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The unexplained disappearance of Susan Seymour Adams

Susan Seymour Adams, disappeared September 30, 1990, Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, near Battle Lake, Idaho.

Revised April 2024

Susan Adams, 42, disappeared on September 30, 1990, from a camping trip with her husband, Tom, near Battle Lake in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, east of Grangeville, Idaho.

She had gone to bird watch in a nearby meadow, and despite tracks being detected, she has never been found.

The trip to Battle Lake and the Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness

Susan and Tom both enjoyed the outdoors and venturing around on trips. They had spent months researching and planning a trip near the Idaho/Montana border, where they had paid and arranged for a tour company called Iron Horse Outfitter to help them explore the wilderness there. While Susan wasn't an experienced outdoors person, according to her husband, she did enjoy being in the woods and was excited about the trip.

The couple arrived in Idaho Falls on Saturday, September 22, 1990, and drove to Hamilton, Montana, to meet Art Griffith, the owner of the outfitting business. Then, on Wednesday morning, the group headed for the outfitter's camp, a seven-hour horseback ride into the Battle Lake area, near the Bitterroot Divide.

The group spent several days at camp, doing some hunting, bird watching and enjoying the mild fall weather. On September 29, one week after arriving in Idaho, Tom set off on an overnight trip with his hunting guide. Because Susan wasn't as adventurous as Tom, she would stay behind at base camp. Susan and another guide accompanied them to a ridge above the campsite, where they would begin their hunt. Susan and the guide returned to camp with the four horses. It was the last time Tom would see Susan.

What is and where is the Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness?

The Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness is a protected wilderness area in the states of Idaho and Montana, in the northwestern United States. At 1.3 million acres (5,300 km²), it is one of the largest designated wilderness areas in the United States. It spans the Bitterroot Mountain Range, on the border between Idaho and Montana, and covers parts of Bitterroot National Forest, Clearwater National Forest, Lolo National Forest, and the Nez Perce National Forest. The high-elevation areas around the Bitterroot peaks are rugged alpine parkland and the lower areas are covered by dense coniferous forest.

Susan Adams disappears

On Sunday, September 30, Susan reportedly told the chef at base camp that she was going to do a short hike to a nearby meadow so she could bird watch. She did not leave with any gear apart from the camouflage-print clothing she was wearing, and she had a camera and binoculars.

Her husband Tom arrived back from his hunting trip later that afternoon and learned Susan had taken a short hike to bird watch, however as evening approached he became worried when she didn't return and decided to hike to the meadow to find her.

The search for Susan

Tom stated he hiked towards the meadow and followed her footprints down a dusty trail. However, just before the meadow, her footprints abruptly ended, as if she had suddenly vanished. A month later, he wrote in a statement to police, "I followed the footprints to a place about 20 yards from the meadow, where the tracks stopped.”

Tom and the tour guides searched for Susan into the night but found no trace of her. The next morning one of the guides rode on horseback to town to alert the authorities.

Air and ground searches were conducted with no success. By Tuesday morning, the weather had turned wintry and the search was hindered by snow and cold. The next day, the search was called off until the weather cleared. It resumed a week later for another three days before the weather shut down the search for the winter.

In July 1991, a further search was conducted using dogs and trackers to try to locate Susan's remains. According to Captain Skott Mealer, head of detectives for the Idaho County Sheriff's Department, it was the largest search he could remember in Idaho County. "There was a lot of pressure," he said.

Susan's husband worked for the governor of Texas and the governor got involved, asking the National Guard to free up helicopters to aid in the search.

The search also meant a lot to Baldwin, who went on a hunger strike for the duration of the search, Mealer said, "He figured if Susan was out there hungry, he would be too."

The second search was so intensive, that the searchers literally walked at arms-length apart across acres of wilderness. Some possible tracks were found, perhaps indicating the person had suffered an injury.

"There is now a difference in the track and prints," the report on the search reads. "The left foot is turned out, like an injury. Possible fracture or sprain of the left lower extremity."

The area searched was described by a psychic. "I feel as if she is within a 3-5 mile distance and in the direction of north to northwest of her campsite," the psychic wrote. She also believed Susan died of head injuries caused by falling from a rock cliff.

What happened to Susan Adams?

"I believe beyond any reasonable doubt that Susan Adams died from injuries or other related causes due to being lost or hurt in the wilderness area near Battle Lake," wrote Sheriff Randy Baldwin in his final report on the case. "I also believe that Susan Adams' remains are still in that area, but feel that any future organized search would not be effective in locating her remains."

Susan's husband, Tom, was initially considered a suspect but he and all the other party members took polygraphs and passed.

Susan remains missing and no remains or further evidence have been located.

Theories about Susan Adams’ disappearance

Lost or injured—a strong possibility in this wilderness area. But a major search of the area was conducted, and she was simply walking to a nearby meadow to watch birds, not going off on a hike.

Foul Play - The chef at base camp was the last person known to see Susan alive. Could he have harmed her and then disposed of the body elsewhere, explaining why no remains or clothing were found in the meadow? Some point to her husband, Tom, saying that perhaps he found her in the meadow still bird watching when he went searching for her, got into an altercation and killed her. But no evidence of an attack was found.

Wild animal attack—A wild animal attack, such as by a Mountain Lion, is possible, but searchers found no signs of blood or torn clothing.

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