I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley and Goodreads for review. With high attention to detail and such serious content, I have not completed the book entirely. My review is for what I do know so far. The author has been on a journey, a quest to find a missing young man, in the company of his father, now broken by the loss. It comes to light that many disappearances are happening within and around the national parks and wildlands. Vanished without a trace brings new meaning to the words and baffles investigators and loved ones. It is poignant, disquieting and disturbing to know a simple day hike may mean your last grip on civilization. Excellent book and one for the keeper shelf. Lots to discuss about with friends as a book club selection as well.

This was a difficult but rewarding book to read. As a parent your greatest fear is losing your child but even worse would be losing your child and not knowing what happened to them. The author does a great job of telling the story of a missing biker and his father’s journey to find the truth. The statistics provided in this book about folks going missing in national parks is quite alarming. The book touches on such topics as Bigfoot, UFOs, parallel universes, and serial killers. It’s enough to make you not want to go hiking anymore. This read isn’t for everyone but it is a book that is very eye-opening regarding certain aspects of our society and how we treat the missing. I highly recommend it.

This is a group of stories of individuals who are lost or missing on national parks, forest and general back country. Most of these are centered in the United States including Hawaii and even one story from Australia. While there are many stories the main focus is story of Jacob Gray who goes missing in the Olympic National Park and his fathers mission to find him hopefully a live. I had concerns that this was going to be a group stories that would be about missing individuals that go missing and there is no ending meaning they either found them alive or unfortunately passed away.

As you read these stories it makes you wonder what was going through an individuals mind to make them walk off or what happens in what is sometimes just a few minutes of time or a wrong turn that they just disappear. There some instances where there are individuals believe they are gone do to Big foot especially in occurrence in children disappearing, alien abduction or even a religious cult. This book is a riveting read. So give it a read and see what happens with Jacob Gray.

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.

The stark difference between cases of those missing in the wild, vast and often rugged landscapes across America and other missing persons cases is that even if a victim died of exposure or natural causes out there there are plenty of animal scavengers that would make off with parts of the body leaving bones possibly scattered miles and miles apart. In this fascinating book, Billman touches on a plethora of issues relevant to the subject matter and primarily decides to focus on the most creepy and interesting cases - the ones that defy all logic. I found this an enjoyable and accessible read and felt as though I was learning new information at the same time as being entertained; I mean it doesn't get much better than that when it comes to nonfiction, does it? Written in a compassionate and sensitive manner, it is clear to see on every single page how much Billman cares about those missing souls. If you're anything close to a true crime aficionado then this haunting, moving and compulsively readable book is not to be missed. Powerful and provocative, engrossing and encyclopedic, this comes highly recommended. Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for an ARC.

This book is unique. It is part memoir, part dissertation on the numbers of missing people who have "cold vanished."

Exactly what is a "cold vanish?"

A cold vanish is when a person goes missing, usually in the wild, leaving no clues. These people are often never found, and those who are found, are most often not found alive, and are usually discovered accidentally by other wilderness visitors, not by those who have searched for them.

"If you Google "missing person" and the name of your nearest national park or national forest, you will find clusters of the disappeared."

"The National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the Department of Justice, calls missing persons (and unidentified remains) 'the nation's silent mass disaster.' They estimate that on any given day there are between 80,000 and 90,000 people actively listed with law enforcement as missing."

"The Department of the Interior knows how many wolves and grizzly bears roam its wilds, but has a hard time keeping track of visitors who disappear. The Department of Justice keeps a database, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, NamUS, but reporting missing persons is voluntary in all but ten states, and law enforcement and coroner participation is voluntary as well. So a lot of the missing are also missing from the database."

THE COLD VANISH is required reading for those of us who are fascinated by true crime and for those who follow such podcasts as "Missing," and "The Vanished."

"According to NamUS, more than 600,000 persons go missing in the United States each year; thankfully, many of these are quickly found alive. Sixty percent of the missing are male, 40 percent are female. The average age for a missing person is thirty-four."

Those statistics surprised me. I knew that many people go missing every year, but 600,000 in a single year? That is a staggeringly high number. With budgetary constraints and other logistical issues, it proves that those who volunteer their time and resources to locating the lost are an invaluable resource for the families of those who have cold vanished.

Jacob Gray went missing in Olympia National Park in April of 2018. His father put all other obligations aside and spent innumerable hours, days, weeks and months searching for his son. The author was able to tag along on his search and this is the story around which this book is designed. More than just a reporter, it became clear as the search dragged on without resolution, that Randy Gray (Jacob's Dad) and author Jon Billman became friends.

Although the author occasionally goes off a bit of a tangent, all in all, the story is well-written and has certainly opened my eyes to the issue of people missing in the wilds of North America. I am thrilled that the Author has chosen to donate 20% of all author royalties to the Jon Francis Foundation.

I rate THE COLD VANISH as 3.5 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Absolutely loved this book because I have always been baffled by people who vanish in thin air. One moment they are there going about their business and living their life and the next their gone. It was fascinating to read about the people who search for the vanished and how much effort they put into finding someone. How much they sacrifice and how hard they fight. Pick up this winner of a book. Happy reading!

Outside journalist Jon Billman investigates disappearances that have occurred in national parks and remote areas of North American wilderness. These are what he calls “proverbial vanish-without-a-trace incidents, which happen a lot more (and a lot closer to your backyard) than almost anyone thinks.” The plethora of curious cases explored here certainly underscores that.

The narrative skips between Billman’s travels with Randy Gray, the father of 22-year-old Jacob Gray, who vanished in Olympic National Park in Washington State after leaving his bicycle by the roadside. Randy becomes understandably obsessed with finding out what happened to his son, and here is the most difficult part of engaging with any story of this kind: the painful, all-consuming need for closure that pushes the loved ones of the missing relentlessly, exhaustingly to find out what happened. They often quit their jobs and undertake searching full time, to the detriment of everything else in their lives. It is a sad, heavy story to sit with.

Billman accompanies Gray as he embarks on his searches for Jacob over a considerable period of time, spanning far beyond Olympic National Park as they travel to areas where Jacob might have gravitated if he’d gone off the grid voluntarily. Jacob’s disappearance and Randy’s search are the primary story, and it’s easy to see why this particular one captured Billman’s interest. Randy is personable, dedicated, and well-versed in the culture of the search, a solid touchpoint for comparing other incidents in this vein.

Billman does well to use Randy’s experience as a lens for this greater issue of the missing, but I thought the focus on it did come at the detriment of exploring the greater phenomena of how many people are missing in the wildlands and the number of confounding different factors are at play. I appreciated this most when it examined the data and oddities contributing to that.

It does read like long-form magazine articles that were fleshed out into a book, but which didn’t always mesh. Part of the problem is how little information there is to go on in many of these cases, and unless you do a similar deep dive into each one, the information readily available only skims the surface.

But skim the surface of very many we do, and unfortunately the effect is that these stories quickly blur together. A shame, because there are greater points made in understanding the whys in some occurrences. This truly is a phenomenon — tens of thousands of people are missing in the US wilderness. They disappear for very different reasons — one disappearance covered has all signs pointing towards murder, some are suicides, many are accidents compounded by the harsh elements.

And plenty remain frustratingly unanswered or unexplained. Billman delves into the psychology of the searches, organizations that lend aid, and some of the fringier theories around the disappearances, like that Bigfoot is responsible. He also exposes the unfortunate element of bottom feeders drawn to such cases where they sense the possibility of profit: “To my knowledge,” Koester says, “psychics have never solved a missing persons case.”” No shit. And yet that doesn’t stop them trying, if by “trying” it’s understood to mean spinning tales to bilk the heartbroken out of money, made even more heartbreaking as Billman is so adept at showing the human cost and emotional impact behind these stories.

The most disturbing thing I learned — or not learned, but which was chillingly emphasized — was the bureaucracy and red tape hindering investigations. Billman notes at one point that “without family putting pressure on bureaucrats and officials, there’s often not much of a professional search at all.” Which is mind-boggling. The bureaucratic interplay between parks, police districts, and the statistic that most “missing” people are quickly located, so no need to send out the cavalry right away even when circumstances are strange, create a dangerous mix when something is actually very wrong.

Also chilling and with less logical reasoning to underpin it is the fact that frequently, missing people are later found dead in exact areas that have previously been searched. There’s no good reason for why this happens. It’s one of many eerie, unsettling details at play here.

I didn’t always get on with the writing, sometimes it’s a bit too clever and elsewhere the detail was too minute and too much. Which sounds strange when I say that in other cases there wasn’t enough detail, but it often felt like such an imbalance. As far as a compelling piece of narrative nonfiction, it certainly is that, and the data and research woven into the narratives are impressive and illuminating.

Who doesn’t love reading about cold cases? This book really had me non stop reading until the end following Randy’s journey to find his son and I was equally horrified to find the lengths that some parks will and will not go to for missing persons. Very highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am a fan of true crime and this book has all the markings of a best seller. It will certainly warrant discussions among conspiracy theorist and mystery lovers. I had no idea how many people go missing in our National Parks and how hard it was/is to get a search started immediately due to understaffing and de-funding.
Jon Billman seamlessly weaves facts and backstories together starting with the disappearance of Jacob Gray in 2016 from Olympic National Park. He spends much of the time with Jacob's father Randy, a skilled surfer, climber and desperate parent leaving no stone unturned to find Jacob. Billman then takes readers thru National Parks missing cases all over the U.S. It's a hard but fascinating read as to what happens to people who seemingly disappear or vanish. There are psychics, Bigfoot/Sasquatch loyalists, broken family members and helpful strangers coming together to search for the 'vanished". The fact alone that stats are not kept (allegedly) of all the missing hikers, bikers, campers was astounding to me. Do the Parks not want this knowledge given out because the fallout would be great? I received an advanced reader copy from Netgalley for my honest review.

Do you have any conspiracy theorists in your life? I do. My younger brother introduced me to the impossibly high number of people who disappear into the wilderness each year. Knowing his appreciation of the strange, I wasn't convinced I was hearing about a real phenomenon. Jon Billman's book convinced me. He outlines the difficulties with even classifying missing persons - never mind finding them. Different agencies - from Indian Bureaus to Park Rangers - have different cataloguing procedures for who is missing and who counts as missing and when we finally stop looking (seven years, in many cases) -- so no one is keeping track of the total and no one has implemented a one size fits all response when a person goes missing in the wild. This book might keep you from hiking, biking, or running alone... but it will definitely keep you interested, too!

The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America’s Wildlands is written by Jon Billman, and it is a standalone true crime novel. It will be released on July 7th, 2020, by Grand Central Publishing. I was able to read this novel by being gifted an Advance Review Copy (ARC) on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Billman presents this novel as investigating the types of disappearances that are very complicated from the beginning. These are the mysteries of victims that go missing in areas where it is almost impossible to find anything to lead investigators towards any type of closure to their cases. They disappear into the Wildlands, forests that are deadly and dense, unable to withstand much of the dangers of the weather and wildlife. By using the disappearance of Jacob Gray, Billman teaches us about the various complications with these disappearances, particularly when it comes to battles of jurisdiction, the definition of a missing person, and able to keep moving forward to look for answers, even when the odds are stacked against them.

I have not read too many true crime books, and I had not read one of a disappearance before. Most of the previous novels dealt with murder or a serial killer. I am glad that this novel by Billman was my first since he got very close with the family, notably Randy Gray, Jacob’s father, to tell the story of his son with delicacy, but also the real truth. You can see the dedication Billman put into this novel through the statistics and the facts that he was able to gain access to and share. I was not able to find anything close to this much when researching the case on my own. I have always leaned more towards true crime podcasts, but novels seem to be even more well-rounded to gain information on these sensational cases.

The only issue I had with this novel was that the organization of telling Jacob’s story and giving information about not only statistics and laws, but other cases did give me some confusion. It was sometimes hard to follow when he was still talking Jacob’s case, or bringing up names of family members of other instances and to not get them switched around. There were many family members of Jacob Gray that helped with the searches and investigations, so it was a little challenging to remember who was who.

I would rate this book as 4/5 stars. It was very well-researched, and the dedication shines through, but it was a little hard to follow at times. I would recommend this novel to all true crime fans, just to learn more about the statistics and investigation policies. However, keep in mind that the leading case of the disappearance of Jacob Gray is still unsolved. Keep this in mind that there is some wishing for closure or resolution when done reading this novel for not only yourself, but for his family, especially his father.

Part mystery, part adventure memoir, "The Cold Vanish" is an emotional and thoroughly-researched story of disappearances in the wilderness. It focuses primarily on Jacob Gray, who went missing in Olympic National Park in 2017. The author, who has written both fiction and nonfiction and has some prior personal experience with the dangers of the wild, recounts his journey with Jacob's father Randy to discover what happened to Jacob. Every possible theory is explored, including an encounter with Bigfoot (Billman is an open-minded skeptic). This was a great summer read that is sure to intrigue fans of "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer and "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed.

I received an advance digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book by Jon Billman makes it clear that thousands of people go missing every year from wilderness and forested areas. He has taken part in hundreds of search and rescue missions, some of which are recounted in The Cold Vanish. The most detailed story is that of a twenty something year old man named Jacob Gray. Jacob's family strongly and faithfully searched the area of Washington state where he began his bicycle trip, and suddenly vanished.
Great and disturbing read.

As someone who used to hike and camp in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, I was especially interested in reading The Cold Vanish. You can tell how extremely well researched this was, and the fact that Billman is reporter by the way it’s written. He even mentions when he is emotionally driven.

The book opens with a missing poster for Jacob Gray, a 22-year-old who went missing in Olympic National Park in 2017. Billman has personally helped Gray’s father, Randy, in the extensive search for his son, and while a good portion of the book is about this very search, there are chapters throughout the book that highlight other cases of people who have just vanished. Billman opens with an astonishing fact: That there are hundreds-thousands- of people who have vanished in the wild and there is no system, no organization, that tracks them, so we have zero idea of how many people this has happened to. And possibly even more frustrating is the fact that often times, trying to find them leads to a “clusterfuck.”

This book really focuses on what most might not think about which is the what the family goes through and the searching (or lack of) that takes place with these heartbreaking cases.

This was a tragically heartbreaking read for me, but also extremely eye-opening. The only thing I didn’t care for was how it jumped around a little, but I’m glad he highlighted other cases, it’s important to know this happens all the time. I think this would be a good read for anyone who has an interest in hiking/backpacking/camping in the wilds and anyone who likes shows such as Disappeared.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the Advanced Release Copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you are a fan of crime shows (especially "Disappeared") then this book should definitely end up on your TBR. Few things are more painfull then losing a loved one. Adding to that the uncertainty of what actually happened to them has to be crushing.

While Jon Billman primarily focuses on one case, he does branch out briefly to talk about other cases. Crime show fans, you will recognize most of these. We are provided with a view into the emotions and actions of both the loved ones and the law enforcement officials. Sadly, there is no national database for those lost in our forests. We have no standard procedures like we do in most other cases. This causes many families of the lost left with little resources, direction and help.

You will feel happy, sad, scared, invincible, optimistic and defeated as you got through. It is interesting though and it's a worthwhile read.

Jon Billman starts out with an intriguing fact: More people vanish in our national parks and outdoors than anyone seems aware of, and there is no national tracking system to even let us know how many have vanished. "The Cold Vanish" is packed with haunting and fascinating examples of missing person cases, some of which are ultimately resolved by the discovery of the person or their remains, and some of which continue to be mysteries. Billman uses the case of one young man in particular, and the desperate search effort launched by his family, as a central thread to the narrative. But even though he wrote about this family in a compelling way, and made me feel like I really knew these parents, I don't know that it worked structurally. Billman traveled extensively with the father, during his searches, and I see why he formed an emotional connection to him. But as Billman and the reader hop across the country to a explore the disappearances in a different region in each chapter, it didn't always make sense that we kept returning to this one family. I still would recommend this book to anyone interested in the outdoors, cold cases, sasquatches (yes, really) or disappearances.

I could never imagine having to go through the pain of having someone who you love, whether they are a child, a sibling, a parent - they just disappear.

In Cold Vanish, Jon Billman takes us on the journey of the family of Jacob Gray who has just vanished into thin air. He goes into full detail on the kind of efforts Jacob’s family has done on his behalf to find him – dead or alive. He sits shotgun as Randy Gray, Jacob’s father travels to wherever he thinks might help him find his son.
I really enjoyed reading Cold Vanish despite the subject. Mr. Billman’s writing was easy to read and follow and I felt that I was there as he tried to understand what may have happened to not only Jacob but the other families who are experiencing similar emotions and trials. Some have been found dead, and some are still waiting to be found. It is the writing that allows you to really experience the pain, the loss that is felt by these grieving families. It is also the mystery that permeates surrounding these disappears and the speculations that make

The Cold Vanish finishes up nicely despite there won’t be a good ending for the families who continue to seek out their loved ones with hopes of finding something in which to find closure.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing. All opinions expressed are my own.

Well researched and sensitively written. It’s clear that John Billman cares about the missing and their families.

Billman has written a fascinating, strange, and sad book about the people who disappear on public lands, and how those disappearances affect those left behind. While the overarching narrative is about searching for Jacob Gray, Billman puts in other stories of missing people, and also stories and profiles of some of the people who go into the wilderness in hopes of finding them. From family members to those who train cadaver and missing person dogs to Bigfoot aficionados, we get a huge swath of those who hold out hope that perhaps some of these missing people can be found, even if, a lot of the time, the end is usually tragic in one way or another. For me the most interesting aspect of this book, much like the Outside article that preceded it, is how Billman addresses the bureaucracy and red tape that can get in the way of searchers because of a lack of clarity as to jurisdiction, or unwillingness to cooperate, and other factors that the public spaces have. When time is so critical in cases like this, seeing squabbles about responsibility, lack of funding, and finger pointing is VERY frustrating, and shows that we need to have a better system in place when this happens. Because it will keep on happening.

THE COLD VANISH is absolutely for fans of Krakauer, fans of missing person narratives, and fans of meditations on loss, grief, and the unknown. It's sad, it's interesting, it's a worthwhile read to be sure.

The Cold Vanish is the story of the search for Jacob Grey, who went missing in April 2017 in the Olympic National Park, having not told anyone where he was going. Along the popular Sol Duc road, Jacob’s bike was found just off the road along with some of his gear, including his sleeping bag. I felt immediately hooked on the first page of this novel. What could have happened to Jacob, a star surfer and a boy who is well-versed in the woods? However, many things come to light, such as Jacob’s possible struggle with mental health, a possible journey to Canada, maybe being taken care of by the elusive Bigfoot, possibly showing up in Forks, Washington, or atop the mountain on a soul-searching journey. My thoughts went jumping to conclusions about what could have happened to Jacob near the Sol Duc trail and the book kept me guessing the whole way. However, The Cold Vanish is far from salacious; though there is plenty of speculation of what could have happened to Jacob, none of it belongs originally to the Billman; the book largely revolves around Randy’s search for his son, Jacob, his thoughts about what may have happened, and the extensive searches Randy performs, sometimes with the Billman in tow.

I really enjoyed The Cold Vanish. I feel that the story of Jacob’s vanishing, along with stories and statistics about other missing persons, is buoyed up by Randy’s optimism, the author’s well-timed humor, and the conclusion of the novel, which will not leave you disappointed. Another strong point for me was the well-researched missing person’s cases and the statistics. Jon Billman doesn’t just tell you a story; he paints a picture so vivid you feel like you are searching with the search-and-rescue parties.

I did feel frustrated with the first few chapters of the book. Just as I was hooked into Jacob’s story, the chapter ended and Amy Betchel’s disappearance took over the next chapter and derailed the hook for me. Amy’s disappearance is, of course, important, but I was annoyed that I just settled into the story only to go off on a different path. This novel repeatedly does this until the end, but I became used to it after the first couple of chapters. The only other criticism I have for this novel is there were a few typos here and there.

Overall, this is a novel I would recommend to anyone who is interested in true crime or missing persons.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

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