In the summer of 1933, a gifted 22-year-old doctoral candidate named Joseph Laurence Halpern embarked on a road trip with his parents and a friend, Samuel Garrick. A brilliant student of astronomy and mathematics at the University of Chicago, Halpern was taking a break from his summer job at an observatory in Wisconsin. Their journey took them through the Black Hills of South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park before they arrived at their destination: Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado,
where they set up camp in Glacier Basin. On August 14th, Halpern and Garrick set out for a day hike along the Flattop Mountain Trail, leaving Halpern's parents at the campsite. After reaching the summit, Halpern expressed a desire to continue on towards Taylor Peak, while Garrick, feeling tired, decided to head back. The two friends parted ways in the early afternoon, planning to meet back at the Bear Lake Trailhead at 6:30 p.m. Halpern, carrying an army knapsack with a few sandwiches, fruit, and a park guide, continued his hike alone.
When Halpern failed to return to the trailhead as planned, Garrick waited for three hours before alerting a park ranger. A search was launched that same night, with rangers using electric lights to scan the darkness. In the days that followed, the search intensified, with over 150 volunteers joining park rangers to comb the mountainous terrain. Their efforts were hampered by a snowstorm that struck the area a few days into the search. Despite their exhaustive efforts, no trace of Halpern was ever found. Park authorities checked the registers on nearby peaks, but Halpern's signature was nowhere to be found. The search parties were left with no clues as to whether he had become lost, been injured, or suffered a fatal fall.
In the years following his disappearance, there were several unconfirmed sightings of a man resembling Halpern in various parts of the country. These included reports of him in Phoenix, Arizona, in late 1933; traveling with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Nebraska in 1935; and with a circus in Michigan that same summer. Some speculated that he may have used the alias Louis Hollenbuck. However, none of these leads could be substantiated. The case of Joseph Halpern remains the oldest missing person case in the NamUs system. While the official investigation is no longer active due to the immense passage of time, authorities have collected DNA from his relatives in the hope that it might one day help to identify his remains if they are ever discovered. His family, particularly his father and brother, spent years searching for answers, writing letters to the park service and even the FBI. Despite their tireless efforts and the passage of nearly a century, the disappearance of the brilliant young scientist in the vast wilderness of the Rocky Mountains remains a profound and unresolved mystery.Last Seen: Aug 15, 1933
