The enigmatic disappearance of a Montana woman 17 years ago continues to baffle those following her case.
On July 18, 2007, Barbara Bolick vanished while hiking near the Bear Creek Overlook outside Victor, Montana. Her hiking partner looked away for merely 45 seconds, but when he turned back, she was gone.
Authorities remain without any clues about her fate on that day.
In an effort to gather more information, law enforcement issued a new request last year for any details that might shed light on the circumstances leading to her mysterious disappearance.
Jim Ramaker, Bolick’s hiking partner, recounts that she was right there one moment and gone the next.
Although he was the last person to see her alive, police do not suspect him of being involved with her disappearance.
Ramaker described how he turned his back on her for just 45 seconds, and upon looking back, realized she had vanished without a trace.
Former NBC Montana news director and news historian Jim Harmon revisited the story, stating: “They were only a short distance apart. Yet in a few seconds, he looks back and she’s not there.
“It’s just amazing to me. How in the world did that happen? How could she not just have been a short distance down the hill? It’s absolutely a mystery.”
Bolick would be 72 years old today.
Reports indicate she was last seen in a pastel-colored shirt, tan shorts, and carrying a black backpack.
Jesse Laslovich, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, discussed with NBC Montana the high cost of the search but emphasized ongoing efforts to locate Bolick.
He remarked: “You can imagine the apparatus that is involved when someone disappears. It’s not only local and state authorities. We also have search and rescue involved with some of these volunteer organizations.
“We have federal authorities involved. It’s hundreds and thousands of dollars, just in hours that are put into it, that we’re paying people who are actually investigating the cases. Is it worth it? Of course.
“Do we track the money that is spent and say, ‘Okay, we’ve reached this point and we’re not going to investigate anymore.’ No. Our job is to actually get to the truth, and to hold people accountable for any crime, but particularly when there’s a missing person.”
Some speculate that Bolick might have faked her death to begin a new life, yet Laslovich explained that doing so would be practically impossible.
He stated: “It’d be highly unlikely if someone were still alive, still able to function, especially when we have really extensive means at the federal level, especially if someone leaves the country, they’re still going to need some kind of identification.”
He further commented: “So it just would be really difficult for someone to just disappear; to start a new life with nothing.”
After two weeks of searching and investigation, Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman deemed Bolick’s disappearance ‘a mystery.’
“We are perplexed,” Hoffman told the Bitterroot Star.
“We have combed the area in the vicinity of the disappearance very well. No trace at all has been found.
“We would like to verify, if we can, that Bolick was even on the mountain that day.”