Jon Billman is a former wildland firefighter and high school teacher. He holds an MFA in Fiction from Eastern Washington University. He's the author of the story collection When We Were Wolves (Random House, 1999). Billman is a regular contributor to Outside and his fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Esquire, The Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All-Story. He t... What began to really annoy me was the mention of conspiracy theorists and Bigfoot researches- yes, you read that right. Granted the Bigfoot researchers know the woods very well, better than most, and help out in the search. However, I could not suspend my disbelief when these Bigfoot researchers suggest that Bigfoot is responsible for some of the people who seemingly ‘vanish’ in the wild. One such believer even suggested that Bigfoot might even shield and help young kids who have gone missing. Ridiculous. Apparently, there’s K9 drama. Not everyone likes “dog people.” Some consider them territorial and uncooperative. The handlers, not the dogs. There are rifts among the dog handlers, as well. Bloodhound proponents claim the breed’s nose is superior so they put up with flatulence. Others swear shepherds are just as qualified and less stinky. The Cold Vanish is renowned journalist Jon Billman’s attempt to shine a light on the vast numbers of people who simply disappear without a trace in the wild outdoors, amongst the lush scenery, leaving their relatives with more questions than answers and a neverending vivid imagination as our minds inevitably jump to all sorts of conclusions when an event is so difficult to come to terms with; it's this not knowing and having no closure on the whereabouts of their loved one that slowly eats away at an individual from the inside. As a true crime enthusiast, I spend many a long hour watching youtube videos and some of those follow the progression of missing person investigations and where I have learned from interviews with relatives and friends of those missing that it is the not knowing that makes it really difficult to move on as they wonder many things such as whether it's possible they fell victim to a killer and even if their loved one is still alive and vanished purposefully perhaps due to financial or personal issues in their lives and do not want to be located. It's these constant speculations that would likely turn me insane if I was on the receiving end of a missing person case. Scott Shane's outstanding work Flee North tells the little-known tale of an unlikely partnership ...

The Cold Vanish: Seeking The Missing In North America’s Wildlands The Cold Vanish: Seeking The Missing In North America’s Wildlands

Furthermore, you don't know for sure if a person is missing at all. While it's not likely, there's an outside chance they're alive and perhaps living in South America under a new identity (this happened recently, which I'll get to). A missing person is Schrödinger's cat. Ron Rash is renowned for his writing about Appalachia, but his latest book, The Caretaker, begins ...

Through deep research and personal investigation, Jon Billman has crafted the definitive account of the baffling stories of people who go missing in the wilderness. The Cold Vanish is provocative, disturbing, compulsively readable-and a brilliant achievement."

The Cold Vanish (豆瓣) - 豆瓣读书 The Cold Vanish (豆瓣) - 豆瓣读书

A driver reports the bike, which is loaded with gear, the National Park Service conducts a brief search revealing nothing and concludes Jacob may have accidentally slipped into the river flowing with April snowmelt and drowned. Billman describes the initial search as rather cursory and hampered by bureaucracy. Rational professionals I've met in my research—law enforcement and search-and-rescue personnel—tend to believe that our world is still a big, wild, and remote place, and logic and reason are at the core of missing persons cases. A very difficult puzzle laid out on a massive table, but there are rules and clues, and the puzzle can be solved. I agree with them most of the time. Billman couldn’t even get the relationships correct in this book. He claimed the sister of the wife of his uncle was Jacob’s cousin. He also claimed the grandma of his uncle was his uncle’s mother-in-law. And these are just a few examples of how wrong he got the people involved. Also he didn’t live NEAR his aunt and uncle, he lived WITH them and later moved out for a while to an apartment when he had the money. How can you call this non-fiction or researched when you can’t even get the most basic information correct? About two years prior to his disappearance, Jacob moved to Washington to figure out life. He had graduated from high school. Mental illness played no role in his decision to move to Washington. He started college and a job. He was taking classes, getting amazing grades, and holding down a job. He was planning to transfer to University to pursue a degree in kinesiology. He wanted to be a physical therapist. The Cold Vanish is a false depiction of who Jacob Gray was as a person. Jon Billman completely defamed who Jacob was as a person and member of my family. I'd like to enlighten you to who Jacob Gray truly was. I happen to have the facts since I am related.This memoir about the mystery of Cumming’s mother’s identity and her abduction when she was three years old is beautifully descriptive yet reads almost like a thriller as the past unspools. With her mother, Cumming sifts through objects, photographs, police reports, and shadows of memories as they piece together the story of the missing persons in her mother’s life and her missing past. She quotes St Augustine: “The dead may be invisible, but they are not absent.” A stunning reflection on how we forget, remember and love, even those who have been missing all our lives. Searchers speak of "scenario"—why and how did the target come to be missing? It appears that Jacob—or someone—has been organizing gear. A tarp is partially spread out. But no logic points them in any one direction. It is clear that some of the missing, young men especially, have chosen, if not to disappear, then to find a form of spiritual development that requires that they absent themselves from the populated world for a time. Other people simply get turned around in the woods, or are ambushed by conditions they weren't prepared for, or are, possibly, the victims of foul play. Though it's more probable than human abduction, it's less likely that the owner abandoned the bike to go on a trail hike—there isn't a trailhead in the immediate vicinity, he didn't secure his gear, and a hiker won't get very far before hitting snow.

The Cold Vanish on Apple Books ‎The Cold Vanish on Apple Books

The narration is good overall, but it got boring at times, so much so that I was left wondering why I was even reading this work in the first place. He got a job at a retirement home while also attending college for a future in the medical field. The residents of the retirement home loved him. I had also worked there and the residents always spoke fondly of him. Almost the entire home was distraught when he disappeared and they consistently asked if there were new findings. Jacob always joked with the residents and took the time to genuinely get to know them. He would take time to sit and listen to their stories for times on end which was not even a requirement for his job as a dishwasher. This isn’t something every young person is inclined to. This was simply because Jacob was a genuine person who truly cared for the people around him. He’s always been kind, considerate, and silly (fart jokes being a particular favorite of his). Even near the end when he was clearly struggling, he never had a mean bone in his body. I enjoyed this book and learned a lot about the number of people who go missing without explanation or resolution. Which was surprising to me and sad. I recommend this for non fiction fans, but especially those who have enjoyed Jon Krakauer and other similar writers.

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Jacob worked at the retirement home for over a year. He did not quit because he couldn't handle the death. He worked there for over a year. Jacob loved every resident and he was beloved by every resident. When he brought food to those who couldn't leave their beds, he would spend an extra 10-20 minutes to talk with each bedridden individual. He didn't have to do this and he knew he'd fall behind with work, but he was compassionate and wanted to let each person know they were important. He would listen to their stories and share his own tales. The Cold Vanish is an extremely well written and involving read about people who vanish into the wilderness and those who endlessly search for them. It is more of a portrait of a family’s unrelenting search for a missing loved one once traditional search and rescue missions have ceased. It’s also a story of survival in the elements, man against nature, in a way. I personally didn't enjoy the book when I was reading due to the frequent mentions of Big Foot, aliens, and alternate dimensions as explanations for these 'cold vanishes'. I thought it to be really quite ridiculous and disrespectful to include these as legitimate explanations. If this was my loved one featured in a book, I too would be very upset.