For his families sake I hope he had nothing to do with it, I just find it strange he had to be killed the theft was obviously going well would they need to kill him if he was wearing a bavaclava and change the crime from theft to a murder, what information could Dale give to the police to help them catch the guy/guys (unless the thieves also worked there) and if Dale wasn't respected there would he have fought back?I actually think there's a good chance that Dale knew who it was and was killed so he wouldn't tell.

It was definitely some kind of inside job, but I just don't see Dale being a part of it seeing as he left his possessions behind (a smoker leaving a carton of cigarettes?) and none of his debts were paid off despite it supposedly being his motive in the first place. I just don't feel he was involved.

That theory makes the most sense. I believe it was an inside job, but done by someone higher up in the company's management. It sounded like the ownership there was actually in greater financial hardship than what the police described for Dale.

I think the robber(s) tried to sneak in without being caught but when Dale walked in on them in the facility, near the glass kiln (where the platinum was located), they either immediately acted on impulse by taking him hostage or let something slip to Dale that would enable him to identify them. They might have forced him to help them by using his truck at some point.

God, I really wish this man wasn't murdered. I really don't think he was in on it. A very strong feeling. He just doesn't seem the type. I'm betting somebody a lot younger told him he wouldn't be harmed, he might've guessed/knew his identity and he believed him. That's why on the camera he doesn't look that scared.

As for the son saying different countries of where he'd go...I really think he's just in denial.

Here's hoping one day his family will find peace.

Here is info regarding having Dale declared legally dead (was denied on appeal)

DALE KERSTETTER. APPEAL WENDY KERSTETTER (12/04/90)SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA


filed: December 4, 1990.

IN RE DALE KERSTETTER. APPEAL OF WENDY KERSTETTER

Appeal from Order of the Court of Common Pleas, Civil Division, of McKean County, No. 706 C.D. 1989.

COUNSEL

James N. Bryant, Millheim, for appellant.

William J. Kubiak, Bradford, for Corning, participating party.

Rowley, Wieand and Hudock, JJ.


Author: Wieand

[ 399 Pa. Super. Page 633]

This appeal is from an order dismissing a petition to declare Dale Kerstetter dead.

On September 12, 1987, Kerstetter was employed as a security guard by Corning, Inc. and was assigned to work the 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift. Between midnight and 1:00 a.m., while Kerstetter was the only guard on duty, video cameras in operation at the plant recorded that an unidentified, masked man entered the plant and was approached by Kerstetter. The two men met in a corridor, where they spoke for a short time. Another camera later recorded an unidentified man entering the platinum area. The next day, Kerstetter was reported missing. Several days later it was discovered that platinum having a value of $250,000.00 was also missing. Investigation disclosed no sign of forced entry, and there was no evidence that a struggle had occurred. Kerstetter's gun was found to be missing from its holster, which was in Kerstetter's truck in the parking lot. However, there was no evidence that any gun had been fired. The amount of platinum removed from the plant was such that it could have been carried easily by one person. The disappearance of the platinum and also of Kerstetter are the subjects of continuing investigations by the Bradford Township Police, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kerstetter has not been seen or heard from since September 13, 1987.

[ 399 Pa. Super. Page 634]

A petition to have Kerstetter declared dead was filed by Wendy Kerstetter, one of his six children, in order that a minor son might receive his father's pension and life insurance benefits as well as workmen's compensation payments. Corning, Inc., the employer, was permitted to intervene in order to assert its contention that Kerstetter had been a participant in the theft of the platinum. Evidence showed that Kerstetter had been experiencing financial difficulties at the time of the theft.

The trial court determined that the petitioner had failed to prove by a fair preponderance of the evidence that her father had met with a specific, life-threatening peril and, because less than seven (7) years had elapsed following his disappearance, dismissed the petition. The petitioner filed exceptions, but these were denied. This appeal followed.

Exceptions, or more properly a motion for post-trial relief, were properly filed. The statute, at 20 Pa.C.S. ? 5701(a), permits the court of the county in which the missing person resided to decree his or her death "upon the petition of any party in interest." Pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. ? 711(11), the instant petition was filed in the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas of McKean County. The Orphans' Court, however, transferred the petition to the civil division, where a contested hearing was held. See: Maley v. Pennsylvania R.R. Co., 258 Pa. 73, 101 A. 911 (1917) (common pleas court has jurisdiction over the determination of the fact of death by reason of absence where the object is not to distribute an estate). See also: Locke v. Duff, 1 Pa.D & C.2d 121 (Wash., 1955) (same); Hunter, Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Commonplace Book, Absentees and Presumed Decedents, ? 1 (Rights of beneficiaries of life insurance, etc. are determined by common pleas court). The note to Pa.R.C.P. 227.1(c) suggests that a "motion for post-trial relief may not be filed to matters governed exclusively by the rules of petition practice." The instant proceedings, however, were not, strictly speaking, governed exclusively by rules of petition practice. Rather, the instant proceedings were governed by rules applicable to

[ 399 Pa. Super. Page 635]

non-jury trials. The petition served merely to bring before the court an entirely new and separate action for relief, which the Orphans' Court division transferred to the civil division, where it was heard in the same manner as other non-jury matters. We conclude, therefore, that the post-trial procedure followed by appellant was appropriate. Appellant's right of appeal was not lost by her failure to file an immediate appeal from the court's initial order. See: McNulty v. General American Life Ins. Co., 153 Pa. Super. 288, 33 A.2d 796 (1943) (following non-jury trial, motion for judgment on whole record dismissed and appeal taken from judgment entered on finding of presumed death from seven (7) year unexplained absence); Ryan v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 135 Pa. Super. 166, 4 A.2d 812 (1939) (following non-jury trial, motion for j.n.o.v. denied and appeal taken from judgment entered on finding of presumed death).

A decree that a missing person is dead is authorized by 20 Pa.C.S. ? 5701. The circumstances permitting such a decree are recited in subsections (b) and (c) as follows:

(b) Presumption from absence. -- When the death of a person or the date thereof is in issue, his unexplained absence from his last known place of residence and the fact that he has been unheard of for seven years may be a sufficient ground for finding that he died seven years after he was last heard of.

(c) Exposure to specific peril. -- The fact that an absentee was exposed to a specific peril of death may be sufficient ground for finding that he died less than seven years after he was last heard of.

In the instant case, it is clear that seven years have not elapsed since Kerstetter disappeared without explanation. During the period following his disappearance, therefore, there continues a presumption of life. See: Groner v. Knights of Maccabees, 265 Pa. 129, 133, 108 A. 437, 438 (1919); Young v. Sweigart, 69 Pa. Super. 525, 528 (1918). The burden of showing that Kerstetter had been exposed to an earlier peril of death was on the petitioner. Herold v. Washington National Ins. Co., 128 Pa. Super. 563, 194 A.

[ 399 Pa. Super. Page 636687]

(1937). See also: Sherman v. Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Co., 191 Minn. 607, 255 N.W. 113 (1934). This required proof by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the absent person had been exposed to a specific peril of death. "To accelerate the presumption from time, or more properly to turn it from an artificial into a natural one, it is necessary to bring the person within the range of a particular and immediate danger." Fanning, Adm'x. v. Equitable Life Assurance Society, 264 Pa. 333, 338, 107 A. 715, 716 (1919), quoting Burr v. Sim, 4 Whart. 150, 171 (1839). In the absence of evidence from which the occurrence of death on a specific date can be inferred, the presumption of life must prevail.

[ 399 Pa. Super. Page 637]

In the instant case, the trial court which heard the case found that the evidence was insufficient to permit a determination that Kerstetter had been killed during a theft of platinum on September 13, 1987. This finding is consistent with applicable legal principles and does not suggest an abuse of discretion. Appellant's evidence was not so weighty that it could be said with confidence that Dale Kerstetter died on September 13, 1987. There was no evidence that a shooting had occurred or even that firearms had been involved in the theft of the platinum. There also was no evidence that a struggle of any kind had occurred. Kerstetter's role in the theft, if any, was unknown and was still under active investigation by police agencies. The mere fact that platinum appeared to have been stolen and that a masked person appeared on videotape and spoke with Kerstetter on September 13, 1987 did not alone suggest a specific peril likely to cause death. Indeed, the evidence can as readily be interpreted as creating an inference that (1) Kerstetter disappeared voluntarily after having cooperated with an unknown intruder who removed the platinum or (2) that he was abducted by the intruder and is still alive. These circumstances are not at all comparable to those in cases where death was declared because of a specific peril. See: Continental Life Ins. Co. v. Searing, 240 F. 653 (3rd Cir.1917) (drowning in surf); Fanning, Adm'x. v. Equitable Page 637} Life Assurance Society, supra (firefighter fighting raging forest fire); Herold v. Washington National Life Ins. Co., supra (drowning in ocean); Silverstein Estate, 64 Pa.D. & C. 174 (Phila., 1948) (pilot shot down in World War II); Meadville Production Credit Ass'n. v. Haskell, 40 D. & C. 145 (Erie, 1939) (suicide notes followed by disappearance at Niagara Falls); Wheelock Estate, 5 Fid. Rep. 553 (Montg., 1955) (death at sea during "severe storm of hurricane proportions"); York Estate, 3 Fid.Rep. 1 (Lehigh, 1952) (disappearance of small plane in violent storm of hurricane proportions); Hill Trust, 1 Fid.Rep. 606 (Montg., 1951) (civilian victim of bombing); Kleinhofer Estate, 1 Fid. Rep. 389 (Montg., 1951) (pilot shot down in World War II).

The circumstances shown by the evidence in this case fully support the trial court's decision. Appellant failed to prove a specific peril of death sufficient to overcome the presumption of life which continued during the two and one-half year period between Kerstetter's disappearance and the trial court's decision.

Order affirmed.

Moneypenny, I know you have spoken in the past but I'm not sure if you've ever mentioned this, but, did you see the video of your dad and the abductor? If so, was it any different from the remake showed on UM?

Hey folks. This segment was on Lifetime tonight, got me thinking how I meant to post on this thread a while ago and never got around to it.

My thinking is Dale was not involved, and the thief killed him because Dale either knew who he was or the thief thought he did. The segment indicates that whoever did the theft was very familiar with the plant, so it was probably someone who had also worked there.

It is possible that Dale packed a lunch just to throw investigators off; and he might have done the same with the truck. Heck, maybe even leaving the cigarettes there was done to throw the cops off the scent. But I don't really think so. I'm not a cop or anything, but from the segment Dale just didn't seem like a "master criminal" type. What also sticks out to me was Dale's son saying he thought if Dale was in on it, he'd reappear after the statute of limitations had expired.

If I were investigating the case I'd look into the background of everyone that worked at the place in the last 10 years before the theft... though it sounds like that would be a lot of people.

Just my $.02. I was really hoping there would be an update at the end of the segment, but there wasn't.

I think he was a victim because of the amount of time has passed and that he never surfaced.

I think he was a victim because of the amount of time has passed and that he never surfaced.

I too believe he was a victim. My only issue is that you never see Dale leaving the facility and there were no signs of a struggle in the plant that would lead you to believe he was a victim. No blood splatters, hair, anything. Just a bizarre case.

I too believe he was a victim. My only issue is that you never see Dale leaving the facility and there were no signs of a struggle in the plant that would lead you to believe he was a victim. No blood splatters, hair, anything. Just a bizarre case.

The intruder could have easily taken Dale out of the plant at gunpoint and killed him elsewhere.

The intruder could have easily taken Dale out of the plant at gunpoint and killed him elsewhere.

Agreed. No signs of a struggle just says to me that Dale didn't put up a fight because he either thought the thief was going to let him go eventually, or he simply never saw an opportunity before it was too late.

Moneypenny, I know you have spoken in the past but I'm not sure if you've ever mentioned this, but, did you see the video of your dad and the abductor? If so, was it any different from the remake showed on UM?

It was a re-enactment but it basically looked the same.

There's no way Dale was involved. Too much time has passed. There have been no sightings of Dale. At the time of his disappearance, there was no evidence that he even left town. He left his truck, cigarettes, lunch box, and gun behind, IIRC. The security tapes that show Dale "walking" with the intruder, could simply be him showing the intruder where the platinum was stored. If the guy had a gun on Dale, he had every reason to cooperate and show him where the platinum was stored. Which makes me wonder, everyone seems to be in agreement that this was an inside job, but what if the intruder was someone hired by someone who worked at the plant? That would make sense if Dale had to show the guy where the platinum was stored, since the guy was an outsider. And I wouldn't totally rule out the possibility of an insurance scam perpetuated by Corning.

Which makes me wonder, everyone seems to be in agreement that this was an inside job, but what if the intruder was someone hired by someone who worked at the plant?

Yes, it wouldn't surprise me if whoever hired this intruder specifically had him pull the theft on a night Dale was on duty. This was a 50-year old man who was 5'4" and 130 lbs, so they knew he wouldn't be able to put up too much of a fight. That personnel manager interviewed on UM just brought up so many red flags his attempts to implicate Dale, indicating to me that this guy was: A) In on it, B) Knew who was in on it, or C) Trying to cover his ass because this plant had such piss-poor security precautions.

perhaps LE should do what was done in the Camp case,in order to find Dale...start looking on suspicious ppl's property!

It was a re-enactment but it basically looked the same.

I think network TV was a little more sensitive back in the '80s when this segment was made. They may have been considering whether to use the actual footage and an exec said, "You can't show actual video of a man being held at gunpoint!" These days, of course, you can see that kind of thing on Good Morning America.

Or maybe Corning wouldn't let them show the original. Or the cops wouldn't.

Maybe Corning didn't want the real video shown because it would tell other people some of the layout of the building? Maybe they altered the background?

It had to have been because of some sort of legal reasons, or because it was private evidence. Usually the only people authorized to view stuff like that are lawyers or law enforcement, and family members of victims. The plant was sold some time after this case (platinum was no longer kept there after this incident), and then the company that bought it went defunct in 2002, if I recall.

This case has always bothered me. I live in Elmira NY,and the town next to us is Corning NY,where all Corning Inc plants are based out of. It's the main headquarters,it's about 15 minutes down the road from me. I'm also about 70 miles from Bradford Pa,where he used to live and the old Corning plant was.

That being said,I've always followed the case very closely. When this happened in 1987,I was 5 years old. But learned about it about 6 years later after it was on UM. I've followed it ever since. For me,I'm almost 100% positive he had nothing to do with it. They say in the episode that he was a "marginal" employee. From my knowledge of him,he was a dedicated one who didn't miss work or call off sick a lot. He might have been somewhat slow at his job,but he was getting older. Too many things surrounding the case make no sense if he were involved. I put myself in his shoes. If that were me,I too would have looked up into that camera and shot a look meant to say "help me".

What really gets me,is that there has never been closure to this. So let's for argument sake say he was in on it. 26 years later,the statute of limitations has far run out. No fear of reprisal. He loved his family,he'd have come by now. His son who was very close to him I think was fooling himself at the time when he said that he thinks "will come home when the statue of limitations runs out in 7 years". It's wishful thinking and optimism from a child who was very close to their parent,that's all that was.

But if he was kidnapped,obviously subsequently killed,his remains have never been found. Remains are eventually found most of the time,even if it's years later. But there are obviously plenty of cases where no remains have ever been found. It's more likely that he was killed and his remains are forever gone,than it is that he was in on it,but never contacted his family again,even long after the SoL ran out. I'm always on the lookout hoping to find him one day,well his bones that is. No such luck thus far.:o

I wouldn't rule out an insurance fraud carried out by someone at Corning.

If the masked man was an employee of the plant, which would explain for him having inside knowledge of the building, surely they could have polygraphed every employee there right? If it was an ex-employee, I suppose it would be harder to pinpoint someone for questioning, perhaps they could have looked at people who were fired, or quit their job. Perhaps they could determine the height and weight of this masked man, and try to create a profile on him. Was there ever a search done around the area of the plant, and if so, how extensive was it? If no body, perhaps dale was taken away in a vehicle. In the segment, it shows Dale helping the masked man load the platinum into a chevy bronco, but this was showing how Dale was supposedly in on it. I'm wondering why they chose a Bronco for the reenactment.

No gun, No Dale = bad sign

I don't know if this has been posted before, but it's a small blurb from the Indiana Gazette about Kerstetter shortly after he disappeared.

"Platinum theft puzzling BRADFORD, Pa. (AP) — A rack of rifles is a sure sign that a missing security guard is dead, according to a lawyer representing one of his daughters. Dale Kerstetter disappeared in a 1987 platinum heist during his watch at a McKean County glass plant, leaving behind six children, a company pension and a rack of hunting rifles. "I've represented tons of guys that left their wives, and, believe me, they always take their deer rifles," said James Bryant, a lawyer hired in the family's effort to have Kerstetter declared legally dead. The state Supreme Court earlier this month refused the family's request. Corning Glass Works opposed such a declaration, and has refused to pay a pension or insurance to Kerstetter's family. "Everybody says that if he did it and he isn't dead, that they hope he got away with it," said Dot Cummings, owner of the Tack's Corner Tavern near where Kerstetter once lived. "If it did happen, then hopefully he'll make it." "I think he's dead. It's just a matter of finding the body," said daughter Penny Weis. Kerstetter was a 29-year employee."

And from the forbidden site someone posted this on a comment to a video:

"I live in Bradford Pa where this took place. They did not make Platinum, they made glass resistor pieces and such. Platinum, was used for the piping that the molten glass flowed through. The section that was taken was not being used at the time which invoked hisguilt in the case. Just letting you know. Good work though!"

Take it with a grain of salt, since it could be anyone posting that, but I thought it was interesting that they say the section taken was not in use at the time. Only Kerstetter would have known this, unless of course the intruder was an ex-employee or he forced Dale to tell him which section to go to.

That's what it looked like in the segment. He was leading the guy to where the platinum was and then was never seen again.

I wonder how the segment video actually compares to the actual video. I've always felt dale was innocent. Also, was dale normally armed at the plant or did he have access to a gun if needed but not normally carry? If he normally had it on at all times I wonder why he wasn't able to use it. Its been quite a while since I've seen the segment so I'm sketchy on details.

I really wished they would have shown the original surveillance tape. The supervisor says that Kerstetter went to the back of the plant to "meet" the masked man. I wonder what he meant by that. Because if the masked man is standing around and Kerstetter is seen walking up to him and then walking away together, then that almost certainly means he was involved somehow. But if the tape was more like UM shows (the two of them walking into the frame together), then Dale could just as easily been accosted and held at gunpoint, which is why he was walking with the intruder.

Just watched this one again and honestly I'm convinced dale was in on it and most likely planned it out . This may have been brought up on this thread in the past but here is why I think that .
This was not your run of the mill heist . It's not like a bank or jewelry store robbery . With those everyone knows what's inside and how to get it . With a bank your taking actual cash and jewelry is fairly easy to convert to cash and remain undetectable . Platinum pipe is a whole different ball game . First off who would know there is highly valuable platinum in the plant and where it was at ? Furthermore what do you do with it after you have aquired it ? It's worthless unless you can convert it to cash . You can't just sell 250k worth of platinum at the corner pawn shop or as in the case with copper take it to the local recycling yard . The plans had to be laid out from the start. How to get it out without being detected , where to take it directly afterwards and how to convert it to cash without being caught.

The masked man in the video had to have a very precise knowledge of the location of the product . As well as how to get inside and remove it . He knew there would not be resistance . The surveillance tapes do not show the man with any type of weapon . To me this shows he knew full well that this was going to be an easy in and out theft .

In the segment they talk about how the thief had to use tools to get inside the compartment and remove the platinum . He had to know where to get these tools and how to open the container . Again something that would be unkown to an outsider . Also consider he had to spend time removing it as well as loading it . This would have given dale ample opportunity to escape. Again only one masked man was seen with dale and he doesn't appear to have a weapon . How hard would it have been for dale to run while the guy is getting inside the container or loading the platinum ?

Everything had to be pre arranged . They had to get the platinum out of the area quick and get it to the buyer . Your obviously not going to have this big load of pipe sitting in your garage while you search for a buyer who is willing to purchase something that is obviously stolen . Keep in mind there was no Internet back then so whoever planned this knew exactly where they could go with it from the start.

Dale's family gives some pretty lame reasons as to why he was not part of the theft . He left a carton of smokes , left his truck and other belongings behind . C'mon now . If you just took 250k worth of platinum and can sell it do you really care about your smokes or your day pack ? The son says he would come back after 7 years when staute of limitations is up . Wrong . That may apply to criminal prosecution but you better beileve of he came back the insurance comalny that covered this loss would be suing him in civil court and he would have a judgement against him . I think some of his family member know exactly what happened to him. I read where they where trying to sue Owens Corning due to the fact that dale was suppose to check in every hour or so and when he didn't no one went to check on him

Ofcourse it may well be that dale contracted with some very bad people and after the robbery they killed him off to avoid splitting the money up . At any rate he had to be involved in this. The only question for me is did he move to another country and start a new life or was he killed by the people that he brought in to help.

The masked man could have been a former employee, or someone who still worked there. This could be why he knew where everything was. And another possible theory was that this was an insurance fraud gone wrong. I think that's less likely though. Either way, these are two scenarios where Dale could not have been involved. He hasn't resurfaced after all of these years, and I think that's the best evidence for the case that he was innocent.

The masked man could have been a former employee, or someone who still worked there. This could be why he knew where everything was. And another possible theory was that this was an insurance fraud gone wrong. I think that's less likely though. Either way, these are two scenarios where Dale could not have been involved. He hasn't resurfaced after all of these years, and I think that's the best evidence for the case that he was innocent.
Well if it was a other current or former employee that would sure narrow down the list of suspects for le. How many people knew that area of the plant ? Knew where the platinum was and how to get it out ? Again this really narrows the field and with a decent amount of investigating this whole scheme could have been exposed . Someone went through a lot of trouble to move the platinum pipe and sell it . I would surely assume that investigators where looking at other employees . Where any of these people gone for a period of time after the theft ? Did any of them suddenly come into a large amount of money ? I would think this was all looked into as it would be very basic investigative work .

Insurance fraud gone wrong . I don't see that one as possible at all . Only the company itself would benefit from that . Owens Corning is a very big corporation and I can't phantom the company itself killing an employee in order to get an insurance payment of 250 k

As for dale never turning up . Well consider one thing . He was 50 years old and his daughter described him as a heavy smoker . He could have relocated and then died a few years later . Also I would ask what efforts where really gone through to even find him ? Dale was not considered a wanted man . It's a very low profile case and unless you watch um you would never have heard of him . It's not like he had a wanted picture up in every post office. I would really like to know if any law enforcement agency ever made any effort to track down the platinum . Whoever took it had very limited options as to what they could do with it . It was almost certainly melted down into another form.

As for dale never turning up . Well consider one thing . He was 50 years old and his daughter described him as a heavy smoker . He could have relocated and then died a few years later . Also I would ask what efforts where really gone through to even find him ? Dale was not considered a wanted man . It's a very low profile case and unless you watch um you would never have heard of him . It's not like he had a wanted picture up in every post office. I would really like to know if any law enforcement agency ever made any effort to track down the platinum . Whoever took it had very limited options as to what they could do with it . It was almost certainly melted down into another form.

Well if he was dying, you would think he would have contacted his kids to let them know. And the fact that he wasn't wanted makes it that much more unlikely that he never resurfaced. I wish the real surveillance tape was shown on UM, and not the reenactment. That way we could see whether or not Kerstetter "met" the masked man at the back of the plant.

Well if he was dying, you would think he would have contacted his kids to let them know. And the fact that he wasn't wanted makes it that much more unlikely that he never resurfaced. I wish the real surveillance tape was shown on UM, and not the reenactment. That way we could see whether or not Kerstetter "met" the masked man at the back of the plant.
Well for all we know the family knew exactly what happened to him and kept it quiet. They gave some pretty silly reasons as to why they didn't think he was involved and the son flat out said he thinks he's alive. I agree on the tape . Would really like to see dale"s demeonor . You have to figure the company reps saw the tape and are convinced he was in on it . I wonder if the masked man was really wearing that big coat like in re enactment.

This was always one of my favorite UM stories. I'm not sure either way what happened to Dale, but I've always held the belief that the main player (the masked person) knew Dale through work. Maybe they weren't friends, but at least a former co-worker who knew how Dale did his job and what he was up to.

Scenario A:

He (or she) plans this job, and approaches Dale about it, knowing that Dale is quite irritated with what's happened at his job. If Dale's a disgruntled employee already, perhaps he doesn't need much convincing to be an accomplice. Maybe Dale is about to be fired and lose his pension? They do the job, and disappear into the night. I'd expect Dale's body to have turned up by now if he was killed or died naturally, but who knows.

Scenario B:

This person knows how, when, and why Dale does whatever he does during his nightly patrol shifts. They know where to find him when things are set to go down. Dale is forced along with things, until the job is finished. He's taken away by the culprits, clapped, and dumped somewhere. I'd have expected his body to turn up by now, but who knows? Personally I'd have offed him right at the scene.

I like to imagine that the former is what happened. That the platinum was hauled out of the country and fenced, maybe by boat via the Lakes, which Bradford isn't far from, and that Dale now had a large cash nest egg to enjoy retirement with, maybe combined with some of his own cash savings he'd squirreled away over the years.

Maybe he's fishing on some Canadian lake right now :D

Like kane7474 and Cars have already mentioned, seeing the actual tape instead of the re-creation might clear up a LOT of questions. In the reenactment, I feel Dale looks quite relaxed and familiar with the intruder.

This was always one of my favorite UM stories. I'm not sure either way what happened to Dale, but I've always held the belief that the main player (the masked person) knew Dale through work. Maybe they weren't friends, but at least a former co-worker who knew how Dale did his job and what he was up to.

Scenario A:

He (or she) plans this job, and approaches Dale about it, knowing that Dale is quite irritated with what's happened at his job. If Dale's a disgruntled employee already, perhaps he doesn't need much convincing to be an accomplice. Maybe Dale is about to be fired and lose his pension? They do the job, and disappear into the night. I'd expect Dale's body to have turned up by now

Scenario B:

This person knows how, when, and why Dale does whatever he does during his nightly patrol shifts. They know where to find him when things are set to go down. Dale is forced along with things, until the job is finished. He's taken away by the culprits, clapped, and dumped somewhere. I'd have expected his body to turn up by now, but who knows? Personally I'd have offed him right at the scene.

I like to imagine that the former is what happened. That the platinum was hauled out of the country and fenced, maybe by boat via the Lakes, which Bradford isn't far from, and that Dale now had a large cash nest egg to enjoy retirement with, maybe combined with some of his own cash savings he'd squirreled away over the years.

Maybe he's fishing on some Canadian lake right now :D
In my opinion you have left out the most likely scenario which is that dale orchestrated the entire thing and the masked man was simply someone he brought in not only to help out but to appear on camera and leave the impression that dale was a victim who had been kidnapped and done away with .
We have a significant theft here . Who had the means , opputunity and motive ? Dale on all three . Dale was obviously a very disgruntled employee and as far as I'm concerned he had every right to be . He had been with the company for 27 years and they show their gratitude by not only goving him a nice pay it but forcing him to work nights and weekends . The personell manager who appears on the segment was a complete jerk . He literally said dale was a marginal employee and openly said that he felt dale was in on the heist . He went so far as to say that dale looked up at the camera as if to say " I'm taking your platinum and there is nothing you can do about it " .

Now this guy must be very confident in dale"s involvement to speak ill of him like that on national television . Imagine if dale's body turned up what an ass this guy would look like . It's very obvious there was serious animosity between dale and upper management . I also noticed that aside from dales mother none of his family seemed upset at all . His son was practically laughing through all of his segments and his daughter didnt seemed at all distressed . Not typical of the family members we see interviewed on um in missing person cases . If dale pulled this off I firmly believe he stayed in contact with his family and they only went on um in order to cast doubt on him being involved

Read more: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?p=4891301#post4891301#ixzz2xas1dYVF

Don't know if you guys have seen this but apparntly one if dales daughters tried to have him declared dead in 1990 so that they could get his pension . The court deemed there was no evidence of his death
http://www.leagle.com/decision/19901031399PaSuper632_1969.xml/IN%20RE%20KERSTETTER

Personally I'd have offed him right at the scene.


that's cold.

The reenactment footage just shows the intruder wandering around the back by himself and then disappearing off frame, before reappearing with Dale. There is no "meeting" referred to by the supervisor. And that makes Dale look more innocent, IMO.

The reenactment footage just shows the intruder wandering around the back by himself and then disappearing off frame, before reappearing with Dale. There is no "meeting" referred to by the supervisor. And that makes Dale look more innocent, IMO.Right. I also wonder why if he was in on it and skipped town why his debt were never paid off. Supposedly that was his entire motive for doing it, so then why didn't it happen? Why didn't he come back?

Whoever the man in the mask was probably knew Dale and killed him so he couldn't report him. The bigger question is how nobody has figured out who the masked man was. Surely somebody in the plant has to have an idea.

The reenactment footage just shows the intruder wandering around the back by himself and then disappearing off frame, before reappearing with Dale. There is no "meeting" referred to by the supervisor. And that makes Dale look more innocent, IMO.
Well when I look at the re enactment it seems to me the masked man has no real plan . He's waiting for dale to tell him where to go next . The plant manager who saw the actual tape said it looked like dale went to meet him . He doesn't appear aggressive at all . He's just standing around . Doesn't seem like he has any kind of plan as to what he was gonna do

Dale's daughter posted here several times, starting on page 2 of this thread (2007). Here's one of her posts:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=3723178&postcount=20

Right. I also wonder why if he was in on it and skipped town why his debt were never paid off. Supposedly that was his entire motive for doing it, so then why didn't it happen? Why didn't he come back?

Whoever the man in the mask was probably knew Dale and killed him so he couldn't report him. The bigger question is how nobody has figured out who the masked man was. Surely somebody in the plant has to have an idea.
His debts where not paid because when you missing or presumed dead your debts aren't collectable. How odd would it look if he wanted people to think he was dead but paid his debts

He didnt come back because he made off with 250k and didn't want to be prosecuted or face civil suit fr the company

His debts where not paid because when you missing or presumed dead your debts aren't collectable. How odd would it look if he wanted people to think he was dead but paid his debts

He didnt come back because he made off with 250k and didn't want to be prosecuted or face civil suit fr the company

But after the footage of Dale and the masked man walking together, you never see Dale again. The masked man is seen walking back and forth several times, but no Dale. He's even pushing a pallet jack with something stuffed in a large bag (could be Dale, could be the platinum). The absence of Dale on the footage after their encounter makes me think it's more likely he was a victim.

But after the footage of Dale and the masked man walking together, you never see Dale again. The masked man is seen walking back and forth several times, but no Dale. He's even pushing a pallet jack with something stuffed in a large bag (could be Dale, could be the platinum). The absence of Dale on the footage after their encounter makes me think it's more likely he was a victim.
Well possibly that's how dale planned it to make it look like he was abducted . He knew where the cameras where and how to avoid them if he wanted to . I had read on another forum that someone from the plant stated the amount of platinum taken could easily be carried out by one person . It looked like something good sized on that pallet jack . Something much bigger then the amount of platinum taken . Was it dale ? And was he dead or hiding under the blanket? Who knows . I still think it's odd he didn't try to make a run for it while the masked man was in the tank getting the platinum out. Dales daughter also stated that he indeed did carry a gun when he was working at the plant at night . What happened to his gun ? The masked man was not armed in the video . This just doesn't appear to be a robbery

I've mentioned this before, but I think it's a fact that gets sadly overlooked:

They *do* actually show a scene from the real surveillance footage, although it's very brief and hard to see. The re-enactment was done because it plays in real-time, like any t.v. show or movie. The actual surveillance footage isn't real-time, rather it's a collection of images taken from the various cameras that were in the plant. It would show an image (or photograph, which is essentially what they were) of one camera, hold it for a few seconds, then go to the next camera. It's not a video, in that sense, rather it's a collection of pictures.

It's nearly impossible to gain anything from the real video because it's essentially a collection of photographs. I wouldn't feel comfortable accusing Dale (whom I believe is a victim and likely deceased) of being in on it over some pictures. The cameras were likely lower quality. Had they used ones that take videos in real time, then perhaps we would have more information about how the events actually played out.

I've mentioned this before, but I think it's a fact that gets sadly overlooked:

They *do* actually show a scene from the real surveillance footage, although it's very brief and hard to see. The re-enactment was done because it plays in real-time, like any t.v. show or movie. The actual surveillance footage isn't real-time, rather it's a collection of images taken from the various cameras that were in the plant. It would show an image (or photograph, which is essentially what they were) of one camera, hold it for a few seconds, then go to the next camera. It's not a video, in that sense, rather it's a collection of pictures.

It's nearly impossible to gain anything from the real video because it's essentially a collection of photographs. I wouldn't feel comfortable accusing Dale (whom I believe is a victim and likely deceased) of being in on it over some pictures. The cameras were likely lower quality. Had they used ones that take videos in real time, then perhaps we would have more information about how the events actually played out.

I actually completely missed that all these many years, so I appreciate you mentioning it again. Makes perfect sense now as to why there was a reenactment to begin with.

Well possibly that's how dale planned it to make it look like he was abducted . He knew where the cameras where and how to avoid them if he wanted to . I had read on another forum that someone from the plant stated the amount of platinum taken could easily be carried out by one person . It looked like something good sized on that pallet jack . Something much bigger then the amount of platinum taken . Was it dale ? And was he dead or hiding under the blanket? Who knows . I still think it's odd he didn't try to make a run for it while the masked man was in the tank getting the platinum out. Dales daughter also stated that he indeed did carry a gun when he was working at the plant at night . What happened to his gun ? The masked man was not armed in the video . This just doesn't appear to be a robbery

In the reenactment footage it looks like the man's arm and hand are behind Dale's back. He was probably holding him at gunpoint, which would be why you see no gun.

In the reenactment footage it looks like the man's arm and hand are behind Dale's back. He was probably holding him at gunpoint, which would be why you see no gun.
I do not see a gun in that footage . Nor did law enforcement see any weapon in the actual footage. There where several shots of the masked man both standing alone as well as heading up to the tank . No gun was seen. In the episode the re enactment shows the masked man actually getting into the tank . I wonder if there was actually footage of that

What happened to Dale's gun?

I'd have to go back and read a few pages to be sure, but I think in her post on page 2, Dale's daughter said his gun was never recovered. I thought that it had been left in his desk.

RE: the reenactment footage

Dale's daughter said she viewed the original security footage (I think she at first wasn't aware that UM had reenacted that footage) and she said that what UM showed was very close to what was in the actual footage. So I'm not sure if it really was just a collection of still pictures taken a few seconds apart, and to her, that was close enough, or if it was real time video.

Need to go back and read some more...

ETA: yep, in the post linked above, #20, she said the gun hasn't been found

Why did Dale leave his belongings behind? A smoker leaving a carton of smokes just doesn't seem likely to me.

I'm enjoying this speculation but I really can't picture him in on it.

Why did Dale leave his belongings behind? A smoker leaving a carton of smokes just doesn't seem likely to me.

I'm enjoying this speculation but I really can't picture him in on it.
If you just made off with 250k worth of platinum do you really care about smokes ? Or your lunch ? I'm sure he could buy more . And those things may have been left behind to give the impression this was not planned by him. If dale was missing and so was his truck and all his belongings then it would be pretty blatant that he was in in it . And they would be looking for him high and low. With the way it was done he's not even wanted or considered a fugitive

If you just made off with 250k worth of platinum do you really care about smokes ? Or your lunch ? I'm sure he could buy more . And those things may have been left behind to give the impression this was not planned by him. If dale was missing and so was his truck and all his belongings then it would be pretty blatant that he was in in it . And they would be looking for him high and low. With the way it was done he's not even wanted or considered a fugitiveI probably wouldn't abandon my family, never mind smokes, so I'm not quite sure how to answer that. ;)

If his stuff was missing, it wouldn't necessarily mean he was in on it. The intruder could have simply stolen them himself to cover up the death and give the impression that nothing happened. Could have. But we know he didn't. Probably because it would be easier to just off him and not bother hiding anything.

I still don't know why there aren't any hints as to who the man in the mask was, though. If they suspected Dale, surely they have other people in mind who could have stolen the platinum. But all we hear about in the segment is Dale.

I always find myself pulling for Dale to have been in on it and actually stuck the company for 250k. I don't know if it's because it's thrilling to see the proletariat take from the bourgeoisie, the lighthearted and funny comments from his family, or the insistence of the company to tie Dale to the theft.

I realize it's a crime, and just because there's no "victim" per se, there's still loss involved for the company. Maybe it's just because so many of the other cases on UM have direct victims that usually sustain physical injuries or loss of freedom.

I don't know if he was involved or not. I've seen the segment many times over the years, and I'm still 50/50. As more time passes, it's probably more likely that he wasn't involved.

I always find myself pulling for Dale to have been in on it and actually stuck the company for 250k. I don't know if it's because it's thrilling to see the proletariat take from the bourgeoisie, the lighthearted and funny comments from his family, or the insistence of the company to tie Dale to the theft.

I realize it's a crime, and just because there's no "victim" per se, there's still loss involved for the company. Maybe it's just because so many of the other cases on UM have direct victims that usually sustain physical injuries or loss of freedom.

I don't know if he was involved or not. I've seen the segment many times over the years, and I'm still 50/50. As more time passes, it's probably more likely that he wasn't involved.
One thing that just hit me the other day is that the company basically has to say dale was in on it and that he's still alive and missing . If they conceded that dale was most likely dead then that would open them up for civil litigation from dale"s family . As long as his body doesn't turn up the company doesn't have to worry about that .
If he wAsnt in on it and was killed then whoever is in that mask is a criminal mastermind . Not only did he get away with the theft but was able to convert the platinum to cash and remain undetected all these years . Also we must add that he killed dale without leaving a trace of evidence .

Masked man was either very familiar with the facility or was working for dale. I mean as I said before if he's a current or former worker this really narrows the field of suspects for police . Who had the knowledge of where the platinum was ? Who knew how to remove it ? Who knew that security was so lax? Take those people and now see who's got a lot of money to toss around , who took a vacation right after it happened etc etc

Another "weird this isn't on Charley Project" case. Wasn't there a poster that used to frequently send UM cases to Meaghan from CP to put on there? I think that's how George Owens came to be on there some time ago.

The camera footage on the UM segment was exactly as I described.

Stack talks about how platinum is sometimes used for jewelry. I always thought that whoever stole it ended up using it on the black market, or knew how to melt it down and use it. I don't think it was a case of, say, somebody going to a local pawn shop with it.

I just don't see Dale being capable of this. He worked at the plant for 27 years, was in the Air Force, lived in Bradford practically all of his life, had 6 children and 2 grandchildren, and was by all accounts, a decent man. I always thought the personnel manager that said he was a "marginal" worker was full of crap.

One thing that just hit me the other day is that the company basically has to say dale was in on it and that he's still alive and missing . If they conceded that dale was most likely dead then that would open them up for civil litigation from dale"s family . As long as his body doesn't turn up the company doesn't have to worry about that .
If he wAsnt in on it and was killed then whoever is in that mask is a criminal mastermind . Not only did he get away with the theft but was able to convert the platinum to cash and remain undetected all these years . Also we must add that he killed dale without leaving a trace of evidence

This is exactly why I believe the Corning supervisors tried to paint Dale in the most negative light possible. The one guy said he was "marginal" while the other basically said he was sure that Dale was stealing the platinum and flaunting it for the camera.

One thing that just hit me the other day is that the company basically has to say dale was in on it and that he's still alive and missing . If they conceded that dale was most likely dead then that would open them up for civil litigation from dale"s family . As long as his body doesn't turn up the company doesn't have to worry about that .
If he wAsnt in on it and was killed then whoever is in that mask is a criminal mastermind . Not only did he get away with the theft but was able to convert the platinum to cash and remain undetected all these years . Also we must add that he killed dale without leaving a trace of evidence .

Masked man was either very familiar with the facility or was working for dale. I mean as I said before if he's a current or former worker this really narrows the field of suspects for police . Who had the knowledge of where the platinum was ? Who knew how to remove it ? Who knew that security was so lax? Take those people and now see who's got a lot of money to toss around , who took a vacation right after it happened etc etc

Well, he did know where to find the platinum and the tools to acquire it with. Maybe Corning set something up so they could be reimbursed?

If you just made off with 250k worth of platinum do you really care about smokes ? Or your lunch ? I'm sure he could buy more . And those things may have been left behind to give the impression this was not planned by him. If dale was missing and so was his truck and all his belongings then it would be pretty blatant that he was in in it . And they would be looking for him high and low. With the way it was done he's not even wanted or considered a fugitive

Unless you've got a buyer waiting to purchase $250,000 worth of platinum, wouldn't you think that, you know, Corning would notify the authorities of the theft as soon as it became apparent? I think it would be somewhat difficult to unload all that platinum, especially in the form it was in. But I'm not an expert. Maybe it'd be really easy.

As far as the abandoned cigarettes go, this is one of the main reasons I DO think Dale was abducted. Nicotine addiction is a pretty powerful thing. I've seen parties break down and suddenly settle in mediations because they need a smoke break (No really-- that's happened more than once.)

I maintain Dale took them in front of the cameras because he was trying to get help.

Well, he did know where to find the platinum and the tools to acquire it with. Maybe Corning set something up so they could be reimbursed?
Corning is a huge company . They don't need to murder an employee to get insurance to re imburse them for what amounts to a drop in the bucket

Unless you've got a buyer waiting to purchase $250,000 worth of platinum, wouldn't you think that, you know, Corning would notify the authorities of the theft as soon as it became apparent? I think it would be somewhat difficult to unload all that platinum, especially in the form it was in. But I'm not an expert. Maybe it'd be really easy.

As far as the abandoned cigarettes go, this is one of the main reasons I DO think Dale was abducted. Nicotine addiction is a pretty powerful thing. I've seen parties break down and suddenly settle in mediations because they need a smoke break (No really-- that's happened more than once.)

I maintain Dale took them in front of the cameras because he was trying to get help.i don't get why people put so much into him leaving behind a carton of smokes . Cigarettes where a dollar a pack back then . The man could have bought more at any time if indeed he was in on it.
I see what your saying about taking the masked man in front of camera but why would he do that when he knew no one was monitoring them ???

i don't get why people put so much into him leaving behind a carton of smokes . Cigarettes where a dollar a pack back then . The man could have bought more at any time if indeed he was in on it.
I see what your saying about taking the masked man in front of camera but why would he do that when he knew no one was monitoring them ???

It's possible that the masked man wanted Dale to lead him to where the platinum was, and Dale took him a route that went right by security cameras in some attempt to bring attention to the fact that he was being held up. I believe earlier in this thread someone (maybe Dale's daughter) brought up how Corning used to call ttheir security guards who were working overnight to "check in" on them. They couldn't get a hold of Dale that night and instead of calling someone to check on him, or even the police to do a checkup, they ignored it outright and waited for his relief to arrive. That sounds fishy to me.

It's possible that the masked man wanted Dale to lead him to where the platinum was, and Dale took him a route that went right by security cameras in some attempt to bring attention to the fact that he was being held up. I believe earlier in this thread someone (maybe Dale's daughter) brought up how Corning used to call ttheir security guards who were working overnight to "check in" on them. They couldn't get a hold of Dale that night and instead of calling someone to check on him, or even the police to do a checkup, they ignored it outright and waited for his relief to arrive. That sounds fishy to me.
Ok but that doesn't make sense seeing that no one was monitoring the cameras. Dale knew that the footage would not be seen until the next day . Also I'm not suprised at all that dale not checking in didnt raise any concern . I've worked plenty of places that have security that has a protocol that they get lazy and don't follow at all .

Ok but that doesn't make sense seeing that no one was monitoring the cameras. Dale knew that the footage would not be seen until the next day . Also I'm not suprised at all that dale not checking in didnt raise any concern . I've worked plenty of places that have security that has a protocol that they get lazy and don't follow at all .

It wasn't Dale who was supposed to check in, it was someone at a phone center who would call into the plant and speak with Dale. When they couldn't reach him, they should've sent someone in to check on him but they didn't.

I'm curious what anyone thinks about the fact that dale left his cigs and his daypack as well as his keys in his truck but took his lunchbox and a newspaper inside. It was said that his truck was new so seems odd he would just leave the keys in the ignition

This is a tough case to crack. The video shows basically what happened but it doesn't answer whether dale was a willing participant. One thing the plant needed on tape was the first encounter dale had with the other person. Was dale startled? Did dale open the door and let him in? Etc. That would answer some questions.

looking at the facts, it appears that dale wasn't in on it, but as of now there's no way to prove one way or another. Haven't seen the segment in a while, but in the beginning when the guy was at the door and dale walked to see what was going on, was that in the security video or was that part just speculation and guessing of what happened? Seems like it was a guess but I haven't seen the segment in so long so I don't remember.

either way my guess is dale was not in on it but you never know.

I've always had a feeling this was an inside job and that someone else at Corning was involved. I also think they felt Dale would be a convenient scapegoat, which is why whoever did the robbery and abducted him from the plant made sure his body would never be found. As long as he stayed missing, the perpetrators could always use the whole "Dale robbed the place and ran off" cover story.

I think the Corning representatives interviewed in the segment who denounced Dale were either:
A) Involved in the heist
B) In serious ass-covering mode in order to deflect attention away from the piss-poor security measures at their plant. Really, if they thought Dale was such a mediocre employee like they claimed, why entrust him with guarding the plant all by himself?

Yeah I definitely dont buy that dale was a mediocre employee when he was entrusted with everything at the plant. Hopefully they will solve the case to find out what really happened.

B) In serious ass-covering mode in order to deflect attention away from the piss-poor security measures at their plant. Really, if they thought Dale was such a mediocre employee like they claimed, why entrust him with guarding the plant all by himself?

I always wondered why there was only one guard on duty in a large glass plant at night to begin with. There should have been at least five more people there, including someone to watch that CCTV at all times.

That's a sloppy way of running things, and I think Corning absolutely knew it. Even if it wasn't an inside job, the company reps sure looked like they were trying desperately to deflect attention away from their god-awful physical security plan by ridiculously blaming someone who was way down the company totem pole. It wasn't a good look for them.

@mikewho: There wasn't footage of Dale's first encounter with the masked man. They showed a re-enactment of what they theorized might have happened: Dale reading the newspaper in the break room and him noticing the masked man and going to investigate. Don't know if that's how it went down or not.

One thing I thought was odd was that Stack mentioned that it wasn't on Dale's usual route to check out the platinum. Que? Being that it's highly expensive and being that Dale apparently didn't have anything else to do, why wouldn't it be on his usual route? Weird.

I've always had a feeling this was an inside job and that someone else at Corning was involved. I also think they felt Dale would be a convenient scapegoat, which is why whoever did the robbery and abducted him from the plant made sure his body would never be found. As long as he stayed missing, the perpetrators could always use the whole "Dale robbed the place and ran off" cover story.

I think the Corning representatives interviewed in the segment who denounced Dale were either:
A) Involved in the heist
B) In serious ass-covering mode in order to deflect attention away from the piss-poor security measures at their plant. Really, if they thought Dale was such a mediocre employee like they claimed, why entrust him with guarding the plant all by himself?they are saying that to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit from dale's family.

If it wasn't "Dale's usual route", that makes me think he led the masked man to an area where he knew there were security cameras. Which makes me believe in his innocence even more.

If it wasn't "Dale's usual route", that makes me think he led the masked man to an area where he knew there were security cameras. Which makes me believe in his innocence even more.
No they said the tank was not on his usual route. He met the masked man in another part of the facility then took him up to the area where the platinum was . Dale"s daughter said that the re enactment was very close to the actual tape. So we see dale meeting the man then walking with him. Some people speculate that dale was killed shortly after this meeting. However police dogs tracked his scent right up to the tank. So even though dale does not appear on the footage with the masked man going up to the tank it sounds as if he was there. Dale knew how to avoid the cameras if he wanted to. It looks to me like he simply appears with the other man but when it comes to taking the product you no longer see him .

@mikewho: There wasn't footage of Dale's first encounter with the masked man. They showed a re-enactment of what they theorized might have happened: Dale reading the newspaper in the break room and him noticing the masked man and going to investigate. Don't know if that's how it went down or not.

One thing I thought was odd was that Stack mentioned that it wasn't on Dale's usual route to check out the platinum. Que? Being that it's highly expensive and being that Dale apparently didn't have anything else to do, why wouldn't it be on his usual route? Weird.
The actual surveillance re enactment was what was actually known to have happened . The clip of dale seeing or hearing the man while he was reading the paper was based on the theory that his daughters came up with. They stated that the tank area was not on dale's normal route and you figure this plant was over 100,000 square feet . So it seems highly unlikely to me that dale just happened to see the man and went to investigate . If he saw an unknown man in the plant wearing a ski mask why would be not call the police ?

No they said the tank was not on his usual route. He met the masked man in another part of the facility then took him up to the area where the platinum was . Dale"s daughter said that the re enactment was very close to the actual tape. So we see dale meeting the man then walking with him. Some people speculate that dale was killed shortly after this meeting. However police dogs tracked his scent right up to the tank. So even though dale does not appear on the footage with the masked man going up to the tank it sounds as if he was there. Dale knew how to avoid the cameras if he wanted to. It looks to me like he simply appears with the other man but when it comes to taking the product you no longer see him .

But that's the whole point. He blatantly walked in front of the camera with the masked man. Why didn't he wear a mask as well? If he was "flaunting" his crime, why not walk in front of the camera with the platinum in toe? Makes no sense.

But that's the whole point. He blatantly walked in front of the camera with the masked man. Why didn't he wear a mask as well? If he was "flaunting" his crime, why not walk in front of the camera with the platinum in toe? Makes no sense.
If dale is flaunting the crime why would he wear a mask. Dale appears is just enough footage to raise the question was he being coerced or was he willing ? And that may be exactly what he wanted. If he is seen leaving with the platinum then he's absolutley in on it and will be looked for as a fugitive not a missing person

If dale is flaunting the crime why would he wear a mask. Dale appears is just enough footage to raise the question was he being coerced or was he willing ? And that may be exactly what he wanted. If he is seen leaving with the platinum then he's absolutley in on it and will be looked for as a fugitive not a missing person

Yeah but the impression the segment gave was either Dale was "signaling for help" or "coolly flaunting his crime". It can't be both, obviously, and if he was flaunting his crime, he should have walked in front of the cameras showing him walking out with the platinum. But you only see him once, walking with the masked man. The masked man is seen stealing or moving something (platinum or Dale's body), why do you never see Dale moving anything? Don't you think the masked man would have wanted help in getting the platinum out of the building if Dale was in on it?

Yeah but the impression the segment gave was either Dale was "signaling for help" or "coolly flaunting his crime". It can't be both, obviously, and if he was flaunting his crime, he should have walked in front of the cameras showing him walking out with the platinum. But you only see him once, walking with the masked man. The masked man is seen stealing or moving something (platinum or Dale's body), why do you never see Dale moving anything? Don't you think the masked man would have wanted help in getting the platinum out of the building if Dale was in on it?
Dale"s scent was tracked to the tank. This was before they viewed the footage. So it seems he was up there with the masked man. . We only hear the plant manager say that the masked man was seen "heading " up there not that there was actual footage of him removing the platinum from the tank. So it doesn't seem there was a camera on the tank itself. Dale could have taken a different route to avoid the cameras to go up and help remove the platinum. Then again off camera got on the pallet jack with the platinum , put a blanket over himself and been pushed out .
If he was looking at camera to signal for help then who was he signaling ? No one was monotoring and he knew that . Think about this . If dale nor masked man appear in any footage then it's blatantly obvious that dale took the platinum and simply left . You would have zero evidence to the contrary besides maybe his things being left . With him appearing with the man then now he creates suspicion that indeed he was being coerced .

To me it seems very planned out . Dale is on camera but never seen committing a crime . We don't see him remove platinum or walk out with it. At the same time we do not see him being assaulted or coerced.

Have you read the posts by dale"s former son in law that talk about his rich mysterious friend ? After reading those I really wonder if either this guy helped dale for a cut of the money with moving the platinum then assuming new identity or could this guy have offed dale and kept it all for himself . I really wonder if the FBI looked into this person

Look at the court transciprts from where dale's daughter tried to have him declared dead so they could get his pension and life insurance. Corning was allowed to intervene in the proceedings. Obviously they do not want him declared dead as that could easily open them up to wrongful death lawsuit . Anyways several interesting things are in these transcripts . First , they used the surveillance tape as evidence he was indeed involved. It is clearly stated that a masked man entered the plant around midnight and dale went to meet him. It's states they had a short conversation then vanished from view.
This brings out two interesting points . One being that it's awfully convienant that dale just happened to go to the location of the masked man just after he entered the plant the other being that the theft took place just after dale's shift started . Midnight giving whoever dale was releaving plenty of time to leave the premises . If dale had planned this then that gives him that absolute most time before anyone is going to know he is gone as the other gaurd would not be coming in until 7 am .

If there's footage of Dale going to meet the masked man, not seeming surprised that the masked man is there, and having a friendly conversation with the masked man, then my entire opinion of this case changes.

How much a resemblance to the masked man's physique does Dale's son bear? Maybe this was some elaborate scheme they concocted to help the family get rich. For all we know, Dale could have had a life-threatening (or even terminal) illness, and as one final act of love for his family, chose to steal this platinum and pass on the proceeds. He also could have changed his identity and moved out of the country. I wonder if the FBI ever put surveillance on any of the family members for an extended period of time to see if they went to visit anyone they couldn't identify?

Good find on those transcripts. That definitely pushes me closer to believing Dale was in on it.

If there's footage of Dale going to meet the masked man, not seeming surprised that the masked man is there, and having a friendly conversation with the masked man, then my entire opinion of this case changes.

How much a resemblance to the masked man's physique does Dale's son bear? Maybe this was some elaborate scheme they concocted to help the family get rich. For all we know, Dale could have had a life-threatening (or even terminal) illness, and as one final act of love for his family, chose to steal this platinum and pass on the proceeds. He also could have changed his identity and moved out of the country. I wonder if the FBI ever put surveillance on any of the family members for an extended period of time to see if they went to visit anyone they couldn't identify?

Good find on those transcripts. That definitely pushes me closer to believing Dale was in on it.
I was wondering the same thing about the size of the masked man . Dale was 5 ft 4 and 135 lbs now in the re enactment the masked man looks very close to dale's size . Now if that's what it appears in the actual video too then again if it's someone at the plant then this further narrows down field of suspects for law enforcement.
However if this was someone dale brought in with no connection to the plant then it really doesn't help much unless they formed ideas as to who dale's accomplices might be

looking at the poll results, over 73% believe Dale was abducted. That tells me everything I need to know.

It's been over 26 years. Dale was killed. He was not an accomplice in this. He would have little reason to continue hiding as the Statute of Limitations has long since passed. Neither he or his family benefitted a dime from this.

looking at the poll results, over 73% believe Dale was abducted. That tells me everything I need to know.

It's been over 26 years. Dale was killed. He was not an accomplice in this. He would have little reason to continue hiding as the Statute of Limitations has long since passed. Neither he or his family benefitted a dime from this.
There is no staute of limitations when it comes to civil suits . If he was to return he would have a judgement agaisnt him . If you think he had nothing to do with this then what's your theory ?

Look at the court transciprts from where dale's daughter tried to have him declared dead so they could get his pension and life insurance. Corning was allowed to intervene in the proceedings. Obviously they do not want him declared dead as that could easily open them up to wrongful death lawsuit . Anyways several interesting things are in these transcripts . First , they used the surveillance tape as evidence he was indeed involved. It is clearly stated that a masked man entered the plant around midnight and dale went to meet him. It's states they had a short conversation then vanished from view.
This brings out two interesting points . One being that it's awfully convienant that dale just happened to go to the location of the masked man just after he entered the plant the other being that the theft took place just after dale's shift started . Midnight giving whoever dale was releaving plenty of time to leave the premises . If dale had planned this then that gives him that absolute most time before anyone is going to know he is gone as the other gaurd would not be coming in until 7 am .

But the case was also dismissed because it hadn't been 7 years since he went missing. "The trial court determined that the petitioner had failed to prove by a fair preponderance of the evidence that her father had met with a specific, life-threatening peril and, because less than seven (7) years had elapsed following his disappearance, dismissed the petition." Don't you think, now, over 20 years later the evidence is more in favor of him being dead?

Now, according to the one supervisor interviewed (the one who mentioned Dale's personnel files) says Dale was "marginal", but at the same time he saved the company thousands of dollars by driving a fork lift away from a potential explosion. If Dale was feeling burned by Corning, why wouldn't he just let the thing explode? He risked his life for that company, and it doesn't make any sense why he would steal platinum shortly after.

But the case was also dismissed because it hadn't been 7 years since he went missing. "The trial court determined that the petitioner had failed to prove by a fair preponderance of the evidence that her father had met with a specific, life-threatening peril and, because less than seven (7) years had elapsed following his disappearance, dismissed the petition." Don't you think, now, over 20 years later the evidence is more in favor of him being dead?

Now, according to the one supervisor interviewed (the one who mentioned Dale's personnel files) says Dale was "marginal", but at the same time he saved the company thousands of dollars by driving a fork lift away from a potential explosion. If Dale was feeling burned by Corning, why wouldn't he just let the thing explode? He risked his life for that company, and it doesn't make any sense why he would steal platinum shortly after.
It wAsnt only the seven years since missing that got the case dismissed . It was the fact that there isn't a scrap of evidence to show he is dead. The tape was used as evidence in the hearing and from that it was determined that dale was most likely a willing accomplice .
Is it odd he hasn't turned up being over 20 years ? No not to me . If he changed his identity and moved away then how would he be found ? There is no warrant out for dale. Not a fugitive. There again he may have been double crossed and killed right after . Either way the mountain of evidence that he was in on this cannot be ignored.
The incident with the forklift had been several years before the platinum theft. Dale was still working in trade shop then . Also this was a split second action by dale. I'm sure he did this without thinking about it . Most likely to protect the lives of his co workers . I don't see how this relates in any way to the platinum theft

It wAsnt only the seven years since missing that got the case dismissed . It was the fact that there isn't a scrap of evidence to show he is dead. The tape was used as evidence in the hearing and from that it was determined that dale was most likely a willing accomplice .
Is it odd he hasn't turned up being over 20 years ? No not to me . If he changed his identity and moved away then how would he be found ? There is no warrant out for dale. Not a fugitive. There again he may have been double crossed and killed right after . Either way the mountain of evidence that he was in on this cannot be ignored.
The incident with the forklift had been several years before the platinum theft. Dale was still working in trade shop then . Also this was a split second action by dale. I'm sure he did this without thinking about it . Most likely to protect the lives of his co workers . I don't see how this relates in any way to the platinum theftHe saved his co-workers' lives but abandoned his family for greed at the drop of a hat? Doesn't sound like very consistent behavior patterns to me. Which is the point- it relates to the platinum theft because it helps tell exactly what kind of human being Dale Kerstetter is.

But if he was in on it then there must be a suspect as to who the man in the mask is. Someone he worked with to do all this and who either worked at the company or lived in the same town as him, and yet this many years later and they haven't named a single person as a suspect. If he was involved in this, there has to be a suspect and someone he worked with that could lead them toward the man in the mask. So how is it that nobody has ever found this man's identity? Dale was a small town guy, there's only so many people it could be. Yet, they don't know?

Sorry, I just don't think he was involved. He was murdered, and his body could have been dumped anywhere across the country by now.

Also, I'm not sure how no evidence to a murder means he wasn't murdered. By that logic, Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman are still alive out there.

He saved his co-workers' lives but abandoned his family for greed at the drop of a hat? Doesn't sound like very consistent behavior patterns to me. Which is the point- it relates to the platinum theft because it helps tell exactly what kind of human being Dale Kerstetter is.

But if he was in on it then there must be a suspect as to who the man in the mask is. Someone he worked with to do all this and who either worked at the company or lived in the same town as him, and yet this many years later and they haven't named a single person as a suspect. If he was involved in this, there has to be a suspect and someone he worked with that could lead them toward the man in the mask. So how is it that nobody has ever found this man's identity? Dale was a small town guy, there's only so many people it could be. Yet, they don't know?

Sorry, I just don't think he was involved. He was murdered, and his body could have been dumped anywhere across the country by now.

Also, I'm not sure how no evidence to a murder means he wasn't murdered. By that logic, Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman are still alive out there.
First off , what he did in a split second reaction has nothing to do with the kind of person he is . This tells us nothing other then dale has guts. If he wAsnt in on it at all then please explain how this masked man gained all of this knowledge in order to easily perpatrate this crime. How did he know the security was so lax ? How did he know there was platinum in the plant and know exactly where it was in a 100,000 square foot facility ? How did he know he didn't need a gun to pull this off ? In none of the video footage does the masked man have a weapon. How did he know where to find the tools used to open the tank and remove the platinum ? How did he know where to find the pallet jack ? If the answer is that someone at the plant masterminded this then I must ask why that person could not be dale ??
Why are people so quick to say it was someone else at the plant but discredit that person being dale himself ? Because he moved a forklift out from under molten glass several years prior ? Because his family says he didn't do it ? Because he left behind cigarettes and didnt eat his lunch ? Everything here points to dale being involved at some level.
As for who the police should have been investigating I would think they should look at this mysterious wealthy friend of dale's that his ex son in law talked about on this forum. I wonder if that ever happened

I so thought the company was in on it. They were in finascial trouble and he was the scapegoat....and then burned it the "tank"

I so thought the company was in on it. They were in finascial trouble and he was the scapegoat....and then burned it the "tank"
I highly doubt that . The company was not in fianancial trouble. Corning is huge and is still around today. There is no way a corporation of this size would partake in a scheme to get 250k worth of insurance money on missing platinum.

[QUOTE=kane7474]I highly doubt that . The company was not in fianancial trouble. Corning is huge and is still around today. There is no way a corporation of this size would partake in a scheme to get 250k worth of insurance money on missing platinum. I have heard a few others say that maybe the robbers disposed of dale in the tank but this also is not possible as the machinery was not running . Dale was the only one there so none of the equipment would have been running without operators on site. It would be obvious if the tank had been run that night as it would take quite some time to cool down

First off , what he did in a split second reaction has nothing to do with the kind of person he is . This tells us nothing other then dale has guts.

But it does show that he actually saved property damage by moving a lift away from a potential explosion. He risked his life to save company money, essentially. Doesn't strike me as the type of person to turn right around and steal from the same company. Had he had any grievance with Corning, or was bummed about being "demoted", he really could have just said "screw it" and let the lift explode.

If he wAsnt in on it at all then please explain how this masked man gained all of this knowledge in order to easily perpatrate this crime. How did he know the security was so lax ? How did he know there was platinum in the plant and know exactly where it was in a 100,000 square foot facility ?

Remember the segment mentions how Corning had just went through massive cuts and demotions throughout the company? "Masked Guy" could have been an ex employee, or an associate of an ex employee. It's highly probable this guy was involved with the company at some point.

How did he know he didn't need a gun to pull this off ? In none of the video footage does the masked man have a weapon. How did he know where to find the tools used to open the tank and remove the platinum ? How did he know where to find the pallet jack ? If the answer is that someone at the plant masterminded this then I must ask why that person could not be dale ??

You don't see a gun but that doesn't mean he doesn't have one. I still contend that based on the re-enactment it looks as if the masked man is holding something behind Dale. And this alleged "conversation" between Dale and the masked man could have been as simple as, "I'm here to steal your platinum. I have a gun. Do as I say and you won't get hurt." What else could Dale have done at that point? Or, if the masked guy was an ex employee, after barking out his orders/instructions to Dale, Dale could have said, "Hey so-and-so is that you?" which would give the guy even more incentive to kill him.

Why are people so quick to say it was someone else at the plant but discredit that person being dale himself ? Because he moved a forklift out from under molten glass several years prior ? Because his family says he didn't do it ? Because he left behind cigarettes and didnt eat his lunch ?

He's been missing for twenty-some years. The platinum theft amounted to $250,000. Dale, if involved, would have received half of that or less. Not enough to sustain a life on the run for over twenty years. That's the big reason I think he's innocent and unfortunately dead.

Everything here points to dale being involved at some level.

Outside of one shot of Dale and the masked man walking together, I don't see how anything about this case would point to Dale being involved.

But it does show that he actually saved property damage by moving a lift away from a potential explosion. He risked his life to save company money, essentially. Doesn't strike me as the type of person to turn right around and steal from the same company. Had he had any grievance with Corning, or was bummed about being "demoted", he really could have just said "screw it" and let the lift explode.



Remember the segment mentions how Corning had just went through massive cuts and demotions throughout the company? "Masked Guy" could have been an ex employee, or an associate of an ex employee. It's highly probable this guy was involved with the company at some point.



You don't see a gun but that doesn't mean he doesn't have one. I still contend that based on the re-enactment it looks as if the masked man is holding something behind Dale. And this alleged "conversation" between Dale and the masked man could have been as simple as, "I'm here to steal your platinum. I have a gun. Do as I say and you won't get hurt." What else could Dale have done at that point? Or, if the masked guy was an ex employee, after barking out his orders/instructions to Dale, Dale could have said, "Hey so-and-so is that you?" which would give the guy even more incentive to kill him.



He's been missing for twenty-some years. The platinum theft amounted to $250,000. Dale, if involved, would have received half of that or less. Not enough to sustain a life on the run for over twenty years. That's the big reason I think he's innocent and unfortunately dead.



Outside of one shot of Dale and the masked man walking together, I don't see how anything about this case would point to Dale being involved.
Ok well if you want to use him saving lives and property by moving the forklift then consider this did happen before the cutbacks and before he took the pay cut . Right ?
I agree when we see dale and masked man together his arm is somewhat behind dale's back however we see several shots of the man where his hands are clearly seen and there is no weapon.

What could dale have done if masked man said he had gun and told him he was taking platinum ? Well he could have played along then escaped when the man got into the tank. The man cannot hold a gun on dale while he gets the tool together and then disassembles the tank and cuts the platinum out.
Could the man have killed dale before taking the platinum ? Possibly but dale's scent was tracked directly to the tank so there is evidence that dale was assisting him.
Yes it was stated the amount of platinum was 250k and dale may have had to split that . Consider that his daughter said the episode had it wrong and it was actually valued at 500k. Even if it was the lesser amount that would be over half million in today's money . So it was plenty for dale to love nicely on of he indeed escaped with it all . Also consider the price of platinum has skyrocketed since 87 and portions of it could have been sold later at much higher prices .

Yes it's been 20 years with no sign of dale . It has also been 20 years and no identity on the masked man? Does that mean he was not involved either?
Again you speculate that it's someone at the plant behind this and it obviously had to be . So why couldn't that person be dale ? He's the only one missing , the only one the police haven't been able to talk to , the only one that was on duty when the theft occured. So again why point the finger at an unknown plant employee while discarding the idea that dale was involved ?

@kane7474: You state that there is no evidence that Dale is deceased. I can flip that coin and state there is no evidence his alive either. In 27 years, there has been no eyewitness accounts, no paper trail, nothing.

The camera footage doesn't tell the whole story. It's nigh impossible to draw many conclusions from it. Given that the building was vast, it seems unlikely that they would have cameras covering every inch of that building. The camera footage also apparently didn't have audio. We saw scenes from it, but it doesn't paint a complete picture. It's possible there was more than one burglar. It's possible there WAS weapons involved, just because we don't see them doesn't mean they didn't exist. And all the masked man (or men) have to do is state they have a gun and that will make Dale more likely that not to comply (remember he wasn't a big man by any means and probably would have lost a physical altercation)

There are many possible explanations why Dale's scent was at the tank. Perhaps the burglar required Dale's assistance. Perhaps Dale heard a noise, investigated, and a confrontation happened there. Perhaps the dog was mistaken.

Dale had no motive for to steal the platinum. As Penny stated, if he was in financial trouble, there were too many ways he could have obtained the money legally and that didn't involve the complete abandoning of his family for decades.

Yes it's been 20 years with no sign of dale . It has also been 20 years and no identity on the masked man? Does that mean he was not involved either? Again you speculate that it's someone at the plant behind this and it obviously had to be . So why couldn't that person be dale ? He's the only one missing , the only one the police haven't been able to talk to , the only one that was on duty when the theft occured. So again why point the finger at an unknown plant employee while discarding the idea that dale was involved?

I think the odds point away from Dale being involved with this heist. There is no shot or footage of him walking out carrying anything, nor is there another shot of him besides the one scene where he is walking with the masked man. Doesn't sound like a guy who's out to say, "hey I'm taking your platinum and there's nothing you can do about it", does it? The only evidence they have "against" Dale is the fact that he just so happened to be working that night during the heist, and the footage of him walking with the masked man. That's about it. Now if there was something more substantial like Dale discussing a platinum theft with a friend, or asking around to see if there were any interested buyers, than I could believe that he was in on it. But because the guy owed money on a vehicle and was mad because he got some hours cut all of a sudden makes him guilty of stealing platinum? Don't buy it. At all.

Also, consider this. Assuming Dale is guilty, he and this masked guy had until 7 a.m. in the morning to steal platinum. Why was there not more missing? There was no shot of Dale going to the tank, which is verified by the irritating supervisor in the segment. "And then, as I continued to review the tapes, I saw the masked person come back out and go up to the tank area, then I was extremely anxious because at that time I realized that not only do we have a missing employee...there was a good possibility that we had missing platinum in the plant. Whoever removed the platinum from the tank was extremely familiar with the plant, everything in the plant--they knew exactly where to go." So how exactly did Dale assist this guy in stealing the platinum? Remember that Dale's car key was found in the ignition. Maybe he did make an attempt to flee, but was stopped by the masked man and killed.

And this was mentioned in his daughter's appeal to have him legally declared dead. "The amount of platinum removed from the plant was such that it could have been carried easily by one person."

So what purpose did Dale serve if he was in on it? He was not seen near the tank, going up to the tank, or any other area of the plant outside of the shot of he and the masked man walking together. Did Dale just sit in the getaway car while the masked guy did all of the work? Highly unlikely, as Gorilla Monsoon would say.

@kane7474: You state that there is no evidence that Dale is deceased. I can flip that coin and state there is no evidence his alive either. In 27 years, there has been no eyewitness accounts, no paper trail, nothing.

The camera footage doesn't tell the whole story. It's nigh impossible to draw many conclusions from it. Given that the building was vast, it seems unlikely that they would have cameras covering every inch of that building. The camera footage also apparently didn't have audio. We saw scenes from it, but it doesn't paint a complete picture. It's possible there was more than one burglar. It's possible there WAS weapons involved, just because we don't see them doesn't mean they didn't exist. And all the masked man (or men) have to do is state they have a gun and that will make Dale more likely that not to comply (remember he wasn't a big man by any means and probably would have lost a physical altercation

There are many possible explanations why Dale's scent was at the tank. Perhaps the burglar required Dale's assistance. Perhaps Dale heard a noise, investigated, and a confrontation happened there. Perhaps the dog was mistaken.

Dale had no motive for to steal the platinum. As Penny stated, if he was in financial trouble, there were too many ways he could have obtained the money legally and that didn't involve the complete abandoning of his family for decades.
I guess we could assume more then one burglar and assume they had weapons but nothing supports that . We do know that dale had a gun and knew how to use it. The footage may not tell the whole story but it's simply all we have . Look at the body language between them . Does it appear dale is being forced to do anything ? Dale appears very casual with him and honestly the masked man appears to be lost and wandering around just before we see dale talking to him.

Your right dale was a small man but if look at the footage the masked man appears to be the same size as dale which again should narrow down the list of suspects if indeed it was someone else employed at the plant.

As for dale's motive well it's the oldest motive in the world . Money. Dale lived in a trailer and took a 7k a year pay cut . They say dale was close to getting his pension but had the company implemented pension cuts ? That as very common at the time. At that time what was his Corning stock worth ? They where obviously going through a bad time so cashing this in may have not done much for him.
His daughter clearly states that "if" he was involved she would not love him any less . Implying she's not convinced he wasn't . You heard what his son had to say on his possible involvement and his three other children all refused to take part in the um episode.
If dale was not killed by the masked man and did infact relocate then how would he be found ? Who's looking for him? There is no warrant out for his arrest , he's not considered a wanted man. Literally he could be stopped by a police officer in another state and there wouldn't even be a hit on his name.

And this was mentioned in his daughter's appeal to have him legally declared dead. "The amount of platinum removed from the plant was such that it could have been carried easily by one person."

So what purpose did Dale serve if he was in on it? He was not seen near the tank, going up to the tank, or any other area of the plant outside of the shot of he and the masked man walking together. Did Dale just sit in the getaway car while the masked guy did all of the work? Highly unlikely, as Gorilla Monsoon would say.
It dale masterminded the whole thing then there is your purpose . The masked man was simply there to give the impression to the cameras that dale had been abducted and was not a willing participant. Dale knew exactly where the cameras where . This could be why we do not see him going up to the tank or leaving with the platinum . He appears in just enough footage to raise doubt .

His daughter clearly states that "if" he was involved she would not love him any less . Implying she's not convinced he wasn't . You heard what his son had to say on his possible involvement and his three other children all refused to take part in the um episode.

Actually, that's not true. Penny, another one of his daughters, and the son were all interviewed. Only 2 of his children declined. His mother was also interviewed.

If dale was not killed by the masked man and did infact relocate then how would he be found ? Who's looking for him? There is no warrant out for his arrest , he's not considered a wanted man. Literally he could be stopped by a police officer in another state and there wouldn't even be a hit on his name.

His family would be looking for him, for one. And even though he's not considered a wanted man per se, he still would have been entered into some sort of "missing persons" database, because of the possibility of his involvement in the theft. Guarantee he would have popped up by now if he was still alive.

And in regards to his son's comments on the show, Dale's daughter has cleared that up earlier in this thread. She says that he was only 20 (maybe younger) at the time of the taping at that Dale was his hero, and he didn't want to believe or even entertain the possibility that his father was dead.

And if Dale was the "mastermind" behind this theft, why involve another man? The platinum stolen was enough for one person to remove easily, and he had plenty of time to skate on out of town. So what was the point in having an accomplice, meaning he would have to split the money with someone? Dale could have easily had a different shirt, donned a mask, and walked in front of the cameras and stolen the platinum. Then he could have changed and removed the mask and walked back around the cameras (as if he was doing his usual patrol) to make it seem like someone else was in the plant. He didn't need to involve another person, if he indeed was the mastermind behind the plot. And how would Dale (a small town kind of guy) have the connections to know where he could find a buyer for the platinum?

Have not posted in quite some time, but I do check it frequently. I want all of you to know that I find your opinions intriging and thought provoking, and do not at all take any offense to any specific comments. On the contrary, so many of you bring up so many good theories and ideas as to what may or may not have happened to my father and his involvement in this incident.

I can tell you that none of the family or his friends have had any contact with Dale since this happened, nor were there any conversations about it or the theory of it prior to. Also, no one in the family has had any financial gain in any shape or form due to his disappearance.

There are so many things mentioned in so many posts that I would love to answer but would take me quite some time to address each and every one individually, but if anyone has any specific questions they would like me to try to answer, I would be more than happy to.

In a bizarre way, it is comforting to know that so many others find this a baffling mystery, and are conflicted as to what Dale's involvement may or may not have been.

Thanks for posting again, Moneypenny.

Given that Dale has had zero contact with his family, I think it's fairly obvious that he is deceased. It's one thing to disappear from your family for a few months or a year, even. For this amount of time to have passed with absolutely nothing seems to suggest that Dale is no longer with us. The million dollar question that remains is whether he had something to do with the theft or not.

I still lean towards "not."

We don't know who the masked man is, but it's possible that Dale recognized this person. The mask hides his appearance from the cameras, but when he spoke it would be obvious to someone who knew him. Maybe Dale encountered this person, realized that he knew him (since it was likely a current/ex employee) and tried to either talk him out of the theft or remain calm and not be harmed himself.

I just wish we could get that one piece that would signal either guilt or innocence. Only then could we begin to develop more solid theories.

In the original video, which was more of a continuous still picture feed, if you will, not a streaming video, he looks directly into the camera with what I would describe as a very serious look on his face, not one that I often saw him display. I studied that picture and could not tell if he was conveying "I hope someone sees this and help is on the way" or if it was "there is the camera, they see me doing this, don't want to get caught". I do know that he was fully aware of the camera and I do not doubt whatever he was thinking, he most definitely intentionally looked directly into that camera.

My gut tells me he wasn't involved. Anything that happened aside from Dale disappearing, to the masked intruder, stolen platinum etc. is purely speculation. I'd say the biggest mystery is a the platinum itself. You would need someone to sell it for you and in the segment they said that none of it had turned up on the black market or private dealings. Honestly the missing platinum is what makes this story even more bizarre. Someone walked with thousands of dollars in platinum and never sold it? That alone makes me lean towards inside job. But that's me.

Had to have been sold on the black market, likely by a buyer secured prior to the theft. Without the resources that we have today such as Internet, it doesn't seem plausible that a layman could peddle that much platinum without raising suspicion on where or how it was obtained.

In the original video, which was more of a continuous still picture feed, if you will, not a streaming video, he looks directly into the camera with what I would describe as a very serious look on his face, not one that I often saw him display. I studied that picture and could not tell if he was conveying "I hope someone sees this and help is on the way" or if it was "there is the camera, they see me doing this, don't want to get caught". I do know that he was fully aware of the camera and I do not doubt whatever he was thinking, he most definitely intentionally looked directly into that camera.

Does your family have a general opinion as to whether or not your father was involved? I think the majority of posters on here (even when first viewing the segment) pretty much believe that Dale was a victim and not a perpetrator.

Been so long since I've seen the segment so wish I could watch it again. Some details are sketchy. My instinct tells me that dale was not in on it.

one question I have. Was dale an unarmed security or armed but just didn't have it on him at the time or access to it?

also, I assume the cameras didn't cover outside very well or at all or the main entrances and exits?

We collectively do not know what to believe, but would like to believe he was an innocent victim.

He was not provided with a weapon by the plant; remember, he was not a "sanctioned" security guard, but rather a journeyman by trade whose hours had been cut. I do not know if he volunteered to take on that task for extra hours or if that was a job assignment by the plant. His personal pistol was never recovered.

I do not know how many cameras were in the plant, but not many. I seem to recall maybe four or six but I don't know for sure.

We collectively do not know what to believe, but would like to believe he was an innocent victim.

He was not provided with a weapon by the plant; remember, he was not a "sanctioned" security guard, but rather a journeyman by trade whose hours had been cut. I do not know if he volunteered to take on that task for extra hours or if that was a job assignment by the plant. His personal pistol was never recovered.

I do not know how many cameras were in the plant, but not many. I seem to recall maybe four or six but I don't know for sure.
Someone posted on here saying they where dale's ex son in law . The man said that dale had a wealthy mysterious friend. What are your thoughts on this person and do you know if the FBI looked at him ?

That was my ex, and he was correct about the wealthy friend. He had moved to Coral Gables, FL not too long before this happened. And he was a shady person, involved in many gray market dealings, but a very good friend to my father. I personally called him after this happened, he really didn't want to talk about it, and denied any knowledge of any aspect of it. I gave his info to the PA State Police and the FBI, I remember at the time thinking they didn't take this lead too seriously, but I wasn't privileged to their reports so perhaps they did. I should try to Google him and see if anything comes up!

That was my ex, and he was correct about the wealthy friend. He had moved to Coral Gables, FL not too long before this happened. And he was a shady person, involved in many gray market dealings, but a very good friend to my father. I personally called him after this happened, he really didn't want to talk about it, and denied any knowledge of any aspect of it. I gave his info to the PA State Police and the FBI, I remember at the time thinking they didn't take this lead too seriously, but I wasn't privileged to their reports so perhaps they did. I should try to Google him and see if anything comes up!
You might also try a freedom of information act request on FBI . So you could see exactly what their investigation entailed. On the actual tape was the masked man same size as your dad ? Or could you tell ?

I will have to look into obtaining their reports! The masked man appeared to be of a taller and huskier build than my dad. I remember at the time thinking it could have been his mysterious friend, but it could have been anybody. Definitely a male though.

I will have to look into obtaining their reports! The masked man appeared to be of a taller and huskier build than my dad. I remember at the time thinking it could have been his mysterious friend, but it could have been anybody. Definitely a male though.
Very interesting indeed !! Just curious if the FBI shared anything with you guys ? Anything they might have been looking at ? Any Leeds? Also curious to know your thoughts on dale leaving the keys in his new truck but taking a lunch box and newspaper as well as pistol inside. Was it normal for him to leave his keys in ignition ?

The FBI never really shared anything with us. Leaving his keys in the truck was not at all out of the ordinary for him. Bradford is a very small town and you didn't really have to worry about stuff like that back then, that was standard practice for him, with the windows rolled down in the summer, too! Corning was a major employer there, probably the largest. If a family member didn't work there, you knew someone who did. That's why the masked man could be anybody in town.

My father's closest friend, who has since passed away, was heartbroken by this. I think if anyone knew in advance he was involved, it would have been this man. That is another problem, so many people that may have known anything are no longer around. I did call the PA State Police last summer and asked to speak to someone that may be working on cold case files but no one ever called me back.

The FBI never really shared anything with us. Leaving his keys in the truck was not at all out of the ordinary for him. Bradford is a very small town and you didn't really have to worry about stuff like that back then, that was standard practice for him, with the windows rolled down in the summer, too! Corning was a major employer there, probably the largest. If a family member didn't work there, you knew someone who did. That's why the masked man could be anybody in town.

My father's closest friend, who has since passed away, was heartbroken by this. I think if anyone knew in advance he was involved, it would have been this man. That is another problem, so many people that may have known anything are no longer around. I did call the PA State Police last summer and asked to speak to someone that may be working on cold case files but no one ever called me back.

Have you or the family thought of trying to get one of the shows on the ID channel to pick this up such as 48 Hours or On the Case with Paula Zahn? Maybe a fresh view of it could incite some new leads.

The fact that his son said that he bets he comes back when the statute of limitations runs out reallllllllly makes me wonder...

The fact that his son said that he bets he comes back when the statute of limitations runs out reallllllllly makes me wonder...

but the thing is, he *didn't* come back. And it's been 20 years since the statute of limitations ran out. I don't think what the son said was suspicious at all, I think he said that because he (understandably) wanted to believe his father was still alive.

I think he was interviewed separately from his sisters who critical of the notion Dale would have the true motive to pull off this heist. Maybe investigators, thinking "he's only a teenager, he'll believe whatever we say", lead him to believe Dale was in on it despite the fact they did not truly have any hard evidence against him.

The fact that his son said that he bets he comes back when the statute of limitations runs out reallllllllly makes me wonder...

His son was 17 years old at the time the segment was filmed, IIRC. His sister said that he worshiped his father and wanted to believe that he was still alive, which is why he made that remark.

Whether or not he had any part in it, he died that night. I honestly don't think he played any active part in the theft but regardless I think he died that night. The statue of limitations was up 2 decades ago and the fact that none of his family has ever received a phone call / letter / email / ect doesn't add up. He would be free of prosecution.

I find it disturbing the plant he worked for spun it that way so they would look better. Its terrible an employer of almost 30 years would assume on national TV he was in on it when he could've been abducted and murdered.

Something has always bothered me about the plant/management and their reactions to this whole thing. The theft definitely seems like some sort of inside job whether it was a current or former employee. I doubt Dale had anything to do with it. That would explain to me why upper management threw Dale under the bus so easily.

I live in Bradford, PA and I have read these posts as a guest on this site until now. But I created a username today because I saw in the paper that the family is petitioning the courts to finally have Dale Kerstetter declared deceased.
I just wanted to say that here in town most people were not swayed by the position that the Corning plant seemed to have. Most people seem to feel that he was a victim of this robbery. I also feel that him looking into that camera was his way of wondering when his employer was going to come in and save his life. They let him down by not following their own procedures and calling authorities when those hourly check-ins did not happen. For them to cover instead of taking responsibility for that is wrong.

I sincerely hope that the family finally at least gets legal closure to this at the July hearing so that they can at least settle his estate 28 years later.

I live in Bradford, PA and I have read these posts as a guest on this site until now. But I created a username today because I saw in the paper that the family is petitioning the courts to finally have Dale Kerstetter declared deceased.
I just wanted to say that here in town most people were not swayed by the position that the Corning plant seemed to have. Most people seem to feel that he was a victim of this robbery. I also feel that him looking into that camera was his way of wondering when his employer was going to come in and save his life. They let him down by not following their own procedures and calling authorities when those hourly check-ins did not happen. For them to cover instead of taking responsibility for that is wrong.

I sincerely hope that the family finally at least gets legal closure to this at the July hearing so that they can at least settle his estate 28 years later.

Thanks for the insight, I've always wondered what the people in the town thought had happened.

CuriousK, thank you for your kind post! We are hoping that our petition is successful so that we may have some sense of closure.

I would be interested in knowing if any of the plant management that was interviewed at the time are still around, and if so, if they still hold their original opinions?

His son was 17 years old at the time the segment was filmed, IIRC. His sister said that he worshiped his father and wanted to believe that he was still alive, which is why he made that remark.


Ah, guess I wasn't aware of that. Makes sense. Thanks :)

I find it interesting that the plant used their own employees for security. It was during that time that a lot of bigger firms were starting to outsource that service to private security firms.

:)

Whether or not he had any part in it, he died that night. I honestly don't think he played any active part in the theft but regardless I think he died that night. The statue of limitations was up 2 decades ago and the fact that none of his family has ever received a phone call / letter / email / ect doesn't add up. He would be free of prosecution.

I find it disturbing the plant he worked for spun it that way so they would look better. Its terrible an employer of almost 30 years would assume on national TV he was in on it when he could've been abducted and murdered.

Something has always bothered me about the plant/management and their reactions to this whole thing. The theft definitely seems like some sort of inside job whether it was a current or former employee. I doubt Dale had anything to do with it. That would explain to me why upper management threw Dale under the bus so easily.
The way that manager acted and just threw him under the bus so readily has me very suspicious of HIM. He just acted too shady for words. Instant dislike and my hinky meter went up

but the thing is, he *didn't* come back. And it's been 20 years since the statute of limitations ran out. I don't think what the son said was suspicious at all, I think he said that because he (understandably) wanted to believe his father was still alive.
People need to understand that only the criminal statute of limitations ran out. That does not apply to civil lawsuits . If he came back and admitted what he did he would be sued by the ins company that covered the loss

I live in Bradford, PA and I have read these posts as a guest on this site until now. But I created a username today because I saw in the paper that the family is petitioning the courts to finally have Dale Kerstetter declared deceased.
I just wanted to say that here in town most people were not swayed by the position that the Corning plant seemed to have. Most people seem to feel that he was a victim of this robbery. I also feel that him looking into that camera was his way of wondering when his employer was going to come in and save his life. They let him down by not following their own procedures and calling authorities when those hourly check-ins did not happen. For them to cover instead of taking responsibility for that is wrong.

I sincerely hope that the family finally at least gets legal closure to this at the July hearing so that they can at least settle his estate 28 years later.
Dale knew no one was monotoring the camera . So why look at it as if to signal for help

Dale knew no one was monotoring the camera . So why look at it as if to signal for help

I don't think it was a "signal for help" as much as it was Dale looking up and remembering that the cameras were recording, and thinking "at least this is getting recorded" type of thing.

I live in Bradford, PA and I have read these posts as a guest on this site until now. But I created a username today because I saw in the paper that the family is petitioning the courts to finally have Dale Kerstetter declared deceased.
I just wanted to say that here in town most people were not swayed by the position that the Corning plant seemed to have. Most people seem to feel that he was a victim of this robbery. I also feel that him looking into that camera was his way of wondering when his employer was going to come in and save his life. They let him down by not following their own procedures and calling authorities when those hourly check-ins did not happen. For them to cover instead of taking responsibility for that is wrong.

I sincerely hope that the family finally at least gets legal closure to this at the July hearing so that they can at least settle his estate 28 years later.Did Corning ever name who they thought his accomplice was? Because surely they would have to have some idea since based on their theory he would have to have someone either close to him or knew the plant inside out and was an ex-employee. Either way, they should have an idea.

Not that I think Dale was involved, but Corning really has not handled this case very well. Horrible security management and lack of investigation into the case does not look good in their favor.

I don't think it was a "signal for help" as much as it was Dale looking up and remembering that the cameras were recording, and thinking "at least this is getting recorded" type of thing.

Yeah, me too. By looking directly into the camera, he also ensured that anyone who watched that tape in the future would know it was definitely him on the recording in the event that he would disappear (which, sadly, came to fruition).

Has it ever been discussed how convenient it was, that there was a robbery of hundreds of thousands of dollars from a company that was financially struggling? I remember it being mentioned in the clip that Dale had been moved out of the trade shop to being a night watchman because they were cutting labor costs.

I don't think it was a "signal for help" as much as it was Dale looking up and remembering that the cameras were recording, and thinking "at least this is getting recorded" type of thing.
I think so, too.

I also think that the staff member who implied that this was a smug glance by Dale is full of it and just wanted to accuse rather than admit that something bad had happened to their employee.

I think so, too.

I also think that the staff member who implied that this was a smug glance by Dale is full of it and just wanted to accuse rather than admit that something bad had happened to their employee.

I've gone back and forth on that guy. He does come off as an @$$ in the segment, but then again he says at first he thought Dale was a victim but when watching the surveillance tape he saw Dale "meet" the masked man at the back of the plant. The UM reenactment shows Dale and the man walking together out of view and then into view, which could imply the masked man surprised him and held him at gunpoint. If the real tape does in fact show a masked man lingering in the back of the plant, and Dale casually strolling up to "meet" him, then the guys suspicions are warranted. I just wish they would have shown the real tape.

I still want to know how big the kilns were in the factory and if the temp was monitored at night.

I have wondered myself if he was thrown into the kiln to "disappear"? I do not recall if the kilns were up and running at night, doubtful without the shift workers there. Also don't know if they could tell if they were fired up that night and if so, if there was the technology back then to analyze the ash residue.

To my knowledge, Corning never identified the second man in the video and never disclosed to us if they had a theory on who it may have been.

I have wondered myself if he was thrown into the kiln to "disappear"? I do not recall if the kilns were up and running at night, doubtful without the shift workers there. Also don't know if they could tell if they were fired up that night and if so, if there was the technology back then to analyze the ash residue.


glass kilns of that natural are generally not shut down at night because it takes too long to get the glass back up to temperature.

This case has bothered me since I was a little kid watching the original broadcast. For the record, I have always felt Dale was innocent.

What I have always been curious of is involving the surveillance tape. Moneypenny10, thank you for noting it was not a full video tape but rather one of those. I hope you will forgive me by what I am about to ask as it may be troublesome. The unsolved mysteries reenactment tape shows the masked man alone wheeling a cart with a bag on it out of the plant. I am wondering if the amount of platinum taken alone was enough to fill this bag as it appeared in the original tape. Or could it have perhaps been Dale's body and the platinum.

I suppose if there were only a few cameras throughout the plant it is possible that there are other possible exits that Dale, or the platinum could have exited through. However the segment doesn't imply this.

I would like to see a more in depth program look into this. Perhaps Disappeared? It is frustrating I'm sure to all folks on the forum here that the only real info we have through the media is just the UM segment.

I would like to see a more in depth program look into this. Perhaps Disappeared?

That show was cancelled. Outside of a one-off special that aired a few months ago, there haven't been any new episodes since April 2013.

I suppose if there were only a few cameras throughout the plant it is possible that there are other possible exits that Dale, or the platinum could have exited through.

I'd have to go back and read through the whole thread to find it, but some of that info is here.

IIRC there were only 3 security cameras and the building was huge, somewhere around 100,000 to 120,000 square feet.

I've definitely forgotten where the cameras were located, but that info might be in this thread too. Seems like they were at an entrance/exit, the furnace area, and....????

looking at the poll results, over 73% believe Dale was abducted. That tells me everything I need to know.

It's been over 26 years. Dale was killed. He was not an accomplice in this. He would have little reason to continue hiding as the Statute of Limitations has long since passed. Neither he or his family benefited a dime from this.

It's possible that Dale was BOTH "in on it" or helped the perpetrator AND was murdered.

I always wondered why Dale was in the cafeteria with his lunch & paper around midnight--either he usually just placed his lunch things there at the beginning of the shift or he was eating his lunch one hour after his shift started. Usually shift workers will eat their meal halfway into the shift--not right away. That always bothered me.

Was it staging? Was it to make it look like Dale was at the plant halfway through his shift? Was it like the cigarettes & other belongings--to appear as if he was abducted?

It is obvious to me that the masked man is a former or current employee, or otherwise knew a great deal about the plant. He knew there were cameras, he knew where he needed to go & what he was going to steal & was comfortable with the tools needed to carry out the heist.

The fact that the dog traced Dale's scent to the furnace where the platinum was stolen may indicate that he was helping the masked man at that location--the reenactment only showed the masked intruder stealing the platinum, it never showed Dale at the furnace tank--but he must have been there, too.

I temped at a large investment firm in Houston that was in the tail end of a merger with a larger company--it was chaotic there. There was office after office just sitting empty from layoffs, other employees were so stressed out it seemed like nobody was even pretending to go through the motions of the usual routines. It makes me think that this company was showing the same signs of chaos--the lack of check-in calls going unnoticed, low morale due to layoffs and paycuts, etc. That makes a theft easier to get away with.

Dale may have been sympathetic to a disgruntled employee coming in and stealing from the company that rewarded him with a pay cut & a job he didn't like. The perpetrator may have pretended that all Dale had to do was look the other way or assist in the heist and he wouldn't be hurt. He may have been doing a friend a favor--and then he was murdered since he was the only eye-witness.

I always wondered why Dale was in the cafeteria with his lunch & paper around midnight--either he usually just placed his lunch things there at the beginning of the shift or he was eating his lunch one hour after his shift started. Usually shift workers will eat their meal halfway into the shift--not right away. That always bothered me.

Not exactly. Dale's relief stated he looked through his lunch pail and everything was in there, so Dale hadn't eaten anything yet.

And in case anyone was wondering, there was an apple, a banana and a sandwich in there.

One thing that has always bothered me on this one, and first off I am in the category of Dale being a victim, but what I have to wonder is in the reenactment video (which Moneypenny10 has noted was pretty accurate), there is the one part where Dale and the masked man both walk into view from different sides of the camera view (Dale from left side and masked man from right if I recall correctly). This is the one and only thing that gives me any doubts on Dale being simply a victim.

It looks at first as if they are two friends walking up to meet each other, then as they walk toward the camera I looks more like Dale is being coerced. This part just seems odd.

If Dale was in on it (which I don't believe) I cannot explain the body language in his portion. I realize it is recreated footage on UM, but if accurate, this is weird. It almost looks like a show was being put on for the camera. Maybe they didn't realize at first that they were already on camera whn first walking in from the sides and had intended to walk into view together with the coerced look only? Maybe a stretch but just a thought.

Not exactly. Dale's relief stated he looked through his lunch pail and everything was in there, so Dale hadn't eaten anything yet.

And in case anyone was wondering, there was an apple, a banana and a sandwich in there.


But UM decided to put Dale in the cafeteria reading a newspaper when the masked intruder walked into the plant. Did he pass the time in the cafeteria or in the office by the door? That's why I mentioned it.

Maybe he was taking his first break at the time UM showed the break in? Not quite lunch time, but might explain him being in the cafeteria. They could have just been speculating though.

Maybe he was taking his first break at the time UM showed the break in? Not quite lunch time, but might explain him being in the cafeteria. They could have just been speculating though.


The only reason I bring it up is that they put him in the cafeteria about an hour after his shift started--really much too early for lunch or a break. That's when the intruder came into the factory. I just thought it was one of the strange things regarding what happened.

Definitely a good point to bring up. Hadn't thought about it myself before. I wonder if they have any evidence showing that's where he was at the time.

My impression was that Dale's job was a rather boring one. Nobody else is around. I take it that all he has to do is get up once in a while and make sure the building isn't burning down or there isn't equipment that's malfunctioning. Therefore, he gets to sit most of the time. The lunchroom/breakroom was probably one of the few places to sit down in the building.

FWIW, that scene of Dale in the cafeteria was a hypothetical scenario presented by UM, showing that if Dale was indeed an innocent victim, he may have been sitting somewhere when he noticed the masked man and then went out to confront him. They're not sure if it happened that way or not.

I'm not sure the reenactment got it completely correct with Dale being in the cafeteria when he saw or heard the intruder. Remember how the segment showed in sequence, these three scenes from the security video footage:
-the masked man walking away from the camera
-the masked man walking with Dale towards the camera
-the masked man pushing a lift cart

The segment even showed a scene from the security footage of a camera watching the glass kiln (where the platinum was stored). The police dogs traced Dale's scent to the kiln but they found no evidence even on tape of Dale being up in that part of the building. If it wasn't even on his regular security rounds, he probably didn't even know it was there. I am also willing to bet there was more than one intruder present at the plant on that night, maybe a couple guys outside who acted as a driver and someone to load the platinum into their getaway vehicle.

Here's how I think it all went down:
Dale was on his security rounds checking on the equipment when he spotted the intruder or the intruder saw him. Out of the camera's view, the intruder takes Dale hostage and outside the building to his accomplices then returns inside to get to the platinum.

He probably couldn't take the platinum all by itself; maybe it was inside or attached to another heavy piece of piping or equipment and didn't want to spend time at the plant trying to remove it. It's kind of like a thief who steals the lock box or safe from a house so he can take it elsewhere and spend as much time as possible breaking it open. Platinum was worth about 500 dollars an ounce in 1987; that means the total amount of platinum stolen from the factory (worth $250,000) only weighed about 31 pounds, which is pretty light. If he could get the platinum by itself, he could carry it in a backpack or even in hand.

Dale is then murdered because the thieve(s) said something to him that would enable him to identify them as the culprits and/or to cover their tracks or even frame Dale. Then they dump his body either in one of the furnaces in the factory or out in the wilderness. If Dale was murdered inside the building, the police probably would have found evidence of it somewhere like blood spatters or a murder weapon, unless the perps cleaned it up then dumped his body in a furnace.

FWIW, that scene of Dale in the cafeteria was a hypothetical scenario presented by UM, showing that if Dale was indeed an innocent victim, he may have been sitting somewhere when he noticed the masked man and then went out to confront him. They're not sure if it happened that way or not.

I just meant I was wondering IF they had any indication he was in the cafeteria at all. From the little bit of info that's out there, it makes me think the police either just flat out have nothing to go on, or they are withholding a lot.

Not to make them sound shady or anything. In most cases info will be held back to allow them to identify the guilty party. I am just wondering how much was held back all in all. And also, if anything withheld would indicate more of Dale's movements throughout the whole night as well as the time frame in question.

Has this case ever been profiled on any other series? Cold case or anything like that?

I have only ever seen it on UM & it just seems like they don't really care who the masked man was--only that they have decided that Dale is to blame.

It would have been important to interview all employees and former employees--especially those who had recently been laid off or fired.

While I don't know that Dale was a participant or not, it seems like LE & the company have lost interest in finding out what happened.

I'm just puzzled about a few things:

Why didn't the company supply a weapon for Dale? They allowed him to carry a gun, but didn't think it was necessary enough to give him one.

Did Dale decide to carry his gun due to some prior incident that made him feel unsafe?

Did the intruder get his gun when he confronted Dale? If not, why didn't Dale use the gun to stop the intruder? Especially if he saw the man enter the building from the cafeteria or his office on the monitors.

I have to revise an earlier post here after reviewing the segment again. Please disregard my statement about the camera angle and Dale walking in from one side and the masked man the other. I was remembering the sequence incorrectly.

However, I can't stress enough just how much this case bothers me. Ever since I was a kid this one has just eaten away at me inside. I don't know why. I have always felt Dale was innocent, but I do realize it is possible he is not.

I know there are some resourceful folks on this forum. I have searched and searched and can find next to nothing. Does anyone on here have any resources to get more specific info on the plant? I am curious as to the layout of the plant as well as if they filmed UM at the actual location. Also, the sequence of the events that were recreated on UM for the surveillance camera. The timeline would be interesting to see as well.

I have only ever seen it on UM & it just seems like they don't really care who the masked man was--only that they have decided that Dale is to blame.

It would have been important to interview all employees and former employees--especially those who had recently been laid off or fired.

While I don't know that Dale was a participant or not, it seems like LE & the company have lost interest in finding out what happened.

I'm just puzzled about a few things:

Why didn't the company supply a weapon for Dale? They allowed him to carry a gun, but didn't think it was necessary enough to give him one.

Did Dale decide to carry his gun due to some prior incident that made him feel unsafe?

Did the intruder get his gun when he confronted Dale? If not, why didn't Dale use the gun to stop the intruder? Especially if he saw the man enter the building from the cafeteria or his office on the monitors.

I don't agree that UM didn't care who the masked man was or that law enforcement has lost interest.

I'm guessing Dale couldn't used his gun because they snuck up on him and he didn't get a chance to. Looked like a fairly large building.

I know there are some resourceful folks on this forum. I have searched and searched and can find next to nothing. Does anyone on here have any resources to get more specific info on the plant? I am curious as to the layout of the plant as well as if they filmed UM at the actual location. Also, the sequence of the events that were recreated on UM for the surveillance camera. The timeline would be interesting to see as well.

You're best bet would be to contact moneypenny10. She is Dale's daughter and is extremely knowledgeable on all of the specifics of this case.

Anyone know when this segment last aired on Lifetime. Don't see it in my DVR'ed episodes! Thanks :)

I haven't seen this case in so long I forgot some of the details. I've always felt the scenario where they show dale in the cafeteria and then seeing the intruder may not have been how things went down. If that's what the security cameras show then that's a different story. I'm thinking dale was walking around and they surprised him and caught him off guard. My general belief is that dale was a victim and was not in on it.

I haven't seen this case in so long I forgot some of the details. I've always felt the scenario where they show dale in the cafeteria and then seeing the intruder may not have been how things went down. If that's what the security cameras show then that's a different story. I'm thinking dale was walking around and they surprised him and caught him off guard. My general belief is that dale was a victim and was not in on it.
I always thought Dale was a victim too. I found it more likely that Dale was killed at some point during the invasion by the intruder or intruders. Yeah his body was never found, but it could have been disposed of elsewhere. offsite. I never bought that he would just up and leave his family suddenly and not try to contact them afterward. Also when he apparently looked in the camera, I took that as a call for help.

It's possible that Dale was BOTH "in on it" or helped the perpetrator AND was murdered.

I always wondered why Dale was in the cafeteria with his lunch & paper around midnight--either he usually just placed his lunch things there at the beginning of the shift or he was eating his lunch one hour after his shift started. Usually shift workers will eat their meal halfway into the shift--not right away. That always bothered me.

Was it staging? Was it to make it look like Dale was at the plant halfway through his shift? Was it like the cigarettes & other belongings--to appear as if he was abducted?

It is obvious to me that the masked man is a former or current employee, or otherwise knew a great deal about the plant. He knew there were cameras, he knew where he needed to go & what he was going to steal & was comfortable with the tools needed to carry out the heist.

The fact that the dog traced Dale's scent to the furnace where the platinum was stolen may indicate that he was helping the masked man at that location--the reenactment only showed the masked intruder stealing the platinum, it never showed Dale at the furnace tank--but he must have been there, too.

I temped at a large investment firm in Houston that was in the tail end of a merger with a larger company--it was chaotic there. There was office after office just sitting empty from layoffs, other employees were so stressed out it seemed like nobody was even pretending to go through the motions of the usual routines. It makes me think that this company was showing the same signs of chaos--the lack of check-in calls going unnoticed, low morale due to layoffs and paycuts, etc. That makes a theft easier to get away with.

Dale may have been sympathetic to a disgruntled employee coming in and stealing from the company that rewarded him with a pay cut & a job he didn't like. The perpetrator may have pretended that all Dale had to do was look the other way or assist in the heist and he wouldn't be hurt. He may have been doing a friend a favor--and then he was murdered since he was the only eye-witness.
Even though I think Dale wasn't in on it ultimately, I have thought about this angle. Perhaps he was assisting whoever else was in the facility. Maybe Dale was in on some sort of deal. Or so he thought. Then when Dale wasn't useful anymore he was disposed of.

UM did their filming at the actual plant. It still stands but has been closed for many years. This Friday, July 11, we are asking the Court to have him declared legally dead. I will be interested to see if any of the former Corning managers show up, or anyone from Corning, for that matter! I will keep you posted.

UM did their filming at the actual plant. It still stands but has been closed for many years. This Friday, July 11, we are asking the Court to have him declared legally dead. I will be interested to see if any of the former Corning managers show up, or anyone from Corning, for that matter! I will keep you posted.

Thank you for the updates, moneypenny10. I will be thinking of you and your family on Friday.

UM did their filming at the actual plant. It still stands but has been closed for many years. This Friday, July 11, we are asking the Court to have him declared legally dead. I will be interested to see if any of the former Corning managers show up, or anyone from Corning, for that matter! I will keep you posted.

My thoughts are with you and your family moneypenny10. At least maybe this can give your family some closure. If there is such a thing in a case like this.

From what I remember about the video, the way dale looked at the camera (to me) showed someone that was not in on it. Just a theory but to me the video showed a victim. I wonder how accurate the recreation video was compared to the actual footage.

I've always wondered why they didn't have cameras outside covering the entrances and exits. That would answer a lot. I'm curious where the last footage of dale and the other person were in terms of location. Was the last footage of the masked man pushing the cart they showed? I've always wondered how far from an exit they were when dale walked by looking at the camera.

curious where the last place dale was seen in the video. That may help with the theory of whether he made it out of the plant or not.

UM did their filming at the actual plant. It still stands but has been closed for many years. This Friday, July 11, we are asking the Court to have him declared legally dead. I will be interested to see if any of the former Corning managers show up, or anyone from Corning, for that matter! I will keep you posted.


I hope things go well today Penny.

I just meant I was wondering IF they had any indication he was in the cafeteria at all. From the little bit of info that's out there, it makes me think the police either just flat out have nothing to go on, or they are withholding a lot.

Not to make them sound shady or anything. In most cases info will be held back to allow them to identify the guilty party. I am just wondering how much was held back all in all. And also, if anything withheld would indicate more of Dale's movements throughout the whole night as well as the time frame in question.

Well it's entirely possible that they found his open lunch pail in the cafeteria and theorized that he noticed the masked man and went out to confront him. I was just saying that it doesn't have to be exactly like the UM segment shows. Could have been a simple bathroom break that resulted in Dale noticing something shady going on.

Well it's entirely possible that they found his open lunch pail in the cafeteria and theorized that he noticed the masked man and went out to confront him. I was just saying that it doesn't have to be exactly like the UM segment shows. Could have been a simple bathroom break that resulted in Dale noticing something shady going on.

Could be. Reading some of the older posts with some info on this, including info from Monneypenny10, it sounds like the burglars from Home Alone could have pulled off this heist as security was not as tight as one might think with them having a night watchmen and all.

I could see Dale going on his rounds and getting surprised or jumped by an intruder that had managed to sneak in. It is really too bad there weren't more cameras to properly cover the plant. If there had been, the mystery might have been solved.

Ok, the more I've thought about this one, if Dale was an innocent victim (as I believe he is), then the odds that this masked guy worked at the plant would go way down. Because Dale could have recognized him, so there really would be no need for the mask (except to evade the cameras). So I see two possibilities:

-Masked guy was a local to Bradford and heard about the platinum and in desperation decided to rob it. This would be why he needed Dale to lead him to where the tank was in the plant. Less likely, but possible, the guy could have been at a bar or other public place and heard plant workers talking about the goings on in the plant (security system, one guard during the night, etc.) and figured it would be an easy heist.

-Masked guy was in cahoots with another plant worker (not Dale) who was warned beforehand about the security system, and privy to the fact that Dale would be alone that night (possibly armed), and would know the exact location of the tank.

Had the hearing on Friday, Judge agreed to have him declared legally dead, pending formal notification to Corning of his intent to do so. No one showed up from Corning.

Had the hearing on Friday, Judge agreed to have him declared legally dead, pending formal notification to Corning of his intent to do so. No one showed up from Corning.
Thanks for the update. Seems like enough time has passed. Sucks that no one from Corning showed up.

Thanks for the update. Been thinking of your family this weekend.

Had the hearing on Friday, Judge agreed to have him declared legally dead, pending formal notification to Corning of his intent to do so. No one showed up from Corning.


I am glad to hear that your family finally is able to put his affairs in order. I still have no respect for the Corning officials who were in that video, one of which still resides and works here in town. The best to you and your family.

Ok, the more I've thought about this one, if Dale was an innocent victim (as I believe he is), then the odds that this masked guy worked at the plant would go way down. Because Dale could have recognized him, so there really would be no need for the mask (except to evade the cameras). So I see two possibilities:

-Masked guy was a local to Bradford and heard about the platinum and in desperation decided to rob it. This would be why he needed Dale to lead him to where the tank was in the plant. Less likely, but possible, the guy could have been at a bar or other public place and heard plant workers talking about the goings on in the plant (security system, one guard during the night, etc.) and figured it would be an easy heist.

-Masked guy was in cahoots with another plant worker (not Dale) who was warned beforehand about the security system, and privy to the fact that Dale would be alone that night (possibly armed), and would know the exact location of the tank.

This got me thinking. My gut feeling always was that Dale was an innocent victim. I do believe that the masked man was likely a former employee. He likely wore the mask to avoid the cameras, as you said. Regardless, I think Dale probably recognized him which contributed to the man's need to do away with Dale.

Also, the fact that the Corning supervisor interviewed in the segment indicated that the masked man apparently knew his way around the plant and knew where to find tools suggests that he used to work there, or at least was familiar with the plant and I think that pretty much precludes the possibility of it being an outsider.

It was mentioned in the segment that Corning had laid off a bunch of people. My theory always was that the perp was a former employee (who got laid off) engineered this whole thing for revenge, for financial gain, or both. Unfortunately, I think Dale got caught in the crossfire.

It was mentioned in the segment that Corning had laid off a bunch of people. My theory always was that the perp was a former employee (who got laid off) engineered this whole thing for revenge, for financial gain, or both. Unfortunately, I think Dale got caught in the crossfire.

The one big thing that irks me about this case is that if it indeed was an angry ex-employee who got laid off, this case should have been fairly easy to solve, IMO. If some random plant worker just got miffed at the company for laying him off, where exactly was he going to sell his stolen goods? To my knowledge, the segment mentioned that none of the platinum ever turned up, so what in God's name did they do with that?

The only thing that would make sense, would be some sort of insurance scam. Which fits nicely with the fact that the plant workers were trying to pin the blame on Kerstetter being involved.

The one big thing that irks me about this case is that if it indeed was an angry ex-employee who got laid off, this case should have been fairly easy to solve, IMO. If some random plant worker just got miffed at the company for laying him off, where exactly was he going to sell his stolen goods? To my knowledge, the segment mentioned that none of the platinum ever turned up, so what in God's name did they do with that?

To me, it is not unlike some other UM cases we have seen where valuable artwork is stolen and never recovered. Why do such thefts happen in the first place and where does this artwork ultimately end up? My best guess is that these thefts are basically committed "for hire" and some rogue art collector wants the piece for their personal collection. Why else would a common, garden variety thief steal something so esoteric and hard to re-sell? It is nonsensical.

I think the same logic applies here. Stealing platinum from a factory like Corning is pretty darn high risk for a garden variety crook, and also completely nonsensical if there isn't a buyer/market already waiting in the wings, so to speak.

That being said, the fact that the perp knew where to go, what to do, where to find tools he needed to do the job suggests he had some inside knowledge of the plant. While it is hard to say with any degree of certainty how many people could have had access to Corning under innocent circumstances, and not just Corning, mind you, but those specific parts of the factory that contained the platinum, I would wager that would be a short list.

And I also don't think it is entirely out of the question that someone who works in the industry, and perhaps has worked for a place like Corning for a number of years, might either possess the contacts or know someone who knows someone, etc. who might be able to move such a product.

I guess what I am getting at is that everything about this crime, from the mechanics, to the stolen goods themselves, just screams that this was an inside job.

As for Dale's involvement, I think that is a separate issue entirely. He could be in on it, he could not be. My gut feeling always was that he was not involved, but the evidence has always been ambiguous. Regardless, I think the whole story is really two separate issues - who engineered the theft, and the disappearance of Dale Kerstetter.


The only thing that would make sense, would be some sort of insurance scam. Which fits nicely with the fact that the plant workers were trying to pin the blame on Kerstetter being involved.

That always seemed a little too conspiratorial for my taste, but I suppose nothing can be ruled out since the case is still unsolved.

ETA: To be play devil's advocate, I understand the plant not wanting to concede that Kerstetter might be a victim.

I think that doing so would not only open a whole can of worms, it might even expose them to legal liability because, assuming he was victimized, it happened on their watch.

At the end of the day, I think it was easier to say they were duped by this "marginal" employee who had been with them for 20+ years rather than admit that an as yet unidentified outsider somehow accessed the plant, apparently bypassing whatever precautions they have in place to prevent that sort of thing, stole platinum, and more than likely, murdered the security guard who was under their employment.

I think the same logic applies here. Stealing platinum from a factory like Corning is pretty darn high risk for a garden variety crook, and also completely nonsensical if there isn't a buyer/market already waiting in the wings, so to speak.

True, although I would seem to think stolen artwork would be easier to find an illicit buyer as opposed to $250,000 worth of platinum pipe.

That being said, the fact that the perp knew where to go, what to do, where to find tools he needed to do the job suggests he had some inside knowledge of the plant. While it is hard to say with any degree of certainty how many people could have had access to Corning under innocent circumstances, and not just Corning, mind you, but those specific parts of the factory that contained the platinum, I would wager that would be a short list.

Agree to a degree. In the segment, the supervisor makes it seem like the "masked man" was wandering around the back of the plant until Kerstetter "met" him, and led him to the tank area. So that's why there was some doubt (in my mind anyway) that the guy was a former (or even current) employee. His actions afterwards (the pushing of the jack, the removal of the platinum, etc.) seem to indicate he was familiar with it. But the little "meeting" at the back has always bothered me.

And I also don't think it is entirely out of the question that someone who works in the industry, and perhaps has worked for a place like Corning for a number of years, might either possess the contacts or know someone who knows someone, etc. who might be able to move such a product.

It's possible that someone would "test the waters" to see if there was a potential buyer out there, but this would be awfully risky. Who's to say this guy didn't try multiple "sources" who shot him down, who would then in turn posses the knowledge that this person was asking about a potential buy shortly before the actual theft? Then this guy becomes not only id'ed as the thief, but also could be charged with Kerstetter's murder. This would have to have been planned well in advance. And that means if Kerstetter is innocent, it was premeditated murder.

As for Dale's involvement, I think that is a separate issue entirely. He could be in on it, he could not be. My gut feeling always was that he was not involved, but the evidence has always been ambiguous. Regardless, I think the whole story is really two separate issues - who engineered the theft, and the disappearance of Dale Kerstetter.

Biggest sign of his innocence is his never having resurfaced after all of these years. The biggest sign of his involvement was his young son's comments on UM, and the plant supervisor's theory. Both seem pretty weak now that he's still missing. Not only that, but there's only one shot of Kerstetter and the masked guy walking together caught on camera. You see the masked man again on camera, but not Kerstetter. If in fact Kerstetter was in on the heist, you should have seen him helping this guy push the platinum out, or seen him walking ahead of the masked guy to hold a door for him or something. And also, if Kerstetter had planned on ditching town after the heist, why even bother to pack a lunch and then stage a scene in the cafeteria like he was interrupted? And according to this:

http://www.leagle.com/decision/19901031399PaSuper632_1969.xml/IN%20RE%20KERSTETTER

Not only was the masked man seen again near the platinum on camera (without Dale), but Dale's gun was also missing as well. It's kind of funny that at the end of that appeal, they say Dale still could be alive having been abducted by the masked man and still held against his will for 3 years. That's absurd.

ETA: To be play devil's advocate, I understand the plant not wanting to concede that Kerstetter might be a victim.

I think that doing so would not only open a whole can of worms, it might even expose them to legal liability because, assuming he was victimized, it happened on their watch.

At the end of the day, I think it was easier to say they were duped by this "marginal" employee who had been with them for 20+ years rather than admit that an as yet unidentified outsider somehow accessed the plant, apparently bypassing whatever precautions they have in place to prevent that sort of thing, stole platinum, and more than likely, murdered the security guard who was under their employment.

That's actually an excellent theory that I never even thought of before. Not only would they be facing the loss of the platinum, but also a possible lawsuit.

ETA: I guess what I'm trying to get at with the masked man not possibly being familiar with the plant is simply this: he knew he was going to have to murder Kerstetter if he was in fact an ex-employee. He would have the knowledge of the plant being guarded by one person, and also know that Kerstetter could recognize his voice. This could have been planned better, IMO, to where Kerstetter didn't even need to be harmed. Masked guy could have shown up with handcuffs and a note saying he's here to steal the platinum, etc. and cuff Kerstetter somewhere and then go about the theft. The fact that these two are even seen on the camera together makes me think this guy didn't have a clue as to where the actual platinum was stored. He may have had some knowledge beforehand about what he needed to remove it, but doesn't automatically mean he was familiar with the Corning facility.

To me, it is not unlike some other UM cases we have seen where valuable artwork is stolen and never recovered. Why do such thefts happen in the first place and where does this artwork ultimately end up? My best guess is that these thefts are basically committed "for hire" and some rogue art collector wants the piece for their personal collection. Why else would a common, garden variety thief steal something so esoteric and hard to re-sell? It is nonsensical.

I think the same logic applies here. Stealing platinum from a factory like Corning is pretty darn high risk for a garden variety crook, and also completely nonsensical if there isn't a buyer/market already waiting in the wings, so to speak.

True. Although often times, criminals aren't particularly bright, so I could see someone swiping it without thinking how easily it could be traced back to him if he sold it.

I also think it's entirely possible that whoever stole it and no intentions of making any profit out of it. It could have been a move done out of retaliation as a way to make the company lose money. Perhaps a fired employee looking for revenge.

That being said, the fact that the perp knew where to go, what to do, where to find tools he needed to do the job suggests he had some inside knowledge of the plant. While it is hard to say with any degree of certainty how many people could have had access to Corning under innocent circumstances, and not just Corning, mind you, but those specific parts of the factory that contained the platinum, I would wager that would be a short list.

And I also don't think it is entirely out of the question that someone who works in the industry, and perhaps has worked for a place like Corning for a number of years, might either possess the contacts or know someone who knows someone, etc. who might be able to move such a product.

Good point. Could have been someone who was inside the plant at one point, but not on the payroll. Perhaps a vendor, or someone who was contracted to do some maintenance work, or something of that nature.

At the end of the day, I think it was easier to say they were duped by this "marginal" employee who had been with them for 20+ years rather than admit that an as yet unidentified outsider somehow accessed the plant, apparently bypassing whatever precautions they have in place to prevent that sort of thing, stole platinum, and more than likely, murdered the security guard who was under their employment.

Another good point. I had always assumed it was a large, open factory that anyone could just walk into, but maybe that wasn't the case. Given the apparent vastness of the building, it seems like there would have been some way for someone to enter undetected (initially) but it would be nice to have more info on this. I wonder if they found any broken windows, etc.

When watching the footage you can clearly see that Dale and the intruder stop for a minute and exchange words. The intruder was either giving Dale the usual heist talk. "Take me where the platinum is" or trying to strike a deal with him (which backfires). You can also clearly see that the intruder's hand is behind Dale's back.

You know how when you see two people walking down the street and one person puts their hand on the other persons back and tries to hurry them up? Either he was forcefully trying to get Dale to hurry up and show him where the goods were, or he had Dale's gun on his back. If this intruder was unarmed, surely Dale would have done something seeing as he was security but he clearly follows the intruders demands. When he looks up at the camera, it looks like a hostage situation.

I always noticed that about the footage.

To me, it is not unlike some other UM cases we have seen where valuable artwork is stolen and never recovered. Why do such thefts happen in the first place and where does this artwork ultimately end up? My best guess is that these thefts are basically committed "for hire" and some rogue art collector wants the piece for their personal collection. Why else would a common, garden variety thief steal something so esoteric and hard to re-sell? It is nonsensical.

I think the same logic applies here. Stealing platinum from a factory like Corning is pretty darn high risk for a garden variety crook, and also completely nonsensical if there isn't a buyer/market already waiting in the wings, so to speak.

That being said, the fact that the perp knew where to go, what to do, where to find tools he needed to do the job suggests he had some inside knowledge of the plant. While it is hard to say with any degree of certainty how many people could have had access to Corning under innocent circumstances, and not just Corning, mind you, but those specific parts of the factory that contained the platinum, I would wager that would be a short list.

And I also don't think it is entirely out of the question that someone who works in the industry, and perhaps has worked for a place like Corning for a number of years, might either possess the contacts or know someone who knows someone, etc. who might be able to move such a product.

I guess what I am getting at is that everything about this crime, from the mechanics, to the stolen goods themselves, just screams that this was an inside job.

As for Dale's involvement, I think that is a separate issue entirely. He could be in on it, he could not be. My gut feeling always was that he was not involved, but the evidence has always been ambiguous. Regardless, I think the whole story is really two separate issues - who engineered the theft, and the disappearance of Dale Kerstetter.




That always seemed a little too conspiratorial for my taste, but I suppose nothing can be ruled out since the case is still unsolved.

ETA: To be play devil's advocate, I understand the plant not wanting to concede that Kerstetter might be a victim.

I think that doing so would not only open a whole can of worms, it might even expose them to legal liability because, assuming he was victimized, it happened on their watch.

At the end of the day, I think it was easier to say they were duped by this "marginal" employee who had been with them for 20+ years rather than admit that an as yet unidentified outsider somehow accessed the plant, apparently bypassing whatever precautions they have in place to prevent that sort of thing, stole platinum, and more than likely, murdered the security guard who was under their employment.
The idea that this could have been an insurance scam by the company is about as outlandish as the robbery being carried out by Aliens from Jupiter . Corning is a huge company with no shortage of money. Who would benefit from an insurance scam ? Who would plan it ? Who would carry it out ? Could it be the local management ? Why ? They wouldn't get a dime. Did the CEO call a letting with the executive board and say " we are going to murder an employee and make 250k worth of platinum vanish so we can collect this amount from insurance ". Again the money would only go back into the company ! No person would stand to profit at all .
The evidence of dale"s involvement is overwhelming and with dale's daughter sharing with us the information about his mysterious rich friend who left town around the time of the robbery the evidence is even more telling . The only question is was dale double crossed and killed ? Or did he assume a new idenditfy and live out his life which would have been easy being that he was not considered a fugitive or being sought after

The question I still have about this case is, if Dale wasn't involved, why wasn't he just murdered right there at the plant? Why the need to take him elsewhere and kill him. Also, usually when a stranger kills a stranger, they do not go to extreme lengths to conceal the body. In this case, Dale's body was never found. Seems to me that if he had been murdered, it would have been at Corning or his body would have been found shortly after.

The question I still have about this case is, if Dale wasn't involved, why wasn't he just murdered right there at the plant? Why the need to take him elsewhere and kill him. Also, usually when a stranger kills a stranger, they do not go to extreme lengths to conceal the body. In this case, Dale's body was never found. Seems to me that if he had been murdered, it would have been at Corning or his body would have been found shortly after.

Unless it was an inside job and they wanted people to THINK it was Dale so they wouldn't dig any deeper

I was just going to say that. If it was an employee or was even some acquainted with Dale, it makes sense, if the perpetrator was smart, to kidnap him and kill him elsewhere. That way the immediate investigation would look into him as missing and than possibly involved. Besides, without a body they cant prove if he's missing voluntarily or a victim of foul play. There's less evidence left behind that way as well.

The question I still have about this case is, if Dale wasn't involved, why wasn't he just murdered right there at the plant? Why the need to take him elsewhere and kill him. Also, usually when a stranger kills a stranger, they do not go to extreme lengths to conceal the body. In this case, Dale's body was never found. Seems to me that if he had been murdered, it would have been at Corning or his body would have been found shortly after.
And what happened to dales gun? It was never recovered ? So did he willingly go with the intruder armed ? Dale was armed , we do not see a weapon on the masked man. Does this say anything to anyone ?

And what happened to dales gun? It was never recovered ? So did he willingly go with the intruder armed ? Dale was armed , we do not see a weapon on the masked man. Does this say anything to anyone ?

Dale's gun was kept inside his truck, in a holster. His keys were found in the ignition, his gun was gone, but his day pack and a carton of cigarettes were still inside. Leaving behind cigarettes for a smoker does not look like a good sign that Dale took off voluntarily. We don't see the masked man with a weapon because (in the reenactment) one hand his hidden behind Dale's back. Guy could have surprised Dale, asked him if he was armed and Dale told him about his gun in the truck, masked guy gets the gun and abducts Dale and kills him and disposes of the body and Dale's gun. Makes sense to me.

Dale's gun was kept inside his truck, in a holster. His keys were found in the ignition, his gun was gone, but his day pack and a carton of cigarettes were still inside. Leaving behind cigarettes for a smoker does not look like a good sign that Dale took off voluntarily. We don't see the masked man with a weapon because (in the reenactment) one hand his hidden behind Dale's back. Guy could have surprised Dale, asked him if he was armed and Dale told him about his gun in the truck, masked guy gets the gun and abducts Dale and kills him and disposes of the body and Dale's gun. Makes sense to me.
Unopened carton of cigs in truck . Why did he not take them inside with him ? Could it be had had cigs on him ? And if he's making off with 250k worth of platinum and leaving his truck behind why would be care about leaving cigs behind ? It would not have been an issue for him to buy more . He carried the pistol on him in the plant . Atleast that's what has been said from those that knew him.

Unopened carton of cigs in truck . Why did he not take them inside with him ? Could it be had had cigs on him ? And if he's making off with 250k worth of platinum and leaving his truck behind why would be care about leaving cigs behind ? It would not have been an issue for him to buy more . He carried the pistol on him in the plant . Atleast that's what has been said from those that knew him.

If he carried the pistol on him in the plant and this masked guy got the drop on him, it wouldn't be hard at all to disarm Dale.

If he carried the pistol on him in the plant and this masked guy got the drop on him, it wouldn't be hard at all to disarm Dale.
True , however we have surveillance video of them both and niether appears to have a weapon on them. I understand that at one point we see the masked man with his hand behind dale but at the same time we can see his hands in other shots and there is no gun . Dale didnt pull his gun because he knew the man . Masked man didn't have a gun because he knew he wouldn't need it.

I'd be curious to find out if Corning "mysteriously" acquired platinum after this happened and how quickly it occurred. Not saying that its the case, but it wouldn't be the first time a thief has sold back what he stole to the original owner so the owner could collect on an insurance premium.

I'd be curious to find out if Corning "mysteriously" acquired platinum after this happened and how quickly it occurred. Not saying that its the case, but it wouldn't be the first time a thief has sold back what he stole to the original owner so the owner could collect on an insurance premium.

Not sure that happened. In the segment at the end, RS explained that in the months that followed Dale's disappearance, Corning Glassworks sold the factory to new owners and informed UM that as of then, platinum was no longer used at the facility.

Perhaps the owners during Dale's employment were having such financial struggles that they saw an opportunity to collect insurance money from the stolen platinum as a way to maximize their potential profits before having to turnover their ownership.

I don't know if I buy the insurance scam theory. I lean more towards Corning pinning the blame on Dale as a co-conspirator so they could avoid a lawsuit from Dale's family for dying while on the job. JMO

I don't know if I buy the insurance scam theory. I lean more towards Corning pinning the blame on Dale as a co-conspirator so they could avoid a lawsuit from Dale's family for dying while on the job. JMO

I for one, still believe Dale was not behind the theft. However, aside from the ownership scam theory, I think there are only two other plausible theories:
1) A professional thief with no ties to the factory but done his research just like a pro, then made off with it.
2) A former employee who Dale would have easily recognized, then took Dale out.

I think the 2nd one makes a little more sense because they likely knew of Dale being on watch and could thus ambush him. In either theory, the thief most likely had accomplices outside the factory, probably to both keep watch and drive the getaway vehicle to pull off the heist quicker and help to eventually dispose of Dale's body. Dale was likely killed outside the factory because police and their search dogs never found any evidence of foul play (no blood, no bullet casings, etc).

This episode came on lifetime last week. My first time seeing this since I was a kid in 1990's. So hard to make out Dale reaction to camera. I didn't like the plant manager dude, came off like a ***** in that segment. Like he didn't care about Dale at all, someone who worked at a plant his whole life, like the missing $250,000 worth of platinum was more important than his missing employee. I hope he was eventually let go, and lose his life savings and is poor now. I gotta google this guy now and see what's he up to. He probably stole the platinum

I don't now, nor have I ever believed that Kerstetter was involved in the platinum theft. In fact, it always looked to me like the intruder was pointing some sort of weapon into Kerstetter's back. As UM was showing recreated security footage however, I can't be sure if this actually happened, or was a manufactured moment.

While reading the written case profile again on the UM site, a quote attributed to personnel manager Patrick Foley struck me as odd. According to UM, Foley states, “I think the fact that he did everything in front of the cameras was once again just Dale Kerstetter saying to us, ‘Look, hey, here I am. I'm taking your platinum and there isn't a thing you can do about it.’" Foley using the term “once again" seems to imply that Corning may have had other issues with Kerstetter, but if that's the case, UM never goes into detail.

I saw an interesting video on another site that recounts an incident with Kerstetter and a forklift. Apparently a forklift had rolled under a stream of molten glass which was coming dangerously close to a propane tank on the back. At risk to himself, Kerstetter allegedly jumps on said forklift, driving it away, in an effort to spare his coworkers from harm and his employer from property damage. If this event actually occurred, I have a hard time seeing how the same person would turn around and steal from his employer. It just doesn't make sense to me.

that could be a reason why Dale "turned to the dark side" if he in fact did. Maybe he felt he didn't get the recognition he deserved for his heroic act?

also, hearing about this act of valor makes me shine a stink eye on the dude who called ol' Dale a "marginal employee" ... that kind of thing is NOT what a marginal employee does.

Not sure that happened. In the segment at the end, RS explained that in the months that followed Dale's disappearance, Corning Glassworks sold the factory to new owners and informed UM that as of then, platinum was no longer used at the facility.

Perhaps the owners during Dale's employment were having such financial struggles that they saw an opportunity to collect insurance money from the stolen platinum as a way to maximize their potential profits before having to turnover their ownership.

I had completely forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me!

I gotta google this guy now and see what's he up to. He probably stole the platinum


LMAO! Let me know if you find him!

I don't know if I buy the insurance scam theory. I lean more towards Corning pinning the blame on Dale as a co-conspirator so they could avoid a lawsuit from Dale's family for dying while on the job. JMO

Yep, I agree. I was just throwing that out there as a possibility. However, I do think that whether or not Dale was involved, the masked man was a former or current employee of Corning. He knew where the cameras where and what to expect from Dale as well as his tendencies while on the job. That man knew way too much to be some random thief.

I've often wondered if there were any companies with which Corning did regular business, such as a cleaning crew, vending machine service, or a shipping company. If so, these businesses may have had employees which were regularly assigned to Corning, giving them the access and information needed to plan such a theft.

I'm also curious about what ultimately became of the stolen platinum. What is the market like for this type of merchandise? Would it have been necessary to melt the platinum down prior to sale? It seems to me that these may have been valuable areas of investigation for LE.

I've often wondered if there were any companies with which Corning did regular business, such as a cleaning crew, vending machine service, or a shipping company. If so, these businesses may have had employees which were regularly assigned to Corning, giving them the access and information needed to plan such a theft.


That's a good point. Most companies do contract some sort of cleaning company so that theory could work.

Does anyone know or theorize why Unsolved Mysteries did not show the actual footage of the assailant and Dale and why they decided to go with a re-enactment?

Does anyone know or theorize why Unsolved Mysteries did not show the actual footage of the assailant and Dale and why they decided to go with a re-enactment?


Yeah, I've always been curious about that myself. At this point, my best guess would be one of two things. Either the original footage was such poor quality that it was unfit to air without “enhancements", or something happened on those cameras that LE was not willing to make public.

Yeah, I've always been curious about that myself. At this point, my best guess would be one of two things. Either the original footage was such poor quality that it was unfit to air without “enhancements", or something happened on those cameras that LE was not willing to make public.

My opinion is similar to the latter of yours. I believe the tape has some sort of evidence on it that only someone who knew about it could identify and that LE purposefully withheld that, hoping that a caller may call in and identify that which was being withheld so they would know its a legit tip.

My opinion is similar to the latter of yours. I believe the tape has some sort of evidence on it that only someone who knew about it could identify and that LE purposefully withheld that, hoping that a caller may call in and identify that which was being withheld so they would know its a legit tip.

I had always thought that perhaps in those days they felt it was "too disturbing" to show actual crime footage on national TV, but your explanation is probably more accurate.

I had always thought that perhaps in those days they felt it was "too disturbing" to show actual crime footage on national TV, but your explanation is probably more accurate.

You could be correct. I often forget that we live in a completely different world technologically.

I had always thought that perhaps in those days they felt it was "too disturbing" to show actual crime footage on national TV, but your explanation is probably more accurate.

Anther possible idea I had was that maybe the plant didn't want the actual surveillance footage shown because it depicted the interior of the plant itself. Considering the platinum that is kept there, maybe there were concerns about security.

ETA: When I was much younger, I always assumed that the footage shown on UM was the actual footage. I either missed or glossed over the whole "this is re-enactment" part. It wasn't until many years later (and many re-watchings) that I finally caught on.

Anther possible idea I had was that maybe the plant didn't want the actual surveillance footage shown because it depicted the interior of the plant itself. Considering the platinum that is kept there, maybe there were concerns about security.

Could be, but didn't the re-enactment take place at Corning?

Could be, but didn't the re-enactment take place at Corning?

I always assumed that it did, but I don't think it was stated in the segment one way or another.

Even if the events were re-enacted at Corning, is it not possible that they were re-enacted in a different part of the plant, as opposed to the areas in which they actually transpired? I wouldn't rule it out either due to filming logistics, or security concerns. Heck, if they had to re-locate due to filming logistics, that may be reason enough to recreate the security footage - so there was congruence between both.

I always assumed that it did, but I don't think it was stated in the segment one way or another.

Even if the events were re-enacted at Corning, is it not possible that they were re-enacted in a different part of the plant, as opposed to the areas in which they actually transpired? I wouldn't rule it out either due to filming logistics, or security concerns. Heck, if they had to re-locate due to filming logistics, that may be reason enough to recreate the security footage - so there was congruence between both.

You could be right. I just always assumed the re-enactment took place just as the actual events did, including location, due to how Stack said their re-enactment was exactly as the tape depicted.

FWIW, Dale's daughter posted in this thread awhile back and was asked about the re-enactment footage, and she said that it was very accurate to the real footage.

I was Dale's son-in-law, and while I have not had any contact with anyone in the family since his daughter I separated shortly before the incident occurred, I often think about Dale and the family and wonder what did, in fact, occur that day.

Dale was an outdoorsman. He camped and fished, and probably preferred isolation over kinship (unless there was drink involved). That was just my impression. When his daughter and I would visit from the D.C. area we would often meet at his favorite watering hole south of Bradford. On at least one occasion he joked about leaving everything behind and moving to a remote, uninhabited region of Canada. I have not seen the episode since it originally aired but apparently Al (his son) mentioned something about this also, but their discussion would have occurred at another time as ours took place in a bar. Very interesting. I remember thinking that that was an odd comment but I neglected to discuss it further. But perhaps germane to my recollection of what occurred is the fact that he did have at least one friend who was involved in ventures unknown. He appeared to be financially secure, yet he could not reasonably account (perhaps because he did not feel compelled to do so) for how he came about his financial success. This friend wore a Rolex and supported a young woman and her daughter in his fairly large house with an elevator while Dale lived in a trailer with little heat in the frigid Pennsylvania winters. This brush with success while not his own may have been causal in leading Dale down the path of felonious activity, but I cannot say for sure. It’s just something I’ve always comfortably pondered as I’ve always preferred to think of him as a “co-conspirator” and not as a victim.

I’m fairly certain that his son has no knowledge of the details of what occurred, nor would any of his family members.

I often forget that this was written. If you are still out there, JacopoBelbo, I for one would love to ask a few questions as you have a very intriguing perspective.

FWIW, Dale's daughter posted in this thread awhile back and was asked about the re-enactment footage, and she said that it was very accurate to the real footage.

Yes, now that you mention it, I too remember her saying that. I forgot that detail.

Maybe it's like an earlier poster said, at the time the segment was produced and aired, it may have been pushing the envelope to show the actual footage.

I mean, now we have entire TV programs dedicated to surveillance footage (e.g., World's Dumbest and similar ilk) but in 1989, was this really common? To show actual footage of a crime in this context? I honestly don't know.

So I'll give you another - in 1992 the PA State Police called me because they thought the FL State Police may have found dad's body(!) but it was missing the head and the hands. They took x-rays from a knee surgery that he had had done years before to compare. The doctor that performed the surgery compared the x-ray from the found body to dad's and declared they were not the same. Shortly thereafter, this same doctor ends up running from law, I can't honestly remember why, I think he tried to kill his ultra rich wife or something, and he is found, on a fluke, in Canada during the Winter Olympics! Guess who else had seen this doctor? Yep, rich man in FL who owed my dad a favor, to say the least.

Maybe I am trying too hard at 6 degrees here, but always seemed like more than coincidence to me. I don't even know if that guy is still alive. And, Dale would be 70 this year. He was in good overall physical health, not overweight, no health problems, but smoked a pack a day and liked his whiskey. I often think maybe he thought of coming back someday, but all of us kids have since moved, he wouldn't even know how to contact any of us. I can assure you he would not own a computer! Maybe he was on the run and intended to return after so many years but just got old and died. I know, that is sad, but better than thinking of other ways he might have met his demise.

This kinda makes it seem like it could have been Dale's body and that the mysterious friend and doctor were in on it with Dale and did not want Dale's body identified. Moneypenny, if you are still out there, did you happen to contact the authorities down there after this doctor went on the lam to see about having a second opinion done on the body match?

There's something else that's always bothered me about the security footage. IIRC, the last sighting of the masked intruder was when he was picked up wheeling some sort of large duffel bag out on a pallet jack. Presumably he was using this set up to carry the stolen platinum out of the plant. Although I've personally always wondered just how heavy those stolen pipes could have been. Heavy sure, but pallet jack heavy? Anyway...

Setting aside the question of Kerstetter's possible involvement for a moment, there's at least one person we know to be involved in the theft. That would be the masked intruder. As such, the security footage shows this person behaving in a manner one would expect. He's shown entering the plant and encountering Kerstetter. The cameras show him in the area that the platinum is kept and then later he is spotted on his way out of the plant, presumably with the stolen goods. My question is this...if Kerstetter truly was involved in the theft, then why wasn't he also picked up by the cameras leaving the plant? The fact that the security cameras never show Kerstetter exiting the building leaves me at a loss. If he is in indeed flaunting his crime by staring straight into the camera, then what possible reason would Kerstetter have had to try to avoid the camera on his way out?

I need the input of my fellow posters on this one. Am I remembering the footage correctly? I personally believe that the reason Kerstetter isn't spotted walking out of the building is because he didn't. He was wheeled out in that duffel bag by the masked intruder. Or am I making something of nothing simply because I want to believe that Kerstetter is an innocent man?

If he is in indeed flaunting his crime by staring straight into the camera, then what possible reason would Kerstetter have had to try to avoid the camera on his way out?

That's actually a good point. The segment mentions that the bag could contain the body of Dale but if it did, a crime scene or spec of blood would have to have been discovered somewhere on the property. Assuming he went into the bag, you have to think Dale was at least, knocked out with a hit to the head which would lead to blood.

Everyone that was close to this story said the facility was large. I wonder if every single inch of that facility was truly searched for remnants or hints of a crime scene.

That's actually a good point. The segment mentions that the bag could contain the body of Dale but if it did, a crime scene or spec of blood would have to have been discovered somewhere on the property. Assuming he went into the bag, you have to think Dale was at least, knocked out with a hit to the head which would lead to blood.

Everyone that was close to this story said the facility was large. I wonder if every single inch of that facility was truly searched for remnants or hints of a crime scene.

I suppose it's possible that LE did find evidence of foul play that they chose not to make public. I seem to recall that during the Mike Emert segment, UM made a point of reporting that the only DNA recovered was that belonging to Emert himself. Years later we find out that LE did recover a second DNA source under Emert's fingernails which is how they later connected Krueger to the crime.

I recall the segment suggesting it was possible Kerstetter was in the duffel bag, pretending to be dead or injured, only to pop up once they left the building and were away from the cameras.

I recall the segment suggesting it was possible Kerstetter was in the duffel bag, pretending to be dead or injured, only to pop up once they left the building and were away from the cameras.

Yea, its pretty obvious that Kerstetter is in the bag in some form or fashion. Dead or alive, he's in there.

There's something else that's always bothered me about the security footage. IIRC, the last sighting of the masked intruder was when he was picked up wheeling some sort of large duffel bag out on a pallet jack. Presumably he was using this set up to carry the stolen platinum out of the plant. Although I've personally always wondered just how heavy those stolen pipes could have been. Heavy sure, but pallet jack heavy? Anyway...

Setting aside the question of Kerstetter's possible involvement for a moment, there's at least one person we know to be involved in the theft. That would be the masked intruder. As such, the security footage shows this person behaving in a manner one would expect. He's shown entering the plant and encountering Kerstetter. The cameras show him in the area that the platinum is kept and then later he is spotted on his way out of the plant, presumably with the stolen goods. My question is this...if Kerstetter truly was involved in the theft, then why wasn't he also picked up by the cameras leaving the plant? The fact that the security cameras never show Kerstetter exiting the building leaves me at a loss. If he is in indeed flaunting his crime by staring straight into the camera, then what possible reason would Kerstetter have had to try to avoid the camera on his way out?

I need the input of my fellow posters on this one. Am I remembering the footage correctly? I personally believe that the reason Kerstetter isn't spotted walking out of the building is because he didn't. He was wheeled out in that duffel bag by the masked intruder. Or am I making something of nothing simply because I want to believe that Kerstetter is an innocent man?

Some good points here.

From what I recall from the segment, the camera system looked as if it was configured to operate and record on a continuous rotating loop. For example, say they had 10 cameras. The system would cycle through all 10 views holding each view for a few seconds before switching to the next view. This is what was recorded on the tape. I think this prevented there from being any truly "continuous" footage of everything that occurred that night. Moreover, I don't know just how much of the plant was covered by cameras. Thus, it is possible that Kerstetter did in fact exit the building, but his exit wasn't recorded on tape either because that part of the plant was not covered by surveillance, or the system just happened to not be on the correct camera view at the precise moment to record his exit.

Unfortunately, I don't think this amounts to much. If it was an inside job with Kerstetter being involved, it is certainly possible that he knew which sections of the plant were covered by surveillance, especially true since he was involved in security. That being said though, wouldn't he make a point to avoid all cameras then?

On the other hand, it could be that Kerstetter was a victim and it just so happened that most of the crime occurred outside of camera range.

It's also equally possible Kerstetter had no knowledge of the operation of the cameras. He was just a watchman after all.

There's something else that's always bothered me about the security footage. IIRC, the last sighting of the masked intruder was when he was picked up wheeling some sort of large duffel bag out on a pallet jack. Presumably he was using this set up to carry the stolen platinum out of the plant. Although I've personally always wondered just how heavy those stolen pipes could have been. Heavy sure, but pallet jack heavy? Anyway...

Setting aside the question of Kerstetter's possible involvement for a moment, there's at least one person we know to be involved in the theft. That would be the masked intruder. As such, the security footage shows this person behaving in a manner one would expect. He's shown entering the plant and encountering Kerstetter. The cameras show him in the area that the platinum is kept and then later he is spotted on his way out of the plant, presumably with the stolen goods. My question is this...if Kerstetter truly was involved in the theft, then why wasn't he also picked up by the cameras leaving the plant? The fact that the security cameras never show Kerstetter exiting the building leaves me at a loss. If he is in indeed flaunting his crime by staring straight into the camera, then what possible reason would Kerstetter have had to try to avoid the camera on his way out?

I need the input of my fellow posters on this one. Am I remembering the footage correctly? I personally believe that the reason Kerstetter isn't spotted walking out of the building is because he didn't. He was wheeled out in that duffel bag by the masked intruder. Or am I making something of nothing simply because I want to believe that Kerstetter is an innocent man?

I've done some research on the history of platinum prices and around the time of Dale's disappearance, platinum was worth about $500 per ounce. If you do the math, that means the total amount of platinum stolen from the factory ($250,000 worth), only weighed about 31.25 pounds. Being that light, it would be unnecessary to carry it out on a pallet jack; the bag more likely contained Dale's body.

IIRC, the UM segment explicitly states that this masked figure was seen going into "the tank", removing the platinum, and exiting the tank area. Not one shot of Kerstetter is seen entering "the tank", leaving "the tank", or any other shot of Kerstetter and the masked man outside of the one "meeting" at the back of the plant. That's always been very telling to me. Kerstetter, if involved, would've been active in the commission of this crime, not sitting by letting the masked man do all of the work.

Very interesting reading all of your posts and theories! We have had Dad declared legally dead and are now in the process of closing his estate. I have attempted to pursue legal action against Corning for wrongful death, but have not been successful in securing legal counsel willing to take the case as we can't definitively prove he was an unwilling victim any more than Corning can prove he was involved. We feel that regardless of his role, there was obviously a major security flaw, and maybe he would have spent years behind bars, but we would know he was alive and where he was.

I am confident that if this had happened today instead of 1987, regardless of the outcome, it would not be an unsolved mystery!

I do not know why the original video was not used but I do recall the quality was not very good. Filming was done at the actual plant in the correct areas within. I did not get a second opinion about the body that was found in Florida, but should have! It is interesting to me that I have contacted the local PA state police barracks on several occasions to speak to someone that handles cold case files and I do not get return phone calls; perhaps the case is too old or there is just a lack of interest in it.

I too, would love to speak to that plant manager today! Dad had a nice letter from Corning commending his action in the forklift incident, but he acted like it was no big deal, anyone else would have done the same thing.

Very interesting reading all of your posts and theories! We have had Dad declared legally dead and are now in the process of closing his estate. I have attempted to pursue legal action against Corning for wrongful death, but have not been successful in securing legal counsel willing to take the case as we can't definitively prove he was an unwilling victim any more than Corning can prove he was involved. We feel that regardless of his role, there was obviously a major security flaw, and maybe he would have spent years behind bars, but we would know he was alive and where he was.

I am confident that if this had happened today instead of 1987, regardless of the outcome, it would not be an unsolved mystery!

I do not know why the original video was not used but I do recall the quality was not very good. Filming was done at the actual plant in the correct areas within. I did not get a second opinion about the body that was found in Florida, but should have! It is interesting to me that I have contacted the local PA state police barracks on several occasions to speak to someone that handles cold case files and I do not get return phone calls; perhaps the case is too old or there is just a lack of interest in it.

I too, would love to speak to that plant manager today! Dad had a nice letter from Corning commending his action in the forklift incident, but he acted like it was no big deal, anyone else would have done the same thing.

Welcome back Moneypenny! Thank you very much for taking the time to add your input. As stated in my previous posts, I've always firmly believed in your father's innocence. Your confirmation of the events in the forklift incident only cements that belief in my mind.

Though I only have the UM segment to go on, it's always seemed to me that the only thing Corning ever had to support their opinion was that brief moment when your father made eye contact with the security camera. Did Corning ever provide any further information to your family to indicate why they felt the way they did? Their reasoning has always seemed so thin to me. Thank you again!

Zack, thanks for looking into the platinum issue. Thirty plus pounds just doesn't seem like pallet jack weight IMO.

Very interesting reading all of your posts and theories! We have had Dad declared legally dead and are now in the process of closing his estate. I have attempted to pursue legal action against Corning for wrongful death, but have not been successful in securing legal counsel willing to take the case as we can't definitively prove he was an unwilling victim any more than Corning can prove he was involved. We feel that regardless of his role, there was obviously a major security flaw, and maybe he would have spent years behind bars, but we would know he was alive and where he was.

I am confident that if this had happened today instead of 1987, regardless of the outcome, it would not be an unsolved mystery!

I do not know why the original video was not used but I do recall the quality was not very good. Filming was done at the actual plant in the correct areas within. I did not get a second opinion about the body that was found in Florida, but should have! It is interesting to me that I have contacted the local PA state police barracks on several occasions to speak to someone that handles cold case files and I do not get return phone calls; perhaps the case is too old or there is just a lack of interest in it.

I too, would love to speak to that plant manager today! Dad had a nice letter from Corning commending his action in the forklift incident, but he acted like it was no big deal, anyone else would have done the same thing.

Hi MoneyPenny!!! Glad to see you are still posting on here from time to time. You are stil lwell within your rights to have a second opinion done on the body down in Florida as long as it has not been positively ID'd as belonging to someone else. If you choose to go that route, please let us know! I think it may produce some fruitful results for you and your family and could even help your lawsuit ventures.

That plant manager in the segment seemed like a douche. My guess is upper management advised him to say those things about your dad to AVOID a wrongful death lawsuit. Even still, that doesn't make it right. Just wrong to crap on a man and his reputation that had worked there so long.

One question I have for you, if you don't mind. You verified that filming was done at the actual plant. I am wondering if anything in the Unsolved Mysteries segment or re-enactment of the security footage was purposely withheld so as to illicit a helpful tip from a caller? What I mean is, did they not show some stuff that way, if a caller called in with that information, the authorities would then know it was a legit tip since that information was not released to the public?

Another thought just occured to me. Remember Victor Gerena? He injected his coworkers with an unidentified substance to disable them somehow while he made his getaway with the money. There's some theories that come to mind:

1) Dale was murdered inside the factory but in a clean manner so as to not leave any evidence behind. Perhaps he was strangled or injected with a lethal substance to avoid leaving a mess that police would have noticed.
2) Dale was not murdered, but incapacitated inside the factory by means of a nonlethal injection or put into a chokehold until he passed out.
3) The masked man was armed, holding a gun to Dale's back then lead him outside the factory to his accomplices where he was murdered elsewhere.

In either case, his body was moved on the pallet jack used by the masked intruder. Perhaps he even noticed Dale looking into the security camera and realized he was caught on tape then in a spur of the moment, decided Dale needed to be silenced, unless Dale was condemned from the start.

I like this theory, Zackattack. It's interesting and fits with how I had pictured the potential crime.

I believe Dale was condemned from the start, however. Unfortunately, I just think he was working the wrong shift on the wrong day.

Corning just always took the position that he was an accomplice to the crime, never a victim, I don't know why. My older sister was 27 and living elsewhere, I was 25 living in D.C. area, and my other younger sisters lived out of town as well. The only one living with him at the time was my brother who was 16. I guess we were all too naive and young to question the whole thing more thoroughly, and the state police were always careful not to slant their opinion one way or the other. 27 years later, we all have enough world experience we would have probably been more aggressive about the handling of it.

I was told the video I saw was the extent of footage that captured any activity regarding this, and what was reenacted was true to what I shown.

the state police were always careful not to slant their opinion one way or the other.

This right here tells me that Dale Kerstetter is innocent and was the victim of foul play. If there was more evidence of Dale's involvement, Corning's suspicions aside, there would be no way that the state police would be "on the fence" so to speak. Couple that with the fact that it's been 25+ years and the man has never resurfaced or contacted his family, and I think that should close the book on whether or not Dale was involved with this crime.

Corning just always took the position that he was an accomplice to the crime, never a victim, I don't know why.

Unfortunately, my guess is that they took this position to avoid a lawsuit from your family.

Unfortunately, my guess is that they took this position to avoid a lawsuit from your family.

Though I've always had very definite opinions regarding Corning's conduct in this case, I didn't even consider this possibility Hambone, until you recently raised it. Now of course, it's the scenario that makes the most sense IMO. Prior to this, I had always assumed that Corning's allegations against Mr. Kerstetter were a pitiful attempt to disguise their own guilt.

Speaking of Corning, I've always thought it might be worth it to peruse their personnel records of that time period. It would be interesting to see if there were any employees who appeared more likely than Mr. Kerstetter to have committed this type of crime.

Corning just always took the position that he was an accomplice to the crime, never a victim, I don't know why. My older sister was 27 and living elsewhere, I was 25 living in D.C. area, and my other younger sisters lived out of town as well. The only one living with him at the time was my brother who was 16. I guess we were all too naive and young to question the whole thing more thoroughly, and the state police were always careful not to slant their opinion one way or the other. 27 years later, we all have enough world experience we would have probably been more aggressive about the handling of it.

I was told the video I saw was the extent of footage that captured any activity regarding this, and what was reenacted was true to what I shown.

Not to be too noisy, was ya'll mother around during this time?

Though I've always had very definite opinions regarding Corning's conduct in this case, I didn't even consider this possibility Hambone, until you recently raised it. Now of course, it's the scenario that makes the most sense IMO. Prior to this, I had always assumed that Corning's allegations against Mr. Kerstetter were a pitiful attempt to disguise their own guilt.

By them smearing Dale as an employee, they are effectively saying that he is alive and well and was in on the crime. Therefore, if they were ever sued for wrongful death or not providing enough security, they could simply assert that they have always believed he was in on the crime and would make those suing them, prove that he is dead, which they cannot.

Speaking of Corning, I've always thought it might be worth it to peruse their personnel records of that time period. It would be interesting to see if there were any employees who appeared more likely than Mr. Kerstetter to have committed this type of crime.

Go for it. Let us know if you find anything!

They had been divorced for several years and she was remarried, living in the great state known as Texas.

They had been divorced for several years and she was remarried, living in the great state known as Texas.

It is pretty nice down here. ;)

The question I still have about this case is, if Dale wasn't involved, why wasn't he just murdered right there at the plant? Why the need to take him elsewhere and kill him. Also, usually when a stranger kills a stranger, they do not go to extreme lengths to conceal the body. In this case, Dale's body was never found. Seems to me that if he had been murdered, it would have been at Corning or his body would have been found shortly after.

Firstly, I agree with a prior post that said there should be a both option. There is a possibility that Dale was involved, and was planned to be abducted and killed all along. I'd still vote that Dale had no involvement whatsoever, but anyways...

The fact that you say this now fully convinces be beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mr. Kerstetter was the victim of premeditated murder by someone he knew. I'd wager the vast majority of the time when a body is concealed, it's because there's a relationship between the victim and perpetrator. If Dale was involved in this (which I don't believe), in my mind it was only due to coercion from the guily party(ies) that very night, or the fact that he was cooperating to try to save his life. His involvement did not stem prior to that day, it makes no sense to bring his meal, or leave his cigarretes and such if he planned this prior. I do wonder though about Dale's scent being traced to that certain area. Is it possible that the perpetrator had attracted Dale's scent due to touching him somehow, and that's why it was found near the tank area?

I agree with another user that said that perhaps the company being involved in some insurance scam is a little too conspiratory, and possibly defacing him on UM was just to deflect blame, however there are a couple things that could contradict this. I honestly actually believe that Corning ultimately holds major pieces of the puzzle. 1) I'm not one to believe in coincidences, so the fact that there just happened to be that employee that didn't check in on Dale the very night of the crime is extremely suspicious and troubling. -How long had he been employed there? -What was the normal training protocol and schedule? Was there a history of this worker not checking in on Dale? -Were there other occurences or a recorded history of these workers not making their check-ins? -If this was his first night, why did he not check in on Dale? -No supervision, or cameras wherever this worker was stationed? -Surely if he was properly trained, he wouldn't have forgot to just do his job on the first night. -Did he fall asleep? -No matter what their job entailed (even if that worker could've been very busy), I find it very hard to imagine that someone would've forgot to make those calls, especially someone green and fresh. All just random thoughts that make me wonder, and regardless, this is too much of a coincidence and overlooked factor and I believe Corning has the answers to some if not all of the questions.

2) How did the robber(s) get in? Again, another overlooked aspect of this crime that would help to solve it, and something else I feel the company's witholding. I've seen it mentioned on here that Mr. Kerstetter's daughter(s) said they could just waltz in there and find their father, however this doesn't really say much. We don't know what time of day this was (I don't think this aspect was specified as to if it occured before or after Dale's re-assignment, which would affect the time of day), how often access to the building was supposedly that laxed, if visitors needed to check in, or if security increased and access to the building decreased during the night hours. How many entrances were there to the plant? I don't imagine any of the entrances sans the front entrance would've been unlocked, and don't believe the front entrance remained unlocked during the night anyways. So I think either a) they broke into the plant, which I think the company would've noticed and decided to withold for some reason, b) Kerstetter let them into the plant (which is unlikely in my mind since he had his weapon and I don't believe he was involved) or c) an employee utilized their key or keycard to gain entry, which again speaks to an inside-job, possibly higher-up involvement. Again, I'd like to think employees had to unlock the door to gain entry (at least at night/early morning hours, So I have to believe that either this was an inside-job or that they broke into the plant. Saying they broke into the plant, I would think that this would take some effort and would have left a mark that would've been noticed (smashed glass, pried open windows, whatever have you), which Corning probably realized was a fault on their end, and chose not to disclose. Hell, maybe the front entrance or another door to the facility was indeed unlocked, and again Corning chooses to not mention this to cover their own fat sorry behinds (can I curse here?)

So closing, I feel the fact that those check-ins just so happened to not be performed this fateful night is just too much of a coincidence. If this wasn't a cover-up by Corning, then I'd imagine they'd have been pretty pissed, and would've found out why that worker had failed to make those calls. The only other way this would've been a strange coincidence, would've been if proper protocol in phoning Dale wasn't followed all that often, which again falls back on Corning and something else they'd have to cover up. Either way, they know what was the deal here, and need to share this information with Penny and her family. And again, I think there's a very good chance the company at the very least has a good idea as to how the intruder(s) got in the building. If they broke in, again this is something that Corning could've been sued over, and right there would've proved that Dale had nothing to do with this. Saying they broke in, I don't see how police wouldn't have not found this out, but that's another question I suppose, as far as how extensive and competent the police work was at the crime scene. Doors unlocked, more proof of Corning's ineptitude, and management isn't saying. Only other alternative is that an at-the-time current employee was the mastermind, and either they themselves or through a 3rd party, utilized a possible keycard/key to gain entry. So many questions...

Moneypenny, I just have one question if you would be so kind as to answer, if you're reading: As far as you know, how easy was access to the plant? Could anybody just walk in there, anytime they wanted?

Moneypenny, I just have one question if you would be so kind as to answer, if you're reading: As far as you know, how easy was access to the plant? Could anybody just walk in there, anytime they wanted?

This is a good question and one I've always wondered myself.

It was said he was a heavy smoker, and a carton of ciggs was found in his truck. We've all known a smoker or two throughout our lives and if it was planned no way is he leaving the ciggs behind.

Moneypenny, I just have one question if you would be so kind as to answer, if you're reading: As far as you know, how easy was access to the plant? Could anybody just walk in there, anytime they wanted?

She had mentioned a few years back that access to the plant was very easy. She stated that her and a friend of hers would often go to visit Dale during his night shift just to stop by and give him some company.

I don't have any idea what the protocol was for daily entry or after hours entry, if all the doors were locked, etc. I just know that the entrance from the employee parking lot was open when I went in there while he was working the night shift. Only did that a few times.

Hmm, yeah doesn't sound like the main entryway was secured, from what you're saying. I understand this was a smaller Midwestern town (the type of town where Dale felt comfortable leaving his keys in his car unlocked), however that door should've been locked and/or commissioned an sentry to control access to the building. This just makes Dale's employer more liable. But anyways, I appreciate the feedback

I understand this was a smaller Midwestern town (the type of town where Dale felt comfortable leaving his keys in his car unlocked),

Nope, Pennsylvania.

I'm originally from Philly, and as far as most Philly natives see it, Western PA's just an extension of the Midwest, with Alabama being in-between. Just a totally different ballgame from Southeast and even Eastern PA as a whole over there. Pittsburgh seems to have far more in common with Batimore and Cleveland than points E & N of these places. And there's no way you'd mistake Erie for being anything BUT the Midwest.

Take Texas for instance; Texas is viewed by the majority to be a Southern territory (I disagree, but anyways), yet El Paso's more analgous to New Mexico and Arizona. It's hard to really pigeonhole the Keystone into one category, it's a border/transition state like Missouri, Delaware, Kentucky and Maryland

I'm originally from Philly, and as far as most Philly natives see it, Western PA's just an extension of the Midwest, with Alabama being in-between. Just a totally different ballgame from Southeast and even Eastern PA as a whole over there. Pittsburgh seems to have far more in common with Batimore and Cleveland than points E & N of these places. And there's no way you'd mistake Erie for being anything BUT the Midwest.

Take Texas for instance; Texas is viewed by the majority to be a Southern territory (I disagree, but anyways), yet El Paso's more analgous to New Mexico and Arizona. It's hard to really pigeonhole the Keystone into one category, it's a border/transition state like Missouri, Delaware, Kentucky and Maryland

Taking this from a geographic standpoint, Texas is a southern state, considering it is in the southern half of the country. (And in parts of Texas, you can't get much further south in the country). The same goes for Pennsylvania - at certain points in the state, it's near to the Atlantic Ocean. In other words, it's very much in the eastern half of the country. I'll be damned if I ever refer to it as a "Midwestern state".

I knew I should have paid more attention in high school.

I'm originally from Philly, and as far as most Philly natives see it, Western PA's just an extension of the Midwest, with Alabama being in-between. Just a totally different ballgame from Southeast and even Eastern PA as a whole over there. Pittsburgh seems to have far more in common with Batimore and Cleveland than points E & N of these places. And there's no way you'd mistake Erie for being anything BUT the Midwest.

Take Texas for instance; Texas is viewed by the majority to be a Southern territory (I disagree, but anyways), yet El Paso's more analgous to New Mexico and Arizona. It's hard to really pigeonhole the Keystone into one category, it's a border/transition state like Missouri, Delaware, Kentucky and Maryland

I can understand this, I think. I'm from East Tennessee. It's very much Appalachia and the foothills where I'm from, and that is VERY different from Memphis, which decidedly has more in common with the deep south states than do we.

You're dead-on about Kentucky, in my opinion. Louisville feels like a whole planet away from say, Barbourville or Corbin. Covington may as well be Cincinnati, and there's no mistaking that place for the south by my humble estimation.

I'm originally from Philly, and as far as most Philly natives see it, Western PA's just an extension of the Midwest, with Alabama being in-between. Just a totally different ballgame from Southeast and even Eastern PA as a whole over there. Pittsburgh seems to have far more in common with Batimore and Cleveland than points E & N of these places. And there's no way you'd mistake Erie for being anything BUT the Midwest.

Take Texas for instance; Texas is viewed by the majority to be a Southern territory (I disagree, but anyways), yet El Paso's more analgous to New Mexico and Arizona. It's hard to really pigeonhole the Keystone into one category, it's a border/transition state like Missouri, Delaware, Kentucky and Maryland

Trust me, most people on here totally get what you're saying with this.

In Maryland, even though it's considered "east coast", while traveling to Ocean City, you pass miles and miles of rural areas and towns. There's a town about 15 minutes just outside of OC, and it's about as rural as you could get. Almost like you're in the midwest.

Yes, Pennsylvania is a western state, by gosh.

Speaking as a Wisconsinite, I can tell you that Madison is a whole different ballgame than the rest of the state as well, mainly because of the influence of the UW.

Could this man be dale???? It's worth looking into http://doenetwork.org/cases/862umwa.html

Could this man be dale???? It's worth looking into http://doenetwork.org/cases/862umwa.html

Highly doubtful. The age range, height, and facial features are far too inconsistent with Dale's physical description.

Agree with Zack. It just doesn't match up. Wish it did though.

Someone posted it on websleuths thats why I thought it was him they made a terrible guess