From the fog-covered shores of the Oregon Coast to the frozen peaks of Alaska, and from the prairie towns of Alberta and Saskatchewan to the quiet capital of Olympia, Washington — some of North America's most disturbing unsolved murders and cold cases share one thing in common: the isolation that surrounds them made it easier for killers to operate, and harder for justice to follow.
In this two-hour compilation, Northern Crimes examines six in-depth cases drawn from the most remote and overlooked corners of the continent.
What's covered in this video:
The Olympia Murders — The 1970 stabbing death of 17-year-old Patricia Garrison, the hitchhiking murders of teenagers Catherine Divine and Brenda Baker in Thurston County, Washington, and how DNA evidence decades later pointed not to Ted Bundy — long suspected — but to a man who had been in the case file from the very beginning.
The Oregon Coast Murders — The disappearances and deaths of young women along Highway 101 and Highway 20 spanning from 1984 to 1995, including Kelly Disney, Sheila Swanson, Melissa Sanders, Jennifer Essen, and Karen Lease — cases that remain unsolved despite multiple suspects, over 300 tips, and renewed forensic investigations.
The Alberta Murders — Four cases that shook Canada's prairie province: the 1959 Cook family massacre and the controversial execution of Robert Raymond Cook; the 2005 Mayerthorpe ambush that killed four RCMP officers; the calculated "Dexter Killer" case of Mark Twitchell; and the 2011 Claresholm Highway murders driven by obsession and domestic violence.
5 Unsolved Cold Cases from Canada — The 1967 disappearance of indigenous leaders James Brady and Abe Halkett in Northern Saskatchewan; the decades-long mystery of "Septic Tank Sam," identified in 2021 as Gordon Sanderson; the 1988 murders of Lisa Gavin and Glenna Dustan in Vancouver's East Side; the 1996 disappearance of 15-year-old Melanie Ethier in New Liskeard, Ontario; and the Halloween night vanishing of Jake Jost in Midland, Ontario in 1998.
Unsolved Mysteries from Alaska — Five of Alaska's most enduring cold cases: the unidentified victim of serial killer Robert Hansen known only as "Eklutna Annie"; the 2012 disappearance of Michael Laiter on Mount Marathon; the Cook Inlet torso murders of Desiree Lechenov and Michelle Roth; the fatal solo winter ascent of Japanese adventurer Naomi Uemura on Denali; and the 1979 plane disappearance of suspected British spy and TV writer Ian Macintosh.
The Saskatchewan Murders — How John Martin Crawford, a convicted killer released after serving just seven years, went on to murder at least three indigenous women — Shelley Napope, Eva Taysup, and Calinda Waterhen — in Saskatoon in the early 1990s, and how systemic failures allowed him to continue killing while under police surveillance.
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