Mysterious Montana woman who disappeared without a trace after hiking partner turned her back for 45 seconds – US News

The mysterious disappearance of a Montana woman 17 years ago remains unsolved, and people are baffled by her case.

On July 18, 2007, Barbara Bolick was absent hiking IN Montana near the Bear Creek Lookout near Victor and disappeared when her hiking partner looked away for just 45 seconds.

Even now, officials have no clues as to what happened to her that day.

Last year, law enforcement sent out a new post asking for any information people might know about what happened to piece together the events that led to her disappearance without a trace.

Bolick’s hiking partner was Jim Ramaker, who says she was there one moment and gone the next.

Jim was the last person to see her alive, and while this may seem suspicious to some, police believe he had no connection with her disappearance.

According to Ramaker, he turned his back on her for just 45 seconds, and when he looked back, he realized she had quietly disappeared and was never seen again.

News historian and former NBC Montana news director Jim Harmon told again case, explaining: “They were within walking distance of each other. But after a few seconds he looked back and she wasn’t there.

“It’s just amazing for me. How the hell did this happen? How could she not just be a little way down the hill? It’s an absolute secret.”

Currently, Bolick would be 72 years old.

She was reportedly last seen wearing a pastel shirt, brown shorts and a black backpack.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Jesse Laslovich told NBC Montana that the search has been costly, but authorities are continuing efforts to find the missing woman.

He said: “You can imagine a camera that works when someone disappears. It’s not just local and state authorities. Some of these voluntary organizations also engage in search and rescue operations.

“We have the feds authorities involved. These are hundreds and thousands of dollars, calculated on an hourly basis, that we pay to the people who actually investigate the case. Is it worth it? Of course.

“Do we monitor the money spent and say, ‘OK, we’ve reached this point and we’re not going to monitor it anymore.’ NO. Our job is to get to the truth and hold people accountable for any crime, especially when a person is missing.”

Some conspirators believe Bolick faked her death and fled to start a new life, but Laslovich said trying to piece together her life after her disappearance would be a wasted effort.

He said: “It would be very unlikely for anyone to still be alive, to be able to continue to function, especially when we have really extensive measures at the federal level, especially if someone leaves the country, they will still need some kind of identification.”

He added: “So it would be really hard for someone to just disappear; start a new life with nothing.”

Just two weeks into the search and investigation, Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman said Bolick’s disappearance remains a “mystery.”

“We are perplexed,” Hoffman told the Bitterroot Star.

“We combed the area near the disappearance very thoroughly. We found no trace.

“We would like to check, if possible, whether Bolick was on the mountain that day.”