# The Isdal Woman > On 29 November 1970 hikers found the burned body of a woman in Isdalen, a valley above Bergen, Norway. She had travelled Europe under at least eight… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-27T17:47:36+00:00 --- **MYS** 0D7Z7BG64JEG·Mystery · event # The Isdal Woman **0** [Follow][Ask a question](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=isdal-woman) The Isdal Woman ![Isdalen in Bergen, Norway](https://mysteriesdept.com/media/folio/isdal-woman-lead) Reinhardheydt · Public domain Found 29 November 1970, Isdalen, Bergen⁠[[1]] Police case Bergen police case 134/70; closed as probable suicide⁠[[5]] Cause of death Phenobarbital (Fenemal) and carbon monoxide; she was alive when she burned⁠[[1]] Identities At least eight false names on hotel forms, nationality given as Belgian⁠[[3]] Born 1930 plus or minus four years (racemisation and bomb-pulse carbon in teeth)⁠[[6]] Childhood Probably south-east Germany, near Nuremberg, moving west later (isotopes)⁠[[6]] DNA Full profile from preserved tissue; circulated through Interpol⁠[[1]] Status Unexplained Questions 0 of 3 answered Catalog key**MYS** 0D7Z7BG64JEG On the morning of 29 November 1970 a man walking with his two daughters in Isdalen, on the north side of Mount Ulriken outside Bergen, found the charred body of a woman lying among scree⁠[[1]]. Around her were the burned remains of her belongings: an umbrella, a bottle of liqueur, plastic bottles, clothing, a watch and jewellery. Every label had been cut or rubbed away⁠[[1]]. Three days later police found two suitcases she had left at Bergen railway station. They held wigs, clothes, non-prescription glasses with her fingerprint, coins of several countries, 500 Deutsche Marks hidden in the lining, and a notebook of coded entries that the police decoded as dates and places she had been⁠[[1]]⁠[[2]]. The autopsy found that she had swallowed many Fenemal sleeping pills and that soot in her lungs showed she was still breathing while she burned; there was a bruise on her neck⁠[[1]]. From hotel registration forms police learned that she had moved around Norway and Europe under at least eight names, always claiming to be Belgian⁠[[3]]. The counter-intelligence police took an interest because a woman matching her description had been reported near secret trials of the Penguin missile⁠[[4]]. The case was closed within weeks as probable suicide, and she was buried in Bergen in 1971⁠[[5]]⁠[[2]]. The case was reopened in 2016 when the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, working with Kripos and the West Police District, found that tissue samples and her jaw had been kept at Haukeland University Hospital⁠[[1]]⁠[[2]]. A full DNA profile was obtained and sent through Interpol; isotope analysis of her teeth pointed to a childhood in south-east Germany and a later move west; age analysis put her birth at about 1930⁠[[6]]⁠[[7]]. No relative has been found. Of the 3 questions on this site, 0 are answered. The most likely answer to “How did she die, and was anyone else involved?”, not yet confirmed: she took a large dose of phenobarbital and set fire to herself. ### Key questionsset by the editors [**How did she die, and was anyone else involved?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/questions/QST0D7Z7GW242GE/how-did-she-die-and-was-anyone-else-involved)Most likely: she took a large dose of phenobarbital and set fire to herself [**Who was the woman found in Isdalen?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/questions/QST0D7Z7GM81M27/who-was-the-woman-found-in-isdalen)Most likely: she was born around 1930 in south-east Germany, near Nuremberg, and moved west, toward France or Belgium, in… [All 3 questions ](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=isdal-woman) ## What happened Her movements can be reconstructed for several weeks before her death from hotel forms and the decoded notebook: Stavanger on 29 October, Bergen from 30 October to 5 November, and other Norwegian cities under other names⁠[[2]]⁠[[5]]. Her last hotel was the Hordaheimen in Bergen, where she stayed mostly in her room. Staff described a good-looking woman of about 163 cm with dark brown hair who kept to herself and paid in cash. She checked out on 23 November, asked for a taxi, and was not seen alive again⁠[[1]]. At the scene the body lay on its back in a "fencer's position", arms raised, the front badly burned; the fire had been fed with petrol, traces of which were found on a fur hat beneath her⁠[[5]]. The autopsy at the Gade Institute concluded death from a combination of phenobarbital poisoning and carbon monoxide; the pills in her stomach and blood amounted to a large dose, and more lay beside the body⁠[[1]]. Her teeth carried extensive gold work of a kind not done in Scandinavia, and her jaw was kept for comparison⁠[[8]]⁠[[2]]. **Map of the site** [Open the full map](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/map) [Site][Region] [+][−] 1 **Isdalen, north side of Ulriken, Bergen** Valley Within 1 km 2 **Møllendal cemetery, Bergen** Cemetery Within 100 m 3 **Bergen railway station** Station Within 100 m 4 **Hotel Hordaheimen, C. Sundts gate 18, Bergen** Hotel Within 100 m MappedWithin 1 kmBase map © OpenStreetMap contributors ### Timeline **Timeline** Squeezed where little happened. Each mark is a published claim, by how it stands:AcceptedMost likelyStill possibleDisputedRuled out ## The accounts The witnesses are hotel staff, travellers and others who met her in Norway in 1970, interviewed by police at the time and some re-interviewed by NRK and the BBC in 2016-2018⁠[[1]]⁠[[9]]. They describe a reserved, well-dressed woman who wore wigs, changed rooms after checking in, said she was a travelling saleswoman or antiques dealer, spoke German, French, Flemish or broken English, and was once overheard talking in German with a man⁠[[1]]. A fisherman reported to the navy that he had seen a woman fitting her description near the Penguin missile test area at Tananger; the counter-intelligence police recorded the report in December 1970⁠[[10]]⁠[[4]]. A man who said he saw her walking with two men on a hillside days before her death came forward publicly only in 2005; his account was not recorded at the time⁠[[9]]. ## What was recorded The police file includes the scene report and photographs, the autopsy, the handwritten hotel forms, the decoded notebook, the contents of the suitcases, the description sent to Interpol and the secret police file on the missile-test sighting⁠[[5]]⁠[[8]]⁠[[4]]. Parts of it have been released through NRK and the BBC, and the case material is in the Bergen State Archives⁠[[2]]. The 2016-2018 forensic work produced three results. A full DNA profile was obtained from preserved tissue by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and circulated internationally⁠[[1]]⁠[[6]]. Strontium and oxygen isotopes in teeth formed at different ages, measured with the University of Bergen and interpreted against European isoscapes at the University of Canberra, point to a childhood around Nuremberg and a later move west, toward the French-German border⁠[[6]]⁠[[7]]. At the Karolinska Institutet, the absence of bomb-pulse carbon in her wisdom tooth showed birth before 1944, and aspartic acid racemisation in three teeth gave 1930 plus or minus four years, so she was between 36 and 44 at death, not about 30 as thought in 1970⁠[[6]]⁠[[11]]. Handwriting analysis had already suggested schooling in France or a neighbouring country⁠[[1]]. The DNA is police property and, as of 2019, had not been searched against commercial genealogy databases for legal and ethical reasons⁠[[12]]. ## The explanations Suicide. The police conclusion: she took a large dose of sleeping pills and set fire to herself⁠[[5]]. The pills and the soot are consistent with this⁠[[1]]. Against it, as several investigators noted at the time: the neck bruise, the effort taken to remove identity from her belongings and the difficulty of setting a petrol fire while heavily drugged⁠[[1]]. Killing, or a death arranged with another person present. Someone gave or forced the pills and set the fire, or was present when she did⁠[[1]]⁠[[13]]. It explains the bruise and the late report of companions, which was not tested in 1970⁠[[9]]. No suspect or physical trace of another person has been published. Espionage. The false identities, the travel to Stavanger and Tananger during Penguin trials and the counter-intelligence interest suggest she was working for a foreign service⁠[[4]]⁠[[10]]. No intelligence service has confirmed it, and the sighting report is second-hand. Other readings, that she was a courier or a sex worker travelling under aliases, rest on her travel pattern and behaviour at hotels, not on documents⁠[[13]]. None of these readings explains her death by itself. ### Published claims **Published claims and their status** | Year | Who | Claimed | Status | Reason | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1970 | Bergen police⁠[5] | She took a large dose of sleeping pills and set fire to herself; the case was closed as probable suicide. | Still possible | The pills and the soot in her lungs fit, but the neck bruise and a petrol fire set while heavily drugged have kept investigators doubtful⁠[1]. | | 1970 | Defence High Command security department and the counter-intelligence police⁠[4] | The woman was probably seen at Tananger during Penguin missile tests in November and was in Stavanger during earlier tests in April. | Still possible | The sighting report is second-hand, and no intelligence service has acknowledged her⁠[10]. | | 2005 | An anonymous Bergen man⁠[9] | Days before the body was found he saw a lightly dressed woman walking on the hillside ahead of two men in coats. | Still possible | First told 35 years after the event and absent from the 1970 file, so it cannot be checked⁠[9]. | | 2016 | NRK (Ståle Hansen and Marit Higraff)⁠[1] | The removed labels, the neck bruise and the petrol fire point to another person's involvement, which the 1970 investigation did not rule out. | Still possible | No physical trace of a second person has been published, and the autopsy has not been re-examined⁠[1]. | | 2017 | Kripos and the University of Canberra⁠[7] | Isotopes in her teeth show a childhood in eastern or central Europe and a move west, toward the French-German border, before adolescence. | Most likely | The best evidence on her origin, though isotope maps give probabilities and several regions share similar values⁠[7]⁠[6]. | | 2018 | Karolinska Institutet, reported by NRK⁠[6] | She was born in 1930, give or take four years, and spent her early childhood in south-east Germany, probably near Nuremberg. | Most likely | The age rests on two established methods, the bomb pulse and aspartic acid racemisation; the Nuremberg placing is a probability map, not a location⁠[11]⁠[12]. | | 2018 | BBC World Service and NRK, Death in Ice Valley⁠[3] | She used at least eight false names in Norway and Europe, giving Belgian nationality and false addresses on every hotel form. | Accepted | Documented from the handwritten hotel forms in the police file⁠[3]. | ## What would settle it A name would change everything else. The DNA profile exists; a search of genealogical databases that permit police use, or of national DNA and missing-persons registers in Germany, France and Belgium, could find relatives, as it has in other unidentified cases⁠[[12]]. The isotope result narrows the search to regions where a girl born around 1930 could be traced through school, registration and emigration records. Release of the counter-intelligence and defence files from 1970 would show what the security services knew. A modern re-examination of the autopsy record and the preserved tissue would test the bruise and the pharmacology against the suicide finding. ## Questions 0 of 3 questions are answered. **Key questions** [All 3](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=isdal-woman) **0** [How did she die, and was anyone else involved?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/questions/QST0D7Z7GW242GE/how-did-she-die-and-was-anyone-else-involved) 0 of 0 sub-questions answered·0 Most likely: she took a large dose of phenobarbital and set fire to herself **0** [Who was the woman found in Isdalen?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/questions/QST0D7Z7GM81M27/who-was-the-woman-found-in-isdalen) 0 of 1 sub-questions answered·0 Most likely: she was born around 1930 in south-east Germany, near Nuremberg, and moved west, toward France or Belgium, in… ## Evidence 14 findings [Who was the woman found in Isdalen?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/questions/QST0D7Z7GM81M27/who-was-the-woman-found-in-isdalen)6 findings [She was born around 1930 in south-east Germany, near Nuremberg, and moved west, toward France or Belgium, in…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/answers/ANS0D7Z7HBP7456/she-was-born-around-1930-in-south-east-germany-near)Most likely +[Strontium and oxygen in early-forming teeth fit south-east Germany around Nuremberg at about age four.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7HKG0SC2/strontium-and-oxygen-in-early-forming-teeth-fit-south-east)Supported +[Later-forming teeth indicate a move west, toward the French-German border.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7HVA1231/later-forming-teeth-indicate-a-move-west-toward-the-french)Supported +[Handwriting suggested schooling in France or a neighbouring country.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7J3437VE/handwriting-suggested-schooling-in-france-or-a-neighbouring)Suggestive −[Isotope assignments exclude more than they locate; several European regions share similar values.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7JAY00GK/isotope-assignments-exclude-more-than-they-locate-several)Supported [She was Belgian, as she wrote on every hotel form.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/answers/ANS0D7Z7JJR0RW9/she-was-belgian-as-she-wrote-on-every-hotel-form)Disputed −[Every alias gave Belgian nationality, but the addresses were false.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7JTJ3QYE/every-alias-gave-belgian-nationality-but-the-addresses-were)Established −[Isotopes put her childhood in Germany rather than Belgium.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7K2C65BK/isotopes-put-her-childhood-in-germany-rather-than-belgium)Supported [How did she die, and was anyone else involved?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/questions/QST0D7Z7GW242GE/how-did-she-die-and-was-anyone-else-involved)5 findings [She took a large dose of phenobarbital and set fire to herself.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/answers/ANS0D7Z7KJ049D2/she-took-a-large-dose-of-phenobarbital-and-set-fire-to)Most likely +[Phenobarbital in blood and stomach and soot in the lungs; more pills by the body.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7KST345Q/phenobarbital-in-blood-and-stomach-and-soot-in-the-lungs)Established +[The police found no evidence of a second person.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7M1M773S/the-police-found-no-evidence-of-a-second-person)Supported −[A bruise on her neck from a blow or a fall.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7M9E7DKC/a-bruise-on-her-neck-from-a-blow-or-a-fall)Suggestive [Someone drugged her and set the fire, or forced her to take the pills.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/answers/ANS0D7Z7MH87DWM/someone-drugged-her-and-set-the-fire-or-forced-her-to-take)Still possible +[A late account of her walking with two men on the hillside days before.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7MS24ZQ7/a-late-account-of-her-walking-with-two-men-on-the-hillside)Speculative +[The removal of all labels and identity marks suggests planning by her or by others.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7N0W2ZQG/the-removal-of-all-labels-and-identity-marks-suggests)Speculative [Why did she travel under at least eight false identities?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/questions/QST0D7Z7H3W2HS8/why-did-she-travel-under-at-least-eight-false-identities)3 findings [She was working for a foreign intelligence service, including watching the Penguin missile trials.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/answers/ANS0D7Z7NGG47D6/she-was-working-for-a-foreign-intelligence-service-including)Still possible +[The counter-intelligence police recorded a sighting near the Penguin trials at Tananger and her presence in Stavanger during earlier trials.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7NRA4G8T/the-counter-intelligence-police-recorded-a-sighting-near-the)Suggestive −[The sighting report is second-hand and no service has acknowledged her.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7P041JT5/the-sighting-report-is-second-hand-and-no-service-has)Supported [She concealed her identity for non-intelligence reasons, such as crime, smuggling or sex work.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/answers/ANS0D7Z7P7Y3F0A/she-concealed-her-identity-for-non-intelligence-reasons-such)Still possible +[A book-length analysis reads her travel and hotel behaviour this way.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/evidence/EVD0D7Z7PFR2K3R/a-book-length-analysis-reads-her-travel-and-hotel-behaviour)Speculative ## Artifacts The films, photos, papers and objects this mystery rests on, each with its own key and its distance from the original. **Artifacts** [See all 9](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/artifacts) Photo1 step from object [The woman's jaw and teeth](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/artifacts/ART0D7Z7QPT1PFB/the-womans-jaw-and-teeth) Bergen police · Politiet (police photograph); linked, not copied Document1 step from object [Autopsy tissue samples in paraffin](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/artifacts/ART0D7Z7QYM5P68/autopsy-tissue-samples-in-paraffin) Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen Photo1 step from object [The two suitcases and their contents](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/artifacts/ART0D7Z7R6E15QQ/the-two-suitcases-and-their-contents) Bergen police · Politiet / Statsarkivet i Bergen; linked, not copied Photo1 step from object [The coded notebook](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/artifacts/ART0D7Z7RE82956/the-coded-notebook) Øyvind Bye Skille (NRK) · NRK; linked, not copied Photo1 step from object [Handwritten hotel registration forms under eight aliases](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/artifacts/ART0D7Z7RP240NF/handwritten-hotel-registration-forms-under-eight-aliases) Bergen police · Politiet; linked, not copied Transcription2 steps from object [The counter-intelligence police (Overvåkingspolitiet) file on the woman](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/artifacts/ART0D7Z7TWC0DDN/the-counter-intelligence-police-overvakingspolitiet-file-on) BBC World Service · BBC; linked, not copied Photo1 step from object [Police photographs of the scene in Isdalen and of the burial, 1970-1971](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/artifacts/ART0D7Z7V463S94/police-photographs-of-the-scene-in-isdalen-and-of-the-burial) Bergen police · Politiet / Statsarkivet i Bergen; linked, not copied [See all 9 artifacts](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/isdal-woman/artifacts) ## See also [ **Somerton Man (Tamam Shud)** A man found dead on an Adelaide beach in 1948, named from DNA by researchers in 2022. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/somerton-man) [ **Dyatlov Pass incident** Nine ski-tourers who died after leaving their tent in the northern Urals in 1959. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dyatlov-pass) [ **1979 Vela incident** A double flash seen by a US satellite over the South Atlantic in September 1979. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vela-incident) [ **1908 Tunguska event** An explosion over the Siberian taiga in 1908 that flattened 2,150 km² of forest. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/tunguska-event) ## References 1. 1.[Hansen, S., Higraff, M., Skille, Ø. et al. 2016. The Isdalen mystery. NRK Dokumentar.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z77V06X35/the-isdalen-mystery)cited 20 times here**SRC** 0D7Z77V06X35 1. 2.[Cheung, H. 2017. Isdal Woman: The mystery death haunting Norway for 46 years. BBC News.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z799W1HMJ/isdal-woman-the-mystery-death-haunting-norway-for-46-years)cited 5 times here**SRC** 0D7Z799W1HMJ 1. 3.[BBC World Service, D. 2018. The Isdal woman's many identities. BBC World Service.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z79227R4G/the-isdal-womans-many-identities)cited 5 times here**SRC** 0D7Z79227R4G 1. 4.[Hansen, S., Higraff, M., Aardal, E. et al. 2016. Etterforsket for militærspionasje. NRK Dokumentar.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z78JE0KS9/etterforsket-for-militrspionasje)cited 8 times here**SRC** 0D7Z78JE0KS9 1. 5.[NRK 2016. Tidslinje: Slik etterforsket politiet Isdalssaken. NRK.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z78AM7MZ2/tidslinje-slik-etterforsket-politiet-isdalssaken)cited 4 times here**SRC** 0D7Z78AM7MZ2 1. 6.[Skille, Ø., Higraff, M., Hansen, S. 2018. Tennene avslører: Isdalskvinnen eldre enn man trodde. NRK Dokumentar.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z79SG35D0/tennene-avslrer-isdalskvinnen-eldre-enn-man-trodde)cited 9 times here**SRC** 0D7Z79SG35D0 1. 7.[BBC News 2017. 'Major breakthrough' in Norway's 46-year-old Isdal woman mystery. BBC News.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z79HP4JZ3/major-breakthrough-in-norways-46-year-old-isdal-woman)cited 4 times here**SRC** 0D7Z79HP4JZ3 1. 8.[NRK Dokumentar 2016. Do you remember this woman?. NRK.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z782T4X92/do-you-remember-this-woman)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0D7Z782T4X92 1. 9.[Higraff, M., McCarthy, N. 2018. Death in Ice Valley (podcast series). BBC World Service and NRK.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z7A947CTM/death-in-ice-valley-podcast-series)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D7Z7A947CTM 1. 10.[BBC World Service, D. 2018. The secret police file on the Penguin missile system. BBC World Service.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z78T8172S/the-secret-police-file-on-the-penguin-missile-system)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0D7Z78T8172S 1. 11.[Alkass, K., Buchholz, B., Ohtani, S. et al. 2010. Age Estimation in Forensic Sciences: Application of Combined Aspartic Acid Racemization and Radiocarbon Analysis. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 9(5): 1022-1030.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z7ARR3WB3/age-estimation-in-forensic-sciences-application-of-combined)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1074/mcp.m900525-mcp200)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0D7Z7ARR3WB3 1. 12.[Higraff, M., McCarthy, N. 2019. Death in Ice Valley: New clues in a Norwegian mystery. BBC News.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z7A1A0S2D/death-in-ice-valley-new-clues-in-a-norwegian-mystery)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0D7Z7A1A0S2D 1. 13.[Aske, D. 2018. Kvinnen i Isdalen: Nytt lys over norgeshistoriens største krimgåte. Vigmostad & Bjørke, Bergen (ISBN 978-82-419-1570-3).](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7Z7AGY78DP/kvinnen-i-isdalen-nytt-lys-over-norgeshistoriens-strste)cited 4 times here**SRC** 0D7Z7AGY78DP Last edited 27 Oct 2026