Walking out into the desert/prairie

[DarkDante]

Of all the cases profiled on UM these are some of the most bizarre. I'm talking about cases (and there are several of them) where seemingly normal rational people ditch their car in some random location on the side of the road and walk out into open land (be it desert or prairie) and die of exposure.

UM usually profiled these cases because at the time the people were still classified as missing and in one case even after the individual's remains were found there was still some conjecture (brought about by a grieving mother unwilling to accept the rational and likely factual explanation given by the local police about her sons' death)

I would like to get your thoughts on these three cases

1 - Don Kemp - This was actually the first UM ever aired. Don Kemp basically was taking a cross country trip to Wyoming while when driving through Montana pulled his car to the side of the road, discarded his belongings across the highway, left the car running and doors open and walked out into the Montana prairie where his remains were found a few years later. The rational explanation is that Don Kemp perished in a blizzard which occured a few days after he walked out into the prairie.

Don's mother believed he was abducted, taken to another location and killed. Although there are several disturbing clues including a series of telephone calls made by Don after he vanished which point to a possible abduction theory I always thought that the explanation behind why Kemp walked out into the prairie was a very simple one.

Don Kemp was involved in a car accident several years prior to his disappearance/death. He may have suffered some neurological damage in this accident. Regardless, I believe Don Kemp suffered a stroke on the day he vanished. There is research about stroke victims who have survived and most of them describe prior to having the stroke, several hours of blackouts, memory loss, confusion, disorientation. Prior to walking out into the prairie Don visited a western museum and walked around for hours speaking to nobody. When he left the museum, he also left behind his briefcase which contained a lot of crucial articles (including his driving glasses) that he would have needed on his journey. He did call the museum and ask if he briefcase was there but never returned for it.

Kemp's discarding of his belongings on the roadside and into the empty prairie as well as his behavior while out in the prairie also makes me think he was suffering from some sort of mental impairment perhaps some of the symptoms described above - Any thoughts?


2) David Stone - Now this one is really strange. David Stone was a young businessman from the southwest (I think either New Mexico or Arizona) and seemed to have some troubles with aggression. He was also a follower of the new age movement and seemed to take his devotion to the beliefs related to this movement to a fanatical level. After getting into a fight with a friend at a party, Stone drove out to the desert on Halloween and walked around with a walking stick telling people he was going to "slay the beast".

While walking through the desert Stone also discarded belongings and wrote cryptic messages in the sand and made strange rock formations out of stones he would find on the ground. In his bible there was a cryptic note which is one of the creepiest things I've ever heard which had something to do with "taking chances on Halloween and seven knives in Rob's room". For years his family had no idea what happened to him but his remains were eventually discovered by some hikers.

My question is that Stone was college educated and certainly wise enough to know that you can't survive in the desert for very long without water. Was this guy such a fanatic that he lost all touch of reality and eventually just perished as he rambled around the desert looking for the beast and talking to himself or did he intentionally allow himself to perish in the desert?

3) Daniel Wilson - Dan Wilson was from Washington and had struggled with depression following his divorce. However in 1988 Wilson disappeared after having an argument with his boss at work. He drove out to Montana, parked his car on the side of the road and walked out into the prairie and perished there.

One theory put forth was that Wilson was suffering from the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning (his car has a faulty muffler) but I also found it odd that in the days prior to Dan's disappearance his behavior became quite erratic according to his friends and family. His house was in a disarray, his paycheck left uncashed and he exploded irrationally at work after his boss asked him a simple question.

While a doctor put forth that carbon monoxide could cause symptoms of depression or even psychosis, I still wonder if possibly if Dan was just depressed period and chose to end his own life.

What is really interesting about this case is the police department while searching for Wilson insisted they did an extensive comb of the area where Dan Wilson vanished but his remains were discovered in 1997 only a few miles from his car? - We've been talking about shoddy police work well how shoddy was that?

Any thoughts on any of these cases people - I truly feel these are some of the weirdest cases the show has ever profiled.

[crystaldawn]

No doubt you and I have discussed these at some point in an email but I will ad a few comments. I don't think Dan Short would have chosen to end his own life. He seemed like he was very devoted to his young children and they probably were his life so I can't see him purposely leaving them. I do think the carbon monoxide had taken its toll and he could no longer could think clearly or rationally so I think he ditched his car and went walking. In his diminished mental capacity I don't think he realized that he would have very little chance of survival wandering out in the open prairie. It is strange that he wasn't found earlier, also in the Donald Kemp case. He was found more than a year later (if I remember correctly) near the spot where he abandoned his van so I'm suprised he wasn't found sooner. I think all of them suffered from some sort of mental issue whether it be by stroke or mental breakdown and weren't thinking rationally thus leading to the poor decisions they made that ultimately took their life. They do have a lot of similarities like their remains all found out in a desolate area sometime after they disappeared and I agree some of UM's most interesting cases.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Don't forget about Patricia Meehan, who was also involved in a car accident and walked into a Montana prairie...

[crystaldawn]

Originally Posted by Star8955

What about Kristi Krebs? Any update on her?

She's still listed on the doe network as missing.

[kadrmas15]

Well these cases are among some of the more interesting ones UM has profilied I will agree. In the case of Dan Wilson his marriage had broken up before he even got that car if I remember right. So he did have some depression issues before that even happened. However if in effect he was suffering from the effects of chronic carbon monoxide poisoning that is just sad. It is actually one of the most sad tihngs I have ever heard of, a guy suffering from chronic carbon monoxide poisoning and not even knowing it. I agree that Wilson was devoted to his children and I dont think he killed himself. I just think that he drove thinking he was going to go to Colorado to see his family but in his diminished mental state stayed on Interstate 94 instead of turning onto the interstate that went south towards Denver. I think his car must have either run out of gas or something and then he got out and just started walking around. Custer County is the county I believe he disappeared in there isnt much. There is Miles City and a couple of very small towns and that is about it, besides that it is all prairie. Now it said in 1997, 9 years after he disappeared Wilson's remains were found about 5 miles from where his car was abandoned. The sheriff Tony Harbaugh said that a search had been done. Well I bet what they did was they only searched over a two or three mile radius from the car so they probably never actually searched the area where the body was. Tony Harbaugh is still the sheriff of Custer County all these years later and was just re-elected to another 4 year term this year. The Don Kemp case is so strange I dont know what to think about it. Wasnt his body found only two or three miles from where his blazer was left? I would normally think that because of a prior car accident that Kemp had that he must have suffered some problem and walked off into the prairie and died. However the fact that he made several phone calls after he disappeared does raise the troubling possiblity that he was abducted and murdered. The fact that someone sounding like Don Kemp made calls from a trailer in Casper cant be ignored. As for David Stone, well he seemed like he was at a cross roads in his life where he wanted to shake things up and make a change. Stone looked like a strong guy but I bet he didnt have any water and he probably died from not drinking water for days or from exposure. Was he trying to signal for help when he made the pyramids out of rocks or when he screwed up the number sequence in the sand? Or when he left his expensive watch next to a pyramid of rocks? I remember one of the searchers said he had the feeling Stone was watching him. That actually wouldnt surprise me if he was. I think Stone was alive for several days after he disappeared. I believe Stone's remains were found about 4 years after he disappeared. I cant remember exactly where they were found though.

[unsolved88]

I believe that Kemp died of natural causes. I don't know about anyone else, but there was something about Donald Kemp's mother Mary that just rubbed me the wrong way. I thought came off as bit a know-it-all.

[greatgarrett2]

We can't forget John Cheek.....although I don't quite remember how he disappeared. I think he just never showed up for work one morning.

Wasn't he spotted at a truck stop by a trucker or two?

He was definately wandering around the South and Midwest if it was indeed him the trucker bought breakfast for.

Another one, one of the most bizarre IMO was Blair Adams.....the guy from Canada who ended up in Tennessee. Was he running from his own shadow or was someone really chasing him?

[LooksLikeCRicci]

John Cheek-- Memphis businessman who was under a lot of stressed and then just disappeared?

[ZanzibarBlue]

Daniel Wilson! My G**! Whenever I'm in my car and smell exhaust, I always think of that segment and wonder if I'm slowly succumbing to chronic cabon monoxide poisoning. There are certain segments that stick with you and this is one of them. Whenever I'm driving and I smell the fumes, I wonder if the next conscious moment will be coming to in a homeless shelter in Laramie. If I take my car into be service, I often think of asking them to check for exhaust leaks in the car interior, specifically because of this case.

[connieallbright]

I think there is something up with the Donald Kemp case. The phone calls -- even if there weren't actually him -- cast a sinister light on events. By the accounts I've read on this board and on the segment, it seems like the police weren't open to any scenario besides the 'mixed up tourist wanders off to die in the prairie' story.

I don't know about John Cheek. His car was found near or on a bridge right? You'd think they would find remains if he went into the river but you never know.

Kristi Kreb is such a troubling story. She looks so familar, like the sort of person you'd want to know. I can't believe she hasn't been located. The same with Patricia Meehan. That segment is haunting.

And Daniel Wilson and the carbon dioxide - I think about it when I drive too! Anytime my car smells funny, I start wondering if I would be able to tell if I was becoming brain damaged.

[microeconomia]

Some of the weirdest cases happened in Montana: Donald Kemp, Patricia Meehan, Daniel Wilson, Dexter Stefonek. By the way, in July, I´ll make a business trip to Seattle, Washington that will take no more than 3 or 4 days. After that, I´d want to drive the same journey that Dexter Stefonek was willing to make, at least in part:he was driving from Oregon to Wisconsin, I´m planning to make the journey from Seattle to Chicago, first taking the I-90 until Billings, Montana,(Dan Wilson sightings at the shelter) and then I-94 towards Glendive, where Mr. Stefonek´s murder took place and then eastwards: North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois. Is it a dangerous journey for a lone tourist? Any thoughts

[hostedbyrobertstack]

Originally Posted by microeconomia

Some of the weirdest cases happened in Montana: Donald Kemp, Patricia Meehan, Daniel Wilson, Dexter Stefonek. By the way, in July, I´ll make a business trip to Seattle, Washington that will take no more than 3 or 4 days. After that, I´d want to drive the same journey that Dexter Stefonek was willing to make, at least in part:he was driving from Oregon to Wisconsin, I´m planning to make the journey from Seattle to Chicago, first taking the I-90 until Billings, Montana,(Dan Wilson sightings at the shelter) and then I-94 towards Glendive, where Mr. Stefonek´s murder took place and then eastwards: North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois. Is it a dangerous journey for a lone tourist? Any thoughts

The best stories do seem to take place in states I have never thought twice about, and now I am compelled to go to those states in a way, although i'm sure they're very boring as I imagined,(montana, wyoming) no offense to people from those states, can't knock it til ive been there. But as you are saying above, that would be awesome. I always watch certain segments and want to go visit those places or see it for myself, it just doesn't seem real(must be the reenactments, ha). I think it would be cool to go on the same route as some of those people, and stop at the same rest stops, it would be weird. As for the lone journey part, I love driving, especially alone. I have learned in life that you usually cannot find willing people to do all the things you want, and most of these things include driving long distances. I have driven to florida and vegas(from san diego) alone, which were great experiences, although looking back, I would bring a weapon along(those rest areas in the middle of the desert you are forced by your body to stop at are quite scary, especially being alone). I say def do it even if you have to alone, no one will whine about the drive, make you stop to sleep, you can drive all night, turns out great ha.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by microeconomia

Some of the weirdest cases happened in Montana: Donald Kemp, Patricia Meehan, Daniel Wilson, Dexter Stefonek. By the way, in July, I´ll make a business trip to Seattle, Washington that will take no more than 3 or 4 days. After that, I´d want to drive the same journey that Dexter Stefonek was willing to make, at least in part:he was driving from Oregon to Wisconsin, I´m planning to make the journey from Seattle to Chicago, first taking the I-90 until Billings, Montana,(Dan Wilson sightings at the shelter) and then I-94 towards Glendive, where Mr. Stefonek´s murder took place and then eastwards: North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois. Is it a dangerous journey for a lone tourist? Any thoughts

Being a Montana native, I can tell you that I do not think this is particularly a "dangerous journey," so to speak. I WOULD advocate carrying a cell phone with you. Montana is a big state, but most of it has some form of cell phone service. I, for one, NEVER drive anywhere without mine. I can't tell you whether or not the rest of your journey is safe, though. Sorry.

However... if you're taking I-90 from Seattle to Billings, you'll drive right by me!

[microeconomia]

Thanks for the comments guys, you´re incredible. A "weird" thing happened: after watching Dexter Stefonek´s segment with a friend, and commenting about my planned trip, he offered me $500 if I spend 1 night at the same rest area where Mr Stefonek´s car was found engulfed in flames, near Glendive. We haven´t discussed any more details. What do you think?

[greatgarrett2]

Let's not forget that's where the Unabomber lived in a cabin. Near Lincoln, MT