bruising on her neck and she was alive while burning, I think that her attacker or attackers made her take sleeping pills, then hit her in the neck that could lead to unconsciousness for some time. That’s why she didn’t try to get out of flames – she was incapacitated by this strike, and then sleeping pills took effect. Maybe even it was not the attackers intention – to set her on fire. They could’ve just left her in the forest, near the fire, and left themselves.
@adriennexo85
Stephanie, i genuinely LOVE YOU. you are the sweetest crime-caster/Youtuber.
@DarthMrMeeseeks
I have the EXACT same issues reading a "regular" clock.. and no-one believes it's real …Le Sigh
@samanthakaitlynm
I love your videos so much!! From true crime to the historic deep dives and SO much content to binge!!! I've been watching for months now and there's still SO much I haven't seen! I sit down in the morning with my matcha latte and sit down while knitting to Stephanie Harlowe vid. I don't know what it is but your personality, the way you tell the stories, your entire vibe is immaculate, so happy to be here and have found your channel!!
@teacupgoodness
I’m from Norway, but I haven’t heard about this before now. I did not know much about the spying at that time either, all though I have heard about spies. Thank you for the informative video Stephanie!
@astreaward6651
I used to think that the spy theory was a possibility until the Somerton Man was identified recently. He was just an ordinary person and now that he's been identified and there was no grand conspiracy surrounding his death, he'll be forgotten because someone in the throes of a mental health crisis is just too boring. The public wants it to be something involving spies or something else exotic. This woman probably killed herself due to depression and there isn't anything more nefarious than that involved.
As for the DNA/privacy issues, yes, it is a bit contradictory to be concerned about privacy when you've just sent in a sample of DNA but it's also contradictory to be concerned about privacy when the vast majority of the Western population carries around mini-computers that can be used to access EVERYTHING ELSE besides our DNA.
@nicoleweiler1105
This kind of reminds me.of the Jenifer Fergate case. I bet this woman was a spy.
@nicoleweiler1105
So YouTube flags THIS video as "possibly inappropriate for some audiences", but not the Ken and Barbie killer series??? YouTube is absolutely ridiculous when it comes to judging content for appropriateness and monetization.
@LizzyRebecca
Controversial opinion, but based on another video on this case, I think this was mental health related. Cutting off the tags of clothes and moving from place to place could indicate someone who felt like they were being stalked by the government. Setting herself on fire could’ve been a complete accident in her altered state, and taking so many pills can indicate she wanted to kill herself and not be identified by supposed government agents and such. The mountain she was found on was actually common for suicides. And the fact that she may have had lots of money can be explained by maybe having a rich family that she left who never bothered to look for her because it was common behavior for her and they figured she didn’t want to be found.
@juliecavanagh7399
Spy, and some spies act as decoys while the real action is going on, so maybe she did want to be noticed, in an anonymous sort of way. Also, in re the DNA bank and police access, it's too dangerous to hold that door open just a little bit. The minute that was allowed, those in power would wedge it open and have the hinges off before you could blink, and the next thing you know, you'd be living in a very terrifying brave new world.'
@eiramu
I’m rewatching this and wondering why oh earth YouTube has put a viewer discretion on this one?!
@amcdill6779
This reminded me of another mystery I watched on a man found I think on the beach. He had a suitcase with him with many different clothes and wigs with all the tags cut out of them. The death was I think considered suicide as well but was reopened and many theories with. If I find it I will let you know, but this sounds very similar.
@jordmachkim
Your expressions are everything.
“The matchbook was found to be from an erotic underwear shop in Germany..”
“Oooohh..”
Long time supporter and fan of yours. Just wanted to say this.