Kirsten Brydum, a 25-year-old community activist from San Francisco, was traveling cross-country and documenting her journey when she arrived in New Orleans in late September 2008. On September 25 she posted about the city with optimism. In the early morning hours of September 27 she was last seen riding a bicycle after an evening out. Later that day her body was found on a sidewalk in the Ninth Ward; she had been shot in the head and her wallet and bicycle were missing, so police initially investigated the death as a robbery.

For years the case remained unsolved and grew cold, leaving Brydum’s family and friends without answers. In 2018 a man incarcerated in Texas confessed to a series of killings in New Orleans and admitted to Brydum’s murder, saying he had sexually assaulted her before killing her and had planned to destroy the body but was prevented by a car accident. The man was later indicted on multiple counts of first-degree murder in connection with those cases.

If anyone knew Brydum’s travel plans, saw her in New Orleans around September 26–27, 2008, or has information about her final hours, please come forward.