In September 2015, Denver police officer Piper Crumbede (31), known for her meticulous habits, vanished during a solo multi-day trek in Rocky Mountain National Park. Her car was found at the trailhead, locked, but the extensive search yielded nothing but silence. For two years, Piper’s fate remained a cold, baffling mystery.

I. The Wilderness Clue: A Shoe and a Memory Card

In July 2017, field biologist Ellen Wilder stumbled upon a shredded, decaying campsite miles from any trail. Among the debris was a pair of worn hiking shoes. Inside one shoe, concealed beneath the insole, was a black SD memory card—corroded, yet intact.

The gear was confirmed as Piper’s. The SD card, a deliberate act of evidence preservation, was rushed to the lab. While technicians couldn’t recover images, they salvaged crucial metadata fragments—a cluster of GPS coordinates and a timestamp, created days after Piper vanished.

The coordinates pointed to a remote cave system, miles from where her gear was found. The implication was clear: Piper had left a deliberate breadcrumb trail.

II. The Trail to the Killer

A new expedition found Piper’s aluminum water bottle near the cave entrance, but no sign of her. The trail stalled until investigators revisited Piper’s police training records, noticing she’d taken a wilderness tactical course. One name stood out: Von Go, a charismatic local guide with a hidden criminal past and deep knowledge of the park’s remote areas.

Go was tracked down and arrested. Under pressure, he confessed.

III. Piper’s Final Act of Defiance

Go’s chilling story began when he met Piper at a lodge; they hiked and spent the night at a hidden cave. The next day, when Go revealed his criminal history, Piper, the police officer, reacted with alarm. An argument erupted, and Go shoved her—she fell, struck her head, and lost consciousness. Panicked, Go fled, leaving her for dead.

Investigators believe Piper regained consciousness, severely injured, and attempted to hike out. She documented her situation on the SD card and deliberately hid it in her shoe—her final act of defiance and hope. She succumbed to her injuries several miles later, her gear scattering in the forest.

Guided by Go’s confession, search teams found Piper’s remains beneath a rock overhang. Forensic analysis confirmed a fatal head injury consistent with the fall.

Von Go pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years. Piper’s training, her resourcefulness, and her sheer will to leave evidence behind ensured that her story was eventually told. The SD card, hidden in a muddy shoe, became her last voice—a silent cry for justice that echoed through the Rockies and finally found its way home.