Monthly Archives: August 2023

Christian Klengenberg –Explorer, Trader, Whaler – Murderer?



Christian Klengenberg greatly impacted Inuit settlements in the Arctic from Nome to central Canada. Many of his descendants are community leaders and active in Canadian politics. However, not all stories about Christian Klengenberg are good. He returned from one fateful voyage with only five of his nine crew members on board, and according to the remaining crewmen, Klengenberg murdered the four who were missing.

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

Harper, Kenn. “Christian Klengenberg, an Arctic enigma.” February 26, 2009. Nunatsiaq News. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Christian_Klengenberg_an_Arctic_enigma/

Harper, Kenn. “Christian Klengenberg: The rest of the story.” March 12, 2009. Nunatsiaq News. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Christian_Klengenberg_The_rest_of_the_story/

Hunt, William R. Distant Justice. Chapter 12: “Tough Characters.” 1987. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

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Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

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Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

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Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
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Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

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If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

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From the Archives: Who Murdered Sophie Sergie?



In the early morning hours of Monday, April 26, 1993, someone brutally raped, stabbed and shot Sophie Sergie in a college dorm on the University of Alaska campus in Fairbanks. Several hours later, a janitor discovered Sophie’s body stuffed in a bathtub in a second-floor bathroom in the dorm. No one saw or heard anything. Sophie’s case soon went cold and remained cold for the next 18 years. Would her murder ever be solved?

Sources:

Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Troopers: Alaska Bureau of Investigation. “Cold Case Investigation Unit.” n.d. https://dps.alaska.
gov/ast/abi/cold case

Associated Press. “AST cold-case unit faces elimination.” April 10, 2015. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Bohman, Amanda. “New theory revives old murder case.” April 25, 2009. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Farneski, Anna. “Sergie was target of opportunity.” May 8, 1993. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Farneski, Anna. “While troopers hunt Sophie’s killer, family tries to cope.” July 8, 1993. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Nolan, Caitlin. “Genealogy DNA leads to arrest in 1993 murder of Alaska student found dead in dorm bathtub.” February 18, 2019. Inside Edition.
https://www.insideedition.com/genealogy-dna-leads-arrest-1993-murder-alaska-student-found-dead-dorm-bathtub-50844

Williams, Tess. “Jury finds Maine man guilty in Fairbanks cold-case murder.” February 10, 2022. Anchorage Daily News.

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Now Available

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Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Listen to a New Podcast from the Members of Author Masterminds

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Merchandise! Visit the Store

 


Murder on the Kenai Peninsula



What happened to Harold Enzler and Nancy Bellamy? They were alive and well one minute and gone without a trace the next. Did they pack their things and flee the state? Were they hiding from authorities? Or did someone murder Harold and Nancy and dispose of their bodies in a way so the troopers would never find them?

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Now Available

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Listen to a New Podcast from the Members of Author Masterminds

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
· Behind the scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Merchandise! Visit the Store