Norway Norway - Isdalen, WhtFem 503UFNOR, multiple aliases, multilingual, 29 November 1970

[snooptroop88]

Sort of suspicious that it matches the isotope analysis, lol. That is proof that this may be a made up identification.
I mean, possible she may be identified by now and european LE is very slow to confirm identification but isotopes are and were very regularly wrong.

jmoo

Totally agreed on the isotope analysis issue in terms of testing for actual human beings, there's no way I trust it. In any case I look at it, but warily, jmo.

I'm reading, though, that isotope analysis on an inanimate object can be considerably more accurate as there are fewer variables involved. So I really am wondering if isotope analysis on her jewelry might yield some reliable information. Based on what I saw, they could even perform it for costume jewelry.

I'd say "some information is better than no information," but I won't. Because agreed the isotope analysis is notoriuosly unrelaible with human beings, and bad information is worse than none at all sometimes, jmo. So unless it were confirmed this isotope testing's more reliable with something like a piece of jewelry, it seems as dubious as the full isotope testing of an actual human being.

While I love your analysis I have to say that the ring strikes me as rather Viking-like with a cruel streak. More goth than hippie to me. Right down my alley.

Looking at the original picture it is also clear the stone is quite unsymmetrical- the stone is not perfect - which makes me think it’s custom made.

Apologies on misleading anyone, I totally agree with this, with what you just said I think that's an older piece of jewelry both in its manufacture/craftsmanship and design. And think the earrings are Ottoman rose design. Now, is the earring design kind of "timeless," because @Sor Juana mentioned the Mumbai pieces... where someone could come by something "like that" (the earrings) in the 60s and incorporate it into the swinging groovy outfit overall? Possibly. But IW doesn't have anything particularly hip or groovy on that day jmo, and I don't see anything hip or groovy about either the ring or earrings by themselves. They look old school, old world, and conservative. I'm guessing Ottoman rose style jewelry/southeast Europe. Turkey/Romania/Slovenia (?), picture that jewelry in line with someone in tune with Istanbul or Bucharest, but there's so, so much speculation about where IW came from.

And agreed, I think that ring is much older and quite possibly the earrings as well, I don't think there's anything hippie chic about it in and of itself. But at the same time, have to agree that this Ottoman rose design with the earrings-- it's sort of classic and timeless. But again, that aside, when I look at IW's ring, I am getting old world vibes for sure, and my guess is the pieces are older, but jmo. And that ring looks large and heavy, which is channeling "older" in my mind, but again, jmo. And while I definitely get stylish from IW's overall ensemble that day, I'm in no way getting "hippie."

 

[Susikatze]

The jewelry is fairly common 1960s style, originally inspired by Persian, Afghan and Indian designs but not hippie style. Just regular elegant business and everyday stuff. My grandma had very similar earrings and rings.

I still believe it is likely that IW was a local. She had local prescription meds. The shoe seller described her as having “body odor from bad hygiene mixed with perfume” which he later thought to be possibly “garlic”, despite not having been familiar with garlic.
I believe she was local, possibly estranged from family and mentally ill, she probably planned to end her life earlier during her hotel stays under various exotic aliases but did not do it until she reached icevalley, a tranquil, remote place. Sort of like the Christmas Tree Lady suicide.
I would be surprised if she was foreign, let alone a spy or criminal. The Somerton Man was also believed to be a Spy, American and having had an affair with a local nurse. Turned out he was a local engineer named Charles Webb, who after leaving his wife, dropped off the radar and spent a semi-transient life (apparently in hotels, he was not homeless) until he ended up dead at a beach.

jmoo

 

[snooptroop88]

The jewelry is fairly common 1960s style, originally inspired by Persian, Afghan and Indian designs but not hippie style. Just regular elegant business and everyday stuff. My grandma had very similar earrings and rings.

I still believe it is likely that IW was a local. She had local prescription meds. The shoe seller described her as having “body odor from bad hygiene mixed with perfume” which he later thought to be possibly “garlic”, despite not having been familiar with garlic.
I believe she was local, possibly estranged from family and mentally ill, she probably planned to end her life earlier during her hotel stays under various exotic aliases but did not do it until she reached icevalley, a tranquil, remote place. Sort of like the Christmas Tree Lady suicide.
I would be surprised if she was foreign, let alone a spy or criminal. The Somerton Man was also believed to be a Spy, American and having had an affair with a local nurse. Turned out he was a local engineer named Charles Webb, who after leaving his wife, dropped off the radar and spent a semi-transient life (apparently in hotels, he was not homeless) until he ended up dead at a beach.

jmoo

Again, jmo, the ring is quite sizey, it's jmo more rustic than elegant, looking at it in profile. It's the size of the watch face. That's (again, all jmo) an older piece of jewelry, and likely has no maker's mark because that would be common for the timeframe with artisan pieces. Looking at the earrings in tandem with the ring, I am getting Ottoman rose style from those earrings and think there may be a regional aspect to the fashion choices, along with the fur. I am not a jewelry expert and may well be wrong. But my mother also had jewelry of this style in the 1960s and '70s, but it wasn't this large and solid/heavy, it was more light But totally agreed, that does not exclude it from being from any timeframe. I would hope they can further test that jewelry in some way, and based on what I see, it might actually be possible. When I search for the stone on this ring, it says there is no stone. But if you look at the images, it appears to me there is a flat stone of some sort. It's definitely not bulbous, but it appears pretty large in terms of its length and width.

In light of the fact that it was apparently the practice of drug mules even in that era to consume large numbers of pills enclosed in plastic (didn't believe it myself), I would surmise still that she may well have been a drug mule because there were so many textiles intermingled with her remains that it would be impossible to detect such packaging after the burning of IW's body.

And if she were a drug mule, there are trafficking patterns that might support the idea of her being from the regions noted with Romania/Slovenia/Turkey. I've got no idea if that's the case right now, but based on the fact that there is this issue with ingestion of packaged drugs in this timeframe as a mechanism used by drug runners, this theory to me is making the most sense. That doesn't mean it's the correct theory, obviously.

I hope we find out what exactly happened there. Decades later and still no answers.

 

[Susikatze]

Again, jmo, the ring is quite sizey, it's jmo more rustic than elegant, looking at it in profile. It's the size of the watch face. That's (again, all jmo) an older piece of jewelry, and likely has no maker's mark because that would be common for the timeframe with artisan pieces. Looking at the earrings in tandem with the ring, I am getting Ottoman rose style from those earrings and think there may be a regional aspect to the fashion choices, along with the fur. I am not a jewelry expert and may well be wrong. But my mother also had jewelry of this style in the 1960s and '70s, but it wasn't this large and solid/heavy, it was more light But totally agreed, that does not exclude it from being from any timeframe. I would hope they can further test that jewelry in some way, and based on what I see, it might actually be possible. When I search for the stone on this ring, it says there is no stone. But if you look at the images, it appears to me there is a flat stone of some sort. It's definitely not bulbous, but it appears pretty large in terms of its length and width.

In light of the fact that it was apparently the practice of drug mules even in that era to consume large numbers of pills enclosed in plastic (didn't believe it myself), I would surmise still that she may well have been a drug mule because there were so many textiles intermingled with her remains that it would be impossible to detect such packaging after the burning of IW's body.

And if she were a drug mule, there are trafficking patterns that might support the idea of her being from the regions noted with Romania/Slovenia/Turkey. I've got no idea if that's the case right now, but based on the fact that there is this issue with ingestion of packaged drugs in this timeframe as a mechanism used by drug runners, this theory to me is making the most sense. That doesn't mean it's the correct theory, obviously.

I hope we find out what exactly happened there. Decades later and still no answers.

If she was a “swallower”, they certainly would have found the packs in her gut, charred flesh on the outside but the intestines are commonly unaffected by the fire if someone self ignites by gasoline or alcohol.
And she would not swallow a boatload of tranquilizing pills if she was a drug mule, i guess.

jmo

 

[snooptroop88]

If she was a “swallower”, they certainly would have found the packs in her gut, charred flesh on the outside but the intestines are commonly unaffected by the fire if someone self ignites by gasoline or alcohol.
And she would not swallow a boatload of tranquilizing pills if she was a drug mule, i guess.

jmo

Trigger warning.

IW's body was literally shrouded in textile materials as it burned. There's melting/dripping, there is potentially penetration into body cavities. I remember one reseacher specifically mentioning all the textiles that had burned with the body in this case. There is what is called the "wick effect," there can be deep tissue damage. They found the tablets intact, but that in itself does not mean there was no form of packaging, packaging which has either itself dissolved, and/or become undetectable in its form/purpose due to residue from other textiles. There could potentially be too many other sources of residual textiles/intermingling. It would depend on a multitude of factors, including the type of packaging, temperature, and beyond, and it would be a long list.

They likely weren't considering this idea of ingestion for transport in this timeframe when they performed this autopsy. That is a concern.

And if she's scratching off prescription from eczema medications, I doubt there's a prescription for barbiturates. This could potentially pose a real issue at border crossings in this timeframe.

With all her knowledge of languages, the coding of the log, all the travel, the multiple passports, wigs, removal of identifiers... There is no disputing she is a planner. Am finding it difficult to believe her plans included engulfing herself in flames on a day where she was so uncertain of rain that she took an umbrella. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, but jmo it makes the idea of it difficult to accept logically.