In Silver Plume, Colorado, journalist Keith Reinhard vanished while writing a novel about another man’s disappearance.
Three decades later, sinister questions about what actually happened to Reinhard have given rise to a story of legend in Silver Plume - a town haunted by a century-old pattern of tragedy and death.
SILVER PLUME’s LONG HISTORY OF DARKNESS
The old mining town of Silver Plume, Colorado is known as the “living ghost town”.
Since the 1890s silver crash, its population has plummeted to a mere 130, largely a melting pot of transplants from around the country - teachers, artisans, and builders.
The town, just the blink of an eye along the Interstate 45 miles west of Denver, has an eerie, windswept vacantness. Steep canyon walls sandwich the valley in shadow. The north side of town receives as little as two and a half hours of direct sunlight a day in winter; the south doesn't see the sun at all for about six weeks a year. To add to its darkness, Silver Plume is haunted by a century-old pattern of bizarre and mysterious deaths.
A granite shrine looming on a cliff above town serves as a reminder of its macabre legacy. Clifford Griffin, superintendent of the 7:30 Mine, died by a bullet to the head in 1887.
Over a hundred years later, Silver Plume’s people continue to argue whether Clifford committed suicide or was murdered.
BOOKSELLER TOM YOUNG VANISHED IN 1987
Tom Young was a veteran of the Army Special Forces and former Arvada high school teacher who moved to Silver Plume, Colorado in 1969. He lived alone with his dog, Gus, on the south side of Pendleton Mountain - the dark side of town caught in perpetual shadow.
On September 7, 1987, Tom Young closed up his bookshop on Silver Plume’s Main Street, and along with his dog, Gus, vanished without a trace. He was never seen alive again.
Eleven months after his disappearance, two hunters discovered the remains of Tom and his dog in the mountains outside Silver Plume. Each had died from a bullet wound to the head. A gun was found on the scene, along with pieces of a shredded green tarp, suggesting that the bodies had been purposely concealed.
The death was eventually ruled a suicide, but a cloud of suspicion remained.
IN 1988, JOURNALIST KEITH REINHARD BEGAN WRITING ABOUT TOM’S DISAPPEARANCE - THEN DISAPPEARED, TOO.
Keith Reinhard was a Daily Herald sportswriter from suburban Chicago. Following the disappearance of Tom Young, Reinhard took a three month sabbatical from his job. He moved to Silver Plume, renting Tom Young's vacated bookstore. He became obsessed with the mystery surrounding Young's disappearance and began writing a novel based on Tom's story.
One week after Tom Young’s remains were found, Keith walked through Silver Plume telling everyone he saw that he was going to climb to the top of Pendleton Mountain.
Keith had a known fear of heights, and was leaving at 5 PM - far too late in the day to begin a difficult six-hour hike. That night, Keith Reinhard did not return.
For seven days, over 200 volunteers combed the mountains searching for Reinhard.
Investigators discovered Reinhard’s unfinished novel inside his apartment. The final paragraphs in the story read like a description of his own disappearance, fueling speculation that Keith had staged his own disappearance.
Despite one of the largest search and rescue missions ever launched in Colorado’s history, no trace of Keith Reinhard was ever found.
Was there a connection between the disappearances of Tom Young and Keith Reinhard?
What was the relationship between Tom and Keith?
Was Keith murdered, or did he commit suicide?
Or, is it possible Keith simply perished on the mountain?
These disturbing questions have persisted for over thirty years - giving rise to a modern story of legend in the old mining town of Silver Plume.
Case Timeline
001 | SEPTEMBER 7, 1987
Tom Young closes his bookshop in Silver Plume, Colorado. He and his dog, Gus, are never seen alive again.
003 | JUNE 1988
Keith Reinhard, a journalist from suburban Chicago, moves into Tom Young’s vacated bookshop. Reinhard is fascinated with Tom’s disappearance and begins writing a novel based on the mystery.
005 | AUG 6, 1988
Keith Reinhard attends a party held at the KP Building in Silver Plume, Colorado.
He is seen talking with an unidentified female.
002 | OCTOBER 1987
Silver Plume residents report Tom Young as a missing person. The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office begins investigating.
004 | JULY 31, 1988
Hunters discover the skeletal remains of Tom Young and his dog on Sherman Mountain outside Silver Plume. Sheriff’s investigators rule Tom’s death a suicide, but disturbing questions remain.
006 | AUG 7, 1988
Despite having a known fear of heights, Reinhard tells people he's going to hike to the top of Pendleton Mountain, a 12,500 foot peak. Keith was last seen leaving town at 5 PM.
007 | AUG 8, 1988
Keith Reinhard is reported missing. Colorado’s Alpine Rescue Team launches a massive search and rescue mission on Pendleton Mountain.
008 | AUG 9, 1988
Reinhard’s unfinished novel is discovered on his personal computer. The final paragraph sounds like a description of his own disappearance.
009 | AUG 11, 1988
During an air search, a Civil Air Patrol plane crashes into Pendleton Mountain killing the pilot, Terry Leadens, and badly injuring the spotter, Don Drobny.
010 | AUG 14, 1988
After seven days, the search for Keith Reinhard is called off with no resolution. It was the largest search and rescue mission in Colorado's history.
011 | JAN 31, 1990
Unsolved Mysteries airs a segment on the Reinhard story, focusing on speculation Keith may have staged his disappearance. Police receive over 270 tips, but no new evidence is found.
012 | TODAY
Working alongside Keith Reinhard’s family, Dark Side of the Mountain’s documentary team has devoted years of work into reinvestigating Keith Reinhard’s disappearance.
Case Files
THE FILM
Director Eric Walter and Cinematographer Kevin Stewart filming on Pendleton Mountain.
NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, THE DEFINITIVE STORY IS TOLD BY THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IT.
Dark Side of the Mountain’s production team has worked meticulously alongside the people of Silver Plume and Keith Reinhard’s family to compile the most in-depth and authoritative account of this case to date.
With personal insight from Keith Reinhard’s letters, notes, and manuscripts, the film paints a vivid reconstruction of Keith’s unfinished novel in his own words – writings that have been lost for over three decades.
Weaving together a unique blend of cinematic interviews, haunting reconstructions, and never-before-seen archival footage shot by Keith Reinhard himself, Dark Side of the Mountain delves deep into the conspiracy theories surrounding this missing persons case, exploring how we cope with the unknown, depression, and moving on in the face of tragedy.
The Team
Eric Walter
Director / PRODUCER / Editor
Eric Walter is an award-winning director, producer, and editor known for his documentary films exploring bizarre cold cases, unexplained phenomena, and witness psychology.
His directorial debut, My Amityville Horror, was named one of the top 10 festival genre films of 2012. The film was distributed theatrically by IFC Films and is currently available on streaming services.
As an editor for features, docuseries, and commercial advertising, Eric’s work has spanned across a variety of platforms including Netflix, HBO, FX, and many others.
Dark Side of the Mountain is his second feature documentary.
Christine Irons
Producer
Christine Irons is an Austin native now residing in Los Angeles. She was one of the founding members of Austin’s first all-digital production company, Austin Digital Video Center (ADVC). As part of ADVC, she produced and directed numerous narrative digital projects, as well as the documentary, Ladies Nite, which received the audience award at the Valley Film Festival. She served as producer on the vignette film Six in Austin and the award-winning indie, Sexless.
Christine co-produced the documentary feature, My Amityville Horror, released by IFC Films. Currently, Christine is producing unscripted television with a focus on true crime.
Lexy Altman
Producer
Lexy Altman is Director of Development, Nonfiction TV and Documentaries at Condé Nast Entertainment, overseeing a slate of premium feature documentaries and limited series. She joined CNÉ in 2015.
Prior to CNÉ, Lexy worked under Lucy Fisher at Red Wagon Entertainment and for director Garry Marshall.
Rebecca Breithaupt
Producer
Rebecca Breithaupt grew up in Lawrence, Kansas surrounded by the arts, so it came as no surprise to her family when she announced at 13 she wanted to be a producer. Beginning her film career in the Midwest and now well over a decade in LA, she’s amassed a large portfolio of work including the documentary film, My Amityville Horror, creative content and marketing for Bad Robot, NBCUni, Warner Bros, Netflix, Relativity/Europa and Apple as well as numerous short films. In 2016, Rebecca co-created Straight White Guy Listening, a five-part mini-documentary and podcast series which ran for two seasons.
Rebecca currently works as a Creative Producer with the Amazon Studios Originals Marketing Team, prior to which she was a Senior Producer at Ayzenberg Group creating commercial content for Microsoft, NBCUni Interactive, Oculus, Xbox, Minecraft, Intel and Spotify amongst others.
PRESS AND MEDIA
The Daily Herald: 30th Anniversary of Keith Reinhard’s disappearance
Thirty years ago today, Daily Herald sports writer Keith Reinhard vanished without a trace from Silver Plume, Colorado. He has never been found. Burt Constable reports on our efforts to solve this mountain mystery with our upcoming documentary, Dark Side of the Mountain.
CBS DENVER: Still No Clues In Cold Case Of Man Who Went Missing 30 Years Ago
CBS Denver investigator Rick Sallinger covered the mysterious disappearance of Keith Reinhard in 1988. Now three decades later, Rick returned to the site of the massive search.
Armchair Historians Podcast: The Disappearance of Keith Reinhard
Colorado-based podcast, Armchair Historians, interviews Director Eric Walter about the mysterious disappearance of Keith Reinhard in Silver Plume, Colorado and his upcoming documentary feature, Dark Side of the Mountain.
Connect with us.
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