I am pursuing further leads on the American woman - so called 'Valentine'. I located her niece to Las Vegas. I also worked out that she attended a wedding as a bridesmaid alongside the 50th mayor of Seattle as a groomsman before he changed his name. It means she was connected to the higher echelons of Seattle society. It would explain Kripos thinking she was a wealthy woman staying in a hostel which Aske thought that didn't make sense. But truth is often stranger than fiction.

Her family and the Schell family, McLean family and several other high powered individuals e.g. early originators of Amazon all moved to Seattle around 1967. What 'thing' happened in 1967 that they were all summoned to the same location - like some Marshall plan for Seattle to populate it with the great and good?

Schell's father was likely a high-powered Lutheran church minister. The Lutheran church in Stavanger was under his control. It might explain why the American woman (if religious) might visit Stavanger.

I have some vague memory from earlier research that the hostel and 'a church' had a physical link. It might explain why a wealthy woman might be forced to stay there to appear pious.

It could also give an explanation why a woman might double book - hotel and hostel.