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Disappearance of Erin Marie Gilbert
American disappearance case From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Erin Marie Gilbert (May 4, 1971 – disappeared July 1, 1995)[3] is an American woman who vanished while attending the Girdwood Forest Fair in Girdwood, Alaska.[4] Gilbert, who had previously resided in California, had moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where she lived with her sister and worked as a nanny. At the time she disappeared, Gilbert was on a first date with a man, David Combs, whom she had met at a bar in Anchorage several days prior. She was last seen at the fairground's beer garden at approximately 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 1, 1995.
Despite search efforts of family and Alaska State Troopers, no traces of Gilbert have ever been found. Her disappearance received renewed interest in 2017.[5]
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Background
Gilbert was born and raised in Everett, Washington.[6][7] After high school, she relocated with her father to Baltimore, Maryland, where she attended community college, studying English.[8] Prior to moving to Alaska, Gilbert had relocated to San Francisco,[1] where she worked for a period as a model.[9] In 1994, Gilbert relocated to Alaska, where she resided with her elder sister, Stephanie, and her husband at the Elmendorf Air Force Base.[1] There, Gilbert took a job working as a nanny for a family who were acquaintances of her sister.[4]
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Disappearance
On July 1, 1995,[10] Gilbert accompanied David Combs—a man whom she had met several days prior at a bar called Chilkoot Charlie's in Anchorage[5]—to the Girdwood Forest Fair in Girdwood, Alaska, a village south of Anchorage.[4] The two left Anchorage at approximately 4:00 p.m.[11] Gilbert was last seen at the fair's beer garden with Combs before they left at approximately 6:00 p.m.[4] At the time, she was wearing a black leather jacket, a black and white shirt, mountain boots, and black jeans.[12]
By Combs' account, he and Gilbert returned to his car, but found the battery dead as he had left the headlights on.[4] He claimed he told Gilbert he was going to a nearby friends' home to get help, and walked for around two hours, but was unable to locate his friend's residence.[4] When he returned, Gilbert was no longer at the car.[4][13] According to Combs, he assumed Gilbert had returned to the fair, and found that he was able to start the car engine.[4] He then returned to the fairgrounds and searched for Gilbert unsuccessfully until approximately 1:00 a.m.[4]
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Investigation
Stephanie and her family searched the Girdwood Forest Fairgrounds the following morning, July 2, as well as the surrounding woods, after receiving a phone call from Combs inquiring about whether or not Gilbert had made it home the night before.[4][5] Alaska State Troopers organized a large search utilizing helicopters and search dogs, but were unsuccessful in recovering any sign of Gilbert in the vicinity of the fair.[4] The Alaska Mountain Rescue troops and Nordic Ski Patrol also helped in search efforts.[14]
Later developments
In 2017, police lieutenant Randy McPherron commented publicly on the case: "We don't know for sure what happened, if this was foul play or not -- we just don't know. We don't have any witnesses, we don't have any human remains, we don't have a crime scene, we don't have much of anything, so it's gonna be very hard, but like I said, somebody knows something."[5] At this time, a $35,000 reward was offered by Gilbert's family for information regarding her disappearance.[5] Combs refused to speak to press when contacted at the time.[5]
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Media depictions
In 2019, the podcast Alaska Unsolved created a 7-episode series on her case.[15] In 2020, her case was profiled on the podcast The Vanished.[16]
See also
References
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