I was watching this segment, and in the update when his body was found 5 miles from his car, intrigueing. I wonder if he really had stayed at that homeless shelter where a man w/ the name of daniel wilson signed the registry. The signature looked identical. Do you think he could have wandered to billings and stayed there, and tried to get back to his car and maybe thats when he died, its strange.

Anything is possible but its highly probable that this was a case of the police just not doing a broad enough grid search as it was and not finding his remains until years later. Did they ever note a cause of death?

I remember the update saying that he wandered from his car and possibly died of exposure. I'd say foul play in this case is an almost non-existant possibility but I wonder since the remains had been there for so long (I believe over 10 years), maybe they couldn't exactly tell how he died making suicide in my mind a distinct possibility.

Given that I know how cold it gets in that area, I'm going to assume that the fate of Daniel Wilson was either that he 1) wandered away from his car and froze to death in the cold Montana temperatures, or 2) wandered out there and committed suicide.

Since I don't think anything was found near Wilson's body that would suggest that he committed suicide, I tend to believe that he succombed to hypothermia in the cold Montana temperatures. This would explain why his body was found such a short distance from his car and why the body went undiscovered for so long. The sightings, however, are what trip me up a bit. Obviously, I do not think it was him in the Billings homeless shelter. However, it makes me wonder who it was...

Well Daniel Wilson, I dont know that he would kill himself. His body being found does raise an interesting possibility of him being murdered although I think it is unlikely. However it is possible. I think the odds are better than not that Daniel Wilson wondered away from his car when he either stopped it for unknown reasons or ran out of gas. However it was obvious the sheriff did not do the extensive search he claimed to have done.

I b elieve the update said that Dan Wilson;s body was found about 3 miles from where his car was found. Wilson's body was found I believe 9 years after he disappeared. I think that there are two possibilities why Wilson's body was not found during the 1988 search. Either the sheriff did not do as extensieve of a search as he claimed or they did search that area but Dan Wilson's body was not there in 1988.

I know the sheriff to me seemed genuinely puzzled that Wilson's body was not in the immediate vicinity. He made it seemed like they searched a several mile radius and came across nothing. So it could be possible that Dan Wilson was alive for a while after he disappeared, for days or weeks, made it to the homeless shelter and then for bizarre reasons decided to go back to his car. Or he could have picked up someone and they could have killed him and stolen his identity. However wouldnt someone have been seen trying to hitch a ride out of the area? That area seems to be in the middle of no where so it seems like you would have to walk a long ways to hitch a ride or someone would remember picking up someone that wanted a ride.

By the way, Tony Harbaugh is still the sheriff in that area and was just re-elected last year I believe.

Just watched this one for the first time. It doesn't happen often, but my jaw dropped open at the update. I guess I really thought that was him at the homeless shelter. It saddens me so much when I think the remains were right under the noses of investigators, but missed for whatever reason, while hope lingered in the hearts of loved ones.

Things to consider:

- was the registry signature they showed on UM the actual one, or was it one recreated by UM and possibly looked more like Dan Wilson's for that reason?After all the other stories of first hand sightings of missing people who were actually deceased, I don't trust the staff accounts that they'd seen him as much as that signature.

- the carbon monoxide leak could very well have caught up with him. Perhaps he felt dizzy or ill, stopped to get some fresh air, was disoriented and succumbed to the elements and/or poisoning? If he was driving that car for as many months as stated, a long drive may have caused the level of carbon monoxide to be lethal. (Although I don't know that's how CM poisoning works- I think you'd have to get exposed to it in one shot. If his family didn't die driving the car back home, then this may be a fruitless avenue. Perhaps someone else can shed some light.)

At least his remains were found. Makes me think of similar UM cases (Rogest Cain, Devin Williams) and if their remains were also not far from where their car/truck was found. I imagine having that closure is so crucial for their families.

Alright, let's not get too crazy into wild and outlandish theorizing. I always thought this case was a no brainer.

He wandered off in to the prairie and died.

I suppose it is questionable whether it was an accident or suicide, but either way, I don't think any foul play was involved.

As far as the sighting in Billings, I think the homeless shelter employees genuinely wanted to be helpful, but I don't think they saw this Daniel Wilson.

Also, the name is just so generic. I think the signatures look similar, but I'm not a handwriting expert and it doesn't mention if they had the signatures examined by such an expert. If they did not, then any suggestion of similarity is moot as it is a layman's opinion.

Further still, at least one version of the segment mentioned that the guy at the homeless shelter had a woman and some kids with him. This doesn't sound like Daniel Wilson at all.

In the end, I think this is yet another case of a family grasping at straws to cope with the unusual disappearance/death of a loved one.

[QUOTE=justins5256]Alright, let's not get too crazy into wild and outlandish theorizing.

:lol: Was just trying to find an explanation for why the signatures looked so alike on the show.

I think that's exactly where this mystery ended up: accidental death or suicide. Ultimately it's the family that most struggles with that type of question.

I agree on the grasping at straws to cope. The segment really leads you down one path when it was another simpler one altogether. Seems like this happens a lot with eyewitness 'sightings'.

The Bigfoot who nabbed Don Kemp snagged Wilson too.

I recently saw this segment and agree that he most likely died of exposure. However, playing Devil's advocate how on earth could the body go that long without being discovered? For Pete's sake I once dropped my cell phone in a very secluded, forested area of a local park and it only took four days for someone to find it and contact me. I know Montana is very sparsely populated but that still seems a stretch: no human wandered into that area in all that time? Seems hard to believe.

I recently saw this segment and agree that he most likely died of exposure. However, playing Devil's advocate how on earth could the body go that long without being discovered? For Pete's sake I once dropped my cell phone in a very secluded, forested area of a local park and it only took four days for someone to find it and contact me. I know Montana is very sparsely populated but that still seems a stretch: no human wandered into that area in all that time? Seems hard to believe.

It has been awhile since I watched, but wasn't it a prairie situated somewhere along the highway? Probably not much reason for folks to go out there.

I really think this is one of those cases where the simple solution makes the most sense.

The excess carbon monoxide that was leaking into his car, over time, really messed him up - enough so that he became irrational and disoriented enough to wander out into that desolate patch of prairie and die of exposure.

It took a few viewings of this segment before I figured the simplest explanation was the most likely.

I recently saw this segment and agree that he most likely died of exposure. However, playing Devil's advocate how on earth could the body go that long without being discovered? For Pete's sake I once dropped my cell phone in a very secluded, forested area of a local park and it only took four days for someone to find it and contact me. I know Montana is very sparsely populated but that still seems a stretch: no human wandered into that area in all that time? Seems hard to believe.

Those prairies are frickin huge. I've made the same argument in the Patricia Meehan case-- even though those prairies are along a stretch of highway, you can absolutely lose someone in them, especially if there was a fresh snow that may have covered footprints, etc.

I remember this case well because when I was a kid it blew my mind and terrified me that someone could get brain damage from a malfunctioning car.

I believe that he just wandered away from the car in a dazed, suicidal panic as a result of the carbon monoxide exposure. I don't believe that he checked into a shelter.

I collect autographs. Assuming that his mom's copy of his signature and the signature that was on the logbook that we saw weren't staged for TV (and why would Unsolved just forge the things?) I don't see any "striking similarity" there whatsoever. They look like two completely different sets of handwriting.

I remember this case well because when I was a kid it blew my mind and terrified me that someone could get brain damage from a malfunctioning car.

I believe that he just wandered away from the car in a dazed, suicidal panic as a result of the carbon monoxide exposure. I don't believe that he checked into a shelter.

I collect autographs. Assuming that his mom's copy of his signature and the signature that was on the logbook that we saw weren't staged for TV (and why would Unsolved just forge the things?) I don't see any "striking similarity" there whatsoever. They look like two completely different sets of handwriting.

If I haven't welcomed you yet... welcome! :wave:

I appreciate your comments about the signatures. I thought there were differences, too, but I'm no expert...

I really think this is one of those cases where the simple solution makes the most sense.

Yeah this case is a perfect microcosm of all those missing person cases where the family desperately cling to hope they are still alive or alternatively didn't commit suicide when Occam's razor suggests a very obvious conclusion.
We had the classic eyewitness sighting which it turns out was unfortunately wrong like they are usually are.
At least we found out definitely what happened and the family got some resolution.

Further still, at least one version of the segment mentioned that the guy at the homeless shelter had a woman and some kids with him. This doesn't sound like Daniel Wilson at all.

Did not know this. I'm assuming it was edited out from reruns after they found his remains because they knew it wasn't him at the shelter at that point.

Just saw this Daniel Wilson segment in S03. Sad & tragic, but it is good that the family finally got closure when the remains of DW were found not far from his car. Several comments/observations re: this case:

1) I find it strange that the remains of DW were not initially found when the authorities searched around the area in MO where his car was located - but only found many years later. As it was presented in the segment, this was an isolated, desolate area - and you would think his remains would be hard to miss. Though, it sounds like they just overlooked them the first time around.

2) Prior to seeing this segment, I did not know that carbon monoxide poisoning would cause changes in personality, emotional changes, etc. - as well as physical problems. It sounds like this CM poisoning (from DW's car) was definitely a contributing factor in why DW unexpectedly blew up at work, and then drove off - without packing a suitcase or taking care of his business at home. Presumably, he was planning on visiting his family in CO. It sounds like on the drive to his family he veered off the road he should have taken (probably not thinking clearly), eventually had an episode of some sort, stopped & parked the car, then wandered off - and eventually died from exposure not far from the car. It doesn't appear that foul play was a factor in his death.

3) It's obvious that the "Daniel Wilson" that signed into the homeless shelter in Billings, MO was a false lead - and was not the DW that died.

4) This case is one of many that really emphasizes the vast size of the U.S. & how much open space there is, especially in the states that are sparsely populated.

IMO, this is in the top 10 of most underrated segments.

IMO, this is in the top 10 of most underrated segments.

How come? And what is your opinion on what happened to Dan?

How come? And what is your opinion on what happened to Dan?

I think he wandered off from his car and died from exposure. I find it underrated because there was more believable evidence to suggest that he was alive (carbon monoxide leak in his car, the homeless shelter in Billings having a man named "Dan Wilson" signing in), and they also explored the possibility of foul play. I think his disappearance (at the time) was more bizarre than David Stone's, but the David Stone segment is always remembered as one of the more creepier segments.

All of the cases involving Montana are among UM's best. Dan Wilson, Dexter Stefonek, Patty Meehan, Don Kemp...I'm sure there are others. Also, the Don Smith case from neighboring Idaho is hugely underrated. The scenery surely helps; beauty in the midst of despair (or despair in the midst of beauty). Whoever shot the segments really understood how to capture that perfectly.

All of the cases involving Montana are among UM's best. Dan Wilson, Dexter Stefonek, Patty Meehan, Don Kemp...I'm sure there are others. Also, the Don Smith case from neighboring Idaho is hugely underrated. The scenery surely helps; beauty in the midst of despair (or despair in the midst of beauty). Whoever shot the segments really understood how to capture that perfectly.

Agreed. There is something absolutely terrifying to me about disappearing in a wide open prairie. I tend to think that even to this day the mental illness aspect of disappearances get glossed over or outright ignored. Dan Wilson stopped taking his medication around the same time that he disappeared.

How come? And what is your opinion on what happened to Dan?

I'd also like to add that I think this was one of the most balanced UM segments ever produced. They explored multiple scenarios and his family considered each one of them a possibility. It was one of the rare segments were the family members actually said they could see their loved one disappearing to start a new life. I also would like to know what exactly he was doing while driving east, and why he picked that particular location to park his car and wander off.

I'd also like to add that I think this was one of the most balanced UM segments ever produced. They explored multiple scenarios and his family considered each one of them a possibility. It was one of the rare segments were the family members actually said they could see their loved one disappearing to start a new life. I also would like to know what exactly he was doing while driving east, and why he picked that particular location to park his car and wander off.

I have a feeling it can be easily explained. It's doubtful he meant to specifically pick that location to stop his car, but rather the pain in his head from the carbon monoxide coupled with the lack of meds simply reached its unbearable climax and he pulled over.

I've been thinking a lot about this case lately and it occurred to me that Dan Wilson "going off" his medication, which was mentioned as something of an aside in the segment as Cars brought up a few posts earlier, is probably the better explanation for Dan's behavior than chronic CO poisoning.

The only reason I say this is because having read exhaustively (no pun intended) about the Centralia, PA underground mine fire and the exposure of some that town's residents to high levels of CO trapped in their homes over a period of twenty years or so, it seems the number one symptom amongst the affected residents was fatigue and drowsiness--which makes sense, as the brain is deprived of O2. The CO levels in each of these homes fluctuated over time as the underground fire moved across town, but frequently they were so high that struck matches wouldn't ignite in basements, people couldn't tolerate sitting in the lowest levels of their homes as they'd fall asleep within minutes of sitting down, and monitoring devices provided to some by the state would alarm all day and night. Nowhere, however, did anyone report any behavioral or personality changes throughout the two and a half decades the fire spread across the town and most of its residents subsequently relocated. I understand somnolence technically falls under the umbrella of 'altered mental status', but these people did not report experiencing intense changes in personality and certainly not anything resembling psychosis. Although only a single study, I think the facts there have implications for Dan's case.

I don't know how long Dan's average daily commute was or how much time he spent in his car over the year or so he drove it before he disappeared. I also don't know how much gas was leaking into the cab compartment of his car on average, but clearly it was enough to cause the mucous membrane irritation in Dan's mother and cousin on the drive from Montana back to Spokane. It seems to me Dan would've first presented as being frequently tired (which his cousin did report), having a cold, or some other kind of upper respiratory problem if the muffler had been dysfunctional from the time he began driving the car (and that's actually something we can't even be sure about; it's only implied that the car had this issue from the get-go when that may not necessarily have been true), or even bouts of nausea and vomiting, long before showing any severe behavioral symptoms. Yet we didn't really hear much about this. I presume it's because much of that can be easily dismissed as seasonal allergies or a cold or flu, but I find it interesting that it wasn't mentioned if indeed his car was leaking enough CO to cause him problems.

I think it's much more likely, therefore, that his "outburst" at work, the disarray of his home in the days leading up to his disappearance, and his decision to proceed to the middle of nowhere and abandon his car is the result of a poorly managed mental illness than CO poisoning. I don't think his family was at all wrong for digging into that aspect of the case and considering whether it could've contributed to his actions, but I think UM really probably overstated its significance to this case while grossly downplaying another likely contributing aspect.

I'd certainly agree with that.

It may not have been that long ago, but we are worlds apart from then in our acceptance of mental illness. There's still a ways to go, but lots of progress in those 35 years. I'm sure your very logical explanation was put forth by at least one medical professional even back then, but the family was likely wanting to find a more "grounded" answer that sat better with them and perhaps looked better to the outside world. Just a thought. Besides, in a mid-1980's way of thinking, Wilson's case was less a matter of "Why?" than "Where?".

(I've driven through Centralia countless times, as I used to live quite near to there and had to go through any time I was heading home to visit family. It's a cross between peaceful and eerie. Going southward, there's an incredibly sharp turn on the one highway which forces you to slow way down. It's at the top of a lookout. To the very right is the old cemetery.

At one point, I did try to locate the man who, as a child, was nearly swallowed into the burning abyss, but came up empty handed in my search. This was years ago.)

I was watching this segment, and in the update when his body was found 5 miles from his car, intrigueing. I wonder if he really had stayed at that homeless shelter where a man w/ the name of daniel wilson signed the registry. The signature looked identical. Do you think he could have wandered to billings and stayed there, and tried to get back to his car and maybe thats when he died, its strange.

Hi, I am brand new here (Hope I am posting correctly). The searchers never found a body. Years later, a rancher found a skull sitting out by itself, several miles east of where Dan Wilson's car was parked. The sheriff of the county where Dan's car was had a hunch that the skull was Dan Wilson's skull. After testing, the skull was confirmed as Dan's. The rest of Dan's remains have not been found!!

My spouse and I were friends of Dan Wilson. We met him and his wife (Charlotte) in 1979 in a small conservative church in Longmont, Colorado. My spouse went to Dan's funeral in the fall of 1997 in Longmont when they interred a skull-sized casket in a cematary in N. Longmont, CO. My spouse asked if there was a bullet hole in Dan's skull. There was not. Ask me questions, I may have answers for you.

As morbid as this might be, considering Wilson's body was out there for that long, it is entirely possible that animals ate the rest.
Like others, I feel he simply wandered off, not knowing what he was getting into in the Montana wilderness, and died. I thought for a while that it was him at the homeless shelter, and that is entirely possible, but it's far more likely that he went directly from the car to the area where his remains eventually were discovered.
Whether Patricia Meehan met the same fate, also likely. I have no doubt there are places out there where a body might not be found for 100 years or ever.