NYC-Based Journalist Kim Wall Disappeared In An Amateur Submarine In Denmark And It's A Fascinating Story

When I first began writing for Barstool a little over a year ago, I considered my writing lane to be much more covering interesting world news stories than strictly politics. In fact I loathed when folks began calling me “the politics guy,” but Trump became a bigger thing than any of us ever imagined and the political sphere became — and still is — simply unavoidable.

Originally I blogged interesting stories that wouldn’t typically make their way onto Barstool, like the Panama Papers or “The Wolf Of Wall Street” being funded by dirty money. That’s what I pitched Keith and Dave to hoodwink my way into a full time gig and to not being called “Bozo” and truly what I liked to do — find fascinating, relatively complex stories and present them to the readership in the Barstool voice.

Well here we have a story that reminds me of that. We’ve got a 30-year-old, NYC-based freelance journalist disappearing from an amateur, sunken submarine, and the inventor and operator of that submarine — who was a subject of the missing journalist — accused of manslaughter for purposefully sinking that submarine.

Source — Police are investigating the mysterious disappearance of freelance journalist and recent Columbia University graduate Kim Wall, who was last seen boarding a submarine in Copenhagen on Thursday along with Danish inventor and amateur rocket builder Peter Madsen. Now, Danish authorities are alleging that the vessel was “deliberately sunk,” and the inventor known as “Rocket Madsen” is facing charges of preliminary manslaughter, as the search for Wall continues.

The Washington Post reports that Wall, 30, who is based in New York and China, was last seen getting into the UC3 Nautilus submarine with Madsen, a self-described “inventrepreneur” and the subject of her latest piece. When the vessel—described as “the worlds [sic] biggest amateur built submarine,” on a crowdfunding website—did not return the following day, Danish authorities launched a hunt, eventually locating the submarine in a bay about 30 miles south of Copenhagen. Police searched the sub, and Jens Moller, head of the Copenhagen Police’s homicide unit announced at a news conference Sunday that “There are no persons in the submarine, dead or alive,” Reuters reports.

Pretty dark stuff. Here the last believed photo taken of Wall boarding the submarine in question.

Here is the believed chronology of the sub (BBC).

And here’s the theories the authorities are working off of.

Source — Within minutes of contact being established with Peter Madsen, the submarine sank in Koge Bay. Copenhagen police said on Monday that their forensic work on the sub “confirm that the sinking of the submarine was allegedly a consequence of a deliberate act”.

The inventor, well known in Denmark for his submarine and rocket activities, was soon brought ashore and interviewed by Danish reporters. The story was not yet a homicide inquiry.

“The sub was spotted at 10:30 south of Copenhagen and then 20 minutes later it sank. That’s why police said it was basically scuttled,” says Danish TV reporter Trine Maria Ilsoe.

We’re not receiving good signs from the courtroom.

Source — Speaking to reporters at court, Madsen said ‘there is something I really want to tell you later’, without elaborating any further.

The prosecutor asked for doors to the hearing to be closed as information likely to distress Miss Wall’s family was about to be heard.

Now look, Kim Wall is a journalist. The very nature of her job is to take risks, to put herself out there in order to get the stories she needs to properly and wholly do her job. Getting in an amateur submarine with a dude known as “Rocket Madsen” is clearly a risk. Obviously a risk. Most definitely, in every sense of the word, in every imaginable situation known to mankind, a risk.

Here’s Rocket Madsen upon rescue from the doomed sub.

In my professional opinion — after deep, methodical investigation — this guy looks risky.

Guy could be cast as the villain in the next Bond movie tomorrow and nobody’d bat an eye.

I understand that chasing a story is chasing a story. When duty calls, and your duty is to freelance your way around finding interesting shit to cover, you might find yourself in an amateur submarine in Copenhagen with a guy called Rocket Madsen.

Having said that, quick little PSA for everyone out there from your pal Riggsy: Don’t get in an amateur submarine in Copenhagen with a guy named Rocket Madsen. Call it male intuition; call it fatherly instincts; call it whatever you want to call it — not a single inkling of my body or of my mind says it’s a good idea to hop in an amateur submarine in Copenhagen with a guy named Rocket Madsen.

If possible, keep an eye out for Kim Wall. As of the time of this writing, the authorities and her friends and family are looking for her. Fascinating, but likely tragic story.