Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 6, 2026 Medium
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 6, 2026
Stuck on the Medium case, “Lost Above the Treeline”? Open one nudge at a time. Nothing below reveals a verdict unless you click a box marked spoiler.
Back to the case Rules refresher
About this case
Celia Varga, heir to a shipping fortune, vanished on the black run above the village at dusk, and by midnight her family had paid a €5 million ransom into an account in Cyprus. Three days later she skied back into the village, sunburnt, cheerful, and with no memory of where she had been.
This Medium case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 18 of them carry a clue; the other 2 only have something to say about themselves. 2 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Quentin the chalet host (A5) already proven. Their statement is enough on its own to prove one more suspect straight away — read it word by word, especially the counting words (exactly, neighbors, between).
The person between Juno and Leo is a criminal.— Quentin, chalet host (A5)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Kurt (C3) is a criminal, proven by Quentin’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 3 and 4. The statements doing the work are “between” clues, direction clues and shared-neighbor counts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with “between” clues, only the cards strictly between the two named suspects count.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Quentin’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Kurt (C3) — a criminal.
Nudge 3 — after about 5 proven suspects
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 2 and 5. The statements doing the work are direction clues, shared-neighbor counts and paired verdicts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with direction clues, the speaker is never included, and nor is anyone in a different row or column.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Olive’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Sadie (C5) — innocent.
Nudge 4 — after about 10 proven suspects
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 1 and 3. The statements doing the work are “between” clues, neighbor counts and odd/even clues. 2 steps here need 2 statements read together. Tip: with neighbor counts, treat the number as a budget — once enough of the ring is proven, the rest is forced.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Frank’s and Iris’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Celia (C1) — a criminal.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 2, 4 and 5, most of them in row 4. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts, neighbor counts and “between” clues. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with paired verdicts, chain the pairs: a link of “same” and “different” statements often runs across the board.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Amir’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Ruby (B5) — a criminal.
The hardest step
The toughest moment needs 2 statements at once. If you’re stuck in the middle of the case, this is probably it.
Spoiler: the statements for the hardest step
Read Frank’s and Iris’s statements together. They settle Celia.
Clue types in this case
paired verdicts ×3, direction clues ×4, “connected” clues ×1, “between” clues ×5, neighbor counts ×2, odd/even clues ×1 and shared-neighbor counts ×2.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
18 of the 20 suspects carry a clue. The rest only talk about themselves — you can hide those asides in Settings.
Where is the full solution?
The step-by-step walkthrough proves every verdict in order.