A traveler was found dead in a desert tent with a severed backpack strap. Surrounding him were thousands of identical small fragments of paper, and no water. The local tracker said the man simply ran out of breath. What was in the backpack?
A parachute
The traveler was skydiving over the desert, but his parachute failed to open properly or he shredded his logbook/tickets in panic. Wait, let's keep it consistent with the paper fragments: he ripped up his map or plane tickets?
About this riddle
Detective riddles are tiny mysteries. Look for the detail in the story that does not fit; it is usually the clue that solves the case.
Difficulty: Hard. More like this: Detective riddles with answers or try Truth & Lie Island for a different kind of puzzle.
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