Mystery women found dead in Isdalen, Bergen, Norway

I wanted to translate a story from Norway that has puzzled me for a while, it has some very peculiar elements to it which tells a story of a deliberate cover-up.

"Isdal woman" is the term for an unidentified woman who was found in Isdalen in Bergen, Norway. The 29th of November 1970, a father and his two young daughters found a burnt and stripped corpse in a rockery at a secluded path in Isdalen. The investigation was immediately initiated and the case has since evolved to become the most comprehensive criminal case in Bergen police. The official police report concluded suicide, but this conclusion is controversial.



The woman was found in a part of Isdalen called dødsdalen ("Death Valley"), located in the direction towards Ulriken. Around the fire was partly found a burnt passport . The autopsy showed that the woman had had a stroke in the neck region and had taken several sleeping pills before death occurred.

The investigation

Police tracked the woman to two suitcases that were found on the train station in Bergen. On all garments were labels systematically removed and fingerprints sanded off. It was also found a moisturiser that you had to have a prescription for. Doctor's name and date was however removed. The lining on one case contained 500 Deutsche Mark's . It was found fragments of one fingerprint on a pair of broken glasses. The impression was not good enough to be identifiable, but the analysis strengthened the police's theory that it belonged to the deceased woman. The police had made ​​a sketch on the basis of witness descriptions and analyses made ​​by the body, and the drawings were published in the media and requested via Interpol in several countries.

Police eventually found out that the woman had travelled around Norway and Europe with nine different identities: Jenevive Lancia, Claudia Tjelta, Vera Schlosseneck, Claudia Nielsen, Alexia Zarna-Merchez, Vera Jarle, Finella Lorck and Elizabeth Leen Hoywfer. All these identities were false. The woman used according to witnesses various wigs, and in case it was found coded diary entries. The codes were later broken by police who thought they were the initials of places the woman had visited at different times.

Her teeth were thoroughly checked during the autopsy, and the way dental work was performed at indicated that the woman had been to the dentist in South America.

Witnesses reported that the woman had spoke several languages. French, German and Flemish . The woman had stayed at several hotels in Bergen . She had repeatedly changed hotel after checking in, when she wanted rooms that had balconies. In the hotel papers she signed at check-in, she had specified that she was a travelling salesman and in one case that she worked with antiquities. The woman was apparently fond of gruel with milk, after looking through her bills.

Having ransacked the woman's suitcases police went along with the city's most prominent textile retailers to identify Isdal woman's dress. It was concluded that the woman had a somewhat high-fashion style, as noted by her Italian brand taste. Witnesses pointed out to police that she had something of a wiggling walk.

Police interrogated an Italian photographer who had given the woman a ride and had dinner with her ​​at Alexandra Guest House in Loen . The Italian had earlier that year a shelved rape case in the police record files. One of the Italians picture postcards, that were sold throughout Norway, was found in her luggage. The photographer claimed the woman had said that she came from a small town north of Johannesburg in South Africa , and she travelled half years to see pretty places. Questioning did not lead until new information about the woman's identity.

The last observation of the supposed Isdal woman was when she checked out of room 407 at the Hotel Holberg. The woman payed cash only, and was picked-up by a taxi . She was stated to be 30-40 years old, 164 cm tall, wide hips, small eyes and good looks. Hotel staff said the woman stayed in her room most of the time, and seemed to be on duty. Another hotel guest explained to police that she smoked a Norwegian cigarette brand called "South state".

One witness testified that she had overheard the woman while she was talking to a man across the hall in a hotel in Bergen . "Ich komme bald" ("I am coming soon") should the woman said.

Theories

The retired policeman, Hans Thue, informed in the mid 70's the press about his theory. He believed the woman could have been part of a check scams league. In 1972 , two South Americans arrested for check fraud in Bergen . They had, like the Isdal woman, also made use of false identities. The theory was ridiculed, and the press speculated that the police officer deliberately tried to mislead the public on behalf of the Norwegian secret service (POT).

The woman's mysterious activities have led to the most famous theory has linked her to spy work in the Cold War, where information on marine activities on the military base Haakonsvern has been a common thread. That the woman had had nine passports , and that all was false, could indicate that the woman may have a very professional network in the back. The police got a tip that one of the heads of the KGB had arrived the airport Vaernes in Trondheim , just ten minutes after Isdal woman had landed. The KGB boss had mysteriously enough returned to Russia the same day, a few hours after his arrival.

The local press also speculated about the woman could be Israel defector who were taken by their own.

Chief of Police in Bergen , Oskar Hordnes, denied that any crime had occurred. He and the police denied the press speculation and concluded that the woman had committed suicide. The theory built on the woman after taking pills with narcotic side effects had somehow stumbled into the fire and died.


Isdal woman's coffin was carried by six police men to an unmarked grave, February 5th, 1971.

Today, 43 years later, she is still unidentified, and the case remains unsolved for all intents and purposes.

-MM

Hmm. Enjoyed the story - clicked because I've visited Bergen (even took the train from Oslo - one of the most beautiful train rides in the world). My friend/host and I rode warmblood horses through the city streets, and rode the funicular...

It was a lovely holiday.

But - this story being 50 years old...why does it interest you?
S/F just for the memories and the fun translation
Do you have theories about her?

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs
But - this story being 50 years old...why does it interest you?
S/F just for the memories and the fun translation

Do you have theories about her?

I'm interested as the story has all the elements of a real-life 007 spy story at the height of the cold war.

I don't buy the "Check frauder" theory - why would she pay her hotel bills with cash money only and not a check then?

When it comes to the suicide theory, then who commits suicide by throwing themselves on a fire? (after removing everything that would identify them)

If she was a tourist that came to see beautiful Bergen, then why did she spend most of her time in her hotel room?

She was picked up by a taxi after checking out from her hotel, her suitcases were found at the train station. But she was found dead miles away in a rock quarry. Something obviously happened to her after she arrived at the train station, causing her to leave her luggage there.

Puzzles, puzzles... Driving me cazy

-MM

Interesting story. Somewhat hard to follow at times because of your choice of words, but obviously because English must not be your native tongue. Still, I could understand your story and find it worth the read, thank you.

ETA: I see in your follow up post your English is fine, it must be the translation you have.

Wow, that immediately reminded me of this mystery man:
en.wikipedia.org...

There are a few similarities. On the Wiki page there are more details but:

The body was discovered at 6:30 a.m. on 1 December 1948 on Somerton beach in Adelaide, South Australia and the police were called. When they arrived, the body was lying on the sand with its head resting on the seawall, and with its feet crossed and pointing directly to the sea.[3] The police noted no disturbance to the body and observed that the man's left arm was in a straight position and the right arm was bent double.[4] An unlit cigarette was behind his ear and a half-smoked cigarette was on the right collar of his coat held in position by his cheek.[5] A search of his pockets revealed a used bus ticket from the city to St. Leonards in Glenelg, an unused second-class rail ticket from the city to Henley Beach, a narrow aluminium American comb,[6] a half-empty packet of Juicy Fruit chewing gum, an Army Club cigarette packet containing Kensitas cigarettes, and a quarter-full box of Bryant & May matches. The bus stop for which the ticket was used was around 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) north of the body's location.[citation needed]

Witnesses who came forward said that on the evening of 30 November, they had seen an individual resembling the dead man lying on his back in the same spot and position near the Crippled Children's Home where the corpse was later found.[5] A couple who saw him around 7 p.m. noted that they saw him extend his right arm to its fullest extent and then drop it limply. Another couple who saw him from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., during which time the street lights had come on, recounted that they did not see him move during the half an hour in which he was in view, although they did have the impression that his position had changed. Although they commented between themselves that he must be dead because he was not reacting to the mosquitoes, they had thought it more likely that he was drunk or asleep, and thus did not investigate further.[7][8] Witnesses said the body was in the same position when the police viewed it.[9]

According to the pathologist, Sir John Burton Cleland, emeritus professor at the University of Adelaide, the man was of "Britisher" appearance and thought to be aged about 40–45; he was in top physical condition.[10] He was 180 centimetres (5 ft 11 in) tall, with hazel eyes, fair to ginger-coloured hair,[11] slightly grey around the temples,[4] with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, hands and nails that showed no signs of manual labour, big and little toes that met in a wedge shape, like those of a dancer or someone who wore boots with pointed toes; and pronounced high calf muscles like those of a ballet dancer. These can be dominant genetic traits, and they are also a characteristic of many middle and long-distance runners.[note 2] He was dressed in "quality clothing": consisting of a white shirt, red and blue tie, brown trousers, socks and shoes and, although it had been a hot day and very warm night, a brown knitted pullover and fashionable European grey and brown double-breasted coat.[12] All labels on his clothes were missing, and he had no hat (unusual for 1948, and especially so for someone wearing a suit) or wallet.[4] Clean-shaven and with no distinguishing marks,[4] the man carried no identification, which led police to believe he had committed suicide.[13] His teeth did not match the dental records of any known person in Australia.

They both sound like intelligence agents .. often during the cold war there were casualties in the shadows inhabited by spooks on all sides .. often theyd have no identifying marks / scars , even the dental work either untraceable or made to look like it was done elsewhere , clothing nondescript with labels removed , multiple passports / id .. doubt they will ever identify them or their killers much less their countries of origin ..

a reply to: MerkabaMeditation

While reading this and seeing her drawing, I kept thinking "Hitler's daughter".

Then I got the part about South American dental work. Aha.

a reply to: Cuervo

Hitler had a daughter?

-MM

originally posted by: MerkabaMeditation
a reply to: Cuervo

Hitler had a daughter?

-MM

Who knows? He fled to South America, apparently. I'd imagine that a bunch of beautiful Brazilian women might have changed his mind about his "one true race" being all that. Oh, and getting his ass handed to him in WW2 might have made him doubt the superiority of his race, too.

I would like to see her body dug up and get some DNA out of her and see if they can find out who she is. The other dude too, If they can trace him back to a sibling, family whatever they may be able to find out more. That is ofcourse if any ancestrial dna or family dna is available.

a reply to: MerkabaMeditation

Holy cr!p the HORROR! ITS HER!

In June 1972, a woman appeared in Cedar Senai hospital in nothing but a white, blood-covered gown. Now this, in itself, should not be too surprising as people often have accidents nearby and come to the nearest hospital for medical attention, but there were two things that caused people who saw her to vomit and flee in terror.

The first being that she wasn't exactly human. She resembled something close to a mannequin, but had the dexterity and fluidity of a normal human being. Her face was as flawless as a mannequins, devoid of eyebrows and smeared in make-up.

There was a kitten clamped in her jaws so unnaturally tight that no teeth could be seen, and the blood was still squirting out over her gown and onto the floor. She then pulled it out of her mouth, tossed it aside and collapsed.

From the moment she stepped through the entrance to when she was taken to a hospital room and cleaned up before being prepped for sedation, she was completely calm, expressionless and motionless. The doctors thought it best to restrain her until the authorities could arrive and she did not protest. They were unable to get any kind of response from her and most staff members felt too uncomfortable to look directly at her for more than a few seconds.

But the second the staff tried to sedate her, she fought back with extreme force. Two members of staff had to hold her down as her body rose up on the bed with that same, blank expression. She turned her emotionless eyes towards the male doctor and did something unusual. She smiled.

.....

a reply to: _damon

That sure is a scary story. Is it true?

-MM

The descriptions of this woman and her behaviors simply screams "intelligence asset" of some sort. There are a variety of jobs that spies perform, and since she didn't seem to do very much it is hard to say exactly. However, my quickly-formed hypothesis is that she knew she was being tracked down, and was thus on the run. Perhaps she had lost all logistical support. I doubt an intelligence agency would send someone out like this to simply hide, especially alone, as they apparently weren't trying to protect her. So that doesn't seem all that likely either.

Her constant travel seems to indicate either she was running, or she was doing a job that required such movement. Given that she said something to that man, perhaps she was going around and meeting with different agents because she was their "handler." That is when an intelligence officer has a bunch of espionage agents working under them. They report only to their handler and no one else. They don't have communication with anyone else regarding the work they're doing either. Perhaps a foreign intelligence agency like the KGB found out she was employing intelligence assets who were spying inside their country. Perhaps they murdered her.

This is a far-fetched theory, except for the fact that everything about this woman screams espionage, except the fact that she seemed to stay indoors a lot, and not meet with many people. I'm sure there are other possibilities, but obviously there was something shady going on. One major thing that screams spy is the fact that clothing labels were removed. Even criminals who are on the run from the law generally don't go to such lengths.

Spies do however, because they do not want to betray their country of origin, IF they are NOC's, which means non-official cover. That means they have no diplomatic immunity, and can be executed by a foreign government. If that foreign government found her on foreign soil, they would not arrest her. They might just eliminate her. Perhaps she was spying for some country in a place like the USSR, and she escaped or something.

I just don't know if suicide is all that plausible. It is possible, but when you throw in all of the strange details, including the 9 passports, things seem pretty strange. And 9 passports also screams intelligence agency to me, especially at that time. I had never heard of this story before, and I find it strangely fascinating. I doubt they will ever get to the bottom of it though. Perhaps the answer lies in some government file somewhere, classified and unlikely to see the light of day. Or such records could have been destroyed, if they were even kept on such a case, in a place like the former USSR. But not all of the KGB's files were released after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Everything just quietly transferred to the FSB.

a reply to: JiggyPotamus

Good thinking.

Continuing on the spy-theory track; I think she stayed at the hotel al lot because her orders or intent was to meet someone there. It could have been another agent or perhaps she was a courier with a message or delivery of some sorts, or was there to pass along orders. Personally, I believe she was a courier of sorts for some secret service. I belive that this other agent was the person she spoke German to at the hotel, could it have been the Norwegian taxi driver that she spoke German with? Possibly, but Norwegians are usually more prolifient in English than German, and English is the preferred second language when speaking with tourists.

Another theory is that she was a double Agent that was to meet with the KGB officer that landed in Trondheim but left the same day. I'm guessing that the spy group that killed her notified him that they knew of her treason and were going to kill her off in Bergen and that the KGB should not get involved. He thereafter went back to the Soviet Union the same day, not being able to complete his meeting with the Isdal Woman.

The Norwegian secret services know more than they are telling; supposedly, an officer told the press that:

-"I'm not allowed to comment on the Idalen Woman case, and I'm not even allowed to comment on why I can't comment..."

If that is not an admission of knowing more than you were willing to disclose, then I don't know what is.

-MM

originally posted by: sandman441
I would like to see her body dug up and get some DNA out of her and see if they can find out who she is. The other dude too, If they can trace him back to a sibling, family whatever they may be able to find out more. That is ofcourse if any ancestrial dna or family dna is available.

I believe her origins were in fact from South Africa, just like she told the Italian she had lunch with. The reason for this is that she supposedly spoke Flemish, there is to this day 55,200 people that speak Flemish in South Africa. Exhuming her, taking her DNA, and comparing it to other Flemish people in South Africa is, in my mind, the best bet we have to finding her true origins. Flemish is such an unusual language for a spy to learn as it is spoken by relatively few people(about sex million world-wide), so my guess is that Flemish was her first language and not some second language she learned for the sake of her spy work.

-MM

She sounds like a spy to me.
On the run for whatever reason, going from place to place to get away from someone. Traitor maybe? Her usefulness is no longer needed?

Staying in the hotel room suggests to me that she was either waiting to meet someone, or hiding.

Amazing story i'm not sure we'll ever get to the bottom of.

I've done a little more research since my last post, and I am still confident in my assessment that she was an intelligence agent of one country or another. She was either on the run, or was doing something that entailed the risk of being "found out" by another agency. In either case she was caught. The most important piece of evidence in this case, imo, is something I just read, which said that 5 days prior to her body being found near the hiking trails, a 26 year old dude passed an "elegantly" dressed woman who had two men in long coats behind her. Your classic "spy" look, especially for Soviet Bloc countries.

The man said she formed her mouth as if she was going to say something to him, but appeared very frightened by the men. This just screams spy stuff to me. Coupled with the passports, money in the lining of her suitcase, removal of any identifying marks on all objects, including clothing labels, her fingerprints being sanded off, etc...Some of these things could have been done to make it harder to ID the body though, like the fingerprints, but surely they would have noticed redness on the fingers.

Plus, her suitcases were found at the train station, not at the crime scene. Anyway, when you consider the story of the two men things seem pretty clear. She was murdered. The fact that she had blunt force trauma, and died from a combination of things, including being burned, may indicate torture as well. She was dispatched by a foreign intelligence agency, probably either Soviet or East German.

a reply to: JiggyPotamus

I did not know about her being seen at th quarry with two men five days before she was killed, the first thing that struck me was that the witness has mixed the dates and it was actually the day she was killed that he met her. It seems unlikely to me that she would go there several times withing the span of five days - unless for a specific purpose that is.

I believe that it was herself that removed all the identity marks - she did not want to be identified. If someone else wanted to conseal her identity then they would just have disposed of her luggage and not bothered to remove all identity marks from all her belonings and afterwards leave her luggage at the train station. As she left the hotel by taxi from the train station, and her luggage was at the train station - then something must have happened to her there. Or else the taxi driver was involved, and the luggage was planted at the train station deliberatly to throw police off the trail. Or, she might have sent the luggage beforehand from the hotel, and left the hotel without her luggage. Perhaps she even sent the luggage with the taxi and decided to walk to the train station by herself.

-MM

people are strange, reading this thread made me think of this.... www.youtube.com...

Update November 1st 2016

DNA analysis has been taken from the corpse and analyzed , all but 2-3 DNA markers were found.

www.nrk.no...

-MM