The Vanishing at Pendleton Mountain | Disaster Strikes E221

Silver Plume, Colorado — population 130 — became the setting for one of the strangest unsolved disappearances in Rocky Mountain history. In the summer of 1988, sportswriter-turned-novelist Keith Reinhard rented a storefront on Main Street, began writing a fictional character based on the building's previous tenant — a reclusive man who'd walked into the mountains and never returned — and slowly lost the boundary between the story he was writing and the life he was living. On August 7th, hungover and wearing tennis shoes, Keith announced to multiple townspeople that he was going to summit 12,275-foot Pendleton Mountain alone, starting at 4:30 in the afternoon — then walked away and was never seen again. What followed was one of the largest search and rescue operations in Colorado history, a fatal plane crash, and a cold case that's now over 35 years old. Was it an accident? A suicide? A staged disappearance? Or did Keith Reinhard stumble onto something about his predecessor's death that someone didn't want known?

00:00 Introduction to Disaster Strikes

00:42 Keith Reinhardt's Mysterious Disappearance

03:01 The Life of Keith Reinhardt

05:20 The Eerie Connection to Tom Young

08:06 Keith's Obsession and Final Days

16:31 The Search and Theories

23:25 Unsolved Mysteries and Ongoing Questions

26:59 Conclusion and Dedication

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References

• Colorado Cold Case Files - Keith Reinhard Case #307 - Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office (Contact: 303-679-2376) - https://apps.colorado.gov/apps/coldcase/casedetail.html?id=307
• Chicago Tribune: "Search for Reporter Halted in Colorado" (August 15, 1988)
• Chicago Tribune: "A Chicago-area sportswriter disappeared 31 years ago in Colorado" (January 9, 2020)
• Daily Herald: "The anniversary of Keith Reinhard's disappearance sparks fresh perspectives" by Jim O'Donnell (August 8, 2023)
• CBS Colorado: "Still No Clues In Cold Case Of Man Who Went Missing 30 Years Ago" (August 7, 2018)
• Eric Walter Blog: "Mountain, Murder, or Mexico?" and "The Needle in the Haystack" - https://www.ericwalterdocs.com/
• Travel Channel: "Lost in the Wild" - Keith Reinhard episode (January 2020) - Investigators: J.J. Kelley and Kinga Philipps
• Unsolved Mysteries: Original broadcast January 31, 1990 (Season 2, Episode 15 with Robert Stack); Rebroadcast Season 6, Episode 20 (with Dennis Farina)
• The Charley Project: Keith R. Reinhard case file - https://charleyproject.org/case/keith-r-reinhard
• StrangeOutdoors.com: "The bizarre disappearance of Keith Reinhard and death of Tom Young in the Rocky Mountains" - https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/keith-reinhard
• Missing NPF: Keith R. Reinhard case listing - https://missingnpf.com/listing/keith-r-reinhard/
• Historic Mysteries: "The Bizarre Disappearance of Keith Reinhard in Silver Plume, Colorado" (April 17, 2020)
• Locations Unknown: Keith Reinhard case profile (November 28, 2021)
• Unsolved Mysteries Wiki: Keith Reinhard and Tom Young case pages
• Our Community Now: "Cold Cases: The Disappearances of These 2 Colorado Men Are Eerily Similar and Creepy as Hell"
• Substack: "Twin Disappearances into the Peaks" by Thorne (July 22, 2021)
• Unsolved.com: Keith Reinhard case discussion forum
• The Curious Case of Keith Reinhard and Tom Young blog (February 24, 2025) - https://www.asheycakes.com/post/the-curious-case-of-keith-reinhard-and-tom-young

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