James and Hannah went camping in the Keys, at a state park in Key Largo. They picked the campsite because it was on the water, near a coral reef where they planned to go snorkeling. Three friends joined them: Parker Reed, James’s best friend since childhood and at that time, his roommate in Miami. Nico Barlos, who was also doing his residency at the same hospital as James. And Diana Gillespie, Nico’s girlfriend.

On the first night of their planned two-night stay, the group had been drinking heavily until late at night. At some point, after they’d all gone to sleep, Hannah left her tent and stumbled off in the direction of the beach. Parker—who hadn’t made it into his tent, but fell asleep next to the campfire—woke up briefly and saw her leave the campsite, but he fell back asleep almost immediately.

Hannah Nilsson was never seen again.

The next morning, when the rest of the party got up and realized she was missing, no one panicked at first. They assumed she’d gone for a walk or an early-morning swim. But as the hours passed, and she didn’t return, their concern grew, especially once they found the tee-shirt she’d been wearing that night on the beach. This was back in 1993—before anyone had smartphones tracking their location. It was still pretty rare to have a cell phone at all. Nico drove into the nearest town and called the police from the first pay phone he found. A uniformed officer arrived, and when it became clear that this was not a simple case of a drunk tourist who’d wandered off and gotten lost, more police were called in. They searched the immediate area for hours, but nothing was found. A larger search of the campgrounds was done a couple days later, this time with dogs and local volunteers. But the dogs could only track Hannah’s scent to the shoreline, and lost it there.

Of course, Hannah’s companions that weekend were interviewed extensively. James and his friends were eventually allowed to return to Miami, but James—Hannah’s boyfriend, and therefore the top suspect, if it turned out that any foul play had occurred—was interviewed four times.

The police eventually determined that Hannah must have gone for a swim, alone and intoxicated. It was presumed that she’d drowned, and her body had been swept off in the outgoing tide. At the time of her disappearance, Hannah was twenty-one, only three years older than Paige was now.