Did David Stone make it out of the desert?

[justins5256]

I know this case is typically dismissed as a probable accidental death due to exposure to the elements. BUT, the bloodhounds followed Stone's scent to the highway where it then disappeared. Could Stone have been picked up and gone on to continue his search for "The Beast" elsewhere?

Also, it was mentioned that Stone was a follower of New Age and that he was looking for "The Beast" - the concentration of negativity within a person's soul.
I was curious about New Age religion in general. Is this at all like "The Beast" that Jehovah's Witnesses believe in?

[LooksLikeCRicci]

I'm not sure, Justin. I'm not a Jehovah's Witness. However, I tend to believe that David Stone didn't make it out of the desert. As we've found in many cases where people wander off into the prairies/woods, they are usually found not far from where they were last seen.

There have been a couple cases regarding folks disappearing in the desert. Isn't David the one who was making the rock formations and wrote some crazy stuff on the back of a dollar bill? Or am I mixing him up with Justin Bergwinkel?

[mozartpc27]

Weren't Stone's remains eventually found out in the desert some time later? Maybe I am remembering another case.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by mozartpc27

Weren't Stone's remains eventually found out in the desert some time later? Maybe I am remembering another case.

You may be thinking of Don Kemp or Dan Wilson. I'm pretty sure Stone's remains were not found.

[DarkDante]

^ Nope I believe they were, Stack updated the segment after it aired and confirmed that Stone was indeed dead. This was not the Daniel Wilson update which was just the standard "aqua screen text" update but an actual update with Stack speaking about the case and confirming Stone's remains were located.

[phillipscurve]

I´ve just watched this case on CD´s volume 2, and yes you´re right DarkDante, Robert Stack updated the segment: in February 1992, 2 hunters found the remains of David Stone near Lordsburg, Hidalgo County, New Mexico. RS also mentioned that an autopsy was unable to determine the cause or exact time of death.

In his path David left some "bizarre" clues like pyramids made of small rocks(in one of them he left his Rolex watch and two quarters). Also, apparently, he wrote, in sand, the so called Fibonacci sequence, a sequence that after two starting values, each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc. David Stone stopped with the number after 13, but, instead of 21(13+8), he wrote 18. For his father this was unexplainable, and maybe, Mr. Stone believed, it could be some kind of S.O.S signal or a clue(his car was found at mile marker 18th. on U.S. Route 80, and during his senior year in college David´s football jersey number was 18).

In my so called "bookshelf" collection I have, an older version of the case without the update. In this version Robert Stack only mentions that David´s parents believe that he is still alive, and probably living in some kind of "New Age commune".

[wiseguy182]

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

Isn't David the one who was making the rock formations and wrote some crazy stuff on the back of a dollar bill?

Yuppers.

The fact that his body was located in the desert might suggest that he never left the desert, but that would not explain why his trail stopped on the highway. One scenario is that he did make it to the highway, but the wrong people picked him up and he met with foul play. The odds that the people that picked him up had a nefarious intent in mind are low, but it's possible. Then they dropped his body off back at the desert figuring that it was a good hiding spot. That's the only thing I can think of.

I don't think he most people would have given him a ride, though. They probably figured he didn't have it all together, and would have been reluctant to give him a lift, especially since they were probably wondering what in the world he was doing in the desert. So I think if anyone picked him up they had an evil intent.

phillipscurve, please let us know what else you find in your bookshelf collection.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by phillipscurve

In my so called "bookshelf" collection I have, an older version of the case

Did you find any episodes that were in English?

[justins5256]

I was thinking about this case today and I strongly believe that David had some kind of mental breakdown that began in the days before his disappearance. He was a stock market analyst. These types tend to be wound pretty tight. He attacked a man at a house party - a move his friends thought was highly out of character.

Then there was the obvious mistake in the Fibonacci sequence, the odd and seemingly indecipherable note that was found in his car, the fact that he left valuables, like his Rolex, in random places in the desert.

The UM segment hinted toward the possibility that David might have been signaling that he was in trouble. I think it's pretty obvious that he was a few sandwiches short of a picnic at that point and irrational thinking caused him to leave behind the clues that he did. In other words, there wasn't much of a message there that could be deciphered by us sane folk.

Did the update mention where his remains were found in the desert? I doubt it, but it would be interesting to know the proximity in relation to the "clues", his abandoned car, the spot where his scent was found etc. Maybe he was picked up by someone only to be dropped a small distance away and he wandered back in to a different part of the desert.

[DearBunny]

I think that he died from exposure. He was not in his right mind and certainly wouldn't have been able to survive in the desert for very long. He probably spent more time leaving those bizarre messages and talking to himself than he did looking for food, water and shelter.

[DJ_Foxx]

Originally Posted by DearBunny

I think that he died from exposure. He was not in his right mind and certainly wouldn't have been able to survive in the desert for very long. He probably spent more time leaving those bizarre messages and talking to himself than he did looking for food, water and shelter.

not to mention that he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts during a time where several people who saw him said was odd given how cold it was.

[phillipscurve]

Originally Posted by justins5256

Did you find any episodes that were in English?

Only the last part of David Stone´s case (where Robert Stack mentions that David´s parents believe that he is still alive) is in english. The rest of the case, and the rest of the episode, is in spanish. It seems that whoever made the tape could change the audio between spanish-english at will. However that small part is the only one that I have found in english so far.

By the way, the episode also includes the "Katie" segment that you, justins, mentioned in the other thread (Lifetime editing question), and it includes the additional footage of her father-in-law´s ghost "passing through" the kitchen, before "disappearing" in one bedroom. At the beginning of the episode, I think, RS did mention that it was a "Halloween Special" episode (from 1990). The episode´s first segment is about the "Gray Man Ghost" of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, a friendly ghost who warns of impending hurricanes, like hurricane Hugo in 1989, followed by David Stone´s case; the "Katie" segment and, finally, a segment about "reincarnation". I must admit that, this is not one of my favorite episodes, David´s case being the exception.

[kadrmas15]

Yes, David Stone's body I believe was found 4 years after he disappeared. I dont believe he ever left the desert, I believe he probably died of exposure a couple of days after he disappeared. According to the segment he was still alive for what was it, two days after he disappeared?

I dont know that Stone was completely off his rocker. I mean in my opinion he knew the searchers were looking for him, he probably even was watching them search and he made a deliberate attempt to avoid them. So it tells me maybe he didnt want to be found? I dont think this was a suicide, I just think that David wanted to go out and be spiritual and reflect on stuff and he got carried away with it.

[RightOnDude]

It's clear to me that there's only one person who has all teh answers in this case. And that person is Tony Ballesteros. Unfortunantly I believe he was banned from this board.

[phillipscurve]

Originally Posted by RightOnDude

It's clear to me that there's only one person who has all teh answers in this case. And that person is Tony Ballesteros. Unfortunantly I believe he was banned from this board.

What was the motive for which, Tony Ballesteros was banned? David´s parents discovered Mr. Ballesteros´ presentation card in one pocket version of the New Testament found among all the things that were recovered from David´s car. In the UM segment , Ballesteros said that he never met David Stone, and that he couldn´t explain why, his presentation card was found in David´s New Testament. Maybe Ballesteros can give more information concerning the case. Maybe. Why was he banned?