I have heard and read various versions of the story of the kayak, the one purportedly used by Kristin Snyder to paddle out in Resurrection Bay and drown herself on the evening of February 6, 2003.
Snyder disappeared without a trace.
There are two distinct discrepancies concerning the kayak. One is whether it was seaworthy and the other concerns whether it was stolen from a shed.
The Alaska State Police report said, “On the morning of 2-8 -03 the Millers of Millers Landing resort discovered a storage shed containing kayak and gear had been broken into and an old kayak was missing. The storage shed was close to where Snyder’s vehicle was located.”
The Charley Project, which profiles “cold case” missing people, but does not actively investigate, reports, “A white wood and fiberglass kayak was found to be missing from the yard of Millers Landing when Snyder’s car was discovered. The kayak is handmade, has no rudder, is not outfitted for flotation, and had not been in the water for fifteen years. Officials at the resort noted that it would sink if tipped.”
Right here we have a discrepancy. The police reported it stolen from a shed. But the Charley Project, which got its information from somewhere, presumably from some police-related source, say the kayak was taken from the yard.
The police report says it was an old kayak.
The Charley Project goes further and states, “The kayak is handmade, has no rudder, is not outfitted for flotation, and had not been in the water for fifteen years. Officials at the resort noted that it would sink if tipped.”
Within a week of her disappearance, Heidi Clifford emailed friends and family of Kristin Snyder announcing Kristin’s memorial service. I obtained a copy of that email, dated February 13, 2003.
It is worth reading in full for it adds to our knowledge and is a contemporary document.
Heidi writes, “It is incredibly sad to announce that our friend Kris is presumed dead. Kris was reported missing the night of February 6, 2003. Over the next five days, an extensive search was conducted by the Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol, Anchorage Police Department, Alaska State Troopers, U.S. Coast Guard, Seward Police Department, Civil Air Patrol, community volunteers and tons of friends.
“Her life in Alaska was rich and full of adventure. She was an avid kayaker, skate skier, biker and she was working on the telemark turns in the mountains. Kris enjoyed her volunteer work with the Anchorage Nordic ski patrol, performing in learning search and rescue skills, avalanche skills and wilderness emergency care. She was an active member of the women’s community. Kris had a large supportive network of ‘family’ and friends who will miss her warmth and energy.
What’s germane to our present discussion is that Heidi writes that the kayak was taken from a shed. And that it was old.
Kristin Keeffe was sent up to Alaska by Keith Raniere, ostensibly to help Nxivm with crisis management after the Snyder disappearance. The suicide note seems to blame Nxivm for her desire to commit suicide.
Keeffe has said she believes Snyder is still alive and faked her own death, possibly with the assistance of Heidi Clifford.
During my interviews with Clifford, she states she wishes it were true that Kristin Snyder was alive somewhere but highly doubts it. She also says she doubts the official version of events – Kristin stealing a kayak and killing herself – largely because, as she says in the film, The Lost Women of Nxivm, that the search was extensive and the body never found.
She completely denies having any role in helping Kristin fake her death.
Getting Back to the Kayak
Kristin Keeffe told me that the kayak was not seaworthy. Keeffe said it was not in the shed but in the yard.
It had not been used for years, Keeffe said, and had been utilized as a planter, with flowers and other plants put in it during the summer. Keeffe said the kayak had holes in it and could not float at all, let alone be used to paddle out to sea.
This supports Keeffe’s [and Nxivm’s] “faked-her-own-death” theory since a kayak with holes in it could not be paddled out at all.
The Millers are Interviewed
My final report on the kayak comes from Mike and Sherry Miller, owners of Millers Landing.
Mike and Sherry have lived on Resurrection Bay since the 1950s.
I interviewed the Millers on camera for Investigation Discovery. A part of that interview was seen in the film, The Lost Women of Nxivm.
As the original sources about the kayak, I trust what they told me over what various reports say.
My interview took place 16.5 years after the fact, but the recollections of Mike and Sherry Miller seemed so precise and confident that I rate them as highly reliable sources.
Mike Miller told me that there was no shed at the time the kayak went missing. He ought to know. He built the shed. He confidently said the shed – which he showed me and allowed me to enter – had not been built in 2003.
He said the missing kayak was out in the yard.
Mike explained the reason he noticed the kayak was missing was because there was no snow cover where the kayak had been laying. He would not have likely noticed a missing kayak, [They rent kayaks and have many of them] had snow not been broken by a patch of grass in the shape of a kayak.
This raises the question of how the shed became part of the story and in the police report. Did someone influence the writing of the report, adding a shed, and for what purpose?
It seems clear that Mike Miller is telling the truth and his memory is clear: the discovery of the missing kayak came by him seeing grass where snow was otherwise covering the ground.
Next, we come to various reports of the kayak’s seaworthiness.
In this, I believe, the Millers are the best source.
Mike was able to describe the kayak in great detail. He knew the previous owner, a woman who had given him the homemade kayak as a gift.
Sherry Miller knew it more intimately. It was her personal kayak.
Far from not being seaworthy, or that it had been out of the water for 15 years, Sherry said she used it the previous summer and for several summers before that. She constantly used it. That was her kayak.
She said further, and Mike agreed, that the kayak was absolutely seaworthy.
However, it did not have normal flotation.
Mike said that if it were tipped it would not sink. Neither would it be completely buoyant.
“It would periscope,” he said. Meaning that the end or tip would stick out above the water.
This suggested, and I know from my own helicopter flight above Resurrection Bay, that it might have been seen by searchers if the tip was out of the water.
From above, I could clearly see what was on the water – from ripples to a gull sitting on a log. I could make out the bird’s individual wings.
A periscope kayak would be visible. As would a paddle.
Of course, if someone wanted to, the kayak could be sunk with enough weight attached and this kayak would be easier to sink than others.
There are discrepancies about the kayak in the official report and in the account of the owners of it.
It was seaworthy – it was not seaworthy.
It was stolen from a shed. It was taken from out on the lawn.
Both Mike and Sherry Miller – who know the waters and were there at the time and saw the massive search – by land, sea, and air – don’t think Kristin Snyder committed suicide.
There were dozens of searchers. A Coast Guard cutter. Helicopters. Civil Air Patrol; police and firemen and dozens of Kristin’s friends, all trained in search and rescue, as fellow members of the Nordic Ski Patrol, all searching, combing every beach, every shed, every cabin, into the woods and flying and floating over the water in the bay – and finding nothing.
***
What We Know & What We Don’t Know
We know that Kristin Snyder was removed from a Nxivm intensive in Anchorage after proclaiming she was pregnant with Keith Raniere’s child.
We don’t know who removed Kristin’s truck from the parking lot next to the hotel where she was attending a 16-day Nxivm intensive.
We know her pickup truck was found 2.5 hours away in Seward Alaska, in front of Miller’s Landing, near the shore of Resurrection Bay.
We don’t know how it got there.
We know a “suicide note” was in the truck, along with a separate note that contained the words “No need to search for my body.”
We do not know for certain that Kristin wrote either note or if she did write them, whether she wrote them under duress or did so as part of Nxivm training exercise.
We know nothing was found, not her body, not her clothes, not the kayak nor the paddle.
We know Keith Raniere claimed he had people killed for his beliefs.
Frank Parlato 
Janine Morrison 
J.J. O'Hara 
Richard Luthmann 
Marie White 
Paul Serran
Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
As a paddler, even without float bags it wouldn’t sink because air can’t escape a capsized kayak. Sure, maybe a majority during the event but not enough to make it sink completely. Go buy a toy boat knock it over in the bathtub. Sink? Nope.
Here’s video of a sea kayak that swamped, and sunk completely below the surface of the water – and this is a commercial model that apparently retained very marginal buoyancy, while Snyder was in an old home-made one that probably was heavier and had less structural integrity:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GpOjvlC9mE&w=1027&h=578%5D
Frank, the bottom line is you need to have the letter analyzed by a psychiatrist or suicide professional to see if it’s consistent with a suicide note.
1. Weather reports;
2. Psych evaluation of letter;
3. More handwriting samples.
Peace.
The Fool
A kayak/paddle can only be seen from the air in good weather, and this assumes they weren’t weighted and sank. It was reported the weather was poor for four days. This means the kayak and paddle could easily drifted out to sea. Having literally sailed around the world, and then some, I can assure you the sea is vast and it is nearly impossible to find small objects. It isn’t unusual for people not to be found when they disappear at sea. The bad weather means the wind was probably from the north/northwest, which would have pushed Snyder out to the open ocean.
“Kayaks/paddle can only be seen from the air in good weather, and this assumes they weren’t weighted and sank.”
-Scott Johnson
Great point! LOL
Scott
RE Kayak in bad weather search:
The helicopter would fly below the cloud cover just like Frank’s helicopter did. Frank replicated a similar flight plan as a search and rescue helicopter. Do you think Frank would just wast his time?
Suggestion: Rewatch Frank’s Special with the volume turned on….
***
RE navy:
You were in the navy not the coastguard.
Scott were you on an aircraft carrier by chance? Be honest.
Did you receive your Sea Service Deployment Ribbon? You left the Navy with an honorable discharge!!!!!
….But why were you only an E4?
Were you a dry dock outer hull barnacle scrubber, and part time potato peeler?
Did you enjoy having all those men whip you your 1/2 naked ass when you crossed the equator? Be honest!!!! Frank Report readers appreciate honesty. Your answer may even make Shadowstate and Bangkok, excited.
Are you being serious or just role playing? LOL
Keeffe appears to be a typical NXIVM liar. How does she know so much about the condition of the kayak if she didn’t show up until a year later? I would take the word of the Millers, as they personally experienced something that they were much more familiar with and aren’t poisoned by NXIVM’s crazy beliefs.
The time that has passed has made it nearly impossible to know what really happened. For those asking the suspects to step forward and tell the truth, keep in mind that YOU won’t even use your real name on this website and many of you were never involved with NXIVM. YOU are the ones who have made the comment section on this website a joke. LOL
On a lighter note, I’ve got a conspiracy theory coincidence to share.
While pondering some of the more serious issues after this piece first appeared, it occurred to me to consider ginning up a nice, juicy conspiracy theory for amusement. From my experience in the military long ago, I happen to know that the Soviets used to land Spetsnaz commando teams on US shores for practice or reconnaissance runs, and that in Alaska there were one or two cases of deaths and disappearances when Alaska National Guard troops on coastal patrol exercises had apparently run across infiltrators. I even went so far as to check the dates of Putin’s rise to power, since he’s gone back to using ruthless Soviet-style asymmetrical warfare tactics, and verify that it overlapped with Snyder’s disappearance. And then I put the idea on the back burner.
But I was looking at the Certificate of Presumptive Death for Snyder one more time, and what was in one of the information blocks that I’d previously missed, jumped out at me:
“Consultant, National Guard”
BINGO! And there are no coincidences, right? Snyder’s father was a military officer (something overlooked, though it suggests conspiracy connections), and here she is working for a part of the military subject to sinister disappearances along Alaska’s coast!
So I have a theory that the Russkies took Snyder, which also explains one of the mysteries of what she had been saying, and I’ll claim it may well be better than NXIVM’s one that cost them over half a million dollars in PI bills. I could flesh it out and dish it up pretty nicely; it offers plenty of fresh opportunity for speculation.
Anonymaker and Nutjob,
Dear God! Shadowstate1958 has somehow infected the logical mind of Anonymaker, with Shadowstate’s Conspiracy-itis virus. This all reminds me of a few episodes of Star Trek; When Spock would be infected with an alien virus making Spock uncharacteristically violent, and extremely horny. On the bright side AnonyMaker will now act like a normal guy, just like NiceGuy, Nutjob, or Bangkok.
AnonyMaker:
There is one small problem with that theory.
In 2003 the Russian Federation was still recovering from the chaos caused by the downfall of the Soviet Union and the strife caused by the Chechin War.
And Vladimir Putin still had not consolidated power.
Moreover, in 2003 the main national security threat to Russia was internal Islamic terrorism from groups like the Chechin rebels who would blow up buildings in Moscow and take hostages in schools and movie theaters in Russia.
Over 100 hostages were murdered by terrorists in a theater in Moscow.
Over 200 children were murdered in a school in the small town of Beslan Russia.
At that time Russia was not focused on the United States.
Shadow, you of all people should know that there’s rarely a problem with a conspiracy theory – just an opportunity to add twists, that show how truly devious the conspirators were!
The Russians never fully stood down from confronting the US. For example, they maintained their base on Big Diomede Island, even after the US withdrew forces from Little Diomede – the site of the death of 1 National Guardsman and the disappearance of 2 others and, reportedly of a nighttime firefight between a Special Forces “A” team sent to look for them (they discovered the one corpse) and a Spetsnaz landing party.
And one of the things totalitarians do to distract from internal problems, is external aggression – the old wag the dog, right?
A couple of bullets from a Russian Spetsnaz silenced weapon like an AK-74M fitted with a PBS-4 would have sent the Kayak to the depths of the waters outside Seward – that’s actually in some ways the best explanation of how the kayak disappeared (and perhaps a pointer to a real unanswered question, of whether Snyder might have taken a firearm with her).
There are at least 3 reasons the Russians would have had for taking Snyder – space operations, chemical weapons, and a random encounter like the other unfortunate National Guard personnel. I can expand on those if you want, and will assert because my theory is actually so multi-faceted, on top of explaining how best to sink a kayak, that it is, in fact, the superior theory and, thus, the one that should be believed. 🙂
The kayak is a red herring. The evidence pointing to this is ” no need to look for my body.” No one says that.
No kayak. No oar. No body.
The body was disposed of elsewhere.
Could the kayak be a MacGuffin or a Red Herring?
Something to lead one away from what truly happened.
Kristin Snyder would have been disposed of elsewhere and the kayak was used to lead searchers away from what really happened.
MacGuffin
“In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.[1][2][3][4][5] The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for film,[6] adopted by Alfred Hitchcock,[7][8][9][10][11] and later extended to a similar device in fiction.[12]
The MacGuffin technique is common in films, especially thrillers. Usually, the MacGuffin is revealed in the first act, and thereafter declines in importance. It can reappear at the climax of the story but may actually be forgotten by the end of the story.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin
Yes.
Frank, what you have already excellently pointed out is that Keith liked to use drugs to help “dispose” of people. The symptoms during that last week of Kristin Snyder’s life points to the possibility that she was being drugged. Obviously a body that had been heavily drugged would not be a good idea to be found, if Keith had ordered the drugging. “No need to search for my body”.
There is no way she could have predicted that her body would not be eventually found if she went in that kayak. Keith made a mistake and had to try to sell an idea that she disappeared on her own. Murders do make mistakes, even one’s who think they have a high IQ.
Speaking of drugs to dispose people Keith found no use for, I’m sure the wide spread illness breakout at V-week was yet another example of this. Most likely the food was selectively tampered with based on Nxium hierarchy. Yet, another Keith experiment / test.
Why would Raniere want to kill his most loyal followers? They are the ones paying for the courses and recruiting others to buy the courses. I vote for food poisoning because of spoiled food.
Yup. And what if ALSO pregnant?
If this hair testing angle is for real, why did they want Barb Jeske’s head?
Where did Frank point out drugs were involved? Snyder was obviously not in her right mind, so the idea of not looking for her body could easily been her idea.
Scott,
I do not believe Frank has ever mentioned Raniere and Nxivm drugging anyone at any time.
Unless there is something I don’t know, I hope Frank knocks down this rumor at some point.
Is that how you really feel or are you role playing?
Roll playing
Speaking of the Disappeared where is NXIVM’s favorite female Doctor, Dopey Danielle Roberts?
The last report was that Dopey Danielle Roberts was headed towards Mexico perhaps to enjoy a long winter vacation.
But if Dopey Danielle overstays her tourist visa she might end up like her Vanguard with the Mexican Federales pointing machine guns at her head.
Those Mexican Federales can be pretty tough hombres!
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (6/10) Movie CLIP – No Stinking Badges (1948) HD
A couple of thoughts/questions in regard to all of this –
*Satellite imagery. I pulled up Millers Landing in Google Earth and it allowed me to view historic satellite imagery for this location for June 1997, March 2007, April 2011, August 2015, and June 2019. Unfortunately, the gap between 1997 and 2007 is the time frame you’re researching. I thought that viewing this might reveal when the shed was actually built (and who knows what else you might see). In following the OSINT site Bellingcat, I have learned there are other companies that will sell more robust satellite images. Have you considered looking into them? You might be able to order something for that specific time frame.
*Periscoping kayak. While not as trained as Kristin Snyder was, I have paddled my kayak for hundreds of miles all over the SE USA (including for overnight camping in very primitive areas). I have never, ever heard of a “periscoping” kayak. When I search this term, I can’t find any website, images, or videos that shows an example of this. This is a very odd term in relation to kayaking. Physically, it really doesn’t make sense. Kayaks capsize, yes (I have a hilarious story about me nearly doing this once because a shrimp jumped in my yak – I’ll share with you one day if you’re interested). The design of a kayak makes it nearly impossible to tip end up/down, even the white-water stubby types. Can you provide any examples of what this means? I am having so much trouble even wrapping my head around it, much less believing it could happen.
Great work so far, Frank.
I will have to review the interview to be certain, but as I recall Mike Miller told me there was flotation on one end of the kayak which is why he said it would periscope.
I chatted about this with my spouse & he suggested this is likely a situation where there is a hatch or compartment on one end. If that space gets a rapid leak, it could cause the kayak to tip end up. A float being there would also explain it. It makes sense now. Thanks, Frank.
Frank & every one else,
A few things that bolster Frank’s assertions regarding the kayak and the kayak paddle.
1.) Yes, I know the kayak in question had an old questionable piece of styrofoam or an air bag for buoyancy, however a simple air pocket should have been enough to keep the Kayak floating; and bolsters Frank’s assertion the kayak should have stayed a float.
Here is a relevant article which proves the validity of what I am stating:
https://kayakguru.com/kayak-sink-float/
2.) Kayak paddles are incredible buoyant. I have a sit-atop kayak 13 foot pescador[nothing like Kristin’s kayak at the time of her disappearance]. The kayak paddles are almost all the same, the paddles are so buoyant that if you push one vertically down into the water it shoots up violently and will almost surface above the water. All paddles are tested rigorously for buoyancy. There is absolutely no way the paddle sunk!!!!! Almost all paddles have some bright parts so they are easy to find in the water; From up close or far away!!! Anyone could spot a paddle from 500ft or more away.
Side note: I am keeping an open mind regarding Kristin’s disappearance and murder/suicide.
NiceGuy,
The reference in your first point says “With a sit-inside, however, the water can enter the cockpit and if you have no bulkheads to add buoyancy, your hull could fill with water causing your craft to sink” and that was the type of kayak that went missing from the Millers – which they said “did not have normal flotation” according to Frank.
Second, some old wood kayak paddles – at least the ones for sea kayaks I’ve seen – are pretty dark, and some of the new carbon fiber ones are dark gray or black. For instance, this picture shows Snyder with a dark or black paddle that only has some color on the last couple of inches of the blade:
And what do you think might have happened to the kayak, if Snyder didn’t take it out and sink it?
Side note: I am keeping an open mind regarding Snyder’s disappearance, it’s just at this point what her family and the authorities originally thought happened, seems relatively more plausible than the post-hoc theories given what those would actually entail – including the kayak still having to disappear somehow, and a perfectly executed and impenetrable conspiracy that for some reason picked a relatively complicated and risky way to achieve its end.
Nice work with the satellite imagery – I haven’t had a chance to put out my old laptop that has Google Earth installed, so can you tell us, is the 1997 imagery high enough resolution to show whether there might have been some small shed on the property, such as could have been used to story gear like kayak paddles if not the kayaks themselves?
As far as the “periscoping” kayak, I believe that is covered in an article on sea kayak flotation that I linked to elsewhere. I take it that refers to situations in which the kayak goes down by one end, with the other remaining partially floating above the surface of the water. That can definitely happen when there is flotation in just one end of the kayak, but I believe it can also occur if the kayak has no flotation at all but just ends up with enough air trapped in one end to keep it partly afloat. Sea Kayaks, and what happens to them in ocean chop, is quite different from dealing with inland and whitewater kayaks. And the author of the article seems to think that people like the Snyders don’t really understand flotation, and putting a kayak like that into the water is an accident waiting to happen.
Anonymaker,
Please read my 2 comments:
https://frankreport.com/2019/12/12/more-snyder-discrepancies-concerning-the-missing-kayak/#comment-113525
https://frankreport.com/2019/12/12/more-snyder-discrepancies-concerning-the-missing-kayak/#comment-113534
Thanks!
Egads!!! I did not read your comment; and wrote almost the same thing verbatim.
I am not plagiarist like the cretin Shadowstate!
Periscoping is the Miller’s fictitious name for a kayak which has air trapped in the stern or bow; and the air causes one end to pop out of the water like a “telescope”.
Boaters have many slang names for this common occurrence. I know of two slang terms myself used in Booth Bay Harbor, Maine; “seal head” or “bobber”.
Most slang boating terms are not listed on the internet because they differ from town to town.
Honestly it’s not an odd term in the context of boating local lexicon or vernacular.
An example is the term used for people who don’t know the rules of the sea such as the rule “red right returning” for red bouys or the rule windward has right of way; Mainers call them “New Yorkers”.
There was a true crime series that I saw once. A murder was solved by looking at the satellite data for that time and location.
If Heidi helped Kristin fake her own death, that means the episodes in the classroom were contrived. No way somebody would be able to fake their own death while going through what Kristin apparently was going through. And no way Heidi would help her fake her own death while Kristin was in that state.
I’d love to get Kristin Keeffe in a room and talk with her for like 48 hrs straight. I have so many things to ask her. It would probably feel good for her to dump out all of what she saw. We have to keep in mind that Kristin Keeffe was spoon fed what Keith wanted her to believe. So her perspective on things is interesting.
Really, Keeffe appears to be still caught up in Raniere’s “organized misdirections.” And after 24 years under his influence, that isn’t surprising, not at all. When she finally managed to get away, Keeffe had spent most of her life within his sphere and had been thoroughly, personally involved in dishonesties and corruption. It appears that she came to realize that she had to get her child away from this group, but that doesn’t mean that her own mind has recovered from her conditioning or that she will ever recover.
Her very look, her manner of speaking and most of all, her eyes tell (me) that a lot of pain and fear is impacting her and has been for a long time. This also could be partly due to feelings of guilt! She claims to have been always drawn to what she called spiritual experience, or spirituality, and that she never dreamed that instead, Keith was an evil psychopath who aimed to destroy others.
Well, if she says so, but she watched him screw around for years and years, with sexual lies and deceptions, with money moving arrangements, with litigation obsessions designed to achieve revenge or the ruination of his/her/their designated opponents.
Nothing seems more ridiculous than to surmise, or to pretend to believe that Kristin Snyder or Heidi Clifford staged Kristin’s permanent disappearance. I find this to be Kristin Keeffe trying to protect herself and her son.
I don’t think that Kristin Snyder was known to be unstable or co-dependent. I don’t think that she
ever wanted to disappear. In fact, what Kristin seems to have wanted and to have acted upon, during the intensive, was to reveal how Raniere had imposed his sexual monstrousness onto her and that she was horrified to think that she might have been impregnated. It seems to me that she wanted to talk about her experiences in New York as soon as she came back to Anchorage. And one way or another, she was STOPPED in her tracks by the intensive’s staff and by Nancy Salzman and probably by Raniere as well.
As for Keeffe, nothing that she says or has said seems completely credible. She appears to be jumbling pieces of the truth with her own, perhaps desperate fictions. The desperation has not been successfully made invisible. It is all over her and really quite visible. I perceive her as burdened with not only fear, which is most likely legitimate, but also, she oozes shame.
No one can repair that shame for her, except if she is working to repair it herself. Hopefully she has sought therapy, but if so, it does not appear to have had much of a profound effect. However 24 years or so of entrenchment is a long, long time to attempt to undo rationally, experientially.
Frank Parlato might know her well enough to have his own assessment of Keeffe’s state of mind, but I would be careful about evaluating a word out of her mouth. She has been a practiced component of promoting and even helping to create lies and corruption for an entire generation.
Nutjob,
Nothing like a suicidal person being aided to kill themselves. Do you think it happened that way?
Late in my working career, I switched gears and worked in the field of criminal justice. I’ve had the experience of being in the presence of some very depraved criminals and their victims.
On a few occasions, I actually would get an inner sick feeling being near some of them. They ooze evil and an aura of horror.
There was one other person I have met that gave me that same feeling many years before. That person is Keith Raniere!
At the time, I had no idea of his level of depravity. I just felt awful looking into his eyes and touching his hand. On one occasion, I actually made a bow tie for him at a formal party in Saratoga. Every time I see the photo on Frank Report of Keith in the tuxedo flanked by Barbara Bouchey and Nancy Salzman, I remember those evil eyes.
After that night, I kept my distance.
Yes but did you see a blue light? Was there a slice of pizza hanging out of his back pocket? And was this before or after Tony Natalie sucked on his nipples?
I call Bullshit. Serial killers don’t ooze evil. That is how they are able to continue on their killing sprees. Ted Bundy didn’t ooze evil. He was kind, smart, and charming. Just like Keith.
Charming until Ted kills you. Same with Dahmer. Same with Manson.
While some people with bad intentions are good-looking or magnetic and can disguise themselves from some others, it’s equally true that not everyone will fall for it. Those would be people with whom Raniere and even Nancy Salzman would not take the risks to try making into part of their sick plans. Those people who were not buying well enough into the scheme or showing signs of being malleable or controllable would not have been viable candidates to try capturing.
Raniere and Salzman would have recognized who might or might not have been willing to affiliate with their real purposes or to fall for their sales pitches and influences. For these reasons, maybe you are seeing too subjectively. Not everyone is a mark or a sucker. Some have experience, some have sound intelligence as well as intuition. Some, like one of my eleven year-old neighbors, already have had to become “street-smart” just to get by in their own households, environments.
When I said to our young neighbor that she’s smart, she said “that’s something I almost never have heard.” It broke my heart to hear that, and I told her, “well grandma here thinks that you are very smart. I see how you think for yourself and don’t just trust what other tell you.” Then she opened up and said that really, she has always wanted to become a veterinarian. I can see that she has the steadiness of mind and the courage to accomplish this but maybe not the support that she deserves.
Predators often have a good sense of the types to pursue and of those who will not be cooperative.
You are 1000% correct! Early on I was approached by Salzman/Raniere for my professional Sales skills. I expressed disinterest because I questioned the commission structure and was never given a concrete answer on paper
They talked about handshake agreements. That was a big red flag
Good thing you didn’t shake their hand, you probably would have caught a disease.
It’s often harder to become a vet than a human doctor. There’s a good chance she’s not that smart.
I agree. A lot of commenters over-think things.
Frank, thanks for providing additional information and clarification, particularly regarding the accounts of the Millers.
The real “discrepancy” is that no theory, aside from the official finding determined by seasoned professional investigators and confirmed by a jury, accounts for what happened to the missing kayak.
If the kayak didn’t disappear into the waters of Resurrection Bay or the Gulf of Alaska beyond, with or without Snyder, then it would have had to have been transported overland and disposed of without a trace. While its sinking may somehow not seem a satisfying explanation, the alternatives are actually far more implausible.
The Millers may well be mistaken about the flotation characteristics of their missing kayak, which they likely never tested; the following article which a search about the topic turned up, suggests there is a lot of misunderstanding about how such things actually work, and that if the Millers had known what they ought to then they never even would have allowed that kayak without engineered flotation at both ends to be put into the water:
Flotation and Sea Kayaks
http://www.marinerkayaks.com/flotatnw.html
A kayak that has sunk by one end or “periscoped” can ride with so little of the floating end out of the water that nearby vessels may not even see it (a case is cited in the article), and may eventually swamp completely and sink. And a kayaker using a lap belt would drown and go down with the the kayak if they did not release themselves.
The police report is unlikely to be wrong about something major like a break-in, though it is possibly confused on the details. Anyone taking the kayak out would have needed to get a paddle and possibly other gear as well, which probably would have been stored somewhere that could be described as a “shed” (as reported), even if the kayak itself was left outdoors.
The discrepancies seem to me within what might be described as the margin of error, including partial misunderstanding; major points such as that a kayak went missing, and that some sort of storage was probably broken into to get a paddle if not the kayak, still stand. But that’s also a reminder that any theory or theorizing that hinges on relatively small details, often turns out to be mistaken as such minor things often are not reported reliable.
And while I can’t entirely rule out some alternate explanations for what happened might be possible, I have yet to see such laid out in a way that is plausible, fully explaining things and dealing with the evidentiary issues. We do see here, holes poked, so to speak – 🙂 – in NXIVM’s self-serving conspiracy theory about what happened, though both Keefe and O’Hara believe that Snyder is still alive nonetheless.
Any scenario still leaves NXIVM and its minions at least culpable for malpractice and negligence in Snyder’s death, as well as pointing to the likelihood that there are dozens if not over a hundred similar cases of the harm that they did which have just not been documented and brought to light
The kayak in question could have been brought into the residence of the nexivm member that had the house near where the truck was found. It then could have been made into pieces small enough to be hauled away inconspicuously. All to set up the bs excuse that she committed suicide.
If you read the police reports, nearby cabins were searched for Snyder, so a kayak in a cabin would almost certainly have been discovered.
Again, in order to adequately explain the facts you end up having to make the theory you want to believe so complex that it’s actually more improbable, and less plausible – and any imagined conspirators could actually have come up with a simpler and less risky plot.
You could also theorize that conspirators brought in a truck or a boat to haul off the kayak – which is starting to verge on the ridiculous. But they could also just have left the truck at a wilderness trail access point with the implication that Snyder had hiked off to her death, or at a pier with a receipt for cinder blocks and rope left in it implying that she drowned herself, and not involved a large object to dispose of at all.
Perhaps one question we haven’t been asking, is why would anyone come up with a convoluted fake suicide that left a large and awkward piece of evidence to be disposed of, when there were far simpler and less risky ways to accomplish the same end?
I dont buy annoy’s bs either.
Don’t know why you’re so obsessed about the kayak. Nxivm rats knew Snyder was an avid kayaker. You are falling right into their plot to think that she paddled out to off herself. The rats probably disposed of the kayak to make their fake note fit in with the rest of their scheme.
The kayak and Kristin are probably very close to each other. Far, far away from Miller’s Landing.
Agreed, but some of the obsessed are obsessing over the kayak being out in the bay. It never hit the water.
My theory on the sequence of events
Kristin Snyder announces she was raped by Keith Raniere and is now pregnant. This established motive.
Kristin is removed from the Intensive in someone’s vehicle, drugged and taken to a remote wilderness area in the direct opposite direction of Resurrection Bay to be murdered. There her body is left to the elements; winter snows, spring thaw and ultimately the wildlife.
Esther Chiappone’s husband Rob Chiappone was employed as a wilderness tour guide In Alaska. Therefore, she may have contributed the idea of an ideal location to dispose of the body.
The truck, kayak two suicide notes are all planted with the fictional story created by Keith and his enabler accomplices. The gas receipt was also part of the plan to establish that Kristen had driven the truck. This is a Nxivm habit using credit cards if deceased followers,
Kristen Keefe is on the ground making sure everything is going according to plan. In my opinion. Kristen’s statement in the ID program about Kristin Snyder being alive is laughable! Kristen is a master lier. She fears being arrested as an accessory to murder as do many others involved. With Keith in prison, no one is killing her or her son unless she knows and starts talking about the Mexican drug money laundering operation! The stand up and walk out when asked about her son was laughable!
Possible scenario
Keith concocted the general story with contributions as follows.
Kristen Keefe flys to Alaska to deliver the phony suicide note with Pam Cafritz the in-house forger’s contribution of the signature.
The truck is driven to Seward Alaska by a person much shorter than Snyder to account for the driver seat position. This was a 2.5 hour drive that was impossible for Kristin Snyder to do in her mental state of hysteria as described by the Nxivm crew operating the Intensive.
The second note on a second notepad was added in Alaska. Who writes two notes on two pads to commit suicide? Highly questionable!
Kristin had shared information with Nxivm about herself including her hobbies and skills. This is how the kayak and location were created.
Suggestions
Barb Jesky, Pam Cafritz, Suzanne Kemp Gina Hutchinson Kristin Snyder were all murdered. Wherever possible the bodies need to be exhumed. The murderer of the heir to the Hotel Fontainebleau in Miami was convicted partly based on evidence of a previous murder of his mother, body exhumed and case became a slam dunk! Both murdered for the money!
Kristen Keefe, Karen Unterreiner and Nancy Salzman have survived attempted murder by poisoning. This does not make them victims. They are all guilty of many crimes.
Keith systematically needed to dispose of all these women because they either assisted and abetted him in murder or they just knew too much,
Where are Esther Chiappone, Ed Kinum, Nina Cowell, Elaine the person that supposedly drove Kristin from the hotel to her home?
They are all silent…..
What was their collateral that has kept them free from harm?
I would be looking here! These are the weaker links in the chain.
I also think Keith switched gears to the use of poison for a few reasons.
With a murder masked as an illness, there would be no murdered body no messy clean up, no accomplice needed to dispose the body, and Keith could enjoy the long process of pain and suffering along the way. So much love, pain and joy for little Keithie-Weethie!
I hope all these suicides are solved to give closure the the families and relieve them of the pain of having a loved one die of their own hand. With both suicides inheriting money was not a factor. Both were executed to silence the truth of rape!
As for the poisoning deaths (cancer) they had two things in common, knowledge of Keith’s crimes and large estates to be inherited!
As for Keithie-Weethie, I have only one wish, a long, slow, extremely painful death so that he can leave this earth having experienced the most joy and love through pain!
Good job. I’m on board.
Ed Kinum – What do you think? We could use you about now. I’ve got your back. Please share. Males experienced things differently than the females of NXIVM and I believe your perspective (on everything – not just KS) is important.
I’ll add one thought. I think an early murder victim of Keith is his mama. Did Keith inherit money when she died? Was this where he learned the pleasure of causing a slow, painful death. With the bonus of getting money?