Amy Bechtel

[TheCars1986]

I feel like the new investigators also have tunnel vision because they are convinced that Dale Wayne Eaton is involved.

[freakbook]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I feel like the new investigators also have tunnel vision because they are convinced that Dale Wayne Eaton is involved.

Exactly. Theyre going to ignore everything to try to make it stick to Eaton

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Sadly in so many of these disappearances there are multiple predators out there. Just when you think you have one or two good suspects, you realize that there are so many random predators out there. In this case there is literally nothing to go by other than alleged eyewitness sightings. no physical evidence. That means this case will remain unsolved unless Amy's remains are found.

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by freakbook

Exactly. Theyre going to ignore everything to try to make it stick to Eaton

Its not uncommon for LE to try and pin cold cases on any vaguely plausible known offender to clear it off the books. This is especially the case when the accused is deceased and thus there is no prospect of a trial, or they are already in prison and the excuse for not prosecuting the case can be that it would be a moot point (even though in both cases the real issue is that the evidence would never hold up in a criminal trial and thus be dis-proven).

Also dead and imprisoned individuals present no or little risk of a lawsuit against the government for defamation when accused in such a manner without actually having a trial proving their guilt.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by MediaHoarder

Its not uncommon for LE to try and pin cold cases on any vaguely plausible known offender to clear it off the books. This is especially the case when the accused is deceased and thus there is no prospect of a trial, or they are already in prison and the excuse for not prosecuting the case can be that it would be a moot point (even though in both cases the real issue is that the evidence would never hold up in a criminal trial and thus be dis-proven).

Also dead and imprisoned individuals present no or little risk of a lawsuit against the government for defamation when accused in such a manner without actually having a trial proving their guilt.

that sparked another thought for me with another case. I saw that UM added an update for the Ohio Trucker Serial Killer. I might be wrong, but it seemed like they tried to pin other murders on him eventhough it seems highly unlikely.

I've gone back and forth on Eaton. I don't think that Eaton is a great suspect because there is no direct evidence to link him. In that way I kind of view Eaton similar to I view Amy's husband being a suspect, although it's important to note Amy's husband was not a convicted rapist and murderer. Eaton's own brother put him at the scene. there are other examples where law enforcement have gotten tipped off by family and have found a criminal, I.E. the unabomber being a famous one. I feel that Law Enforcement probably dismissed that lead too quickly and now they want to act like they tried everything to speak with Eaton when they actually did not when they had the chance.

[Mike82]

Originally Posted by DALLASTEXAN!!

I've gone back and forth on Eaton. I don't think that Eaton is a great suspect because there is no direct evidence to link him.

There isn't any direct evidence, but at the same time I can't think of a better suspect. As you mentioned, his own brother thinks he did it and the mother of one of his victims as stated here that she firmly believes Eaton killed Amy too and clearly did her homework based on the posts I read. It's certainly not the most illogical theory out there.

Is there enough evidence for a conviction in the court of Mike82? No but it is enough for a hypothetical indictment and it doesn't require a large stretch to make him fit the circumstantial evidence unlike some of the clearly innocent people who were convicted and later exonerated.

In that way I kind of view Eaton similar to I view Amy's husband being a suspect, although it's important to note Amy's husband was not a convicted rapist and murderer.

Not only that but he was in a long term relationship that by all accounts ended badly. The ex has gone on record saying that he never used or threatened any type of violence or similar inappropriate behavior. He may or may not be an A-hole as I never met the guy but he is no killer.

[TheCars1986]

I know that the investigator interviewed in the UM segment (Dave King) was later convicted of stealing cocaine from an evidence locker, but I did not know that he turned the case over to another detective after two months. I also did not know that an FBI agent had accused Steve of being responsible for Amy's disappearance 12 days after she went missing. The FBI were the ones who wanted to polygraph Steve. I also was unaware that Steve did not do any rock climbing on the day that Amy went missing; he and his friend only went to a location to scout the climbs.

Eaton's niece alibied him for the day that Amy disappeared. She lived in Colorado. The two witnesses who claim to have seen a woman resembling Amy running that day claim that the time was 10:30 a.m. The last confirmed sighting of Amy was at a photography studio between 2-2:30 p.m. that day. Amy's friend worked there and said that she was there for maybe 15 minutes, and that she was "dressed for running". Now if the two witnesses who saw a woman running at 10:30 a.m. actually saw Amy, then I do not believe Dale Wayne Eaton could have been involved because she had already went running prior to going to the photography studio. Amy had a check list of things to do that day:

-Call the electric company
-Dropping of recyclables
-Go to the photography studio
-Run

This list was found in her car and the only one that wasn't checked off was "run". According to Steve, Amy left in the morning and had to go teach a class at a fitness center before running the errands. Unless the fitness class she was teaching was hours long, showing up at the studio at 2-2:30 p.m. would indicate that she did indeed go running prior. The area where Steve and his friend went to scout rock climbing was two hours away from where Steve and Amy lived. We have never been given an official timestamp of the gas station receipt his friend had, only that it was sometime in the afternoon from a gas station in Dubois. This would tell me that Steve's friend (who lived about 80 miles away from Dubois in the opposite direction than Steve and Amy lived) was gassing up to go back home. Which could mean that Steve would have arrived home earlier than the time he gave investigators which was 4:30 p.m.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I know that the investigator interviewed in the UM segment (Dave King) was later convicted of stealing cocaine from an evidence locker, but I did not know that he turned the case over to another detective after two months. I also did not know that an FBI agent had accused Steve of being responsible for Amy's disappearance 12 days after she went missing. The FBI were the ones who wanted to polygraph Steve. I also was unaware that Steve did not do any rock climbing on the day that Amy went missing; he and his friend only went to a location to scout the climbs.

Eaton's niece alibied him for the day that Amy disappeared. She lived in Colorado. The two witnesses who claim to have seen a woman resembling Amy running that day claim that the time was 10:30 a.m. The last confirmed sighting of Amy was at a photography studio between 2-2:30 p.m. that day. Amy's friend worked there and said that she was there for maybe 15 minutes, and that she was "dressed for running". Now if the two witnesses who saw a woman running at 10:30 a.m. actually saw Amy, then I do not believe Dale Wayne Eaton could have been involved because she had already went running prior to going to the photography studio. Amy had a check list of things to do that day:

-Call the electric company
-Dropping of recyclables
-Go to the photography studio
-Run

This list was found in her car and the only one that wasn't checked off was "run". According to Steve, Amy left in the morning and had to go teach a class at a fitness center before running the errands. Unless the fitness class she was teaching was hours long, showing up at the studio at 2-2:30 p.m. would indicate that she did indeed go running prior. The area where Steve and his friend went to scout rock climbing was two hours away from where Steve and Amy lived. We have never been given an official timestamp of the gas station receipt his friend had, only that it was sometime in the afternoon from a gas station in Dubois. This would tell me that Steve's friend (who lived about 80 miles away from Dubois in the opposite direction than Steve and Amy lived) was gassing up to go back home. Which could mean that Steve would have arrived home earlier than the time he gave investigators which was 4:30 p.m.

I’ve read that witnesses saw Amy running on the loop road area in the afternoon and that there was also inclement weather. One of the witnesses that saw her running up there made the claim that it would be the last place that they would be running under those circumstances. And on their return trip they even looked for her and were going to offer her a ride. Or something of that nature.

Also the friend that steve was with that day was also Amy’s friend. Not sure how true it is but I read that this friend didn’t always get on with Steve as well as he did Amy and mentioned he would have never lied to protect Steve if he did anything to hurt Amy. I think I read all of this in the runners world article which many podcasters have used as one of their main sources of info.

If Steve were in Dubois he would have had to travel nearly 3 hours from there to get to the Shoshone Forrest and then about 45 minutes to get back home. That doesn’t account for the time that he would have been with Amy. I think for this reason Todd skinner’s wife mentions that there wasn’t enough time for Steve to have been involved.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by Mike82

There isn't any direct evidence, but at the same time I can't think of a better suspect. As you mentioned, his own brother thinks he did it and the mother of one of his victims as stated here that she firmly believes Eaton killed Amy too and clearly did her homework based on the posts I read. It's certainly not the most illogical theory out there.

Is there enough evidence for a conviction in the court of Mike82? No but it is enough for a hypothetical indictment and it doesn't require a large stretch to make him fit the circumstantial evidence unlike some of the clearly innocent people who were convicted and later exonerated.


Not only that but he was in a long term relationship that by all accounts ended badly. The ex has gone on record saying that he never used or threatened any type of violence or similar inappropriate behavior. He may or may not be an A-hole as I never met the guy but he is no killer.

I think one of the main aspects that makes this case nearly impossible to solve is that at the time of the incident no one suspected an abduction. It was more likely that Amy was involved in some type of accident and succumbed to exposure. The people there were confident that they would have found her with the grid search and resources that they had, but it’s been proven time and time again that some people are never found or are find in areas that were searched many years later.

Another aspect that can’t be overlooked is naivety. Amy and Steve were both very young and back in that time in that community they were not concerned with crime. But it also appears that Amy wasn’t paying enough attention to the weather which is a cardinal sin for an outdoor enthusiast. I’ve also read that Many years later Todd skinner died in a climbing accident that could have easily been prevented. Allegedly his waist harness failed and he didn’t take precautions that a beginner would have taken. Maybe it’s complacency.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

With the rainfall that occurred and it appeared to be heavy, if Amy was hit by a vehicle the perpetrator could have panicked and moved her out of the area. Any evidence would have been washed away by the rain. there was mention of an alleged confession in the segment and that seems to be disregarded just as much as the animal theory. Additionally, the rain would have provided a reason for someone to pick her up and for her to trust them to give her a ride back to her car.

[Mike82]

Originally Posted by DALLASTEXAN!!

With the rainfall that occurred and it appeared to be heavy, if Amy was hit by a vehicle the perpetrator could have panicked and moved her out of the area. Any evidence would have been washed away by the rain. there was mention of an alleged confession in the segment and that seems to be disregarded just as much as the animal theory. Additionally, the rain would have provided a reason for someone to pick her up and for her to trust them to give her a ride back to her car.

That's a reasonable theory that fits the evidence and I don't think I have ever seen discussed much. It's fair to assume anyone driving around the area would not have expected to see anyone running in those condition and could have panicked. Still, in those situations people usually slip up in some way. Maybe they got really lucky?

It could also be a case where Amy got in over her head, perhaps was soaked and while she was obviously in no danger of frostbite probably felt very uncomfortable and/or was slipping in the mud and would have been easy prey for Eaton or any similar predator when she otherwise would have waved his offer of help off and kept running.