Cold a Long Time

by John Leake

Winner of the 2012 Independent Publisher Award (Bronze Medal, True Crime)

In August of 1989, Duncan MacPherson--a pro hockey player from Saskatoon, Canada--vanished without a trace in Europe. With no help from the police, his parents, Lynda and Bob, drove all over the Alps looking for him, and finally found his car at the Stubai Glacier, a popular ski resort near Innsbruck, Austria. Thus began their twenty-year struggle to discover why their son had disappeared after snowboarding on a beginner slope. Had he, as the local police suggested, wandered off the beaten track and died in a remote area, or had he been the victim of something sinister?

In the course of their search, the MacPhersons encountered an extraordinary cast of characters, including a 5,000-year-old ice mummy, an amnesiac initially thought to be Duncan, a renowned psychic with a startling vision, a charismatic ski resort developer, and a deceptively friendly forensic doctor. In 2009 they asked author John Leake to help them with their ongoing search for answers, and after a two-year investigation, he discovered the shocking reality of what happened to Duncan.

Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery recounts the strange and agonizing odyssey of the MacPherson family. It is a story about tremendous love, perseverance, and the irrepressible desire to know the truth, literally at all costs. It is also the story of a twisted cover-up, committed by the ski resort, the local police, and high-ranking officials in Innsbruck.

Leake's findings are the subject of the television documentary "A Cold Case," produced by the fifth estate--Canada's premier investigative news program.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Mystery, Crime, Biography, True Story

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 24, 2011

About the author

Born in Dallas, Texas, John Leake went to Vienna, Austria on a graduate school scholarship and ended up living in the city for over a decade, working as a freelance writer and translator. His first book, Entering Hades: The Double Life of a Serial Killer (Sarah Crichton Books, FSG) was a New York Times Sunday Book Review "Editors' Choice," a Men's Vogue "Best Book of 2007," and the inspiration of The Infernal Comedy, starring John Malkovich.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es ist August 1989, als der ehemalige kanadische Icehockey-Spieler Duncan MacPherson in den Alpen verschwindet. Erst Wochen nach seinem Verschwinden meldet ein Arbeiter auf dem Bergbahnparkplatz am Stubaier Gletscher, dass ein Auto seit Wochen nicht bewegt wurde – der Wagen, mit dem Duncan zuletzt unterwegs war.

Doch als seine Eltern nach Österreich kommen, um Nachforschungen anzustellen, stoßen sie auf eine Mauer des Schweigens. Botschaft, Polizei, potentielle Zeugen, niemand hat Interesse daran, den jungen Kanadier zu finden. Der Skiausrüster, bei dem Duncan sein Snowboard-Equipment geliehen hatte, konnte nicht einmal mehr feststellen, ob das Snowboard zurückgegeben wurde.

Als im Hitzesommer 2003 Duncan MacPhersons Leiche auf einer Skispiste am Stubaier Gletscher auftaucht, wird langsam klar, warum vor 14 Jahren keiner der Einheimischen über den Verschwundenen sprechen wollte. Starb Duncan MacPherson wirklich in Folge eines Unfalls oder fiel er dem Spekulantentum tiroler Großunternehmer zum Opfer?

Gemeinsam mit dem Autor John Leake tragen MacPhersons Eltern die Fragmente an Informationen, die sie über die Jahre erhalten haben, zusammen, um endlich die Frage zu klären, wie das Schicksal ihres Sohnes im Sommer 1989 ausgesehen haben muss.
_________________

Ein trauriges, tragisches Sachbuch. Irgendwas an der Ignoranz der tiroler Behörden macht einen auch Jahre später noch sehr betroffen.

Ich bin ja grundsätzlich schon jemand, der Vertrauen in die Staatsgewalt hat (vor allem bei uns in Europa), aber in diesem Fall kann ich mir wirklich vorstellen, dass sowohl Privatunternehmer als auch die Behörden in Tirol so große Angst davor hatten, ihren Goldesel (das Stubaital) in Verruf geraten zu sehen, dass sie diesen tragischen Todesfall vertuscht haben.

Der Gerichtsmediziner Walter Rabl ist so umstritten, dass ihm sogar schon ein Zeit-Verbrechen-Artikel gewidmet wurde. Kein Witz. Da lohnt sich’s, sich mal einzulesen.

[Rennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this down. Austrian officials and a company covered up the death of a Canadian hockey player, Duncan MacPherson, on a ski slope in Tyrol in 1989. His parents waited 14 years to even know where his body was, and more than two decades to have logical, truthful answers to this riddle of a situation (none of which were forthcoming from the Austrian side, who lied through their teeth AND on official documents, which I'm surprised they were even physically able to do). It's not unusual for people to die in accidents on ski slopes or hiking areas, like from falling into crevasses in the glacier (although that's a whole other thing here because there sure have been a lot who died at the Stubai Glacier) but Duncan's body had been mangled beyond what 14 years encased in ice could've done.

Journalist John Leake, who'd lived in Austria for years so has a nose for their bs, was finally able to construct a plausible, forensic- and scientifically-supported narrative about what happened, with the social context of why these trotteln (that's Austrian for idiots) would orchestrate a coverup that really does go all the way to the top and put his parents through years of psychological devastation. There's a wealth of information that makes his findings and final theory convincing, thanks in no small part to Lynda MacPherson's 20+ years of compiling a dossier of everything she'd fought to even be allowed to have, including all the ridiculous lies, omissions, and examples of negligence on the part of everyone from rental shop employees to police, prosecutors and everyone in between.

As terrible as this story is, it's also a testament to his parents' perseverance and should be more widely known, even if you're bound to feel angry after reading it. It would be unbelievable if there wasn't so much evidence. And in terms of a story, it's written like a page-turning mystery. Don't read anything else about it before reading the book. And don't go skiing in Austria.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a terrifying nightmare for parents of a young adult to find out that their son has gone missing during a vacation in Austria before starting a job in Scotland. I mean, absolute nightmare. After many many years, the body is recovered along with evidence by way of x-rays which proves (to some degree) how their son died.
The author and parents however make wide sweeping assumptions about who and how many people were involved in a cover-up of the incident.
Something which I think plays a huge part in how this unfolds is the culture difference between Europe and North America. North America has made a business out of lawsuits which just doesn’t exist in Europe and the book goes on about how ski-resorts are so unsafe, that the employees don’t explain the dangers, there isn’t adequate signage warning skiers where to go and where not to go, there aren’t enough rules and regulations in place. This is a typical North American mindset and because of this difference, the parents can't seem to understand the actions of the Austrian ski resort or law enforcement. Skiing isn’t like driving a car, you don’t need a license to rent skis!
Yes, their son was most likely run over by a person driving a groomer and most likely covered up by that person. But personally I don’t think that the cover-up was a whole conspiracy by the entire ski-resort to avoid bad press.

[Mrs. Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been much more interested in true crime novels as of late because they are beautifully creepy and deliciously intoxicating. Which sounds weird because I'm pretty much benefitting off of the misery of others, but we'll look past that part.

The book isn't written in the most entertaining way. It gets really info dumpy and really jargony at certain points. However, this book serves as a how-to guide if you want to travel to foreign countries and live to tell the tale.

Not to be super spoilerly, but this book isn't super creepy in terms of serial killer vibes but does keep you intrigued and invested for the entire book. The big "reveal" at the end (yes he figures out what happened and can prove it!) is worth the read and the emotional journey this book takes you on.

Leake really respects the parents and family members involved and recongizes the 20 years of work they put in to finding out the truth. A very interesting tale that kept me reading for hours.

Pop Sugar 2016 Challenge: A book set in Europe

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally a person has a hard time putting a mystery down, because of the anticipation to know what will happen. Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery seems to make the reader feel even more this way considering that the story was true. I really wish more people would read this book in order to, not only, give the young man, who seemed to be a genuinely good soul, a type of legacy, but to discredit those individuals who attempted to cover up his death. What a horrible thing to withhold information from two grieving parents. The horror and emptiness felt by those good parents simply wanting to know what happened to their son after a twenty year search can never be recovered. Mr. Leake, who wrote this book, at the request of young Duncan MacPherson's parents, did an amazing feat of detective work, thus helping the parents find some closure in this unbelievable incident. An amazing story and lesson in demonstrating human endurance on one side, and the power of society, culture, and economy leading good people to do bad things on the other.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent true crime book about the disappearance of Canadian ice hockey player, Duncan MacPherson in Austria. Duncan went missing after taking a snowboarding lesson and the subsequent search for the truth takes some strange turns, and this book is a well written account of the horror Duncan's parents went through trying to find out what happened to him.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I ran out of things to read and was reduced to browsing Kindle Unlimited's selection...I have no idea how to navigate the fiction area because it seems so drowned in trash so I went for nonfiction, thinking I'd find either a good historical biography or true crime. After finding and reading this book,

I was left with one thought (not really but it drowned out my other thoughts)

*******Oh my GOD, NEVER GO TO AUSTRIA*********
(Sorry Austrians, I know that is very unfair...just being honest about initial reaction, here)

In my opinion this was fairly well written...more so than a lot of true crime. I enjoyed the author being included in the work itself. Words like 'amputated' and 'skin flaying' and stuff like that was a bit gruesome, but it's a book that's partially about forensics- you wouldn't be able to convey some of the subtle wrongness going on unless you really commit to getting the facts down. The mother of this young man was a serious crusader - taking meticulous notes for years in her attempts to find justice. And with all that was discovered, still, justice cannot really be achieved. Pretty creepy to google the name of a particular official-type-person (feel it gives away too much to name him, but if you've read it, surely you can guess) and see him pop up in the here and now despite the obvious messed-up-ness of the things he's been involved in.

Totally bizarre. These people were, in the ABSOLUTELY BEST CASE UNREALISTIC SCENARIO - completely and totally inept and doing things that are actually illegal. Worst case, and far more likely, involved in a number of disturbing coverups for god knows why and no one in either embassy or in the austrian judicial system will touch it in any way. If it's not a coverup, at least admit your people were inept and let the family move on. Christ!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hold on a minute. The title suggests a contemporary fiction mystery set against a snowy backdrop, like oh so many recent offerings with either "cold" or "dead" or both in said title. This book has nothing in common with that fare. Rather, it's is a very well-written and engaging work of non-fiction covering the decades-long case of a young Canadian gone missing in the Austrian Alps in 1989 and the subsequent mishandling and manipulation of almost every aspect of the investigation by local authorities, with the apparent blessing of a complicit Canadian consulate service.
So, no, this is not yet another mystery crime thriller as the (unfortunate) title might leave you to believe, but a solidly researched and documented expose of botched justice.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow ... I started reading "Cold A Long Time" on Saturday and just finished about an hour ago. In total it maybe took me max 6 hours. It sucked me in on Saturday so much I read until 5am.

There are really two parts to this book. The first part is the story of Duncan MacPherson, while the second part is an investigation into (what I am going to call) his murder. Duncan was a professional hockey player for a short time, and is from Saskatoon. In 1989 he got a new job as a hockey coach in Scotland and decided to visit friends in Europe before he had to report to work. On August 9th he stopped at the Stubai Glacier ski resort in Austria to try his hand at snowboarding, and disappeared.

Duncan's parents tried to do everything they could from Canada to help find him, to no avail. They tell the story of how they tried to get everyone - from the RCMP to Foreign Affairs - to help them liaise with the Austrian government and law enforcement. Finally, after practically no help from the Canadian government, they flew to Austria to conduct an investigation of their own. In the process they discovered that law enforcement in the areas where he might have been travelling had never received the post from Interpol about the fact that he was missing. They were also told by Canadian officials in Austria to "just get on with their lives."

While in Austria in September the car Duncan was driving (which belonged to a friend of his in Germany) was found at the Stubai ski resort, in the middle of the parking lot. It had been there since August 9th (six weeks). While talking to locals in that area they were told numerous times that if someone's car is left in a parking lot, or if someone doesn't return equipment or pick up their ID, they ALWAYS alert officials to search the mountain. Yet Duncan's car sat in the parking lot for 6 weeks and no one did anything. AND the equipment he rented wasn't returned AND he'd left some wet clothing in the office of a ski instructor.

In the process of their personal investigation, Duncan's parents ran into an almost secret society in the Stubai area. A place that do depended on the ski resort for it's well being that no one would ever jeopardize it's reputation by doing anything stupid, like report a dead body or missing tourist!

Duncan's parents went back in 1990 to continue their search - again to no avail. Local officials were downright annoyed with them for asking so many questions - and showed it. Canadian officials withheld information from them about the investigation. Austrian officials lied on official reports they sent to the Canadians. All in all, NO ONE wanted to help - NO ONE.

In July of 2003 the glacier on the ski hill where Duncan was last seen melted quite a lot, and his body was uncovered. You'd think this would start an investigation - but no. Officials didn't even participate in the recovery of the body! No forensic analysis was done. And things that were found with the body either disappeared before Duncan's parents collected his remains, or were ignored if they indicated anything negative. No autopsy was done by the Austrians, and the forensic pathologist they spoke to didn't provide them with accurate info about the fact that they could order their own if they wanted.

Duncan's parents saw his body in July of 2003, but only from the neck up, as he was covered with a sheet. This (I would think) wouldn't be abnormal in a morgue, however, because the sheet covered the rest of his body, they did not know at the time that both his hands had been cut off, and his left leg had been completely mangled. They only found this out AFTER they had his body cremated from X-rays and photos (that they weren't provided with earlier).

From start to finish the entire situation was botched up by everyone involved. From the story, I don't think there was a single person involved - specifically on the Austrian side - who even slightly cared about what had happened to Duncan or what his parents were going through. But some pretended - and a LOT lied and mislead.

After a lot of pain and heartache, after their retirement savings were gone, they decided to ask someone to write a book about the story. This also meant that someone else - someone impartial who didn't know them - would get the chance to look at the evidence and investigate what happened. They asked John Leake, who happened to speak German and live in Austria, but was an American. Leake does a suburb job of telling Duncan's story, and his parents fight to find out what happened to him. But he goes even further by doing a complete and thorough investigation himself - and explains the whole process to the readers.

In the end MANY non-Austrian experts agreed on one thing - what the Austrians said happened to Duncan was a lie. In fact, the final conclusion was even more horrible than his parents would ever have imagined (and I won't mention here should you want to read the book). While Duncan's parents will never see anyone prosecuted in a court of law, or anyone acknowledge what happened to Duncan, or receive an apology from either the Austrian or Canadian government, the books concludes that they've finally been able to find closure.

Leake writes the story so well that you don't notice how quickly you're getting through the story. His conclusions are logical and reasonable, and don't always coincide with what Duncan's parents believed. While irrefutable evidence was never uncovered (mostly because the whole investigation was botched) the evidence that was found would probably have been sufficient for a court of law - and it was more than enough to convince me that their conclusions were probably pretty close to the truth.

The book has also made me realize how much I never want to visit the Stubai area of Austria! Leake mentions so many other unexplained deaths of foreigners in that area, in addition to Duncan's, that it seems like there might be an epidemic. The book also touches on the thoughts and ideas around HOW people can be so unempathetic and immoral, and the workings of some aspects of human nature. While the story about what happened to Duncan is horrible, the story about HOW the Austrians treated the whole situation is much worse. It is hard to imagine that people can treat other human beings the way their treated Duncan and his parents - but it also makes you stop and wonder what you would do in the same situation.

Overall this book is a must read. If nothing else it makes you aware of how awful human beings can be, and shows you a little bit about the 'real world'.

[Matthew Boerschig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reads like a fast-paced international thriller. The story of the investigation into a seemingly innocuous accident reveals the hidden nature behind a community that is dependent on the stability of a single business and industry.

There is no doubt after reading this book that a crime to Duncan MacPherson was committed, and the cover-up involved the entire Tyrol community to some degree, whether by ignorance or malfeasance. Duncan’s parents are a shining example of the how the love for a child expands beyond the realm of living. If something happened to me like what happened to Duncan I can only hope my parents exhibited a fraction of the determination to get answers the MacPhersons’ did. And hats off to John Leake as well for absorbing himself in the mystery. I fully agree with the findings in this book.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightmarish account of a young Canadian's disappearance in Europe, and the subsequent search by his parents, who find the authorities incompetent, secretive and uncooperative. The book is engrossing but depressing.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I couldn't put down, but had to put down just because at times it was just too much to handle. I needed some time to think, to digest and then go on. The many facts, details, names etc made it sometimes a confusing read and would probably be more understandable, accessible for people in a filmed documentary.

It's a sad and horrible story of a young man who was at the wrong place at the wrong time and became a victim of a chain of unfortunate circumstances. Locals hiding the truth to protect their community and incomes. Parents having to deal with the worst thing ever, pain caused by the loss of their child, but yet never giving up in the hope to one day reveal the truth out of respect for their son and to give themselves some kind of closure.

I have huge admiration for the parents of Duncan that never gave up the fight and in the end succeeded in finding the truth that was more shocking than their worst nightmare. I hope they found peace...

We all know that things are hidden from us to avoid negative publicity for the protection of a greater 'good'. This can be on a small or very big scale, but it happens every single day and innocent people like the parents of Duncan become the victims. Is it really worth it and is it a humane thing to do? How can we ever stop this from happening again?

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about a missing persons case that is completely new to me. Had no idea that Austrian ski resorts could be so... nefarious. The author veers between a just-the-facts-ma'am approach to the story and very personal musing and philosophizing. It makes for an odd mix at times, but it's an approach I've seen in similar books so I ultimately didn't mind it. I think this book is at its best in the passages about how the gears of bureaucracy can conceal all kinds of wrongdoing. While this story is more convoluted and macabre than others in which people have been victimized by a code of silence, it's still pretty emblematic of a very common type of evil. The parts about Dr. Rabl gave me this slow-building sense of dread, too. I so wanted the parents to have SOMEONE in the upper echelons that was actually on their side, but it was not to be. But I felt my own sense of betrayal as the book built to the conclusion that he had been deceitful. I can only imagine how the parents felt when they had the same realization. I think the MacPhersons were right to trust the author with this story. Ultimately, it does the story justice.

[BJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the true story of a Canadian couple's search for their son, a young hockey player, who disappeared in Austria in 1989. It's about their determination to find out what happened to him and the obstacles placed in their way by the Austrians and their own government. This story was an engrossing read which saddened and enraged me on behalf of the MacPherson's. All they wanted was to find out what happened to their son, how he died, find his body and bring him home. What they got was constant obstruction and lies from Austrian and Canadian officials for 20 years. This book is the story of how they pieced together what happened to Duncan.

[Susieqkw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great true crime book. My heart breaks for the parents.

[L.M. Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

COLD A LONG TIME deals with the disappearance of Duncan MacPherson, a 23-year-old former pro hockey player from Saskatoon, on Austria's Stubai Glacier in 1989... or, maybe more accurately, it deals with the fight his parents had on their hands to find out what had happened to their son. As you might expect, it's a fascinating mystery.

Bob and Lynda MacPherson got John Leake involved more than 20 years after their son disappeared. That was 20 years of outright lying or indirect omission from most of the people they dealt with in Austria's Tyrol region, and general unhelpfulness from Canadian authorities. This book is the result of their working together and of Leake pulling in other sources to try to make sense of what happened to Duncan in 1989 and how things were mishandled after his body was found in 2003.

Leake's writing style is on the clean and sparse side, which I think was good for this book. You can tell he didn't remain entirely objective (how could you?), and so his writing never gets so dry as to lose the humanity behind the story he's explaining, but also avoids going the other way into overzealously digging into the story. The pictures in the paperback are difficult to see in black and white (they're also on coldalongtime.com in colour).

Overall, Leake puts together what the MacPhersons learned on their own and what he helped find out to present the facts that were covered up and the likeliest theory about Duncan's death and the coverup around it in a solid book. The writing itself makes for easy reading; it's the story, the dead young man and his bereaved parents who just want answers, that makes it hard.

[Tiger Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold A Long Time is a fascinating look at extreme malfeasance in the Austrian town of Tyrol. Before development by Herr Klier, the glacier and surrounding areas were home to little more than bands of herders, and people struggled to get by. When Herr Klier decided to develop the area, he took on the aura of a beloved king, even a demi-god. Those who had showed initial reluctance to his plans came around once tourism money started flowing in. Almost everyone in Tyrol is indebted to the ski resort and the industry that sprung up to support it. The waitress the author talks with about halfway through the book, for example, has worked in the bar for most of her life.

Given such a history it becomes easy to see why, when tourist Duncan McPhearson disappears on the slope, it takes his parents over twenty years to find the truth. Despite a truly convoluted series of lies from virtually everyone in Tyrol, the author is brought on board and eventually unravels the mystery: after renting an inadequate snowboarding set up (sold to him by a man that should know better) Duncan caught his board in the edge of a crevasse. Doing so inflicted some type of injury to his knee (either a fracture or damage to the ligaments). Unable to walk, he sat there waiting to be rescued, only to be violently pulled in to a grooming tiller and mangled to death. Instead of anyone involved calling the authorities, they pushed Duncan and all of his gear in to a crevasse and covered it with snow. If he hadn't melted out of the ice sooner than expected, his parents would never have known what happened.

I can forgive the tiller driver, who likely went in to an immediate state of incoherence and shock (an expert on ice and snow accidents later told the author that this reaction is very common; the grooming tiller inflicts truly horrific injuries). I can even understand why people might have tried to cover it up, though obviously I don't condone letting a family endure the torture of not knowing. But the true evil in this case is Dr. Walter Rabl, the medical examiner in this case. Throughout the entire ordeal he presented himself as a friend to the McPhearson's, convincing them that the paltry evidence he did eventually send them (a few low quality photos) was sent under duress, as if he were heroically resisting the pressure to cover up what had truly happened. But the author quickly discovers that he's lying and in fact has been deceiving the grieving parents for years. In one of the pictures, the author notices a cable wrapped around Duncan's leg, implying that his body had been pulled free of the tiller using this item. Except after Dr. Rabl got ahold of the body, that item disappeared and he denies knowledge of it, even though it is in pictures he took. He also convinces the parents to forgo an autopsy. People, if you are ever in a situation that is even slightly suspicious, ALWAYS GET AN AUTOPSY.

Described as a charismatic man who offers visitors to his office delicious little cappucinos, Dr. Rabl to me is an instantly suspicious character. Many times when I read true crime books I am shocked by how trusting people are. This is not a criticism of them. Most often the victims are honest people, and have the reasonable assumption that most others are also honest. Lynda, the mother, kept repeating "how can people lie?" To her, a no nonsense crusader for justice, she couldn't conceive that the man she considered her friend would treat her so shabbily. He had listened to her pour out her heart. He shed tears (later it was realized he stole them from a crocodile) over the fate of her child, assumedly out of empathy. But I see something sinister in his little cups of coffee: a power play. So cruelly does he invoke the societal contract that even the author gets played, manipulated and then ushered out the door, to the point that he only realizes it after the meeting is already over. Once again I will say, be skeptical, especially if the people you meet in the midst of high stress situations are nice and charismatic. Of course, plenty of people ARE completely genuine, but keep your wits about you until you can see their actions. How you feel about them doesn't matter. Their words don't matter. Only their consistent actions.

Now does it end there for Dr. Rabl. Over the years other visitors to Tyrol have died under suspicious circumstances. A young man named Raven was found stabbed to death and half naked on a mattress, out in the elements. The esteemed doctor, this lionized figure, this doctor of medicine who is supposed to be a champion of truth and healing, said that Raven must have striped off his clothes, dragged the mattress down the hill in below freezing temperatures, and then died there in some misguided suicide attempt. Or what about the woman who was stabbed to death in a shop> My, what stab wounds? Because according to Dr. Rabl, there weren't any. He has handled several other murder cases in this same way. If you go to Tyrol, watch yourself, because if something happens to you, you will receive no justice from Dr. Rabl. Your life is clearly worth less than the tourism dollars the town would lose to bad publicity. Sadly I doubt Dr. Rabl has ever had to pay a day in his life for all the heartache and suffering he's caused. Why should he, when the entire town and even the Austrian government is in on the conspiracy? This resort is their entire lives, their livelihood. A few missing tourists or a few missing women mean nothing in comparison.


And yet, the author does such a good job fleshing out the parents as characters that even without the horrific machinations they have to endure, the reader would likely feel sympathy. Both Lynda and Bob have suffered more tragedies in their lives than anyone should have to, Lynda losing her first fiancee to a freak accident, and Bob losing a child to suicide. Duncan is clearly a child to be proud of, a gentle man, a talented athlete, and yet he was taken from them too. Only in the end, after spending their retirement savings on investigating the truth, are they able to bring his body home. Within their story and marriage is a good lesson for all of us though: ""Touched with a long train of shabby behavior, they never yielded to the temptation of hate or cynicism. Tricked and manipulated, they remained honest. Encountering all that is lamentable about human nature, they responded with all that is best about it."

[Bill reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Duncan MacPherson was a natural athlete and first round draft pick of the New York Islanders. His injury plagued career ended at the age of twenty-three and he accepted a head coaching position in Scotland.
Duncan decided to tour Europe on his way to Scotland and vanished without a trace in Austria in August of 1989. His panicked mother and father traveled there to investigate his disappearance. The Austrian and Italian police were of little help. They lightheartedly said that he had most likely met a girl and was involved in a romantic adventure. It was an unlikely scenario as he had a serious girlfriend back in Canada.
The MacPherson's spent most of their retirement savings investigating the mystery until his body was discovered on a ski run fourteen years later. His car rental had been found at the resort in 1989.
Unfortunately, the book is extremely repetitive with the word "crevasse" used at least one hundred times in description of the slope in Austria where Duncan's body was recovered.
Post mortem photos are included with speculation on the events surrounding the young man's death.
I was hugely disappointed in Leake's book after reading his excellent "Entering Hades," a riveting account of serial killer Jack Unterweger.

[Antigone Walsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

some times the cover-up is as bad if not worse than the crime. At least that seems to be the case for the desperate parents of a former professional hockey player. Duncan took a holiday to an Austrian ski resort before starting a job in Scotland. but he disappeared never making it to Scotland. His parents were blocked by a wall of lies, deception and silence all of which seem pathetically silly in view of the tragic and unnecessary loss of life.

This is a sad and depressing book. The conclusions are based on more supposition than real fact although the cover-up was unquestionably intentional. It certainly underscores the importance of letting someone know where you are especially when visiting foreign locales even if you are big and strong. The book itself is a bit of a slog to get through. It is dull and slow at times. It seems that the parents did little but spin their wheels for most of the time. Duncan's death was a tragedy compounded by deceit. Hopefully, this book gives them a modicum of peace and a little bit of vengeance.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well researched and interesting, though ultimately tragic book. In August of 1989, Duncan MacPherson disappeared while travelling in Europe. His family and friends traced his last known location to a ski resort in Innsbruck Austria. They spent the next 14 years trying to find him and a total of about 30 years trying to determine just what happened to him.

I started this with the expectation that it would be a true crime murder mystery. It is true crime, but not what you'd expect. Duncan's parents, especially his mother, spent years and most of their life savings trying to get answers. Eventually, with the help of the author, and a variety of experts they reached an answer that fit the information they had.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I'm incredibly impressed by how much trouble the author went through to document Duncan's disappearance and the investigation surrounding it, and how much he has tried to help the MacPherson family by creating the website coldalongtime.com. Seriously good on you, John Leake.


This is a really well written book. I heard about it through a forum and saw the website, and it intrigued me enough to pick up the book. Really enjoyed reading it. I feel bad that the family hasn't got too much closure. But all around an interesting albeit sad true mystery. Would definitely recommend the book to those interested in disappearances and crime.

[Corbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Registered letter with every passport

If you leave US jurisdiction, you no longer have any guaranteed rights. In case of death, the body may not be sent home, even if you could afford it. You are governed by the laws of the country or district in which the theft, injury, or death occurs. You are not even guaranteed a phone call. It's called a US constitution for a reason. Think before you embark on your trip. Set up a prearranged contact time every day in the US so you will be looked for quickly!

[Jan Tisdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

1989 Duncan MacPherson, pro hockey player from Saskatchewan, vanished in Europe. With no help from police, parents drive all over the alps looking for him.
Found his car near a ski resort. Story of parents 20 yr struggle to learn what happened to him.
A twisted cover up.

“. Parents were strong all those years trying to find out what happened, and got some closure. Wish the person who knows what happened would come forward. How did the cover up get a way with it”.

[Mystic Miraflores · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a parent, I felt very sad for the McPhersons and their tragic story. They were brave and persistent in uncovering the truth, when others may have given up. Still, I thought the story was too long-winded and the author could have tightened it up in some places.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

What they put this woman through and her husband, just wanting to find their son is just psychological evil. I give the author a lot of credit for getting so involved in writing this book. Read it it'll keep you interested. And stay the hell out of Austria.

[Fatma · Rating 4 out of 5]

مؤلم أن يموت شخص وحيدا في هذا البرد والألم.. وما يستحق الاشادة هو اصرار أهلهم على البحث عنه َوعن سبب اختفاءه ثم وفاته.. قاموا بدور المحقق والشرطي ورجال الطواريء... ومخجل ما قامت به السلطات من تغطية على هذه الجريمة المكاسب مادية.. لا انسانية ولا رحمة بأهله.
قصة محزنة لكن تكشف الوجه الاخر للفساد

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and sad story of a young man who disappeared in Austria and was presumed dead. This is the story of the investigation to find out the truth of his disappearance. A bit slow at time, but well researched. I do like Leake's writing and have read other true crime books of his.

[Kathryn Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting to see what a company town will protect at all costs. It took me two days to read, very interesting.

[Kimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and glad the mystery finally came to rest. A must read.

[Donna Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

gut wrenching.