This was literally one of the first cases I ever saw and it seems like it's rarely been discussed on here, it was also a shorter segment.

He was an insurance investigator in Scottsdale AZ who disappeared after having lunch at a restaurant, and the next day his car was found on fire in the desert with no trace of Mr. Young. His car phone had a few outgoing calls that Lee didn't make (some time after he left the restaurant), and police believe he may have been targeted because of the case he was currently working on.

Was there ever any update to this case at all? The biggest thing that stands out to me is how his wife said "My heart tells me he's out there somewhere, but logic says he isn't."

Yes I agree that case isn't discussed much. I don't really think UM told us the whole story. I tend to agree it was probably due to the case he was working on. Wasn't his job similar to the one they believe got Lynn Amos killed.

Lee's wife was one of those interviewed on UM that I felt came across as very likeable btw.

Yes I agree that case isn't discussed much. I don't really think UM told us the whole story. I tend to agree it was probably due to the case he was working on. Wasn't his job similar to the one they believe got Lynn Amos killed.

Lee's wife was one of those interviewed on UM that I felt came across as very likeable btw.

Thanks. Yeah, even though UM always did leave out some facts purposely (obviously just as police departments do, so they'll know if someone knows certain facts you couldn't know without being directly involved), but I'd say you're right that this one most likely left even more out.

The motive does seem pretty clear that someone likely killed him who was involved in the money laundering ring Lee was investigating, it's more a matter of how it happened that we don't know. If he was killed right after he left the restaurant (between 12:30 and 2pm that day) that makes sense, but I wonder why the killer drove around in his car for hours before setting it on fire the next morning.

Yeah I agree his wife did seem like a nice lady too.

The police seemed very reluctant to give any information away regarding his disappearance. I was a bit surprised this was even profiled on UM given the scant details regarding the background of Mr. Young's disappearance.

Its almost impossible to find anything on this case on the net. I did find his missing persons profile so apparently he's never been found. :(

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/5559/0/

Its almost impossible to find anything on this case on the net. I did find his missing persons profile so apparently he's never been found. :(

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/5559/0/

I just saw this case again. It never really struck me before, and it has gone largely undiscussed (I suspect because there just aren't that many details provided).

My first impression though: Is anyone SURE this is a homicide? Could he have engineered his own disappearance? Sounds like the guy was into some shady dealings, to be honest (dealing jewelry out of the back of his car? That's not high on my list of 'legitimate businesses').

I just saw this case again. It never really struck me before, and it has gone largely undiscussed (I suspect because there just aren't that many details provided).

My first impression though: Is anyone SURE this is a homicide? Could he have engineered his own disappearance? Sounds like the guy was into some shady dealings, to be honest (dealing jewelry out of the back of his car? That's not high on my list of 'legitimate businesses').

While I can't be 100% sure Lee was murdered, I'd say the evidence points in that direction. If Lee was involved in some shady business on the side (no evidence to support that, it's just speculation), why would he abandon his wife? Don't you think he would have wanted to take her with him? Lee Young was involved in an investigation involving money laundering by drug dealers. I'd say there's a good chance that they found out he was talking to the feds and killed him. It was then set up to look like a robbery.

While I can't be 100% sure Lee was murdered, I'd say the evidence points in that direction. If Lee was involved in some shady business on the side (no evidence to support that, it's just speculation), why would he abandon his wife? Don't you think he would have wanted to take her with him? Lee Young was involved in an investigation involving money laundering by drug dealers. I'd say there's a good chance that they found out he was talking to the feds and killed him. It was then set up to look like a robbery.

Fair enough, although I would submit that his being investigated for money laundering also gives him a motive to disappear. I guess what made me ask the question was that the segment does not present (if there was any) any physical evidence that suggests Lee was killed.

I have at least one theory that Rob is responsible for this. It's supported by an overwhelming total lack of evidence.

I have at least one theory that Rob is responsible for this. It's supported by an overwhelming total lack of evidence.

:lol:

Fair enough, although I would submit that his being investigated for money laundering also gives him a motive to disappear. I guess what made me ask the question was that the segment does not present (if there was any) any physical evidence that suggests Lee was killed.

Lee wasn't being investigated for money laundering, he called the feds to report some suspicious activity at a bank where he worked. He was involved in the investigation, but he himself was not being investigated.

I agree that the details are very scant on this one, but as we don't have a lot of information to go on aside from what was presented in the segment, I tend to think Lee Young was murdered.

Geographically, it makes sense. Phoenix and Tucson are known for serving as command posts for a number of national-level drug operations.

The segment also makes mention that thousands of dollars of jewelry found in the trunk of his car. The only missing items were his rolex watch and his briefcase. That doesn't sound like a robbery, IMO. Maybe someone was hired to kill Lee and the watch and the briefcase were ways to show that whoever killed him had got the right person.

The segment also makes mention that thousands of dollars of jewelry found in the trunk of his car. The only missing items were his rolex watch and his briefcase. That doesn't sound like a robbery, IMO. Maybe someone was hired to kill Lee and the watch and the briefcase were ways to show that whoever killed him had got the right person.

That's right; I forgot about that.

Makes it seem far closer to a homicide than a robbery.

I misinterpreted the money laundering thing. If he was helping the investigation, rather than the subject of it, yeah, the likelihood that he was murdered goes up a lot.

I'd love to get more info on this case.

His wife was actually one of the few spouses on UM who seemed to accept the fact that her husband was in all probability dead. She came off very likeable in the segment, IMO. The lady who received a phone call from Lee Young's car phone (who claimed to not know Lee) definitely has to know someone involved in this case.

For the 3 calls made, one to a female who denied ever talking to Lee, ask you if she didn't talk to Lee who called? Did she pick up and spoke with someone else?

I think the police have more information than they want to let out publicly because there is almost a bare minimum of information about this guy in the segment or online. Either someone local did him harm or he was murdered by cartel members for his involvement with the money laundering investigation. They have to know who the lady who received 2 phone calls from Lee's car phone (who claims she didn't speak with Lee or know him) actually talked to. Or have an idea of who they are.

Lee Young is yet another unsettling case. The guy was an insurance investigator & probably investigating corruption - and then he disappears & his car is burned. And, a lot of jewelry is still left in the trunk?! Wow.

Strange case. I wonder if Young is still alive somewhere, but probably not. If he is, he would be around 86 at this point.

Re: Young, I also find it risky that he would be walking around wearing a watch worth thousands of dollars. That's just asking for trouble. I don't think that's necessarily connected to what happened to him, but is just an observation.

Just a wild idea.

What if a client believes he got swindled for paying a fortune for costume jewelry?

It's possible that Lee's business dealing wasn't on the up and up.

What if a client believes he got swindled for paying a fortune for costume jewelry?

Very unlikely because the segment mentioned that Lee would carry large sums of cash to purchase jewelry, and that thousands of dollars worth of it was found in is torched trunk.

I think the police have more information than they want to let out publicly because there is almost a bare minimum of information about this guy in the segment or online. Either someone local did him harm or he was murdered by cartel members for his involvement with the money laundering investigation. They have to know who the lady who received 2 phone calls from Lee's car phone (who claims she didn't speak with Lee or know him) actually talked to. Or have an idea of who they are.

What I wouldn't give to have more information on this case. I've always found the segment to be eerie in its sheer brevity.

Re: Young, I also find it risky that he would be walking around wearing a watch worth thousands of dollars. That's just asking for trouble. I don't think that's necessarily connected to what happened to him, but is just an observation.

I have to disagree concerning Young's watch. The thing is meant to be worn. Anyone harming or killing somebody to get at an expensive piece of jewelry bears the burden of guilt, not the person wearing it.

Furthermore, anything with a serial or registration number can be an excellent tracking device or piece of evidence, and a Rolex watch always has a serial number. Someone selling jewelry such as Lee Young would have probably taken care to link that watch to himself, either by registering it with Rolex and/or insuring it.

I think of Jasper Watkins, the "steamer trunk" victim, who had a heart valve prosthesis--for which the registration card either wasn't filled out completely or maybe even at all (which I still fail to wrap my mind around as that's actually required by law). Had that documentation been completed properly, he probably wouldn't have been unidentified as long as he ultimately was.

It's very possible that he engineered his own disappearance.

Criminal organizations don't normally hide a body when making a hit on a target.

Why torch a car, but hide the body?

We don't know if the wife received compensation for his death, but what if he reappeared with a new identity and lived quietly ever after?

Might have just missed it but I don't think this case is included via FilmRise. I remember watching it in the 90s.

Might have just missed it but I don't think this case is included via FilmRise. I remember watching it in the 90s.

Season 4 Episode 16. You can watch here (it's the last segment):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2jhrLbLKGI

Thank you!

Well, with the lack of any provided evidence it's time for some wildly libelous accusations:
Maybe he was knocked off by crooked federal agents.

Cars! your Avatar is scaring the absolute hell out of me! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Cars! your Avatar is scaring the absolute hell out of me! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Ironically it's from a Lost Loves segment in which they show some old home movies and that is one of the scenes shown.

Ironically it's from a Lost Loves segment in which they show some old home movies and that is one of the scenes shown.


LOL… creepy kids costume.

I think the police have more information than they want to let out publicly because there is almost a bare minimum of information about this guy in the segment or online. Either someone local did him harm or he was murdered by cartel members for his involvement with the money laundering investigation. They have to know who the lady who received 2 phone calls from Lee's car phone (who claims she didn't speak with Lee or know him) actually talked to. Or have an idea of who they are.

I just viewed this segment for the first time in quite a while and came away from it thinking the same. I wonder if this case is still being actively worked? By now, there would be no need to continue to withhold information.

This one always fascinated me as well. One of those short, end-of-episode segments that was light on details and never seemed to get solved. I agree with most here that Lee was probably a victim of a professional hit related to his investigation. Still, it is bizarre to me how many threads were left hanging:

-Did the woman who was called twice actually pick up the phone, or know who could have called?
-Which cartel was Lee investigating?
-In his unsuccessful attempts to contact the federal agents, did Lee provide any details as to why he was reaching out?
-Was anyone else at the bank besides Lee involved in the investigation, and were they harmed or threatened in any way?
-Did Lee's disappearance hamper or even end the investigation?

I can understand how some of these details needed to be withheld at the time, but almost 34 years later you would think the coast is more or less clear. Given the complete lack of information out there aside from the UM segment, it doesn't seem like there's any sort of ongoing investigation. I almost wonder if additional information was uncovered in years following and never publicly revealed. Maybe Lee's wife Connie was advised (warned) not to pursue the matter any further.

I'm not sure if Connie is still with us (couldn't find any obit details online), but I wonder if Lee had any children who might still be looking for answers. I don't believe there was any mention of additional family members in the segment.

At this point, it's safe to say that we'll never know what happened to Lee, but it would be nice to at least have a bit more information.

I wonder if Lee met with the same group of people who murdered Angelo Desideri.

I have at least one theory that Rob is responsible for this. It's supported by an overwhelming total lack of evidence.

Lame.

I'm not at all convinced he was murdered.

Lee had to have been abducted in a very short timeframe because he was last seen leaving a restaurant in a very public area in downtown Scottsdale at 12:30 p.m. (which was a Friday May 4th, 1990), and at 2:00 p.m. is when the first of 3 phone calls were made from Lee's car phone. If Lee didn't make this call (which was to a phone booth), whoever abducted/killed him made it. And after recently viewing the segment again, I would not discount the robbery theory simply because expensive jewelry was left behind in the trunk of the car. If this was someone random who murdered Lee for his expensive watch (and possibly the large sums of cash he always carried with him), why would they even think to check in the trunk of his car for valuables?

Every time i see this case i dont understand how they didn't on the show make a bigger deal of the person that was called with Lee's phone.

But nowadays i think it would be a wise but nefarious idea to just call a random number to create confusion and doubt with the police.

I wonder if Lee met with the same group of people who murdered Angelo Desideri.

That's an interesting theory and worth looking into, given the proximity of the two cases.

I'm not at all convinced he was murdered.

What do you have to back up this claim?

Every time i see this case i dont understand how they didn't on the show make a bigger deal of the person that was called with Lee's phone.

There were a total of three phone calls made from Lee's car phone; one was to a payphone and the other two were to a woman who says she never spoke with Lee in her life. Which brings up the obvious question that was never brought up in the UM segment; if it wasn't Lee on the phone talking to her, who was it?

The first time I saw this segment I did wonder if he'd fabricated his own disappearance, but the thing that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me with that theory is the jewellery in the trunk. If I was planning to run away and start a new life, and I had thousands of dollars worth of jewellery in my possession, I'd take it with me and sell it.

The thing that strikes me about the phone call to the unnamed woman was that she denied ever speaking to Lee Young, not that she received the phone call, or that she spoke to someone other than Young. I can't help but think that might have been an intentional choice of words.

She's probably related to that trailer guy in Wyoming who didn't know Don Kemp.

She's probably related to that trailer guy in Wyoming who didn't know Don Kemp.

:lol: :lol: Probably!

The thing that strikes me about the phone call to the unnamed woman was that she denied ever speaking to Lee Young, not that she received the phone call, or that she spoke to someone other than Young. I can't help but think that might have been an intentional choice of words.

This is what is so frustrating about the segment; there were two phone calls placed to this woman and the segment does not specifiy who they were from, only that "a woman who denied ever talking to Lee on the telephone." Obviously whoever placed the phone calls was involved with Lee's disappearance, but nothing was ever done to follow up on that very obvious lead.