Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier

The disappearances of two brothers, a little more than a decade apart, make no sense. Only the friends who’d last seen them could say what happened, and in each case, they had no plausible explanation. Both brothers were left behind when their friends sped ahead of them, Michael’s friends on bikes and Chucky’s on snowmachines. Were their disappearances a horrible coincidence, or something else? Will their family ever learn the truth about what happened to Michael and Chucky Palmer? Sources: Aho, Karen. “Police press hunt for missing teen.” July 17, 1991. AK Fatal. Ames, Mary. “Youth still missing after seven years.” May 26, 2006. Frontiersman. Charles Edwin Palmer V. The Charley Project. Michael Timothy Palmer. The Charley Project. “Missing person case from last year still a mystery.” May 4, 2011. KTNA Community Radio for the Susitna Valley. “Overlapping Disappearances: the Brothers Palmer.” December 29, 2012.  Ididitforjodie. Saul, Joshua. “The last brother.” April 15, 2010. Anchorage Daily News. Young, Nikki. “The ones left behind.” January 16, 2026. Medium. _______________ Grab Your Copy! _________________   Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______   Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store                            

When a small Alaska town loses one of its children, the entire community grieves, and when a monster brutally rapes, murders, and discards that child, the residents cry out for answers and justice. In Jessica Baggen’s case, the community of Sitka, Alaska, would not have those answers for twenty-four years. Sources Boots, Michelle T. 8-11-2020. “Suspect in 1996 cold-case murder of Sitka girl killed himself last week in Arkansas, troopers say.” Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle T. 9-9-2020. “23 years ago, Alaska tried the wrong man for the murder of a Sitka teenager. Now police say they’ve found the real killer. Why wasn’t he a suspect all along?” “1996 Cold Case Solved: Jessica Baggen Killer Identified Through DNA.” Public Information Office. Alaska Department of Public Safety. “Genetic genealogy can help solve cold cases. It can also accuse the wrong person. 11-7-2019.” PBS News Hour. ___________ Grab Your Copy! _________________   Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store              

Are some people born evil? Sociopathic behavior often appears at a young age, but how do you differentiate a sociopathic youth from a teenager who is challenged with making good decisions? Should the justice system try a sixteen-year-old murderer as an adult or a child? What about a twelve-year-old who murders his mother and his brother? Can the juvenile system rehabilitate him before his mandatory release at age nineteen? Sources: Alaska News. “Minor in custody after Monday slayings of mother and son in Meadow Lakes.” February 2, 2016. Anchorage Daily News. Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Ruling in Winona Fletcher appeal opens door for Alaska’s handful of juvenile lifers to contest their sentences.” August 13, 2024. Anchorage Daily News. Brooks, James. “Alaska Court of Appeals upholds 1995 murder conviction despite key witness reversing testimony.” December 3, 2025. Alaska Beacon. Maxwell, Lauren, and Joe Allgood. “Alaska man who killed mom, brother at age 12 makes plea in new murder case.” March 9, 2026. KTUU AK News Source. McDonnell, Augusta. “Child murderer held in state juvenile custody for longest time allowed by law, before recent arrest for 2023 murder.” March 10, 2026. KTUU AK News Source. O’Connor, Brian. “Grief stricken friends remember Meadow Lakes murder victims.” February 2, 2016. Frontiersman. Treinen, Lex. “Alaska Senate bill would give juveniles with long prison sentences a chance at parole.” April 5, 2021. KTOO News. _____________ Grab Your Copy! _________________   Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store            

At 2:00 p.m. on October 6, 2003, floatplane pilot Willy Fulton landed on Upper Kaflia Lake on the Katmai Coast of the Alaska Peninsula. It was a typical stormy October day, and Fulton had to fight the weather to reach the arranged pickup spot, where he would meet campers and bear enthusiasts Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard. Willy had been flying Treadwell back and forth from Kodiak to this area for several years, and he considered him a friend. When he taxied to the shore, he was surprised not to see Timothy, Amie, or their pile of gear waiting to be loaded onto the plane. It was unlike Treadwell to be late for a pickup. Treadwell had also, uncharacteristically, failed to call Willy on the VHF radio when the plane approached the lake. Willy immediately felt something was wrong. When he pulled into the shore, he was directly below Timothy’s campsite, and as he stepped onto the plane’s float, he saw movement up on the knoll. The thick brush blocked his vision, but he thought it was a person shaking out a tent. He called out Timothy’s and Amie’s names, but was met with silence, so he decided to hike up to their camp to see what was taking them so long to get their gear together. The weather was deteriorating, and he wanted to begin the flight back to Kodiak Island. Willly later said, “About halfway up, I got kind of an odd feeling and decided to go back to the plane.” When he reached the bank and bent down to untie the plane from an alder thicket, his unease grew even more intense. He looked over his shoulder and saw a bear coming up behind him fast, low, and eerily silent. He leaped to his pontoon and pushed the plane away from the bank. He jumped into the cockpit and slammed the door shut. The large bear stopped at the water’s edge, but his eyes never left Fulton. Willy said he felt as if the bear had been stalking him, “like he was out to kill me and eat me.” Willy knew something bad had happened to either Timothy or Amie, or both. He took off and circled over the camp. The tents were still staked out, but they’d been mashed flat. In front of one of the tents, he saw a large bear and believed it was the same bear that had just chased him. The bear was clearly feeding on human remains. Willy saw a rib cage, but he only saw one body. Perhaps either Timothy or Amie was still alive and desperately needed help. Soon, everyone would learn neither Timothy nor Amie had survived the brutal bear attack. Not only were these the first, and as of 2026, the only fatal bear attacks in the 108-year history of the Katmai National Park and Preserve, but the bear had turned predatory and had eaten the humans. This type of bear behavior was unheard of in Katmai National Park, and it is very rare in Alaska for a coastal brown bear to kill and eat a human. Bear maulings and deaths have occurred, but the bear attacks because it is defending itself, its food, or its cubs, not because it wants to eat the human. Why did a bear kill and eat Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard? Sources: Herzog, Werner. Grizzly Man. 2005. Lions Gate. Jans, Nick. The Grizzly Maze. 2006.  New York, NY. Penguin Group. Medred, Crais. “Biologist believes errors led to attack – Bears: Californians’ choices may have contributed to fatal encounter.”  October 10, 2003. Anchorage Daily News. —–. “Man, Martyr, Myth:” October 14, 2003. Los Angeles Times. —–. “Woman who died with ‘bear guru’ was duped.” February 18, 2005. Anchorage Daily News. _________ Now Available More Stories of Murder and Mystery in Alaska Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store        

  In December 2013, after police arrested Miranda Barbour, 19, for the murder of Troy LaFerrara in Pennsylvania, Miranda told a news reporter she had murdered between 22 and 100 people. She said she killed a few in North Carolina, Texas, and California, but she claimed most of the murders occurred in her home state of Alaska. Her statement startled law enforcement officials across the country, but they soon began to question her declarations. Was her claim of serial murders real, a cry for attention, or was she attempting to lay the foundation for an insanity defense? After the brutal killing of LaFerrara, though, few investigators doubted Miranda could have killed before, and most believed if she hadn’t been stopped, she would have killed again. What should we think, then? Is Miranda Barbour a serial murderer, a pathological liar, or both? Sources: BBC Miranda Barbour, Serial Killer or Liar https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6w80lb Miranda Barbour. Murderpedia https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/barbour-miranda.htm Wenner, David.2-21-2014. North Carolina town copes with connection to couple accused of Craigslist killing. Penn Live Patriot News https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2014/02/miranda_barbour_craigslist_sat.html Lysiak, Matthew. 4-28-14. Exclusive: Craigslist Killer Miranda Barbour Tells How and Why She Killed. Newsweek Magazine. https://www.newsweek.com/2014/05/09/exclusive-craigslist-killer-miranda-barbour-tells-how-and-why-she-killed-248670.html Scarcella, Francis. 12-7-2013. Pal: Newlyweds Sat, Watched Investigators Comb Murder Scene. The Daily Item. https://www.dailyitem.com/news/pal-newlyweds-sat-watched-investigators-comb-murder-scene/article_751c6fcb-9a43-5be0-a64e-2090305ef9e0.html Burke, Jill.3-16-2014/ Accused Craigslist killer Miranda Barbour had traumatic start to life. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/crime-justice/article/accused-craigslist-killer-miranda-barbour-had-traumatic-start-life/2014/03/17/ Associated Press. 9-18-2014. ‘Craigslist Killers’ Miranda and Elytte Barbour Sentenced to Life in Prison. People.com https://people.com/crime/craigslisit-killers-miranda-and-elytte-barbour-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/ ______________________ Now Available More Stories of Murder and Mystery in Alaska ________________ Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store                        

The deadliest marine disaster on the west coast of North America occurred in Lynn Canal on October 24, 1918, but few people have ever heard of it. Approximately 345 people died when the SS Princess Sophia slid off Vanderbilt Reef and sank. Did the captain’s recklessness cause the disaster, and did his poor decision-making doom the passengers and crew of the Princess Sophia? Sources SS Princess Sophia Expedition. Available at: http://www.princesssophia.org/history Sullivan, Toby.  12/12/2018. The Sinking of the Princess Sophia. Kodiak Daily Mirror 10-10-2018. The Sinking of the S.S. Princess Sophia. The Juneau Empire. ______________ Now Available More Stories of Murder and Mystery in Alaska ________________ Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store                        

Many people dream of hunting in the Alaska wilderness, and for most, it is the adventure of a lifetime. However, a few unlucky hunters never return from their adventure. As I’ve said many times, Alaska is big, rugged, and beautiful but also dangerous, from raging rivers to high seas to rugged mountains and ice fields marred by deep crevasses. Moose, bears, and wolves all present risks, and the extreme cold in the winter can cause frostbite or hypothermia in a matter of minutes. Sources Baird, Brittney, and Mark Kelly. “Another setback for family of missing Dover man.” September 15, 2023. WKRN. Beres, Nick. “Search crews believe they have found the remains of the missing Tennessee hunter in Alaska.” September 15, 2023. News Channel 5 Nashville. Chavez, Paloma. “Hunter who got separated from friend found dead below cliff in Alaska, Coast Guard says.” October 13, 2022. The News Tribune. DeMarban, Alex. “NPS: Evidence suggests overdue hikers may have died crossing river in Wrangell-St. Elias.” July 2, 2018. Anchorage Daily News. DeMarban, Alex. “Searchers find bodies of missing hikers in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.” July 3, 2018. Anchorage Daily News. D’Oro, Rachel and Mark Thiessen. “No arguments – no fights hunter says partner found dead on Kodiak Island had disappeared into the wilderness before.” May 18, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. Edge, Megan. “Wasilla hunter falls to his death on Pioneer Peak.” October 5, 2015. Anchorage Daily News. Hale, Tom. “DNA of skull in Alaska solves mystery on New Yorker missing since 1976.” February 6, 2023. IFLSCIENCE. Hill, Katie. “Bodies of two missing Alaskan moose hunters found, search for third continues.” September 27, 2022. Outdoor Life. Hill, Katie. “Search for three missing moose hunters in Alaska still ongoing. Another moose hunter found deceased.” September 12, 2022. Outdoor Life. Hollander, Zaz. “Delta Junction man found dead after going missing on bear hunt near Kodiak.” May 17, 2019. Anchorage Daily News. “Hunter killed in 200-foot fall.” September 12, 2011. Kodiak Daily Mirror. McFarlin, Shannon. “Alaska State Troopers: Remains found in search not human remains.” September 15, 2023. Radio NWTN. Morgan, Amber. “Bear-clawed remains found in Alaskan wilderness identified as man who went missing in 1976.” February 7, 2023. allthatisinteresting.com. O’Connor, Brian. “Wasilla hunter killed in Pioneer Peak fall.” October 6, 2015. Frontiersman. Outdoor Hub Reporters. “Alaska hunter found dead after 6 days potentially poisoned by unidentified root.” July 10, 2019. Outdoorhub.com. “The latest: man finds bear hunter dead but no sign of trauma.” May 17, 2019. ksl.com Williams, Tess. “Searchers find body of hunter reported missing in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.” August 23, 2021. Anchorage Daily News. Wittmer, Carrie. “Body of missing hunter found in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.” August 22, 2021. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve News Release. _________________ Now Available! Thirty-Three Stories of Murder and Mystery in Alaska Check It Out on Amazon Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store          

When someone brutally murdered the postmistress of Ruby, Alaska, a small village on the Yukon River, the Alaska State Troopers believed they had a ‘locked-room” mystery on their hands. They suspected one of the villagers of killing Agnes Wright. After all, there are only two ways into and out of Ruby: either by boat on the Yukon River or by air travel on a small bush plane. Neither method of transportation is inconspicuous to or from a village where everyone knows everyone else, and a stranger’s presence warrants stares and whispers. Since the troopers heard no credible accounts of a stranger in town on the day of the murder, they began with the premise that one of the villagers committed the crime. But who in this small village hated Agnes Wright enough to beat her savagely and then shoot her? Sources 1996 Postmaster. Behind the Badge. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Smithsonian U.S. Postal Museum. Murphy, Kim. 8-2-1996. Murder in a Town Full of Suspects. Los Angeles Times. More Details Emerge in Killing of Postmaster. 7-19-1996. Daily Sitka Senitinel. ______________ Now Available! Thirty-Three Stories of Murder and Mystery in Alaska Check It Out on Amazon Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store              

Eunice Whitman and her boyfriend, Justine Paul, argued on a busy foot path crisscrossing the tundra in Bethel, Alaska. A few hours later, four teenagers stumbled upon Eunice’s naked body stretched out on the ground. Someone had stabbed her multiple times and slashed her throat. Then, they’d folded her clothes and left them a short distance from her body. The police quickly arrested Justine Paul for Eunice’s murder. When they found a backpack full of bloody clothes in his home, and footprints in the mud near Eunice’s body resembling the tread on Paul’s shoes, the prosecutors raced the case to the grand jury, which indicted Paul on first-degree murder.  Unfortunately, this was the only time anything was ever done quickly in this case. When the blood test results from Paul’s stained clothes came back from the lab, they surprised the police and the prosecution, but the state refused to drop charges, and Paul languished in jail for seven years waiting for his case to go to trial. ______________ Now Available! Eleven Mysteries and 22 stories of Murder in the Last Frontier Grab your copy here! ____________ Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store        

Superstitions swirl around boats, and some captains believe bizarre myths. Renaming a vessel remains foremost among the maritime harbingers of bad luck, and if you dare change the name of your boat, you must follow a strict protocol to avoid certain doom. The Clara Nevada did not even complete her maiden voyage under her new name. Is this boat the case study to prove the truth of the old mariner’s superstition, or did her captain plot her demise? On February 5, 1898, the SS Clara Nevada departed Skagway, Alaska, headed for Juneau and then Seattle. Hurricane-force winds of 90 knots (100 mph 161 km/h) pummeled the vessel with following seas of twelve to fifteen feet (4-5 m) as the helmsman attempted to navigate the infamous Lynn Canal of Alaska’s Inside Passage. When the decrepit old ship reportedly struck a rock and sank, the news surprised no one. Searchers found the body of only one man, the ship’s purser, but news reports stated that no one survived such a horrific accident. The loss of the Clara Nevada at first seemed a tragic but foreseeable accident, and no one doubted the negligence of the ship’s owners and captain. Before long, though, folks began asking questions, and the Seattle newspapers speculated wildly about the disaster. Crewmen believed to have died in the wreck turned up alive and well. Even the captain materialized and wasted little time beginning his next venture to ferry prospectors to the goldfields. Sources: Levi, Steven C. The Clara Nevada; Gold, Greed, Murder and Alaska’s Inside Passage. 2011. History Press.  This book was my main source for this article.  It covers the sinking of the Clara Nevada and the exploits of Captain C.H. Lewis in much more detail than I’ve included here. The author also describes the challenges involved in trying to research a maritime disaster in Alaska in the late 1800s. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about the Clara Nevada or get a feel for the atmosphere in both Seattle and Skagway during the Klondike gold rush. Gold on the Clara Nevada: Cold Case Gets Hot. National Underwater and Marine Agency. Eldred Rock Lighthouse, Alaska. Lighthousefriends.com. The Clara Nevada’s sinking may always remain a mystery. 08-26-2012.James, David. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. The 2007 Hassler Expedition; The Hassler’s last days and the wreck of the Clara Nevada. National Marine Sanctuaries. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Dihle, Bjorn. Haunted Inside Passage: Ghosts, Legends, and Mysteries of Southeast Alaska.  2017. Alaska Northwest Books. __________ Now Available! Thirty-Three Stories of Murder and Mystery in Alaska Check it out at Amazon Join the Last Frontier Club’s Free Tier and receive updates, bonus episodes, and more. ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska. Join her on: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com Check out her books at Amazon Send me an email: [email protected] ___________________________________________ Would you like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club. Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members. · An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier is available only for club members. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness. · Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska _______________________________________________________________ Merchandise! Visit the Store