So well written and researched.
The book starts off with and somewhat centers around the disappearance of Jacob Gray as an example of how people can just vanish in the wilderness.
I got actual chills reading through, the first being the description of the way Jacob Gray’s personal items were left. The four arrows creeped me out so badly.
The author explores every phenomenon from UFOs to Bigfoot and beyond.
But the facts remain: people disappear without a trace so often, more often than you realize, and there isn’t any closure. Just so scary.

Jon Billman has written an exceptional book about people who simply vanish in the wild, often without a trace (a "cold vanish"), from around the world, from Olympic National Park in Washington state to Israel. Pauline Boss, researcher and family therapist claims that "a family member missing to the unknown is the hardest thing a human being ever has to face" - she has coined the term "frozen grief." I just cannot imagine the sheer terror of never knowing what happened, or wondering if the missing person is off living their life somewhere else in TROTW (the rest of the world).

Billman introduces us to Randy Gray as he searches for his son Jacob who simply disappeared near the Sol Duc River in the Olympic National Park, leaving his bike behind. Bilman befriends Randy and travels with him as Randy searches for his son, and along the way Billman shares other stories of the missing including Amy Bechtel, who disappeared while running through the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. Dale Stehling missing from Colorado's Petroglyph Point Trail about 1 mile away from the gift shop, 19-year-old Joe Keller who took a run one afternoon and never returned to his aunt's dude ranch in the San Juan Mountains in SW Colorado, as well as cold vanishs in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Billman gives us the strange story of Ollie McAfee from Northern Ireland who disappeared in Israel, perhaps suffering from the Jerusalem Syndrome, as well as that of Robert Bogucki who set out to cross Australia's Great Sandy Desert. only to emerge 43 days later after an epic spiritual quest as well as near-starvation.

I loved Billman's writing style which is sparse and lean, yet touches on the emotions of the moment as well as the perserverance of the people who search for the lost. You also learn that many large parks do not have SAR (search and rescue) protocols and it's pretty much hit-or-miss depending on where you're lost as to the level of aid you'd receive from various local, state and national agencies. And you'll also learn there is no national database of the missing from national parks.

I found this book deeply moving as Randy continues searching for his son, but as time goes on the search becomes more spiritual "When the clues are not literal, rather cerebral or ethereal, what remains is the spiritual." Even if you think you aren't interested in SAR and missing persons, this book will captivate you. 5 stars.

How intriguing! I had no idea so many people go missing in the wild. It really opened my eyes. It is so very detailed, it made me feel like I was there helping the search. And the way he references Erwin Schrodinger to describe how it feels to lose a loved one is on point. I really enjoyed this read and will definitely be adding it to my library when it comes out.

This book gave me chills. It was written in a way that was almost haunting. I enjoyed it, but it's definitely not one I could read while alone. It was very interesting.

This is a really great book.
Although harrowing at times this book takes you on a real emotional journey, it is very well written and the visual descriptions are outstanding.
I thoroughly enjoyed it - easily worthy of 4 stars ⭐️

This book was really awesome. It's how's the tails about people who go missing in the wilderness. We may not hear a lot of the stories but it does happen.. also what I learned from reading this book is that it happens a lot more often than we know, because we are not told about it or such situations do not make the news. I learned some interesting facts about these kind of situations which I thought was really cool. This is a cool Buck I definitely recommend it especially for readers who want to get on the other side of things that we don't really talk or think about a lot.

Wow!
What a book!
Billman weaves together numerous shorter stories of missing persons with the story of the disappearance of Jacob Gray. He focuses on its impact on Gray's family and the incredible lengths the searchers went to solve this mystery. As someone with an interest in hiking/backpacking and the Pacific Northwest, I found this topic absolutely fascinating, if not bleak. This book highlights everything we don't realize about missing-person's cases: the endless hours of planning, deliberating, and searching that goes into finding those that are lost.
I will recommend this to our readers when we reopen.
Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC!

I received an advanced copy of The Cold Vanish from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are, of course, my own.

“Because the federal government doesn't keep track of missing persons on public land, and because there are likely missing persons that no one knows are in the park, there could be more – maybe significantly more.”

What a heartbreaking but amazing book about the stories of those who go missing in North America's wildlands. Most of which are never found, some that are [rarely] found alive, and some that are found not alive, but at least allows for some closure.

The book is set up in a unique way in which the entire book circles back to Jacob Gray's disappearance throughout. Billman becomes close friends with Randy Gray through his time spent getting to know him and his son's story and disappearance in Olympic National Park. We really get to learn about Jacob, Randy, and the rest of the Gray family and a close look at what it's like for someone who is searching for their missing family.

At the same time, Billman weaves in smaller stories and anecdotes throughout about countless missing people and the people who search for them.

We learn a bit about some of the most eccentric and far-fetched theories such as Bigfoot, aliens, and portals to other worlds. How else do you explain when someone quite literally vanishes?

We hear from psychics who contact families' of the missing all the time – some welcome this and some don't.

This was fascinating and Billman tells these stories with respect and with an obvious personal connection and care.

<b>What I Liked</b>

The stories. Of course the stories. As someone who couldn't function without the outdoors [and wouldn't stop going into them] the idea that people go missing all the time and there's no real tracking system is quite terrifying, to be honest.

The larger story of Jacob Gray intermingled with the smaller stories of others. I imagine the reasoning behind this is because Billman had more material and access to Gray's story, but it really gave the book an overall arch.

Billman touches on the Native American missing person problem. Not many people may be aware of the large disproportionate number of Native Americans that go missing, especially women, and there is no one tracking it. I really appreciated that Billman brought this up in the book as well as its importance.

<b>What I Didn’t Like</b>

I didn't really dislike anything about the book, but if I have to pick something, it would be:

More depth for some stories. Billman would mention stories along the way of missing people and I then wanted more information. I understand the way the book is written though and that wasn't necessarily the focus of the book and if you gave more details for each story, you'd have a neverending book. I'll definitely be doing some research on my own though.

Chilling, eerie and real, author John Billman delivers a powerful warning message in his book "The Cold Vanish." The work which is set to be released in July 2020 is set in the wildlands of North America and tells the story of people who mysteriously go missing. The main storyline outlines the disappearance of Jacob Gray, a 22 year old an athletic outdoorsy surfer who ventured off into the Olympic National Park never to be heard from again. After he vanishes, the author links up with his father, Randy Gray and learns about the search efforts undertaken to find Jacob. Will he be found alive? Is he already dead? The author compares Jacob's situation to Schrodinger's cat. The world may never know... unless someone opens the box to find out.

This book is well written in a respectful but intriguing way. These stories of real missing persons are extremely unique and distinctive. The author bravely shares both Jacob's story along with countless others weaving together the commonalities found within all of the cases. He does an expert job of comparing and contrasting the different vanishing accounts while taking care not to spread misinformation, rumors or legends. He uses clear but descriptive terminology which will engage readers and give them the lingering sense of natural danger found within these wildlands along with strong hints of true crime. "The Cold Vanish" is not to be missed as it illuminates the subject of missing people that often hides precariously along the periphery of everyday life.

THE COLD VANISH: Seeking the Missing in North America’s Wildlands by Jon Billman is an informative book mainly focused around Randy Gray and his search for his son Jacob Gray who went missing in Olympic National Park. It was really interesting to learn about all the different aspects of a search and rescue mission (who’s in charge, volunteer teams and dog trackers just to name a few) but it was especially interesting that the author was actively a part of the search effort with Randy.
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There were a few parts in the book where the timeline was confusing and a few jokes and asides that seemed unnecessary and out of place but overall this was a good read in a new to me topic.

An interesting look at the people who have disappeared from wild places in North America and the loved ones they leave behind. The author follows several cases, joins on Search and Rescue missions, and befriends family members left behind to give a glimpse into the world of the missing.

Twenty-two-year-old Jacob Gray packs up a bunch of gear and sets out on his bike. His abandoned bike, 10 yards off the side of the road, is found inside Olympic National Park with no sign of Jacob. Rangers assume he has headed off for a hike and figure the hiker and his bike will be gone by the next morning. Rangers return to find the abandoned bike but still no sign of the bike rider. Three days after his bike ride began, Jacob has disappeared into thin air.
The book follows Jacob’s father, Randy, on his journey to look for Jacob. Randy is an open minded free spirit who follows the advice of psychics, Bigfoot aficionados, cults, spiritual strangers, random hunches, and dreams in trying to find his missing son.
The pages are full of details about national parks, people who go missing out doors, tracking dogs, search and rescue protocols, and it’s also full of ghosts, unknowable loss and love. If I ever go missing, Randy Gray is the man that I want searching for me.

As someone who works in Search and Rescue, I was really expecting to like this book. Unfortunately, I was super disappointed. It feels horribly biased against the national park system, and the SAR folks the author talked to are, quite frankly, mostly Bigfoot-chasing quacks. The narrative also feels quite disjointed and is lacking good transitions. Not impressed at all. I think Billman should stick to writing magazine articles. It feels like this book just got away from him.

What Jon Billman does so well in The Cold Vanish is remind us of a fundamental truth that's occasionally forgotten: the people who go missing are real people. In the distance between us and the cases we read about in the news or on forums or consume in (slightly) sensationalized media like missing411, it's easy to forget that; it's easy to get lost in conspiracy theories and talk of the paranormal, and to forget that there are people who are gone, and that they've left people behind. Billman handles the case of Jacob Gray (and the cases that intersect the narrative) with a professional grace. He humanizes rather than mythologizes, reminding us again and again of the people at the heart of these stories, and each story he recounts is heartbreaking. Sharp writing paired with the fact he never exploits the people he writes about makes for an amazing account of a phenomenon that's terrifying to think about; there's one passage in the book where a woman he'd spoken to points out that we lean into conspiracy theories because it helps our fear of the missing, and that really stuck with me. The book is well-researched and well-organized, flowing seamlessly between accounts of the missing, and always tying back to the central narrative of the search for Jacob incredibly well. There's a lot of nods towards other media on the topics that are now on my radar to consume further, as this is a topic that's recently become of incredible interest to me.

One thing that really got to me was Billman acknowledging how many indigenous women go missing, and how little resources are dedicated to searching for them, and though it was only briefly discussed, I'm glad it was brought into the spotlight at all.

This is emotional, raw yet expertly written, and I'm really grateful to netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

This was so compelling. I recommend it to anyone who, like me, is obsessed with stories of those who vanish seemingly without a trace or clues. Its so easy to forget the families behind the stories and this book focuses on the efforts and searchers. I loved it.

This is a non fiction mystery book very much on the order of Paulides' writings, which are all about missing persons who mostly go out trekking in the wilds of North America. But this book is far superior because it's a well written, absorbing, humorous and engrossing narrative that follows one man's unending search for his son.
It's not just a list with a little fleshing out.The young man was very different from the average incapable hiker who doesn't even expect to spend a night in the woods. This son was extraordinarily experienced and an incredibly able swimmer, adventurer etc. And so are quite a few of the missing.
In between chapters that follow the dad's search we're told about many other missing people in places near and far. Some disappearances seem to have a logical explanation, sometimes bodies are found, then again, some cases are so inexplicable that thinkers, searchers and writers, too, venture into Sasquatch and Alien territory.
I like this book a LOT, even though it does go on too long. I've heard quite enough about "Gray's" search for his missing son and when I check there's still 8 hours to go. The book is topheavy and may fall over but it's very good, nonetheless.

A chilling read a book of people gone missing.Each story WBA’s so well written so tense.Including the people who are left searching for the lost.The father who gives up everything to search for his missing son.A fascinating read.#netgalley#grandcentralpublishin.

I had read the original article about missing persons on National Parks and so I was excited to see it has been expanded to a book.

The book covers a number of missing person cases but also focuses in on one father’s search for his son, the people who helped and supported him and the people he encountered in the process. The author has become involved in several searches and relationships as a result of his research and his passion is very clear.

It was eye opening to me how wide spread the challenges are and how unaware most of us are. It’s similar to the MMIW situation and when you realize the scale, it’s shocking. I was intrigued with the idea that data science can be so helpful with individual searches and possibly with MMIW, if the information can be obtained.

I would recommend this for any true crime fans, anyone that spends time out in the national parks system and any armchair adventure readers.

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

People go missing every day in America, some run away, others are murdered, and some are never found. It’s been said not knowing is worse than being confronted with the death of the missing person. At least then, the family has answers, however grim. Billman explores cases of people who have vanished without a trace and the family members left behind, as well as the people involved in the search. A dark and fascinating look into the netherworld of the lost and missing