Keith Reinhard

Oct 4

The Vanishing of Keith Reinhard: When Fiction Becomes Reality

In the summer of 1988, a Chicago sportswriter turned would-be novelist locked the door of his antique shop in the tiny mountain town of Silver Plume, Colorado—and walked into legend. His name was Keith Reinhard, and his disappearance has haunted the town ever since.

The eeriness of the case deepens when you learn that only a year earlier, Tom Young, the shop’s previous tenant, had vanished under nearly identical circumstances. When Keith moved into the same space and became consumed with Tom’s story, he couldn’t have known he was scripting the final chapter of his own life.

In our latest episode of And Then They Were Gone, we unpack one of Colorado’s most haunting mysteries—a story where fiction and reality become disturbingly intertwined.

A Writer in Search of Meaning

Keith Reinhard wasn’t just chasing a book deal. He was chasing something bigger—a sense of purpose, maybe even redemption. At 49, he left behind his job at the Daily Herald, his wife, and his grown children to spend a summer writing in what locals described as a “living ghost town.”

But the peaceful isolation of Silver Plume carried shadows. Just a week before Keith disappeared, hikers discovered Tom Young’s remains deep in the mountains—alongside his dog and a gun. For most, that might have been enough reason to pack up and go home. But not Keith.

The Day He Disappeared

On August 7, 1988, Keith told friends he was going to hike Pendleton Mountain. It was late in the afternoon, and he was dressed casually—jeans, sneakers, and a flannel shirt. Hardly the outfit of a serious climber.

Before he left, he joked, “If I don’t come back, call the rescue.”

No one realized he wasn’t joking.

He was never seen again.

The search that followed became one of the largest in Colorado history. Helicopters, search dogs, volunteers—hundreds of them scoured every ridge and ravine. Yet not a single trace of Keith Reinhard was ever found.

Two Men, One Mystery

The coincidences between Tom Young and Keith Reinhard are impossible to overlook. Both men were writers. Both operated the same small-town shop. Both vanished into the mountains that loomed over Silver Plume.

Was Keith’s disappearance a tragic accident? A deliberate act? Or did he stumble onto something he was never meant to uncover? His son, Kai, has long believed the last possibility. “I think my dad found out something,” he once said. “And I don’t think everyone wanted that story told.”

When Art Imitates Death

After Keith vanished, police found his unfinished novel on his typewriter. The final passage sent a chill through everyone who read it.

It described the story’s main character—clearly modeled after Keith himself—putting on a flannel shirt, walking into the wilderness, and never returning.

It was as if the author had written his own disappearance into existence.

In Silver Plume, the locals still talk about Keith Reinhard and the strange summer when fiction and reality became one.

Because sometimes, stories don’t just end—they vanish.

Listen Now

In this episode, we revisit the mysterious disappearance of Keith Reinhard, a man whose curiosity may have cost him his life. We also explore the strange coincidences that tie his fate to Tom Young’s, and the lingering questions that have kept this case alive for more than three decades.

Listen to “The Disappearance of Keith Reinhard” now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.