It's the middle of July in Alaska, and so far it's been one of the hottest and driest summers on record.

Wildfires rage across the state,

with billowing smoke clouds blurring the sky and the familiar smell of campfire permeating everything.

But July also marks the one-year point for me looking into Aaron Gilbert's case, and the time

has come for me to wrap up my work, at least for now.

In the last year, I've learned a lot about what it takes to look into cold cases. I've learned

that it takes dedication, consistency, and patience, and it takes bravery. But I've also learned

some sobering lessons.

Trying to find out the truth about what happened to Aaron has been challenging.

For one, her remains have never been located, and there's been little to no physical evidence found,

at least as far as I can tell.

This means that for law enforcement, Aaron's family, and people like me, there's really not much to go on other than old news reports and a limited array of eyewitness accounts.

Two, it feels like there's a code of silence surrounding Aaron's disappearance.

Aaron's date, Dave Combs, remains silent, leaving the details in timeline of July 1, 1995, murky.

Additionally, the case file, which I've heard as extensive, is under lock and key due to the case still being technically open.

Obviously, the cold case unit has their reasons for keeping the file under wraps,

but still, I can't help but feel like being able to read that case file

would clear up a lot of questions.

But then again, maybe it wouldn't.

Third, the eyewitness accounts, at least from the people I spoke with, although intriguing, were fairly vague, particularly when describing the man they saw Aaron with.

I also heard that Aaron was seen at Max's Bar and Grill that night, but I was unable to find anyone else to corroborate that story.

I guess to put it into perspective, try and ask yourself to describe a detailed memory from 20 years ago. It's not that easy,

...