Wyoming’s Oldest Unsolved ‘Cold Case’

The Wyoming State Crime Laboratory has some of the best forensic scientists in entire country. Sadly, their work is never done. When they're not busy investigating crimes, they are working to solve cold cases, many of which are decades old.

The website MissingandUnresolved.com cites dozens of unsolved cold cases from across the state of Wyoming, including a case from nearly 82 years ago that still baffles investigators to this day.

On September 17, 1934, a 21-year-old woman named Olga Mauger went missing near Togwotee Pass in Fremont County. She hasn't been seen since.

Author Robert A. Waters wrote about Mauger's mysterious disappearance for the true crime blog Kidnapping, Murder and Mayhem. According to his account, Olga disappeared on her own accord.

Only weeks earlier, she had a met an oilman named Carl Mauger at a dance in the town of Midwest, Wyoming. The couple married soon after and, on a brisk fall day, the newlyweds went elk hunting in the mountains near Dubois, Wyo.

Olga had grown up in the area and knew the terrain well. During the hike, she chose to rest while Carl climbed a ridge looking for game. When he returned, Olga had vanished.

Carl frantically searched the area for his missing bride; even organizing a search posse. Unfortunately, a snowstorm swept through the area and the search was called off.

Subsequent searches turned up no sign of the attractive young lady. Although some believed that Olga must have died in the mountains, her friends and family held out hope that she was alive.

Her sister told police that Olga had immediately regretted her decision to marry Carl and theorized that, with her extensive experience in the back country, she deliberately chose the perfect moment to make her escape.

Carl Mauger would later remarry and moved to California. In 1978, he died at the age of 72.

We'll never know for sure what exactly happened to Olga that day. However, if she somehow managed to survive, she would now be 103 years old.