The Disappearance of Noah Pippin
For this case, I watched an episode of Disappeared. It’s season 5, episode 8 titled ‘A Soldier’s Story.’
Every few posts, I like to talk about cases that aren’t solved yet because there are SO many missing persons cases. It’s so sad that a lot of families out there don’t have any answers about what happened to their loved ones.
Background
Noah Pippin
Noah Pippin was a 31 year old former Marine and former LAPD officer. He had done three tours in Iraq and was going to go back into military life after working in law enforcement for about a year.
Noah grew up in Traverse City, Michigan and had come from a very loving family. His parents, Michael and Rosalie, were interviewed in this episode and they said he was very dependable, but seemed to have been struggling after getting out of the military. They didn’t question him too much, because he wasn’t the type of person who was open about his feelings.
A Family Visit
Before Noah disappeared, he went to his family home in Michigan to visit his family for about a week. His family said he seemed fine and was excited to possibly go back on duty.
He left his parent’s on August 25, 2010, his mom wanted him to stay longer and she said he said he wished he could but had to leave. However, Noah didn’t actually have to report for duty on September 10.
His mom wanted them to take a picture together, so she had the cab driver take a picture of them in front of their house. It was the last family picture they took together. They waived goodbye and watched Noah leave, this was also the last time they’d see their son.
Disappearance
A few days after he left, his parents hadn’t heard from Noah, but they didn’t find it unusual to not here from him. However, they got a call that would change their lives.
On September 11, 2010, Noah’s parents got a call from Noah’s commander asking where Noah was. He said he hadn’t shown up for duty, and he wanted to try to get answers before declaring Noah AWOL (absent without official leave).
Noah’s parents were confused and concerned. Rosalie, Noah’s mom, said her first thought was suicide, she said Noah hadn’t been doing well since leaving his LAPD job, and thought he was depressed even though he put on a brave face.
They also waited a few days to see if Noah would call them, but after waiting they decided to get the police involved. However, the Michigan police weren't helpful. Noah’s parents said the police told them Noah probably went off and didn’t want to contact anyone and was being irresponsible for not showing up for duty.
Some research of their own
Noah’s family realized the Traverse City police wouldn’t help them so they decided since they had some of Noah’s personal items, they’d try to figure it out.
They found a notebook of Noah’s and inside it had research for information about Montana, and a list of items one would take if they were going to go hiking.
They also obtained a phone number from the cab company that picked Noah up when he left their house in August. The cab driver said he took Noah to the airport, where Noah got a rental car. Noah had driven 1600 miles from Michigan to Kalispell, Montana.
Noah’s parents called the Montana police, and that’s when they got into contact with Sergeant Pat Walsh of the Flathead County PD.
Investigation
Sgt. Pat Walsh obtained records for Noah’s phone and financial records to trace Noah’s steps.
Noah’s phone calls had stopped on the day of August 31, 2010, just 6 days after he left his parent’s house. Noah had also been stopping at local restaurants and gas stations in Hungry Horse, Montana. He also paid for two nights at a local motel called the Mini Golden Inn.
Hungry Horse, Montana, is surrounded by various parks and wildlife. It seemed to match with Noah’s writings about items to take when going hiking. Noah had also written information about going to Blue Lakes, which is a trailhead and hiking area in Montana.
Blue Lakes
On December 23, Sgt. Walsh got a call from the Mini Golden Inn, the Inn said they had some of Noah’s items in lost and found. The items were some clothing, chargers for a phone and laptop and a gun lock. However, Noah’s phone, computer and gun were missing, so it’s believed that Noah was armed when he disappeared into the wilderness.
Mini Golden Inn, one of the last places Noah was seen.
Sightings of Noah
Sgt. Walsh decided his next step would be to contact forest rangers to see if anyone had come into contact with Noah.
Noah’s family went to Montana in June 2011, to put up missing persons fliers to see if this would also help in their search.
The first sighting came from a man named Bob Shaw, he said he saw Noah on September 15, 2010. Bob said a man in his 30’s had walked into his camp and he had offered the man a cup of coffee. He also said the man who he identified as being Noah from his missing persons fliers, and said Noah had told him about his military and law enforcement life. Bob also said that Noah seemed depressed and conflicted, and that most people who visit Montana come to clear their heads.
Sgt. Walsh was convinced that Bob saw Noah, because they hadn’t put too much information out about Noah’s past careers.
The next sighting was from another ranger. They said Noah was sleeping in the forest, not in a tent just near a trail. The ranger said they woke Noah up to tell him that he needed to get off the trial. He was also convinced it was Noah.
The final sighting was from a woman named Donelle Kenney. She said she was hiking with her husband and two kids, and that they stumbled upon a young man one day. Donelle said the man was carrying just a water jug and had very little items, he didn't have a tent. Donelle said the man said he was headed towards the Chinese Wall.
According to Wikipedia, The Chinese Wall is a large escarpment located in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.
Chinese Wall in Montana
Donelle said she and her family had to leave their hiking journey early due to freezing rain, and said that no one would be able to survive the conditions, especially if they didn't have the right equipment. She was also convinced it was Noah, due to his missing persons poster.
The final sighting came from an anonymous woman in Missoula, Montana. She said she saw a man outside holding a sign, like a homeless person on July 2, 2011. He was wearing a camouflage hat and had a backpack. She also was convinced it was Noah.
The Last Search
At the end of this episode, Sgt. Walsh said he and a search team went up in a helicopter to search the area where the sightings of Noah were. They were looking for signs of grizzly bear activity and possible sighting 0f human remains. Sgt. Walsh was convinced something had happened to Noah and that they were possibly looking for Noah’s body. Nothing came of this search.
Noah is Found
Noah’s parents were notified by the Lewis and Clark County sheriff’s department that they found remains in the Burnt Creek area that are believed to be Noah’s.
It’s suggested that Noah froze to death in the wilderness. It’s believed that the last sighting wasn’t Noah, and that he possibly died a few days after September 15, 2010. A big snowstorm came into the area, and Noah probably was too far in the forest and couldn’t get out.
His dad, Mike, posted this on Facebook:
““So what can we say? Our dear son and friend has slipped into eternity,” “We are heartbroken, yet thankful to God. Finding his remains was A MIRACLE.””
According to these articles where I found this information, they hadn’t 100% confirmed the remains to have been Noah’s, but his family said they are 98% sure that it is.
FINAL THOUGHTS
What a sad and tragic case. I wonder what and if Noah was going through anything at the time of his disappearance. Was he suffering from mental illness? Did he just want to get away and didn't realize what the weather conditions were going to be? There’s a lot of questions to still be answered, and yet this case didn’t turn out like I thought it would.
I feel so sorry for Noah’s family, they seemed like very nice people. I think they realized something was going on with him and that they couldn’t help him. I’m happy they somewhat have answers and know he didn’t commit suicide like his mom thought.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Wall_(Montana)
https://www.outsideonline.com/1793501/noah-pippin-thought-have-died-exposure
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2012/08/29/noah-pippin-montana
