Susan Seymour Adams Vanished in the Selway‑Bitterroot Wilderness
In 1990, 42‑year‑old Susan Seymour Adams vanished while camping with her husband and a group of hunters near Battle Lake in the Selway‑Bitterroot Wilderness, part of the Nez Perce–Clearwater National Forest. Susan was 5'6", around 140 lbs, and was carrying camouflage‑print clothing, a camera, and binoculars.
The couple, from Austin, Texas, had spent months planning the trip. They arrived in the area on 22 September 1990 with guides from Horse Outfitters.
On the morning of 30 September, Susan remained in camp while the others prepared for the day. Around 9 a.m., she told the group she was heading to a nearby meadow to do some birdwatching. It was a short walk—nothing challenging, nothing remote. She left the camp and was never seen again.
When she failed to return, her husband followed her tracks along the trail. They led to a point roughly 20 yards from the meadow… and then stopped. No continuation. No sign of a fall. No indication she’d left the trail. Just an abrupt end.
An intensive search followed. Susan had no food, no warm clothing, and no survival gear. Authorities initially assumed she’d become lost or injured, but no trace of her was ever found. A second search in July 1991 was hampered by rugged terrain and bad weather. On 19 July 1991, an Idaho District Judge declared her legally dead.
Vanished.us Says
This case grabbed my attention immediately. This is the same region where Connie Johnson vanished—and our database shows Terrence Woods, Ronald Scott Gray, and Barbra Assunta Bolick also disappeared in this broader area. Something about this region swallows people.
The report states Susan’s husband was out hunting when she went missing, which means he was with others and not near the meadow. By all accounts, the couple were happy and had been looking forward to this trip for months.
So why did her tracks simply stop?
This isn’t a city street where someone can pull up, grab a person, and drive off. And if someone had lifted her onto a horse, you’d expect noise—struggle, shouting, something.
Instead, we have another case where a person seems to have been plucked from the landscape without a trace.
Another disappearance in a region with far too many of them.