The Cold Vanish

Starred review from May 15, 2020
True-life accounts of wilderness disappearances and the families desperately seeking closure. Journalist Billman, a regular contributor to Outside, is "obsessed with writing about missing persons in wild places," particularly those stories that "defy conventional logic...the proverbial vanish-without-a-trace incidents, which happen a lot more (and a lot closer to your backyard) than almost anyone thinks." In his nonfiction debut, the author focuses primarily on the case of Jacob Gray, who stepped off his red bicycle in Washington's Olympic National Park in April 2017 and disappeared into the wilderness. Billman takes us along on his journey with Gray's family as they retrace Jacob's steps, examine the few available clues, and encounter excessive bureaucracy in their search efforts. As he chronicles their trek across North America following leads, the author shares the rampant conspiracy theories, the skeptical yet hopeful encounters with psychics, and the emotional strain of a family who put their lives on hold in search of answers. "For someone close to someone missing," writes Billman, "the world is reduced to this binary: missing and searching. Two awful gerunds." Gray's father, writes the author, "will liquidate his world in order to find his son. Or die trying." Interwoven into Gray's story are detailed accounts of other individuals who have gone missing in the wildlands of North America, many that eerily echo the mystery surrounding Gray's disappearance. According to data cited by Billman, more than 600,000 individuals go missing in North America each year. While most are "quickly found alive," those who vanish in the wilderness face much steeper odds of being found--and the author engagingly follows these sad yet absorbing cases. Some have been discovered in places previously searched; some have walked out on their own; some remain unexplained. A compassionate, sympathetic, and haunting book sure to make you think twice before stepping out into the wilderness alone.

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Starred review from May 18, 2020
In April 2017, 22-year-old Jacob Gray, whose case forms the heart of this beautifully written chronicle from Billman (When We Were Wolves: Stories), disappeared while cycling in Olympic National Park in Washington State. It would take 18 months before his body was found on a mountainside, and it remains unclear whether his death was suicide or caused by hypothermia. Billman describes how red tape and the lack of National Park staff hampered the search, and how he accompanied Jacob’s father, Randy Gray, to Olympic National Park, and then to other places Jacob might have traveled to. In between accounts of the search for Jacob, Billman reports on the phenomena of people vanishing into the wilderness, covering famous cases, search and rescue dogs, and theories about why people go missing, including serial killers and Bigfoot abductions. 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. Billman shows himself to be just as adept at nonfiction as at fiction. Agent: Julia Masnik, Watkins Loomis.

June 5, 2020

Delving into the stories of individuals who have gone missing while venturing into the wilderness, Billman (When We Were Wolves) centers the bulk of his narrative on the disappearance of 22-year-old Jacob Gray. In 2017, Gray went for a bike ride in Washington State's Olympic National Park and vanished. His father, Randy, was devastated but determined to find him. Billman joined Randy on many of his searches and also spoke to the park's employees and local law enforcement. The author interweaves the accounts of other missing persons; even when bodies were recovered, as in some cases, the reasons for the deaths are still open to speculation. It is hard to square the sincere heartbreak of family members searching for loved ones with Billman's frequent diversions into the world of Sasquatch obsessives convinced that Bigfoot could be responsible for some of these disappearances. Billman also refers to the work of David Paulides, a conspiracy theorist who has made a career of implying nebulous or supernatural reasons for these missing persons, which he peddles in his "Missing 411" series. Readers may find Roman Dial's account of his own search for his missing son, The Adventurer's Son, more coherent and less distracting. VERDICT For fans of true crime, this book will likely reinforce the admonition of My Favorite Murder podcast hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark to "stay out of the forest."--Barrie Olmstead, Lewiston P.L., ID

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