Aug 20, 2026 · 30 min · 13 segments
Martine Vik Magnussen was a 23-year-old Norwegian student living in London, with a bright future ahead of her. After a night out with friends, Martine disappeared. What followed would become one of…
It was a spring evening in March 2008, and 23-year-old Martine Vik Magnussen was getting ready for a night out with friends at the flat she shared with three other Norwegian women in London.
Clothes were being borrowed, music was playing, laughter filled the air, and wine was being poured.
And Martine was getting ready in front of the mirror, applying the silver eyeshadow that she'd chosen for the evening.
The university term was coming to an end, and Martine had just received some particularly good news.
For Martine, that achievement meant much more than just doing well in some exams, because just a couple of years earlier, she'd imagined that her life would look very, very different to how it did today.
Her childhood was a really happy and active one, with her spending most of her time outdoors, swimming, exploring, and enjoying the water surrounding the island.
As she got older, the Magnussen home became somewhere where friends regularly gathered.
And during the summers, she organized parties near the water with music, food, and friends coming and going.
At different points, she was interested in ballet and horses, but eventually she became convinced that she wanted to study medicine.
Martine was bright enough academically, but she was also someone who enjoyed helping other people.
But after several months, Martine realized something vitally important, which is that she just didn't enjoy it.
The future she'd imagined for herself wasn't actually the future she wanted at all.
It was a spring evening in March 2008, and 23-year-old Martine Vik Magnussen was getting ready for a night out with friends at the flat she shared with three other Norwegian women in London.
Clothes were being borrowed, music was playing, laughter filled the air, and wine was being poured.
And Martine was getting ready in front of the mirror, applying the silver eyeshadow that she'd chosen for the evening.
The university term was coming to an end, and Martine had just received some particularly good news.
For Martine, that achievement meant much more than just doing well in some exams, because just a couple of years earlier, she'd imagined that her life would look very, very different to how it did today.
Her childhood was a really happy and active one, with her spending most of her time outdoors, swimming, exploring, and enjoying the water surrounding the island.
As she got older, the Magnussen home became somewhere where friends regularly gathered.
And during the summers, she organized parties near the water with music, food, and friends coming and going.
At different points, she was interested in ballet and horses, but eventually she became convinced that she wanted to study medicine.
Martine was bright enough academically, but she was also someone who enjoyed helping other people.
But after several months, Martine realized something vitally important, which is that she just didn't enjoy it.
The future she'd imagined for herself wasn't actually the future she wanted at all.
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