Spring/Summer 2025 - The Disappearance of Thomas Riha

It’s a Cold War cold case! In this issue of The Colorado Magazine, History Colorado Exhibit Developer and Historian Katherine Mercier brings you the true story of a missing CU Boulder Russian History professor whose disappearance has never been solved. Will you be the one to connect the dots and figure out what happened to Thomas Riha?

Also in this issue, we pay homage to former editor David Wetzel, Colorado Magazine Assistant Editor Devin Flores looks through the lens of Frank Muramoto, and Judge Gary Jackson is back with the story of the enterprising lawyers who founded the Sam Carey Bar Association—Colorado’s vanguard association for Black attorneys. Last, but certainly not least, History Colorado Collections Access Coordinator Jori Johnson brings us the unbelievable true story of a high society hoodlum who hoodwinked some of Colorado’s wealthiest and most prominent citizens with an elaborate intercontinental fraud.  

All of that (and so much more!) in this issue of The Colorado Magazine! We are so grateful to you, our readers, for continuing to support this publication. We sincerely hope you enjoy our latest offerings.

Join our digital volunteer network on Zooniverse and help us transcribe documents. As a way to make our collection more accessible, this work will create additional resources and knowledge about Colorado history and will have significant impact for researchers throughout the world. 

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