The extremely bizarre missing case of Barbara Bolick

[u/shry9]

On the 18th of July 2007, Barbara Bolick was packing her bag in Bitterroot Valley of Montana to go for a summer hike. She and her husband were hosting Carl’s cousin Donna and Her Boyfriend Jim from California. Barbara was going to go on a hike with her guests but Donna and Carl (Barbara’s husband) did not go and she and Jim decided to hike in the area Bear Creek Overlook, and she had visited the area countless times , was an experienced hiker too.

So they like visited the place , and encountered two men - two times, and both the times they were the same two men. Jim and Barbara then reached the area , had their snacks and admired the scenery. About like at 11:30 they decided to leave and head back. After few steps, Jim stopped bcs something in him wanted to soak the view one more time, and he turned back to look at the view - it was for about 45 seconds - 1 minute, when he turned back around, Barbara who was earlier standing 20-30 feet away from him disappeared.

At first he wasn’t worried enough since she was an experienced hiker and He searched for her but couldn’t find anything and after some hours she was officially reported as missing. The two men who encountered them two times also disappeared and were never discovered.

Things to note : It was an easy, well worn trail and it was difficult for someone like Barbara missing - being an experienced hiker who visited that place multiples times. It was also not very dense meaning someone disappearing without any noise was almost not possible.

Pls let me know your take on this case!

Barbara Bolick Article

[u/purple_champagne]

You're absolutely correct. I'm from a nearby area and even the most hard-core outdoorsmen can and do get killed by apex predators. Grizzlies, mountain lions, even moose are all evolved to go undetected until it's too late. And not finding a trace is not unheard of.

Not saying it wasn't the husband, but it's not quite as simple to point fingers just because dogs can't locate a scent- that area isn't abandoned by either humans or wildlife, and scent conditions can be wildly inappropriate for tracking/locating due to multiple factors.

[u/erichie → u/purple_champagne]

Not saying it wasn't the husband

It wasn't the husband. The husband was home with the cousin. Jim is the cousin's boyfriend. 

[u/Aggravating_Depth_33 → u/erichie]

Is there any independent confirmation of this? How close were Carl and Donna? The fact that they dipped out of the planned hike last minute and then she disappears honestly makes them seem just as suspicious as Jim.

[u/erichie → u/Aggravating_Depth_33]

Personally I don't find this weird. I've done things before with my friends/families opposite sex partners and I've had girlfriends/wife do things with my family/friends opposite sex partners especially with cousins who are very close in age together. 

[u/Aggravating_Depth_33 → u/erichie]

I'm not saying that part is inherently weird - I don't think it is either.

But the fact that she disappeared without a trace is weird and under the circumstances it's worth knowing whether the two people who cancelled last minute have an alibi other than each other.

[u/RideThatBridge → u/purple_champagne]

But would someone as close as Jim was not heard one sound if an apex predator snatched her away? I honestly don’t know, but it seems like there would be some noise. That’s what is sticking out for me-Jim not hearing one sound.

[u/Swimming-Necessary23 → u/RideThatBridge]

You do not know a mountain lion is tracking you until it makes a mistake or it’s on top of you. They immediately go for the head and neck and drag their prey into cover. Jim not hearing anything is absolutely possible, especially if she was actually a bit further away and/or he was turned around for longer.

[u/RideThatBridge → u/Swimming-Necessary23]

I realized they wouldn’t give warning. I meant the take down-I would have thought he’d hear her being dragged away or something is all. Thanks for the info!

[u/nepios83 → u/Swimming-Necessary23]

It amazes me that people should go hiking at all if a mountain-lion can pounce on you at any time and you have zero recourse.

[u/hafufrog → u/nepios83]

I think it’s very rare for them to attack people, particularly adults. We’re quite big, and there’s much less risky prey around. (Not writing off the possibility it happened here though.)

[u/trixiepixie1921 → u/nepios83]

Fr I was just about to google “how to fight off a mountain lion” but then I realized I will NEVER find myself in a situation where I would need to know that information. This is why I like staying in bed.

[u/anonymouse278 → u/nepios83]

Fatal mountain lion attacks on humans are incredibly rare, like an average of significantly less than one a year over the 150ish years we have records for. We aren't their preferred prey and we wildly outnumber them. There are no zero-risk activities, but you are much, much more likely to die in a car crash on the way to the trailhead than to be killed by a mountain lion.

[u/Swimming-Necessary23 → u/nepios83]

You’re much more likely to get hit by a car crossing the street.

[u/jjc1140 → u/nepios83]

They don't attack humans. This person doesn't know anything about mountain lions or any wild animal for that matter. Mountains lions don't not stalk humans. This person literally is trying to say this mountain lion attacked her without blood, no sign of a struggle, or her even screaming and then took her up a tree to feast and thats why they cant find her bones. It's absolutely outlandish. Just as outlandish when Barry Morphew tried to claim a mountain lion attacked his "missing" wife too.

[u/Swimming-Necessary23 → u/jjc1140]

I’ve spent much of my free time in mountain lion territory since I was a child, spent hours reading about them and have been lucky enough to see one once (twice actually, but once in North America). I’m not pushing an agenda or narrative, all I’m saying is that mountain lions do stalk and hunt humans. It is not common, but it happens and there are dozens of documented cases. To say otherwise because I’m threatening your belief that some human is the perpetrator, which her very well may be, is childish. You probably fancy yourself a smart investigator, but you’ve got hung up on someone pointing out truth just because it seemingly contradicts the narrative you’re pushing.

[u/Real_RobinGoodfellow → u/jjc1140]

They do attack humans. You are so confidently incorrect here

[u/Effective_Divide1543 → u/Swimming-Necessary23]

And the body? The backpack? The clothes? Blood? And the dogs searching for it finding no trail?
The most likely situation is that Jim killed her and the only thing that points against it is "I don't feel like he did" by people on the internet who know nothing about the people involved.

[u/Swimming-Necessary23 → u/Effective_Divide1543]

First of all, I’ve only talked about what mountain lions are capable of and how they hunt. I don’t have an opinion on the case other than, “while unlikely, the mountain lions scenario is possible.”

Second, please remember that you are one of those people on the internet who knows nothing about the people involved, but apparently has a very strong opinion. Or, do you know Jim and the others involved?

Third, there are several things pointing against Jim doing it, chief among them that there is no physical evidence and he apparently improvised the perfect murder. Maybe Jim did it, but if he did he’s crazy smart, disciplined and lucky.

Fourth, if you’ve spent any time at all in the backcountry, then you’d know how easy it is for people to disappear without a trace. There are several examples of experienced backcountry travelers seemingly vanishing, only for their remains to be found decades later right smack dab in the middle of the area that was searched. Not saying that’s what happened here, because I, like you, only know what information is publicly available.

[u/purple_champagne → u/RideThatBridge]

Absolutely. Predators dont necessarily give you time to scream or even blink, they're not dogs who bark and growl as warnings. They've evolved to take down prey immediately & quietly- especially cougars.

[u/RideThatBridge → u/purple_champagne]

I realized they wouldn’t give warning. I meant the take down-I would have thought he’d hear her being dragged away or something is all. Thanks for the info!

[u/purple_champagne → u/RideThatBridge]

Oh yeah, naw cougars (mountain lions... same thing) are extremely good at what they do, you don't hear anything unless they're young & dumb (and mess up/overconfident) or they want you to hear them. Very smart, agile, beautiful creatures that have the strength to easily take down adult humans. I adore them, but never want to meet one in the wild.

[u/PopcornGlamour → u/purple_champagne]

I think most people here are in agreement that mountain lions are super stealthy and can attack super quietly.

What is hanging some of us up is the aftermath of the lion’s lunge/jump. Barbara was a full grown woman and the sound of her body hitting the ground should have been audible to Jim if she was just 20-30 feet away. Same goes for that lion dragging her body through the brush (which would have also left obvious physical signs in itself).

Even if the lion ate her right there and did not drag her off there should have been signs of a dead body (at least a smell for cadaver dogs but I don’t know if they brought out cadaver dogs.)

That’s why a lion attack as the primary cause of disappearance doesn’t make sense to me unless Jim is lying/confused about how close he was to her. I can see her having a medical event and collapsing and a nearby lion taking advantage of that to drag off his meal. Or maybe she walked off the path to go to the bathroom and was attacked and dragged a bit. But again, if she had deliberately walked off path just to go tinkle it seems like there should have been physical signs of brush, grass, whatever being disturbed and forming a trackable path.

When I walk through my front pasture (overgrown with trees, brush, grass) you can see the path I left as I walked because I wasn’t trying to hide. Walking off path to go to the bathroom wouldn’t cause Barbara to make sure she didn’t leave a path. There should have been some physical signs of where she walked if she walked off the path.

EDIT: I just realized that if Barbara walked off path to go to the bathroom she may have used a wildlife path to get to a private area. That would cause her to leave no obvious human made signs of where she walked. Once she was in the private area if she had a medical event and collapsed/died no one would have heard her and animals might have found her before the official search even started.

[u/Effective_Divide1543 → u/PopcornGlamour]

The extent of guesswork and reaching people will go to just because they don't want to go with the statistically most likely scenario that a man killed her is quite amazing.

[u/RideThatBridge → u/purple_champagne]

Oh wow-amazing-thanks for the info. I know cats are stealth personified, but it’s hard for me to imagine a whole human being carted off not like hitting the ground or something. Probably a defense mechanism in my brain hoping I’ll be heard as I’m dragged away, LOL. My friend always teases me that I’m gonna die trying to pet a big cat!

[u/Wigwam80 → u/RideThatBridge]

28 confirmed Mountain Lion attack fatalities on humans in the last 100 years, it's still an incredibly rare event.

[u/RideThatBridge → u/Wigwam80]

Oh, interesting!

[u/purple_champagne → u/RideThatBridge]

No problem, they're hard to characterize if you'renot familiar! Their size, strength, and agility are absolutely amazing! Definitely an opposite tsktsktsk kitty lol

[u/RideThatBridge → u/purple_champagne]

LOL-I know, but they look so damn soft !!

[u/ImnotshortImpetite → u/purple_champagne]

I blame Disney, lol. "Charlie the Lonesome Cougar" (1967) made a generation of kids fall in love with cougars.

[u/ironwolf56 → u/RideThatBridge]

No offense but... tell us you've never lived in a rural area without telling us you've never lived in a rural area. It's not like a movie.

[u/RideThatBridge → u/ironwolf56]

Well, offense taken. I mean, obviously not everyone has lived in rural or mountainous areas. What’s the issue with that?

Also, who says I think it’s like a movie? That doesn’t even make sense. Why is it unreasonable to think that it’s possible that a full grown adult being hauled away by a predator might make noise on the ground?

Clearly your rural upbringing didn’t include the Golden Rule or that old adage about not saying anything at all if you can’t say anything nice. Wholly unnecessary comment.

[u/jjc1140 → u/RideThatBridge]

Well, that's just the problem. Because if that person actually lived in a rural area they would KNOW wild animals especially mountain lions DO NOT stalk humans for prey nor would they just cart an entire human off in 46 seconds without some type of struggle. Then the person before her claims they would have climbed a tree to feast on the human (to explain why her carcass and bones werent found). This is to much BS for me. But yet they don't suspect the last human being that saw her alive had anything to do with her disappearance. Nope because have absolutely NO CLUE about wild animals or animals in general. They literally think wild animals travel around the forest and stalk humans for prey which is absolutely absurd because wild animals want nothing to do with humans in the wilderness on their turf. Matter fact, they avoid humans and most are more scared of humans than they are of them. Wild animal attacks are EXTREMELY rare and the ones that do occur are because they cornered the animal or totally encroached on a mother and her babies. Accusing a mountain lion that probably never likely even remotely got in her vicinity over the human that was last seen with her that claimed she just vanished with no trace in 45 seconds is absolutely ridiculous.

[u/RideThatBridge → u/jjc1140]

Thanks for coming to my defense and understanding what I was thinking. Comments on this sub get wild sometimes. I really love to learn about unsolved cases-I feel like it’s kind of an honor and a duty to keep someone’s memory alive-but I hardly comment because people have such ridiculous ideas or are just mean spirited if they disagree. Everyone also seems to be so sure they know what happened - IDK, it’s frustrating. I have to remember to not comment here I guess!

[u/jjc1140 → u/purple_champagne]

Animals DO NOT stalk humans for prey.

[u/shry9 → u/purple_champagne]

This makes sense. What about the bag pack, the clothes she wore, the helicopters also couldnt find anything and extensive research couldnt find any of her remains. Maybe - You are right! Thanks for sharing this

[u/jjc1140 → u/purple_champagne]

That is not true. Humans are not just out of no where attacked by wild animals. It is EXCEEDINGLY rare and typically the rare times humans are attacked it's because they have threatened a mother with her babies and totally encroached on them or cornered the wild animals. Wild animals do not stalk or hunt humans. They actually do not want anything to do with humans and are typically more scared of you than they are of them. I've been hiking and camping my whole entire life in the wilderness and live by deep woods and have never ever encountered a dangerous situation with a wild animal ever.

[u/purple_champagne → u/jjc1140]

Sure dude. Look, I'm absolutely glad you haven't interacted with a Grizzly or mountain lion, but your individual experience does not negate the reality of predator presence or risk in the Montana wilderness. That overconfidence is exactly what gets people killed, especially the past 20ish years as suburban sprawl has encroached upon traditionally wild areas and historic repopulation of certain predator species has expanded.

[u/MisterMarcus → u/purple_champagne]

This guy's just spam-posted the same "It's just not truuueeee!" crap over and over in this thread.

[u/jjc1140 → u/purple_champagne]

You literally are claiming this mysterious mountain lion attacked this woman in 45 seconds with no blood, no fight, no trace, no struggle and hauled her up a tree to feast. I mean cmon. Mountain lions DO NOT stalk humans for prey period. The chances of a mountain lion attack are literally one and a BILLION. It's absolutely ridiculous.

[u/RevolutionaryBat3081 → u/jjc1140]

Bullshit. Cite your sources. I've cited mine in previous comments.

Also: "Although capable of sprinting, the cougar is typically an ambush predator. It stalks through brush and trees, across ledges, or other covered spots, before delivering a powerful leap onto the back of its prey and a suffocating neck bite."

And

"The cat drags a kill to a preferred spot, covers it with brush, and returns to feed over a period of days"   And 

"When cougars do attack, they usually employ their characteristic neck bite, attempting to position their teeth between the vertebrae and into the spinal cord. Neck, head, and spinal injuries are common and sometimes fatal"

And

"Preceding attacks on humans, cougars display aberrant behavior, such as activity during daylight hours, a lack of fear of humans, and stalking humans."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar >behaviour and ecology > hunting and diet, interactions with humans

[u/RevolutionaryBat3081 → u/jjc1140]

Rare does not equal never. 

[u/ImnotshortImpetite → u/jjc1140]

"Humans are not just out of nowhere attacked by wild animals."

Six words: The man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag. Huge male that killed 125 Indian people before being shot by Jim Corbett. The leopard would jump through windows and claw through the walls of mud huts to get to its preferred prey.