EPISODE: Justin, missing from Fort Ord

OK, all you Unsolved Mysteries fans. I need your help. I saw this chilling episode during the last week of February 2001. I've contacted Unsolved Mysteries and the name they give me -- Justin Bergwinkel -- is a dead-end.

Here's what the case is about: Justin, a military man who's about 25 years old, and a Massachusettes native mysteriously disappears from Fort Ord in Monterery, Calif. His car was found parked outside a hotel room with his wallet, car keys and neatly folded clothing in the trunk. His Asian girlfriend reported him behaving strangely and weeping a lot prior to his disappearance. They lived together in Santa Clara, Calif. and every night he would ask her to turn her back while he opened his briefcase. He told her he was sworn to secrecy by the military and could only tell her to watch the movie White Sands.

Anyone have a copy of this episode? Or know the true facts behind the case? Sounds like a solid case of government conspiracy, huh?

[FuzzyFaceFreak]

It aired today on Spike TV channel 168 on dish network

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by kristineh

Sounds like a solid case of government conspiracy, huh?

Not really. Sounds like he was on the road to a Chapter 5 had he not gone AWOL and disappeared. I think all that "White Sands" crap was a rouse, and I think Bergwinkel was involved in illegal activities at the time of his disappearance.

A few things that stand out to me:

1. Bergwinkel was a junior enlisted and a cook. He wouldn't have even crossed paths with top secret level intel or any supposed "secret squirrel" operations---not so much because of his rank or time in service (although that would play a certain role as well) but because of his military occupational specialty (MOS). That's not even worth elaborating on.

2. Bergwinkel had apparently expressed repeated interest in becoming a Ranger. Throughout the '80s and '90s, and until September 11th, the Army was considering only combat arms MOS's (infantrymen, artillerymen, tankers, etc) for Ranger School. This really would've been unrealistic as he was, again, a cook (nothing against those 92G's, though), and that may have indicated that he was sort of a "dreamer", for lack of a better term. There are plenty of young male soldiers who say they're going to be Rangers, and only a tiny handful of them ever follow through with it, if they actually make it through the school.

3. If Bergwinkel really was dealing with sensitive information or equipment, he sure as hell wouldn't have been bringing it around his girlfriend, nor drawing a ton of attention to the fact that whatever was in the briefcase was secret. As a matter of fact, he wouldn't be leaving post---especially to go 80 miles out. If it was as serious as he apparently made it out to be, he wouldn't have been able to sneeze without his superiors knowing about it.

4. He wouldn't have left his identification all over the place. Anyone with any basic security training knows better than that.




I believe SPC Bergwinkel, again, was involved in criminal activities at Ft. Ord. Organized crime (especially robbery), believe it or not, has been a problem in the military for years. I think "the mission" mentioned in the phone call received by his girlfriend was probably some sort of robbery scheme, and I think Bergwinkel crossed paths with a couple of proverbial bad hombres, who eventually got rid of him. I believe his story about being involved in something official was the result of a delusional mind or a poor attempt at hiding the true nature of his activities. I don't buy the secret mission thing in the least.

[leafygreens]

I agree!

[icomeinpeace]

That sounds like a very likely explanation, MegtheEgg.

[nohwheregirl]

Originally Posted by FuzzyFaceFreak

It aired today on Spike TV channel 168 on dish network

The post you answered was from seven years ago.