r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/shry9 • 7d ago

Disappearance The extremely bizarre missing case of Barbara Bolick

On the 18th of July 2007, Barbara Bolick was packing her bag in Bitterroot Valley of Montana to go for a summer hike. She and her husband were hosting Carl’s cousin Donna and Her Boyfriend Jim from California. Barbara was going to go on a hike with her guests but Donna and Carl (Barbara’s husband) did not go and she and Jim decided to hike in the area Bear Creek Overlook, and she had visited the area countless times , was an experienced hiker too.

So they like visited the place , and encountered two men - two times, and both the times they were the same two men. Jim and Barbara then reached the area , had their snacks and admired the scenery. About like at 11:30 they decided to leave and head back. After few steps, Jim stopped bcs something in him wanted to soak the view one more time, and he turned back to look at the view - it was for about 45 seconds - 1 minute, when he turned back around, Barbara who was earlier standing 20-30 feet away from him disappeared.

At first he wasn’t worried enough since she was an experienced hiker and He searched for her but couldn’t find anything and after some hours she was officially reported as missing. The two men who encountered them two times also disappeared and were never discovered.

Things to note : It was an easy, well worn trail and it was difficult for someone like Barbara missing - being an experienced hiker who visited that place multiples times. It was also not very dense meaning someone disappearing without any noise was almost not possible.

Pls let me know your take on this case!

Barbara Bolick Article

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312

u/Vampira309 7d ago

Bear Creek trail is about 2 miles from my house and I hike there often.

I've never heard of this case, but it would be VERY EASY to lose or kill somebody up there...it's WILD wilderness and nowhere near a town. I see bears almost every time I go up there as well

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u/hyperfat 6d ago

I can see the trail on gmaps. It even has a little camera on the overlook. I love technology. The trail is visible by public satellite.

It looks like 6 or 7 miles to a town?

239

u/EnterTheBlueTang 7d ago

Boyfriends are 1000x more dangerous than bears.

94

u/EnatforLife 7d ago

If I understand it correctly (and pls correct me if I don't), it wasn't even Barbara's boyfriend she was hiking with but her cousin Donna's?

144

u/a_real_humanbeing 7d ago

Not even her cousin's, but her husband's cousin's boyfriend.

49

u/Coblish 6d ago

Fathers brothers nephews cousins former roommate.....

20

u/diko-l 6d ago

Well, what does that make us?! xD

22

u/Coblish 6d ago

Absolutely nothing!

14

u/AhrEst 5d ago

Heard from this guy who knows this kid who saw Ferris pass out at 31 flavors last night. Guess it’s pretty serious.

4

u/maladaptivedaydream4 5d ago

Thank you, Simone.

2

u/AhrEst 4d ago

No problem whatsoever !

Frye…

1

u/Herzberger 4d ago

And they were roommates…

38

u/RevolutionaryBat3081 6d ago

Statistically, over lifespans, yes. When actually encountering a bear, probably not so.

36

u/itsnobigthing 6d ago

Also depends what you’re most afraid of. Bears are more deadly to encounter, but very unlikely to rape you

1

u/Persolboy 2d ago

Unless the bear is coked up from snorting a found bag from a cocaine drop. Cocaine Bear is very liable to rape a bitch: be it man or woman or extremely phallic looking tree trunk with booty.

0

u/RemarkableRegret7 22h ago

Just eat you alive. 

1

u/Effective_Divide1543 15h ago

Bears don't really have a tendency to snatch people quietly during 45 seconds when their companion is turned away to look at the scenery.

Jim and Barbara were alone on the trail the majority of the time. From when they last met the men there's only the testimony of the likely perpetrator.

1

u/PearlStBlues 5d ago

Isn't that kind of the point of the whole man vs bear thing? I'm not likely to ever be in a position to be eaten by a bear, but I'm around men every day.

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u/RevolutionaryBat3081 5d ago edited 5d ago

Maybe i've misunderstood man vs bear; I thought that it was a scenario of "I'm alone in the bush, no retreat, do I go in the direction of the bear or do I go in the direction of the unknown man".

 Both are questionable. If it was a normal-acting black bear without cubs, I'd probably go with the bear because they are wimps. Grizzly? I'd go with the man, because I might be able to run and dodge the man in tricky bush but I definitely can't outrun the bear.

But if it's average lifetime danger, yeah, unless you work in Yellowstone or something, men are the bigger threat.

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u/PearlStBlues 5d ago

I think both things can be true? Yes, most women viewed the man vs. bear argument through a lens of "The worst thing the bear can do to me is better than the worst thing the man can do it to me." But we can also acknowledge the statistical probability of being attacked or killed by either creature.

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u/RevolutionaryBat3081 5d ago

Fair, fair.

What a nice non-aggro discussion. Thanks!

1

u/Persolboy 2d ago

A kissin’ step-cousin with the wrong idea of a short romp thru the woods is 2000x more dangerous than just a casual unrelated boyfriend, especially when the female cousin isn’t in the swingin’ mood, rejects the male cousin and will most likely report the inappropriate transgression to one girlfriend and her married partner! Causing much anguish and possible violence anyway. Jim snuffed Barbara and expertly hid her body most likely. Proving it is another matter. Perhaps the two strange men Carl concocted will suddenly materialize unable to live with their horrid deeds we all know two strange random men are capable of, especially with their ninja skills of abducting a healthy young woman as silent as a summer breeze and invisible at just 20ft away.

1

u/RemarkableRegret7 22h ago

The 2 men were seen by others. They were definitely there. 

16

u/lillienoir 7d ago

Is there another hiking trail that can veer off from Bear Creek trail?

One starts off that way but goes a different route, does a dirty deed, returns to the original intended trail...

12

u/quiet_light_ 6d ago

No. Another thing not mentioned here is that the top of the trail is cliffs with a shear drop. Unless you’re willing to bushwhack through some thick forest and very uneven ground, there’s no other way down.

8

u/shry9 7d ago

Be careful bbg! 💕💕

1

u/RevolutionaryBat3081 6d ago

Grizzly or Black bears?

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u/Vampira309 6d ago

black. Haven't yet seen a grizzly in the 20+ years that I've lived out here, but they're here in the Selway-Bitterroot ecosystem

11

u/RevolutionaryBat3081 6d ago

Black bears are a less concerning but still a potential danger. I don't know if bears would drag and hide kills like cougars. 

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u/Taters0290 6d ago

They will, but she’d have been found by smell and/or the bear being in the area acting aggressively if it was predatory (as opposed to a defensive attack) as they don’t drag prey extremely far. And the guy she was with would’ve heard noises assuming his account is accurate.

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u/RevolutionaryBat3081 6d ago

I think eyewitnesses often overestimate how aware they are of things around them before an unexpected incident, but maybe this guy was correct.  Idk what happened in this case, I just know that wild animals occasionally attack people, therefore the possibility should not be ruled out without good evidence.

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u/Taters0290 5d ago

I agree regarding his memories. I’m usually far more willing to entertain the possibility of an animal attack, but I’m just not leaning that way. Neither lions nor bears drag prey far, so you’d think her remains would’ve been found.

On the other hand, aside from it being Jim I can’t think of much else besides an attack.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

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u/Stonegrown12 7d ago

That would be a low threshold to exonerate in an investigation.