Murder in the Susitna: how a spring flood revealed the truth about the disappearance of Jessica Lawson

For seven years, the official story was that Jessica Lawson, a 27 -year -old hiker from Seattle, had been devastated by the relentless nature of Alaska. It was registered as “missing, allegedly drowned” on the Susitna River, a tragic accident in one of the most unpredictable river paths of the State.

But the Susitna had buried an even darker truth under mud and rocks.

Hiking in Alaska

In the spring of 2023, unusually violent thaws and historical floods torn the river bed, revealing what he hid: the remains of a woman whose ankles were tied with climbing strings, each with heavy rocks tied at the end. It was not an accident. It was a murder. And the track led to a blurred surveillance video of a 2016 gas station, a video that finally took the researchers to a suspect who could never take before justice.

A dream trip to the north

Jessica Lawson had always wanted to travel the rural areas of Alaska. In July 2016, the graphic designer resident in Seattle made her bags, studied maps of the Denali National Park and undertook alone a walk of several days along the Susitna River. He told his family that he would contact her in five days.

His last confirmed sighting was in a gas station on the outskirts of Talkeetna. The surveillance video showed her in her blue truck to buy gasoline and snacks. A man in a black van approached her, spoke briefly and pointed to the road. There were no danger signs; Jessica returned to her car and led to the park.

Hiking in Alaska

Two days later, the rangers of the Denali National Park found their tent, installed 360 meters from the river. Inside were his sleeping bag, his backpack, his wallet, his satellite phone and intact food. His mountain boots were clean and dry at the entrance.

Jessica was gone.

A search without answers.

Initial theories pointed to an accident. The fast and fast current of the Susitna could even drag experienced hikers. Others suspected a bear attack, but the tranquility of the camp and intact food made it unlikely.

The most disturbing theory was that a crime had been committed. The gas station’s employee was now the target of attention, but the low -resolution camera concealed his face and the registration of the truck.

For days, helicopters tracked the river, dogs tracking their trail to the shore and volunteers combed the surrounding forest. Nothing was found. Weeks later, the search was suspended. As neither a body nor evidence being found, the state dismissed the case as an alleged drowning.

The river reveals its secret

Seven years later, the Susitna overflowed after a thaw record. Starts oficeThey broke the shores, displacing rocks and dragging years of sediments.

Death in Alaska

Two Talkeetna residents were fishing when they noticed a boot that stood out from a piece of humid gravel. When they removed it, they discovered that it was still united to a human leg bone.

The State Police arrived that same day. Forensic teams worked slowly, excavating an almost complete skeleton of natural depression in the river bed. The remains were insured with two smooth stones, each with a weight of between 7 and 9 kilograms, and tied to the ankles with climbing ropes.

Nearby he lay a rotten blue waterproof, just like that Jessica had scored among her belongings, and a shattered metallic thermal.

The accident theory was refuted. Someone had ensured that this body never reappeared.

Confirmation and an indication of violence.

Dental records and an ancient fracture clearly visible in the femur confirmed the identity of the remains of Jessica Lawson. The forensic examination also revealed a recent fracture on the previous injury, which occurred shortly before or at the time of death. Experts said it was the result of a blow with a heavy object, not a fall.

Jessica was attacked, heavy and thrown into the Susitna River.

Back to the gas station

With the case classified as homicide, the Alaska State Police reexamined all the 2016 clues. The best, and the only one was the recording of the Talkeetna gas station. This time, they had better tools.

Hiking in Alaska

The tape was sent to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, where neuronal networks software the photogram image to frame. The face of the man was still partially obscured, but the technicians managed to recover most of the characters of the truck registration.

Data crossing with DMV records reduced the search to a single vehicle: a black truck registered in Montana who had received a fine in Anchorage one week before Jessica’s disappearance.

The owner: Brian Rhodess, 42 years old and Billings resident.

A violent past.

Rhodess had a criminal record. Ten years before, he had been convicted of second degree aggression after attacking a woman on a hiking route in Montana. He spent several years in prison and later earned a living as a temporary in fishing and construction, often in Alaska. It lacked permanent residence and narrow social ties.

Hiking in Alaska

The researchers were convinced of having found his man: a homeless man with a history of violence against women, who had been seen speaking with Jessica Lawson and was in the area at the time of his disappearance.

Too late for justice

By the time Alaska’s authorities tried to interrogate him, Rhodess had already disappeared. His family knew anything about him since 2017. His financial and labor records were also erased that year.

The border control revealed the final track: in March 2017, the Rhodess truck was recorded when entering Canada. His return was undocumented.

An investigation of the Royal Police mounted from Canada threw an unexpected result. In 2019, Rhodess was found dead in a cheap motel of the British Columbia. The cause: suicide. As there are no crime suspicions, the Canadian authorities closed the case.

Hiking in Alaska

A closed case only in theory

For Alaska researchers, this was both a solution and a disappointment. The circumstantial evidence – his past criminal, his presence in the gas station, his escape from the United States – turned Rhodes into the main suspect. But without confession, an analysis of DNA or the possibility of a processing, the case could only be closed “as an exception” due to the death of the suspect.

The cause of Jessica’s death was officially changed from accident to homicide. For his family, it was the end of a seven -year nightmare, but not the justice they expected.

“We know what happened,” said a researcher. “We’ll never know why.”

The Susitna river still flows next to the place where Jessica Lawson’s body remained buried under mud and rocks for years. She carries the weight of a crime resolved too late and is a reminder that in the vast Alaska desert, the dead do not always remain buried, but sometimes the truth is.