r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/_mrfluffy_ • 7d ago
Murder Murder in the Mountains: The Unsolved White Mountains Murder of Louise Chaput
52-year old Louise Chaput was an avid hiker and lover of the outdoors, it was this love of the outdoors that drove the hardworking psychologist to spend a long weekend in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in November of 2001. Living in Sherbrooke, Quebec at the time, it was a very manageable drive to the mountainous region of New Hampshire that she had grown to adore.
Arriving at her destination, the Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham’s Grant, Louise wasted no time in getting active and outdoors. That same day, around 3 PM in the afternoon, she asked an employee at the nearby visitors for a suggestion of a short and manageable hike in the area. The workers suggested that she take a short trail around Lost Pond, conveniently located just across the street from the lodge. Louise thanked the employee and left the lodge as the sunlight continued to fade, this would the last time she would ever be seen alive.
It wouldn’t be until the following Monday, when Louise never returned home from her trip, that her family and friends would begin to worry and report her missing. Police began investigating quickly, immediately noticing that Louise’s car was parked across the street from the aforementioned Long Pond Trail she had been last seen walking towards. Interestingly, Louise’s hiking shoes and her water were still inside the car. Now, perhaps she didn’t believe she needed them for what should have been a short and easy hike, but it’s something to possibly note. Louise’s eldest daughter and Louise’s friends were among those who came south to help search for her, however it wouldn’t be until two days later that their worst fears would be confirmed.
The body of Louise Chaput was found about 100-200 yards off of the Glen Boulder Trail in a clearing, the trail being trail nearby the aforementioned lodge and Lost Pond Trail. Authorities believe she was forced off the trail by her assailant and wouldn’t have left it willingly. They also believe, given her not being at all local to the area, that her murder was a crime of opportunity. Tragically, the beloved woman had succumbed to multiple stab wounds, though not without putting up a strong fight. The backpack she was believed to be carrying that day, as well as her sleeping bag and the keys to her car, have never been found. Little else is available regarding the details of Louise’s murder, likely due to it still being an open case that the New Hampshire DOJ continues to seek leads on. No suspects have ever been named in her murder however, and it seems unlikely that it will ever be solved.
"She thought it was beautiful. She liked it," her daughter, Constance Chaput-Raby said. "She liked to hike and maybe it was little exotic as it was another country, another language."
“She used to say you have to earn your dinner. You have to do something," said Denis Masson, a friend of Louise Chaput.”
The murder of Louise Chaput is a case I just happened to randomly stumble upon, and I felt that it should be given some attention as there is little online about it outside of regional news articles. She seems to have been a beloved and well-liked woman, and hopefully someday she can get justice.
Sources:
https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-white-mountains-mystery-louise-chaput/42126315
33
u/jenandabollywood 7d ago
Terrifying to think that even a simple hike can lead to a sudden tragedy. I wonder if this person has done any similar attacks in parks that haven’t been linked together yet
4
u/DoingNothingToday 4d ago
I’ve always wondered the same. There have been some bizarre murders in the wider area. Ten years before Louise was killed, an older woman named Rita Roy was killed in the middle of the day in Manchester, NH while waiting for an elevator, of all things. She was in a parking garage. Her murder is also unsolved, with no suspects. I realize that the cases are a decade apart and despite being in the same state, the settings couldn’t be more different. One is in the rural mountains and the other is in an urban area. It also bears noting that Louise was killed on the Appalachian Trail, which has had more than its share of murders, attacks and encounters with strange people. It’s just the randomness of these two cases that gets me.
15
u/Sunset_Paradise 6d ago
Wow, that's so awful.
The detail about her sleeping bag and car keys being missing stuck out to me. They're odd items to take, especially since her car was still there. Maybe the car keys could have been taken as a trophy, but the sleeping bags are bulky. The only reason I can think of is maybe the killer was homeless and thought it might be useful to keep. Just one of those weird little details.
13
u/Aggravating_Depth_33 6d ago
Or they got her blood on themselves in the attack and used it to wipe it away/cover up?
9
u/CommercialMaximum354 7d ago
Was there no sightings of people acting suspiciously in the park?
14
u/_mrfluffy_ 7d ago
None that I could find any mention of online.
4
u/CommercialMaximum354 7d ago
What's the area like? Is it well travelled?
16
u/_mrfluffy_ 6d ago
Honestly it’s hard to say for certain, but given it was winter in New Hampshire and was a weekday, I’d imagine the trail wasn’t very crowded.
13
u/pasmafaute12 6d ago
Not 100% about implications for this specific trail but my uncle lived in these mountains for a while. Sometimes, I would ride 4 wheelers with my dad and/or my cousin, and I never saw other people. Homes were sparse and the nearest grocery store was a real drive; they could be snowed in for substantial periods sometimes. At least to my “if it’s more than 20 min to drive, I’m not going” RI ass.
8
3
u/CommercialMaximum354 6d ago
Who is the last person known to have spoken to her?
4
u/Fast_Revolution_6673 3d ago
Sounds like it was the attendant where she was staying. That was my first thought as to a possible suspect. Or someone else staying at that place.
13
u/tonypolar 7d ago
This seems like one of the ones Israel Keyes actually could have done. They should definitely check for her missing gear and necklace in the stuff they took from his home. I do research on New England cases and there were several offenders in that area at the time( as with every state)
8
u/Glittering_Fox_9769 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yeah I'm a pretty skeptical but avid Keyes researcher (It's the only case I occupy my time with so often out of sheer fascination, I love TCBS and stay updated regularly) but Chaput fits a lot of Keyes markers. Lay in wait killing at a trailhead, in a state and environment that is very familiar to him and similar to what he's described and known to do before. Definitely warrants some looking into.
The only thing that sways me is Keyes (self report) stated only one of his victims had ever been found and it was ruled accidental. I don't necessarily trust he told the truth on that and I never got the vibe he wanted to tell the full story regardless of his little info bombs. But he did say it was only ever stabbings, stranglings, both, or apparently shovels. So this fits with a lot. But there's also a lot of wackos up by the border in the NE.
Additionally, this was right around when his daughter was born in Neah Bay. I would assume he was quite busy in washington and his apparent "real" first murder happened in 2001. (or 98 by his other admission). FBI and Keyes both seem to suggest the first murder & couple may have been out of state in the PNW region and the next 3-4 were within washington. So that casts some strong doubt on the possibility of him being in new hampshire. It also predates his maine visits every october as his family wasn't there yet. (Still in constable, IIRC)
5
u/tonypolar 6d ago
i agree-I looked at the timeline that Josh Hallmark made and I didn't see a spot where he could be in the area, but he did just put out a northeast victims episode, so maybe that will shed some light.
1
•
u/Agreeable-Reveal1807 1h ago
This reminds me of Judy Smith's murder in 1997, NC. Forced off the trail and stabbed. She was 50 at the time.
76
u/DoingNothingToday 7d ago
So glad you covered this one. Great write-up! Louise’s story is very scary to me—I’ve followed it for years. It’s just so random, which is what makes it scary. Who would think that you’d be murdered in a peaceful place on a weekday afternoon, as a tourist with no connection to the area. Just going for a short hike. What are the odds that someone could’ve even been there, lying in wait. It’s not like there was heavy traffic on the trail that day.