# The Disappearing Journalist and the Submarine **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883 "2017-08-17T17:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/1 "2017-08-17T17:56:17Z")
I’m surprised that I wasn’t able to find any discussion of this story on the Dope. > [@](#): > > On Thursday night, journalist Kim Wall boarded the UC3 Nautilus submarine in Copenhagen for a story she was writing about its inventor, Peter Madsen. The submarine sank on Friday morning, Wall hasn’t been seen since, and Madsen is being held in police custody. I’ve read a number of articles about this developing story ([NPR](http://www.npr.org/2017/08/14/543339016/owner-of-danish-submarine-held-on-murder-charges); [NY Magazine](https://www.thecut.com/2017/08/journalist-kim-wall-goes-missing-on-peter-madsen-submarine.html)). It seems most likely that he killed her, but there doesn’t seem to be any real motive or explanation of what happened. I just wanted to share and see if anyone else had any interesting speculation. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/2 "2017-08-17T18:21:37Z")
This is a crazy story, doubly interesting to me because I served on a sub and still work in the field (design and logistics for the US Navy working on a new submarine class). Sounds like a the plot of a Scandinavian murder mystery novel. Judging by the norms and tropes of that genre, there’s some mysterious old family connection between Madsen and the journalist, and she brought up a terrible secret to him onboard the sub, and he killed her by accident when trying to shut her up, and then tried to hide the evidence by sinking the sub. Plus some random BDSM. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/3 "2017-08-17T19:07:48Z")
“I never meant for this to happen. But you don’t understand? I would have been ruined! RUINED!” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/4 "2017-08-17T19:13:12Z")
Hard not to be curious given the recipe of weird setting, unexplained disappearance and pretty female reporter. No clue what happened but it can’t be good. I doubt there’s any chance she will turn up, having tried to “start a new life” or something (the guy claimed he dropped her off after the 3 hour tour (“a three hour tour!”). ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/5 "2017-08-17T19:18:03Z")
I’m thinking the only way that she is still alive is if she’s being held by the mad inventor’s henchmen in his undersea lair. There is definitely an early sci-fi flavor to this whole thing, along with the Scandinavian murder mystery angle. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/6 "2017-08-17T19:37:58Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > “I never meant for this to happen. But you don’t understand? I would have been ruined! RUINED!” I saw that episode of 77 Sunset Strip. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/7 "2017-08-17T19:59:20Z")
Weird ass story. So bizarre, it does sound like he killed her and sank his own sub to cover it up. Not exactly a well thought out plan. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/8 "2017-08-17T23:52:24Z")
She was chasing a story, he got her in the sub, tried to have sex with her (because obviously she’s only a reporter so she can have sex with powerful and interesting guys like him) she said no, he didn’t take it well (powerful and interesting men never do) and he suddenly has a rape victim or already a corpse depending on exactly how badly he took it, and he freaked out and sank the sub to obscure the evidence. 95% sure she’s down there, and she’s dead. The only question in my mind is if she was alive at all when he sank the sub. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/9 "2017-08-18T00:41:10Z")
The BBC has gone full [Scandinavian murder mystery](http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-40960733/what-has-happened-to-the-missing-journalist-kim-wall) in their report. Cue the spooky music. I love the random shot of a web full of spiders. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/10 "2017-08-18T01:21:59Z")
I think there’s not enough evidence to say she’s dead, and the conclusions are being drawn based on watching too many murder mysteries. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/11 "2017-08-18T03:36:00Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I think there’s not enough evidence to say she’s dead, and the conclusions are being drawn based on watching too many murder mysteries. Madsen has been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. I don’t think the police made the arrest based on watching murder mysteries. In the BBC piece, they speak with a man who has multiple security cameras focused on the dock, and he says that he turned all of the evidence over to the police. He says that he can’t say exactly what was on the tapes, but it seems likely to me that they were a key factor in Madsen’s arrest. The police also say that Madsen changed his story about leaving her at the dock, which may mean that he is now claiming that she somehow died accidentally (fell overboard?) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/12 "2017-08-18T16:25:12Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > She was chasing a story, he got her in the sub, tried to have sex with her (because obviously she’s only a reporter so she can have sex with powerful and interesting guys like him) she said no, he didn’t take it well (powerful and interesting men never do) and he suddenly has a rape victim or already a corpse depending on exactly how badly he took it, and he freaked out and sank the sub to obscure the evidence. > > 95% sure she’s down there, and she’s dead. The only question in my mind is if she was alive at all when he sank the sub. According to the link in the OP, the submarine was recovered and she isn’t in it. ---
**Author:** ![Pippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b5a626/32.png) [@Pippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pippers)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/13 "2017-08-18T17:06:26Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Hard not to be curious given the recipe of weird setting, unexplained disappearance and pretty female reporter. No clue what happened but it can’t be good. I doubt there’s any chance she will turn up, having tried to “start a new life” or something (the guy claimed he dropped her off after the 3 hour tour (“a three hour tour!”). I’m thinking what you’re implying! Skipper, the Minnow is going down. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/14 "2017-08-18T17:46:36Z")
> [@Pippers](#): > > I’m thinking what you’re implying! Skipper, the Minnow is going down. Gilligan was stupid all right. Stupid like a fox! ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/15 "2017-08-18T17:55:57Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > According to the link in the OP, the submarine was recovered and she isn’t in it. It sounds like he disposed of the body (perhaps weighting it before tossing it overboard) and scuttled the sub to destroy forensic evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/16 "2017-08-18T18:00:58Z")
Is Danish law like U.S. law, whereby you cannot convict someone of a murder if you cannot even prove that the victim is dead? ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/17 "2017-08-18T18:02:44Z")
I saw something about this and agree with the other posters, it seems like a crazy ass story, I couldn’t really make any sense about it. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/18 "2017-08-18T20:27:19Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Is Danish law like U.S. law, whereby you cannot convict someone of a murder if you cannot even prove that the victim is dead? I’ve seen enough true crime stories to verify that, although difficult, in the U.S. you can be convicted of murder without a body if there is enough circumstantial evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/19 "2017-08-19T01:41:21Z")
Yes, you can. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883/20 "2017-08-19T15:55:35Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > I’m thinking the only way that she is still alive is if she’s being held by the mad inventor’s henchmen in his undersea lair. > > There is definitely an early sci-fi flavor to this whole thing, along with the Scandinavian murder mystery angle. Yeah. This is totally [Ursula Andress](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Ursula_Andress_in_Dr._No.jpg), James Bond, and [Dr. No](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._No_(film)) come to life. The first thing we need to do is plot the locations of all nearby island volcanoes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disappearing-journalist-and-the-submarine/793883.md?page=2)