Category Archives: Episode

The Strange Disappearance of Thomas Nuzzi

August 13, 2025EpisodeCharley Project, Eisappearance in Anchorage, Missing Persons, Missing Persons in Alaska, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Robin Barefield, Thomas Nuzzimurder-in-the-last-frontier

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When a fifty-two-year-old traveling nurse disappeared in Anchorage in 2001, the authorities showed little interest, and the Anchorage Police Department said they did not have available detectives to investigate the case. If the authorities had taken his disappearance more seriously, perhaps we would know the answer to the question: What happened to Thomas Nuzzi?

Sources

“Missing Person Thomas Anthony Nuzzi.” nd. Alaska State Troopers Department of Public Safety.

“Nuzzi, Thomas June 2021.” August 21, 2006. Porchlight International for the Missing & Unidentified.

Pesznecker, Katie. “Into thin air.” July 6, 2001. Anchorage Daily News.

Pesznecker, Katie. “Missing Bethel nurse walked into a mini-mart, then out of sight.” August 21, 2006. Anchorage Daily News.

Pesznecker, Katie. “Mystery woman appears on video. July 31, 2001. Anchorage Daily News.

Pesznecker, Katie. “Search for missing man escalates.” June 27, 2001. Anchorage Daily News.

Pesznecker, Katie. “Troopers suspend search for man missing in Chugach.” June 28, 2001. Anchorage Daily News.

“Thomas Anthony Nuzzi.” nd. The Charley Project.

Warder, Robin. “Episode 380: Thomas Nuzzi.” May 22, 2024. The Trail Went Cold.

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Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing.

Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
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Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
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Send me an email: robinbarefield76@gmail.com

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Each month, Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
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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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Beautiful, Deadly Mount Iliamna

July 30, 2025EpisodeAAI AAi Flight 302, Alaska Aeronautical Industries, Alaska Aviation History, Alaska Plane Crashes, Mount Iliamna, Mystery in Alaska, Mystery Podcast, Plane Crashes, RAM 81, Robin Barefield, Wien Flight 55murder-in-the-last-frontier

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Mt. Iliamna is an active cone-shaped volcano located one hundred and forty miles (225 km) southwest of Anchorage and seventy miles (113 km) northwest of Homer. It is part of the Chigmit Mountains and rises from its base near Cook Inlet to 10,016 feet (3052.9 m), one of the highest peaks in the volcanically active area of the Alaska Peninsula. Ten glaciers radiate from the volcano’s slopes.

Iliamna last erupted in 1867, and observers have occasionally seen smoke wafting from the summit since then. However, it is the weather surrounding the mountain, not the volcanic activity, that makes Iliamna dangerous. Clouds frequently cloak the mountain’s peak, and turbulent winds buffet this mountainous region, creating some of the most hazardous weather on the planet. Coastal fog and rain often create restricted visibility and a low ceiling. For aviators, flying in this area of the state can be challenging, dangerous, and sometimes deadly. Between 1958 and 1977, four mid-sized planes either crashed into Mt. Iliamna or were destroyed by the turbulence near the mountain, killing a total of seventy-nine people.

Sources:

Abbott, Jeanne. “No survivors found at site of plane crash.” September 9, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.

“Clouds, rain hinder search.” February 14, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.

“Ground party will investigate wreck of C-54 at Iliamna.” December 27, 1958. Anchorage Daily News.

“Halt attempted to recover airmen on Mt. Iliamna.” December 29, 1958. Anchorage Daily News.

Liefer, Gregory P. Aviation Mysteries of the North. “Cleared as Filed.” 2011. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants.

Liefer, Gregory P. Broken Wings. “Turbulence Over Pedro Bay.” 2014. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants.

Liefer, Gregory P. Broken Wings. “An Accumulation of Errors.” 2014. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants.

“Mt. Iliamna crash hearing to open today.” November 9, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.

“Mt. Iliamna – Where 15 Alaska airmen died.” December 27, 1958. Anchorage Daily News.

“Pilots, AAI blamed for crash.” May 5, 1978. Anchorage Daily News.

“Plane wreckage is identified as missing C-54.” December 26, 1958. Anchorage Daily News.

Porterfield, Bob. “AAI crash probe opens.” November 10, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.

Porterfield, Bob. “Federal findings show AAI plane’s violation.” October 22, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.

Porterfield, Bob. “Iliamna crash – why?” October 1, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.

“Rescuers held off crash site.” September 8, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.

Weller, Robert. “Controller at fault in air crash?” February 15, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.

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The Crime is More Horrible Than You Can Imagine!

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Who Murdered Bonnie Craig?

July 17, 2025Episodemurder-in-the-last-frontier

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I can’t imagine the agony of losing a child for any reason, but how does a mother cope when she learns someone murdered her daughter, and she knows terror and pain must have marked the last moments of her child’s life? The book Justice for Bonnie deals with this issue. The well-written book profiles a mother’s fight to learn the truth about what happened to her daughter.

Sources:

To read more about Bonnie Craig and her mother’s fight for justice, I highly recommend Justice for Bonnie.

Holland, Magan. 5/2/2007. DNA links prison inmate to 1994 Bonnie Craig murder. Anchorage Daily News.

Mann, Camille. 5/18/2011. Kenneth Dion, ex-soldier on trial for 1994 murder of Alaska coed Bonnie Craig. CBS News.
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6/15/2011. Dion Convicted of Killing Bonnie Craig 17 Years Ago. Alaska Public Media.

Grove, Casey. 10/31/2011. Bonnie Craig’s killer sentenced to 124 years in prison. Anchorage Daily News.

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Did Lisa Donlon Murder Her Husband in Self-Defense?

July 2, 2025EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime, Alaska True Crime Podcast, Jason Donlon, Lisa Donlon, Murder and Mystery, Murder in Alaska, Palmer Alaska, Robin Barefield, True Crime, True Crime Podcast, Violence Against Womenmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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On the morning of October 7, 2010, Lisa Donlon dialed 911 and told the dispatcher she had just shot and killed her husband. When the police arrived at the twenty-foot by twenty-foot, one-room shed where Lisa lived with her husband, Jason, and their three young sons, they found Jason lying in bed on his stomach. Lisa had shot him once in the head and five times in the back. She claimed she’d killed him in self-defense while he slept. Her two youngest sons were present in the cabin when their mother murdered their father.

Lisa’s body showed signs of abuse, and she told a horrific story about the torture she’d endured at the hands of her husband, Jason. Still, people asked the age-old question. Instead of killing Jason, why didn’t she take her children and leave?

Sources

Bottaro, Angelica. “How to recognize and end the cycle of abuse.” June 8, 2022. Verywell health.

Demer, Lisa. “Domestic-violence victim charged in spouse’s death.” December 27, 2010. Anchorage Daily News.

McKee, K.T. “Grand jury won’t indict woman in Butte shooting.” November 2, 2010. Anchorage Daily News.

Palsha, Rebecca. “Lisa Donlon, acquitted in husband’s death, speaks out.” April 3, 2013. KTUU News.

“Prudential Life Insurance Company v. Donlon.” May 7, 2015. Casetext.

Wellner, Andrew. “Donlon details abuse for jury during murder trial.” March 14, 2013. Frontiersman.

Wellner, Andrew. “Jury deliberates Donlon’s fate.” March 28, 2013. Frontiersman.

Wellner, Andrew. “Testimony: friends knew of abuse.” March 16, 2013. Frontiersman.

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FTA: The Deadly Trooper

June 18, 2025EpisodeAlaska Murder Podcast, Alaska Serial Killer, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska True Crime Podcast, America's Most Wanted, Glenn Puitt, John Patrick Addis, Murder and Mystery in Alaska, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefield, Serial Killer, True Crime, True Crime Podcastmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Most of us like to believe we can trust the police, but not everyone goes into law enforcement for the greater good. Some enter the police academy because they crave power over others and what better job than policing offers this power? I believe most police officers are good, and a few are bullies. John Patrick Addis, though, was the worst kind of police officer. He was a monster with a badge.

Sources

Puitt, Glenn. Ghost: The True Story of One Man’s Descent into Madness and Murder

Zekan, Karen. 10/19/1998. Remains identified as those of LV woman. Las Vegas Sun.

Tataboline, Brant. 8/2/2003. Ex-trooper linked to second disappearance
MURDER SUSPECTED: One more girlfriend missing; first was found dead in Southwest. Anchorage Daily New

Cervone, Chellie. 2/15/2013. Joann Albenese, Las Vegas woman’s death and disappearance. Las Vegas World News.

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The Strange and Tragic Lives and Deaths of Guy and Johnny Waterman

June 4, 2025EpisodeAlaska Mystery, Alpinists, Guy Waterman, Johnny Waterman, MEntal Illness, Mountain Climbing, Mt. Denali, Mt. Hunter, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Mystery, Mystery Podcast, Robin Barefield, The Last Frontier Clubmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Nineteen years after his son disappeared while climbing Mt. Denali in Alaska, Guy Waterman ascended a mountain ridge in New Hampshire in February 2000 and committed suicide by sitting in the snow in the bitter cold until he froze to death. The life stories of both Guy and Johnny Waterman exemplify the narrow line between passion and madness.

Sources

Brown, Chip. March 2003. The Last Cairn. Adventure.

Brown, Chip. June 2000. “Much About This World”: The Life and Death of Guy Waterman

Krakauer, John. 1996. Into the Wild. Anchor Books. New York, NY.

Pavek, Alyssa. March 2017. John Mallon Waterman. Prezi.

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The Valley of Headless Men: Nahanni National Park

May 21, 2025EpisodeCanadian Mystery, David Horesay, Fred Hardisty, Gold Prospectors, Martin Jorgensen, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, Murder Podcast, Mystery Podcast, Naha Indians, Nahanni Valley, Northwest Territories Canada, Robin Barefield, Willie and Frank McLeodmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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With landmarks bearing the names of Deadmen Valley, Headless Creek, Funeral Range, and Hell’s Gate Rapids, you might think twice before planning a trip to Nahanni National Park in Canada. However, the legends behind these names make the park even more daunting.

Sources

Berge, Chloe. “The haunting history of this Canadian National Park.” March 9, 2020. Fodors.com.

Malbeuf, Jamie. “Families call for case of mysterious 2005 deaths to be reopened.” May 7, 2018. CBS News.

Peters, Hammerson. Legends of the Nahanni Valley. 2018. Western Canada. Hammerson Peters.

Vučkovič, Aleska. “Valley of Headless Men: Mysterious decapitations in Canada’s Nahanni Valley.” December 2021. Ancient Origins.

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FTA:: The Search for Bethany

May 7, 2025EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime, Alaska True Crime Podcast, Bethany Correira, Murder in Alaska, Robin Barefield, Talkeetnamurder-in-the-last-frontier

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When Bethany Correira disappeared, the residents of her hometown of Talkeetna, Alaska, immediately responded to search for one of their own.

Sources

Klinkhart, Gle nn. 2014. Finding Bethany. A True Crime Memoir. Securus Media.

James, Daid. 2014. ‘Finding Bethany’ details detective’s quest to solve horrific murder

Mystery at Bootlegger’s Cove. Dateline. NBC.

Johnson, Greg. 2-2008. Lawson draws 99 years. MatSu Valley Frontiersman.

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Take a trip to the wilderness of Alaska–if you dare!

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FTA: Deadly Trails

April 23, 2025EpisodeAlaska Podcast, Alaska True Crime Alaska True Crime Podcast, Anchorage Serial Killer, James Dale Ritchie, Murder Podcast, Robin Barefield, Serial Killer, True Crime Podcastmurder-in-the-last-frontier

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Most people understand they face the risk of encountering wild animals when they enter the woods in Alaska, but they do not expect someone to shoot them. When a series of murders occurred in parks and on trails near Anchorage in the summer of 2016, residents demanded more information from the police. Were the murders related to each other? Was a serial killer stalking the city? Was it safe to go hiking after dark? And what were the police doing to solve these murders? Police remained tight-lipped, and tensions rose.