During the 2001 season, Unsolved Mysteries did a story on the 1999 disappearance of an Idaho college student named Wil Hendrick. UM hasn't updated the segment yet, but I regret to say that some remains were discovered, and that dental records confirmed that they were the remains of Wil Hendrick. :(

As mentioned in the UM segment, there was speculation that his disappearance might have had something to do with the fact that he was gay.

Here's a link to the articles I discovered:

http://tampabaycoalition.homestead.com/files/918WilHendrickFoundRememberedByPartner.htm

Let's pray that this case comes to a final resolution. And if this case was, in fact, a murder, let's hope that whoever is responsible gets to pay for it.

Oh dear. :( That case aired earlier today and I was hoping it would be solved one way or another. If Wil was indeed murdered, then I too hope that whoever did this will be caught.

-Makoto_4

Oh! Sad. :(

That's pretty rough. :( I just saw that case on yesterday again.

I never believed the theory that he ran away. Somebody at that party from the top floor did him in, there's no doubt about that.

Sad, very sad. At least his family knows now, and they can try to find the killer/killers so they can somewhat go on with their lives. I hope whoever killed him gets punished for what they did.

Originally posted by dynoguy88
That's pretty rough. :( I just saw that case on yesterday again.

I never believed the theory that he ran away. Somebody at that party from the top floor did him in, there's no doubt about that.

Sad, very sad. At least his family knows now, and they can try to find the killer/killers so they can somewhat go on with their lives. I hope whoever killed him gets punished for what they did.

I too had a hard time believing the theory that he might have run away. Even though he apparently felt insecure, there were just too many inconsistencies to convince me that he ran away.

It sounds more plausible that he may hae been killed by someone at the party he attended (perhaps by someone who is ignorant enough to be biased against gay people). But I think it's also possible that he was killed by someone who was once associated with his partner Jerry Schutz.

Originally posted by Kane


I too had a hard time believing the theory that he might have run away. Even though he apparently felt insecure, there were just too many inconsistencies to convince me that he ran away.

It sounds more plausible that he may hae been killed by someone at the party he attended (perhaps by someone who is ignorant enough to be biased against gay people). But I think it's also possible that he was killed by someone who was once associated with his partner Jerry Schutz.

I agree, Kane. BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Jerry Schutz fire one of his employees for using an anti-gay slur on him?

-Makoto_4

That's right, Makoto. He could be a suspect as well, I forgot about him.

If he was that ticked off about losing his job, I guess it's not impossible to believe that he could have been a suspect. The Unsolved Mysteries segment said that the employee knew Will. It's possible he could have thought the party would be the perfect time to kidnap him since there was so many people, and the fact that he was a little drunk.

Still, the segment said that Will wanted to go up to the "partyers" on the top floor to confront them, he might have done that when his friend went inside, and met his fate. Most likely a gay bashing.

Well, now that Will's remains have been found, I believe this means that the partyers are suspects even though they passed a polygraph. Whatever happened to him, happened really quickly because his friends didn't see anything.

Originally posted by Makoto_4


I agree, Kane. BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Jerry Schutz fire one of his employees for using an anti-gay slur on him?

-Makoto_4

Yes, Makoto, that is correct. Jerry Schutz fired an employee for making an anti-gay remark against him. And he was right to do that. If that former employee really had a hatred against gays, then he was no longer welcome at Jerry's workplace. I'm not gay myself, but if I were in Jerry's situation, I would probably have done the same.

There was some speculation that the former worker in question might have eventually crossed paths with Wil. This person left town in a refrigerated truck soon after Wil went missing. Jerry was suspicious of this fact, as briefly mentioned in an old article from the link below.

http://www.argonaut.uidaho.edu/archives/020601/newsstory1.html

I have a feeling that the former employer was responsible for Wil's death. But there are some other possible suspects. The partyers of the top floor party come to mind, even though they passed a polygraph test. Did the police question ALL of the partyers? If not, it's likely that one of the partyers did commit the murder and fled before undergoing the polygraph test.

I also recall that one of Wil's female friends was having trouble with her boyfriend. Wil did not like how that boyfriend was bullying his girlfriend and tried to confront him but was kept from doing so. If I remember correctly the boyfriend and girlfriend were at the top floor party. It's likely that Wil went up to the party upstairs to confront the boyfriend and something must have gone wrong from there, perhaps leading to his death.

At least Wil was found recently. Now we need to know what really happened to Wil and if he was murdered, who did it? :confused: We got a case that went from missing person to unexplained death.

-Makoto_4

Originally posted by Makoto_4
I have a feeling that the former employer was responsible for Wil's death. But there are some other possible suspects. The partyers of the top floor party come to mind, even though they passed a polygraph test. Did the police question ALL of the partyers? If not, it's likely that one of the partyers did commit the murder and fled before undergoing the polygraph test.

I also recall that one of Wil's female friends was having trouble with her boyfriend. Wil did not like how that boyfriend was bullying his girlfriend and tried to confront him but was kept from doing so. If I remember correctly the boyfriend and girlfriend were at the top floor party. It's likely that Wil went up to the party upstairs to confront the boyfriend and something must have gone wrong from there, perhaps leading to his death.

At least Wil was found recently. Now we need to know what really happened to Wil and if he was murdered, who did it? :confused: We got a case that went from missing person to unexplained death.

-Makoto_4

I too think that it's possible that Jerry's former employee might have been involved. And while I'm on the subject, just this past Saturday (December 14), the cable show MSNBC Investigates did an episode on missing persons cases, and Wil Hendrick's disappearance was one of them. (It turns out that the MSNBC segment first aired in 2000, a year before Unsolved Mysteries did their own segment on Wil.) In the segment, the subject on the former employee was brought up (even though his name was not mentioned), and he was described as "volatile."

The cops looked into this person, but haven't found anything to link him to Wil's disappearance. However, they acknowledged the fact that he happened to leave town in a refrigerated truck around the same time of Wil's disappearance.

The MSNBC Investigates segment ended with an update, consisting of words on a black screen. It mentions the recovery of Wil's remains, as well as the fact that his death is being investigated as a homicide.

Darn, I would have liked to have seen that special MSNBC Investigates... Maybe they will show it again? Hopefully.

Sometimes Unsolved Mysteries doesn't give every single detail. What I hate the most is when they say "We will give you more information on a future broadcast," and it never happens.

It's like getting popcorn and having to wait for the butter. ;)

I know this is an old thread but I did a search and found it after watching the rerun today. I had never seen the Wil case before (right when you think your the biggest UM fan and have seen them all)....haha and so bummed that it hasn't been solved. If anyone knows of a current update (i think the last post for this thread was 2002 and no update :cool: ) please update us.

If anyone knows of a current update (i think the last post for this thread was 2002 and no update :cool: ) please update us.

Sorry, but there hasn't been any updates on the case since late 2002, when Wil Hendrick's remains were discovered. :(

Hi,
I found this site after doing a Google search on Wil. I went to school with Wil from 7th grade until we graduated in 1992 and used to cross paths with him at parties and drag shows from time to time after that. He dated a friend of mine for a while (before Jerry) and was always a really fun and nice guy. He was always giving big hugs and had a great laugh. I have never seen any of the shows about Wil and would love to see them if anyone has copies or access to information about when they will be aired again. I attended a memorial service that Wil's parents had for him back in 1999 but never really believed he was dead. I was shocked when they located some remains...
Anyway, if anyone can help me get copies of either the Unsolved Mysteries show of the one that was on MSNBC, I would appreciate it.
Thanks

Zacksmom, Im sure someone on this board can help you find the segment on tape. Wil's segment must be a very rarely played case b/c like I said, I have been watching UM since it first aired and have never seen that one. Strange. Good luck!! :wave:

Bumping this old thread, since I just finished watching the UM episode, as I go through them on Amazon.

After watching it, I decided to do a little online research, and I found a post on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/796e12/william_wil_hendrick_unsolved_murder_1999/) with a link to a Lewiston Tribune article (https://issuu.com/lewistontribune/docs/unsolved) dated May 19, 2014, which shares some hitherto unknown info.

The article is on pages 20-21, but I'll type out the relevant portion since I had problems with the article loading:

==================================================================================

LEWISTON TRIBUNE—MONDAY, MAY 19, 2014

Rausch [a detective in the sheriff’s office when Hendrick disappeared] developed perhaps the most solid lead in the case. It centered around a truck driver who lived in the same trailer court as Hendrick and Schutz [Wil’s partner].

"Nothing about what this guy did or said ever really made any sense," Rausch said.

Rausch got a tip from a woman he knows that the truck driver called and told her that he wanted to get his things out of his trailer, and that he was leaving town for Florida. Hendrick would sometimes crash at the man’s house when he was out late so he wouldn’t have to come home and get into a fight with Schutz, Rausch said.

So when he found out the man suddenly wanted to leave town, Rausch took notice.

“It was highly suspicious activity," he said. "Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough information for us to ever really compel him to come in and do an official interrogation. I was very, very frustrated over the fact that I couldn’t do anything more with it."

Weaver said the man was tracked down in Florida, but he never cooperated with the investigation. His trailer was searched, but no evidence was found.

“Could he have done it? Sure,” Weaver said. But with no definitive evidence, that suspect couldn’t be further pursued, he added.

Rausch said the man could be the one that got away.

“To this day, I still believe that if he wasn’t specifically involved in it himself, he knows who was."

==================================================================================

To me, this makes much better sense than the possible gay bashing angle from people at the third floor party. The way it was depicted in the UM segment, I feel like if it had been a bashing, his friends on the floor below would've heard something. I can't imagine a bashing is something you can keep quiet, especially in a building hosting two simultaneous parties with lots of alcohol.

Besides, the segment depicted Wil's friend finding him gone after going inside briefly to make a call. She thought about going to the third floor to see if he was there, but didn't—which I feel she would have, if she'd heard a commotion or anything.

My questions with the trucker scenario, though:

Was his trailer within walking distance from the party? Wil's friend said she saw his car when she came back out to find him. Would he have been able to walk home, and then spontaneously decide to stay at the trucker's because he was coming home late and drunk?

However, the article also states that "other people at the party... reported hearing a car, possibly Hendrick’s, leaving the party at a high rate of speed, throwing gravel in its wake." Is it possible Wil was in his car, but hadn't started it, when the friend came back out? Did Wil drive off after she went back in, and she just didn't notice?

And then what could've happened at the trucker's house? Did the trucker try to take advantage and make a pass at Wil, and get angry when Wil rejected him? Did Wil drunkenly make a pass at the trucker, and the trucker got angry at being hit on by another man? But if Wil crashed there often, the trucker had to have known Wil's sexuality and partner—what was different this time? And then if Wil didn't drive there, did the trucker know about the party and retrieve the car to leave it where it was found before he quickly fled to Florida?

What do you all think?

Not mentioned on UM, but found in the article linked above was that the last person to have seen Wil alive was a neighbor in the 1st floor of the apartment complex where he was last seen. He said that Wil walked in to his apartment and was trying to fight him but he calmed him down and turned him around and led him back outside. Other people in attendance at the party said that they heard a vehicle taking off at a high rate of speed. IMO, Wil left the party on his own that night. His car was found less than a 1/2 a mile away (south) from where the party was. But he lived north about a mile from where his car was found. This mysterious truck driver definitely sounds like the key to solving this case. Whoever killed Wil used his car to dump his body in a rural area south of Moscow, and then came back and dumped his car in a public parking lot. And this truck driver lived in the same trailer park as Wil, so he wouldn't have had far to walk after ditching the car.

The boyfriend throws a lot of suspicion in the direction of this truck driver, suggesting that he was homophobic. But the fact that Wil would sometimes spend the night at this guy's house would suggest he's not THAT homophobic, quite the opposite perhaps. Apparently he had already found a new job, so I'm not convinced revenge would've been a motive.

While it's certainly suspicious the truck driver up and left right after Wil's disappearance, I thought the boyfriend gave off real bad vibes in the segment.

Still no leads after all these years, eh? I liked this case because, if I'm not wrong, it's the first time Robert Stack says "gay" aloud in any episode (he'd do it again in next season's Nisenfeld episode).

Still no leads after all these years, eh? I liked this case because, if I'm not wrong, it's the first time Robert Stack says "gay" aloud in any episode (he'd do it again in next season's Nisenfeld episode).

I remember that throwing me for a loop as well. The fact that the word 'gay' must have no longer been taboo.

It was a long way from UM tap dancing around Judy Groezinger to flat out ignoring Dan Tondevold despite showing his ad for a "chauffeur".

https://www.nwpb.org/2022/05/04/remembering-wil-hendrick-a-cold-murder-case-kept-alive/

Here is an article and video from earlier this month. It's been nearly 20 years since Wil's remains were found.

https://www.nwpb.org/2022/05/04/remembering-wil-hendrick-a-cold-murder-case-kept-alive/

Here is an article and video from earlier this month. It's been nearly 20 years since Wil's remains were found.

What's interesting about this video is the former detective thinks that a hitchhiker that was picked up shortly before Wil's murder is responsible. Apparently the truck driver had an alibi for the morning after Wil's murder. Did not know that before.