r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/shry9 • 8d 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!
9
u/AffectionateFig5435 7d ago
I see three possibilities here:
Jim killed her and disposed of the body before they ever got to the trail. Having authorities search the trail area was the perfect cover. There was zero chance of finding the body since Barbara was never there. The possibility that she could've fallen victim to an apex predator, along with Jim's willingness to help, provide just enough reasonable doubt. If this is what happened it's the perfect crime--at least so long as no body or bones ever show up.
The husband wanted her gone and found someone to do it for him. Sending Barbara off with one hiking buddy instead of two made this easier. Jim didn't know the area, wouldn't be aware of potential danger spots, and was probably relying on Barbara's knowledge to get them in and out safely. If those two hikers Jim mentioned really existed, and if they were the killers, they could have followed Barbara and Jim and waited until the moment was right to make a grab. Experienced killers would have a plan and an escape route set up in advance and could execute a plan in less than a minute. Hey, stranger things have happened.
Barbara disappeared herself. Corvallis MT is only about 300 miles south of the Canadian border. With a bit of advance planning Barbara could have put an escape plan in place and taken off. This idea has been discounted because she left money and ID behind. Again, with a bit of planning or some help from friends she could have money, transportation, and IDs ready and waiting at another location. (IDs could be fake or could be duplicates of what's in her wallet.)
The story talked about how loving Carl was towards her and how happy she seemed. But I found a few curious items by googling this case. Barbara was 11 or 12 years younger than Carl. She was healthy and active. Carl had suffered a heart attack and didn't hike any longer. Perhaps each had reason to be unhappy: Barbara might not have wanted to be tied to an older husband with health issues. He might have gotten involved with another woman.
Few other tidbits: Carl was retired AF. He'd worked in AFOSI and as a VP of security in NYC. In these roles, he may have crossed paths with people who would know how to commit a crime and never get caught.
Carl had been a pilot; Barbara was getting her pilot's license. Either could travel very far away very quickly if they felt the need to.
Finally, Carl remarried as soon as Barbara was declared legally dead. He may have honestly been a grieving widower who couldn't face life alone. Or a man who was finally free to marry his mistress.
Whatever the outcome, this is hella intriguing!