
The Cold Vanish
Seeking the Missing in North America's Wildlands
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Graybill
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By:
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Jon Billman
About this listen
Perfect for listeners of Jon Krakauer and Douglas Preston, this "authentic and encyclopedic" book examines real-life cases of those who vanish in the wilderness without a trace (Roman Dial) — and those eccentric, determined characters who try to find them.
These are the stories that defy conventional logic. The proverbial vanished without a trace incidences, which happen a lot more (and a lot closer to your backyard) than almost anyone thinks. These are the missing whose situations are the hardest on loved ones left behind. The cases that are an embarrassment for park superintendents, rangers, and law enforcement charged with Search & Rescue. The ones that baffle the volunteers who comb the mountains, woods, and badlands. The stories that should give you pause every time you venture outdoors.
Through Jacob Gray's disappearance in Olympic National Park, and his father Randy Gray who left his life to search for him, we will learn about what happens when someone goes missing. Braided around the core will be the stories of the characters who fill the vacuum created by a vanished human being. We'll meet eccentric bloodhound-handler Duff and R.C., his flagship purebred, who began trailing with the family dog after his brother vanished in the San Gabriel Mountains. And there's Michael Neiger, North America's foremost backcountry Search & Rescue expert and self-described "bushman" obsessed with missing persons. And top researcher of persons missing on public wildlands Ex-San Jose, California detective David Paulides who is also one of the world's foremost Bigfoot researchers.
It's a tricky thing to write about missing persons because the story is the absence of someone. A void. The person at the heart of the story is thinner than a smoke ring, invisible as someone else's memory. The bones you dig up are most often metaphorical. While much of the book will embrace memory and faulty memory — history — The Cold Vanish is at its core a story of now and tomorrow. Someone will vanish in the wild tomorrow. These are the people who will go looking.
©2020 Jon Billman (P)2020 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Colorful side characters, like psychics and Bigfoot hunters, provide some light moments, but what makes a lasting impression is the story of Randy and his ultimately dashed hopes of finding his son alive. The author's personal involvement makes this tale all the more affecting." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
"Required reading for anyone concerned about the missing, Billman's authentic and encyclopedic book leads us across the landscapes of the vanished with a journalist's acumen and a searcher's sympathy. It's both true and useful, a storytelling textbook I wish I'd read before my own son went missing." (Roman Dial, author of The Adventurer's Son)
"The Cold Vanish is part mystery, part glance into a world of heroes and charlatans, death, and loss that most of us, fortunately, do not know, and don't want to know, but perhaps should. The Cold Vanish is informative, and in a sad way, captivating and well worth a read." (National Parks Traveler)
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Story
Encounters with mysterious creatures in the woods have occurred for centuries. Many of these frightening encounters tell of elusive monsters which haunt the deep forests, terrifying hikers, campers, hunters, and anyone who ventures on a trail. Encounters in the Woods: Volumes 1-4 details some of the encounters with creatures such as Bigfoot and Sasquatch. These stories were given to the author via e-mail over the past few years and are his favorite.
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Relaxing and entertaining, good narrator
- By Thoughtful Thinker on 10-28-24
By: Ethan Hayes
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Without a Trace
- Unsolved Disappearances and Mysterious Vanishings
- By: Troy Taylor
- Narrated by: Charles Huddleston
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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We all love a mystery - but what about a mystery that has no solution? Delve into the shadowy world of unsolved disappearances and people who have vanished without a trace, never to be seen again. Such strange and chilling tales run the gamut of the terrifying and the bizarre and include crime victims, lost explorers, ships vanished at sea, outdoor disappearances, and supernatural mysteries that defy all explanation.
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Not what I was expecting ...
- By leelee8888 on 03-18-21
By: Troy Taylor
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Stay Out of the Woods
- Strange Encounters
- By: Tom Lyons
- Narrated by: Bryen Luethy
- Length: 1 hr and 1 min
- Unabridged
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The woods have fascinated outdoor enthusiasts for millennia. Thousands seek solace in the beauty of nature while exploring the lush forests of our planet. But sometimes, folks find something that doesn’t want to be found - dangers that should only lurk in the corner of your eye. If you buy this book, prepare to be shocked, scared, and even terrified.
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Creepy
- By Sharon Barrett on 05-13-22
By: Tom Lyons
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Gone Cold
- Death and Disappearances in the Northwoods
- By: Tim Marczenko
- Narrated by: Tim Marczenko
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Hundreds have disappeared. So many that we've lost count. Once Search and Rescue teams pull out and the news cameras switch off, the spotlight on these individuals dim and the cases turn cold. What's more, hundreds of human remains are discovered every year and lie waiting to be identified in drawers, boxes, and unmarked graves scattered across Canada.
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The amazing number of missing individuals...and their stories.
- By Holly Money-Collins on 08-22-24
By: Tim Marczenko
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If I Live Until Morning
- A True Story of Adventure, Tragedy and Transformation
- By: Jean Muenchrath
- Narrated by: Sarah Brands
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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An inspiring memoir about a courageous woman's survival and recovery from an adventure-induced trauma - and the power of her dreams to overcome tragedy and live life to the fullest. Her wilderness adventure turned into a nightmare. After skiing more than 200 miles along California's John Muir Trail, Jean faces death from a mountaineering accident on Mount Whitney. Broken and bleeding on the highest peak in the continental United States, she vows to realize her greatest dreams if she lives until morning.
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Definite listen for those looking for “more” (than the obvious/given)
- By Melissa Cribb on 04-03-21
By: Jean Muenchrath
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Ghosts of the Tsunami
- Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone
- By: Richard Lloyd Parry
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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On March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake sent a 120-foot-high tsunami smashing into the coast of northeast Japan. By the time the sea retreated, more than eighteen thousand people had been crushed, burned to death, or drowned. It was Japan’s greatest single loss of life since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It set off a national crisis and the meltdown of a nuclear power plant. And even after the immediate emergency had abated, the trauma of the disaster continued to express itself in bizarre and mysterious ways.
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Riveting True Story You Didn't Hear On The News
- By Kathy in CA on 07-05-18
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Ranger Confidential
- Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks
- By: Andrea Lankford
- Narrated by: Julia Motyka
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The real stories behind the scenery of America’s national parks. For 12 years, Andrea Lankford lived in the biggest, most impressive national parks in the world, working a job she loved. She chaperoned baby sea turtles on their journey to sea. She pursued bad guys on her galloping patrol horse. She jumped into rescue helicopters bound for the heart of the Grand Canyon. She won arguments with bears. She slept with a few too many rattlesnakes. Hell yeah, it was the best job in the world! Fortunately, Andrea survived it.
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Depressing from Cover to Cover
- By Drew (@drewsant) on 04-13-15
By: Andrea Lankford
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Lost in the Wild
- Danger and Survival in the North Woods
- By: Cary J. Griffith
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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On a beautiful summer afternoon in 1998, Dan Stephens, a 22-year-old canoeist, was leading a trip deep into Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park. He stepped into a gap among cedar trees to look for the next portage - and did not return. More than four hours later, Dan awakened from a fall with a lump on his head and stumbled deeper into the woods, confused. Three years later, Jason Rasmussen, a third-year medical student who loved the forest's solitude, walked alone into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on a crisp fall day.
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Great book, but should be organized differently
- By Don Lance on 09-20-19
By: Cary J. Griffith
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Strange National Park Disappearances
- Volume 2
- By: Scott Jones
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 2 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Strange National Park Disappearances is a gripping book series that delves into the mysterious and often unsettling cases of disappearances within the vast national forests of the United States. Each book in the series explores a collection of real-life incidents, weaving together eyewitness accounts, investigative insights, and expert opinions to shed light on these baffling occurrences. From hikers vanishing without a trace to campers who seem to have been swallowed by the wilderness, the series examines the complex interplay of natural hazards, human error, and possibly more sinister ...
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Yuck to virtual voice
- By Victoria on 03-20-25
By: Scott Jones
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Strange Things in the Woods
- A Collection of Terrifying Stories
- By: Steve Stockton
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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The woods and forests can be a true dichotomy of experiences. For many they offer a peaceful connection to nature, but for some they have been a source of terror. In the shadows of towering trees and hidden in the brush, these unlucky few have encountered creatures or monsters that most think only inhabit our nightmares. Steve Stockton, a veteran outdoorsman and paranormal researcher, has put together a vast collection of over eighty terrifying, odd and strange encounters. These chilling tales may leave you questioning whether you ever want to journey into the woods again.
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Grade school kids in TN with BB guns
- By Jess Henderson on 08-16-20
By: Steve Stockton
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Trailed
- One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders
- By: Kathryn Miles
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In May 1996, two skilled backcountry leaders, Lollie Winans and Julie Williams, entered Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park for a week-long backcountry camping trip. The free-spirited and remarkable young couple had met and fallen in love the previous summer while working at a world-renowned outdoor program for women. During their final days in the park, they descended the narrow remnants of a trail and pitched their tent in a hidden spot. After the pair didn’t return home as planned, park rangers found a scene of horror at their campsite.
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Far Too Long
- By Judy on 06-21-22
By: Kathryn Miles
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Missing People in America's National Parks
- True Stories of Unexplained Disappearances (Missing Persons, Conspiracy Theories, Unexplained, Unsolved Mysteries, Book 1)
- By: Keefe Cheetham
- Narrated by: Caleb Monroe
- Length: 59 mins
- Unabridged
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National parks are a place for family fun, camping, and adventure. Millions of Americans and foreign tourists flock to national parks around the globe each year. But for some, they go through the entrance, never to come out again.
By: Keefe Cheetham
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Death in Yellowstone (Second Edition)
- Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park
- By: Lee H. Whittlesey
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
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The chilling tome that launched an entire genre of books about the often gruesome but always tragic ways people have died in our national parks, this updated edition of the classic includes calamities in Yellowstone from the past sixteen years, including the infamous grizzly bear attacks in the summer of 2011 as well as a fatal hot springs accident in 2000. In these accounts, written with sensitivity as cautionary tales about what to do and what not to do in one of our wildest national parks, Whittlesey recounts deaths ranging from tragedy to folly.
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Details
- By Cletus on 11-21-24
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When You Find My Body
- The Disappearance of Geraldine Largay on the Appalachian Trail
- By: D. Dauphinee
- Narrated by: Traci Odom
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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When Geraldine "Gerry" Largay first went missing on the Appalachian Trail in remote western Maine in 2013, the people of Maine were wrought with concern. When she was not found, the family, the wardens, and the Navy personnel who searched for her were devastated. The Maine Warden Service continued to follow leads for more than a year. They never completely gave up the search. Two years after her disappearance, her bones and scattered possessions were found by chance by two surveyors.
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Sincere and Respectful
- By Bethany Carter on 07-30-19
By: D. Dauphinee
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The Last Season
- By: Eric Blehm
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Destined to become a classic of adventure literature, The Last Season examines the extraordinary life of legendary backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson and his mysterious disappearance in California's unforgiving Sierra Nevada - mountains as perilous as they are beautiful. Eric Blehm's masterful work is a gripping detective story interwoven with the riveting biography of a complicated, original, and wholly fascinating man.
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Well Written Character Study of an NPS Ranger
- By Kathy in CA on 06-23-16
By: Eric Blehm
What listeners say about The Cold Vanish
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- Rae
- 10-27-20
Investigative and Intriguing!
Most importantly, a big thank you to NetGalley, Jon Billman and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review.
“Most states’ missing persons statistical figures climb irregularly upward; however, many of the missing on public wildlands aren’t counted. Or they’re not separated from the urban missing. In most states, no one even knows who should be counting. It seems a special mess considering the technological resources we have in our pockets. Sometimes the lost are found, but often not. The mountains are shrouded in fog.”
If someone likes a book, they call it their "cup of tea". If that's the case, this book is my pitcher of refreshing iced tea on a sweltering summer day! Jon Billman's 'The Cold Vanish' is chock-full of eerie cases of people vanishing into thin air in the Unites States' National Parks and the Canadian wilderness. Each disappearance is described in great detail, so much that you'll want to read this with all the lights in your house ON.
More important than the curiosity and mystery surrounding these cases is the underlying question as to why we don't have an accurate, efficient system in place to track the missing population nor to update their families with searches and activity regarding the recovery of their loved ones. Those systems we do have in place are so wrought with inaccuracies and contradicting information that some government agencies refuse to use them.
Written with verve, this book will raise extremely important questions and inspire the reader to immediately get up and do something to bring these missing PEOPLE home and give their families the answers they deserve. 5 solid stars to Jon Billman and 'The Cold Vanish'.
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- TerriLynn
- 04-29-21
A Father’s 16 month journey for his son. POWERFUL!
After listening to the entire story, I have just now been able to start to get a grip on the feelings in my stomach and the void in my heart. This incredible dad, his enormous heart, his wonderful spirit, unbelievable determination, the journalist (writing the story) who became his real and always friend......
I feel weirdly like I know these people and can call them friend. I don’t know that I have ever had a book/story effect me like this one has. I don’t imagine that I will ever ever ever forget their names, their heartbreak, their journey, the friendship and respect they had/ have for one another.
I agree with another reviewer when they said, “they don’t make men like Randy anymore! “
Just an incredible story written with love and respect! Get this, listen to it (REALLY listen to it) and be left speechless and wowed and overcome with the power of love! BIG LOVE TO JACOB’S family from Fort Worth, Texas!!!
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1 person found this helpful
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- DDR
- 05-14-21
Didn’t like the narration.
I absolutely love this genre and am an avid mountain explorer, so this was extremely up my alley. But the narration killed it. It was dry. And uninteresting. Maybe just not my style. I did find a lot of the book interesting though and if you like mystery and know some of the places talked about, it can get intriguing for sure.
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- andrew m.
- 09-04-20
great outdoors
I did not know how the book narrate, but it gracefully interweaves the story of father and son finding each other
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- JG
- 01-27-21
Thought provoking but a little too long
I listen to a fair bit of this book and eventually stopped. While the stories definitely make one pause and think especially those who spend time outdoors, it did start to be a little overwhelming after a while the story after story. I wonder if there could’ve been a different way to tell this tale about cold vanishing with a shorter number of case studies. I just couldn’t get myself to finish it
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- Linda Lu Cannon
- 09-10-22
Fascinating, beautiful, creepy
This is so much more than a true crime/missing persons story. It reads like a novel, complete with wacky John Irving-ish characters. It would be more disturbing were it not for the perfect Peter Coyote voice of the reader, Stephen Graybill. I was captivated to the end, which touched me deeply.
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- WanderingMK
- 05-20-23
Interesting stories, sleepy narrator
Anyone, outdoorsy or not, should give this a listen. It provides a lot of insight into an overlooked topic. It especially (indirectly) emphasizes the importance of family and community. If you get lost, you better hope that people care of you are found.
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- Lynne Kempton
- 05-10-23
Disorganized and disappointing
I really wanted to like this book, it’s a great concept. The story is so disorganized and not at all what I expected. Way too much about Bigfoot. I’m only finishing it because I can’t return it. Disappointed in what could have been a good book.
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-19-23
Good listen
Love the book , sheds some light on some wild missing stories! And a nice documentation of a fathers love and grief
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- Dave Hawk
- 05-28-23
Do more like this, Jon. Good job!!!
I enjoyed the many stories very much. Always like books like thos how people just up and vanish.
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