# Who really was the Isdal Woman? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 8, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669 "2014-12-08T16:38:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/1 "2014-12-08T16:38:53Z")
Here is the [background](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isdal_Woman) > [@](#): > > Police eventually found out that the woman had travelled around Norway and Europe with nine different identities: Jenevive Lancia, Claudia Tjelt, Vera Schlosseneck, Claudia Nielsen, Alexia Zarna-Merchez, Vera Jarle, Finella Lorck and Elizabeth Leen Hoywfer. All of these identities were false. According to witness sightings the woman used various wigs, and in the trunk there were found several cryptic diary entries. The codes were later deciphered by police who concluded that they were coded dates and places the woman had previously visited.[6] The woman’s teeth were thoroughly checked during the autopsy, and the way the dental work was performed indicated that the woman had been to a dentist in Latin America. > > Witnesses reported that the woman had spoken several languages: French, German, English and Dutch. The woman had stayed at several hotels in Bergen. She had repeatedly changed rooms after checking in, when she wanted a room that had a balcony. In the papers she signed the cheque specified that she was a travelling saleswoman and an antiquities collector. The woman was fond of porridge with milk, as this order was left at several of the hotels where the woman had stayed. > \*\* > Last moments\*\* > > On 24 November, five days before the discovery of the woman, a local 26-year old man was hiking with friends around the same area. He reported to have come across a woman of foreign appearance, her face completely distorted by fear. He noted that the woman was dressed elegantly, although not appropriately for being outdoors, let alone hiking in the hills. As they passed each other she formed her mouth as if to say something but appeared intimidated by two black-coated men who followed her. The men also had a foreign appearance. > > The 26-year-old contacted the police after hearing that a young woman was found dead in the same area. He immediately recognized her from the composite sketches, but according to him the policeman with whom he spoke answered “Forget her, she was dispatched. The case will never be solved”, he followed the advice, waiting 32 years to tell the story publicly.[7] This story fascinates me, IMHO, she was probably a KGB agent who screwed over her bosses for a life around Europe at their expense, so they got rid of her. What are your opinions/theories on it? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/2 "2014-12-08T20:16:03Z")
Porridge with milk sounds disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/3 "2014-12-08T20:33:26Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Porridge with milk sounds disgusting. Probably oatmeal made with milk… not uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/4 "2014-12-09T00:47:36Z")
Yeah, my British SO always calls oatmeal with milk porridge. Criminy, if you mean oatmeal, just call it oatmeal, Dickins! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/5 "2014-12-09T00:58:55Z")
What is it with the shit answers right off the bat today? ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/6 "2014-12-09T01:07:25Z")
And to think I just complimented you elsewhere. I think people are indicating something along the lines of “How the hell is anyone going to have an answer to this?” Me - I was just following the thread drift. Do you have a report to send in? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/7 "2014-12-09T01:09:44Z")
KGB or related service agent sounds entirely plausible to me. Killed by someone who wanted to send a message… Or maybe that’s too Bond-y. But a lot of weird shit happened in the child war era. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/8 "2014-12-09T01:13:11Z")
> [@jimbuff314](#): > > And to think I just complimented you elsewhere. I think people are indicating something along the lines of “How the hell is anyone going to have an answer to this?” Me - I was just following the thread drift. Do you have a report to send in? A thread can’t drift in one post. I mean, I’m prone to the occasional snark or pun, but I’ve learned to let a thread mature first. It’s an interesting question about something completely new to me. Much like the “lead masks” case or the one with the Hebrew word for a name. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/9 "2014-12-09T04:12:47Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > A thread can’t drift in one post. I mean, I’m prone to the occasional snark or pun, but I’ve learned to let a thread mature first. It’s an interesting question about something completely new to me. Much like the “lead masks” case or the one with the Hebrew word for a name. Nitpick: It was two Persian words, if you’re talking about the [Taman Shud case.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Shud_Case) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/10 "2014-12-09T13:54:57Z")
Aren’t people who get their fingerprints “sanded off” usually criminals? > [@Wikipedia](#): > > It was concluded that the woman had a somewhat challenging style, which was marked by Italian taste. Norwegian authorities should have been able to solve the mystery with this fact alone. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/11 "2014-12-09T14:32:34Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Nitpick: It was two Persian words, if you’re talking about the [Taman Shud case.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Shud_Case) That’s it, off course. I recall the keyword as being Hebrew, for some reason. Anyway, all these weird spy-games sort of incidents. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/12 "2014-12-09T14:44:28Z")
Maybe it was Lisbeth Salander. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyMac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@JohnnyMac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyMac)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/13 "2014-12-09T15:47:51Z")
> [@jimbuff314](#): > > Yeah, my British SO always calls oatmeal with milk porridge. Criminy, if you mean oatmeal, just call it oatmeal, Dickins! Wait wait wait… what’s porridge, then? Oatmeal made with milk is what I’ve known as porridge my whole life. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/14 "2014-12-09T17:19:04Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Aren’t people who get their fingerprints “sanded off” usually criminals?Norwegian authorities should have been able to solve the mystery with this fact alone. I don’t know, is this a usual practice? I’m just interested in the theories surrounding who this particular person was. The Deutschmarks and her ability to speak multiple European languages leads me to believe she came from the KGB or one of its affiliates. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/15 "2014-12-09T17:26:21Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > That’s it, off course. I recall the keyword as being Hebrew, for some reason. > > Anyway, all these weird spy-games sort of incidents. “Taman Shud” case sounds so much cooler than “unknown dead man found on beach in Australia”, doesn’t it? I think the authorities suspect some sort of spy bidness in that case, too. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/16 "2014-12-09T17:41:02Z")
With that composite, I can’t believe noone’s ever identified her. She was obviously the star of a 60’s Norwegian sitcom. I think the difference between oatmeal and porridge is the instructions. For porridge, you put the oats in before heating the water. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/17 "2014-12-09T17:45:32Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > KGB or related service agent sounds entirely plausible to me. Killed by someone who wanted to send a message… Or maybe that’s too Bond-y. But a lot of weird shit happened in the child war era. Or organized crime. Could be a Jabba the Hut/Han Solo sort of thing with someone who double-crossed the wrong boss. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/18 "2014-12-09T19:49:08Z")
Anyone here know Norwegian so we can have a more useful English translation for “challenging” (how is one’s wardrobe style “challenging”? :dubious:) and any nuances (if they exist) to what the policeman said with “dispatched”? The only English-language source for the wikipedia article doesn’t clarify those points. And yes, the suitcases in the train station locker and the label-less clothes sounds like the Taman Shud case. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/19 "2014-12-09T20:48:14Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > Anyone here know Norwegian so we can have a more useful English translation for “challenging” (how is one’s wardrobe style “challenging”?.. What I gathered from the article was that she was dressed unusually stylish or formal for a walk in the park and was also unusually lightly dressed for such cold weather. E.g. maybe a low-cut cocktail dress and heels in the middle of snow or something. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669/20 "2014-12-09T21:02:48Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > What I gathered from the article was that she was dressed unusually stylish or formal for a walk in the park and was also unusually lightly dressed for such cold weather. E.g. maybe a low-cut cocktail dress and heels in the middle of snow or something. Which I agree is “challenging” clothing. 🙂 However, the context in the article is a little different: [QUOTE=Wikipedia] After the woman’s suitcases were found, police sought the help of the city’s most prominent textile retailers to identify her dress. It was concluded that the woman had a somewhat challenging style, which was marked by Italian taste. [/QUOTE] The police didn’t need to consult textile sellers just to tell them she wasn’t dressed for the woods. :dubious:🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-was-the-isdal-woman/706669.md?page=2)