Dale Williams - Mysterious Phone Call - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

rts29803 · 11-05-2010, 08:45 PM

Just watched the repeat on Lifetime.....Farina says they now know the mysterious call for roadside assistence came from a "stolen cell phone".....was this mentioned in the orig UM airing?? Any info if this phone was used more and tracked by LE to determine a pattern or area the caller was "operating" from...or tracking down "friends" the caller may have phoned...any updates?

crystaldawn · 11-06-2010, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rts29803

Just watched the repeat on Lifetime.....Farina says they now know the mysterious call for roadside assistence came from a "stolen cell phone".....was this mentioned in the orig UM airing?? Any info if this phone was used more and tracked by LE to determine a pattern or area the caller was "operating" from...or tracking down "friends" the caller may have phoned...any updates?

I do remember them mentioning the stolen cellphone on the original segment. It just seems most logical that the former friend (whom they helped his wife move away from) is responsible just no actual evidence to arrest him. One of Dale's daughter posted on here a while back and I believe said no developments in the case and Dale has still not been found.

Guardian · 11-06-2010, 11:08 PM

In my opinion, this is one of the best cases that lifetime produced. It is perplexing to say the least. The cell phone thing does seem a bit odd. They can pinpoint your exact location on the planet on a cell phone, yet the best they can come up with here is to say, "well, the call came from a stolen cell phone." Well thanks Sherlock, where is dale? I realize that if the phone were only used the one time to make one call, they wouldn't be able to pin point anything with it, but you would think they would say something in the narrative if that were the case. Who did the stolen phone belong to originally? That might be a clue in itself. If the phone belongs to the neighbor of that former friend of dale's, or that friends brother in law or something, that would be a good starting point. It just seems like they didn't follow up on that.

bell83 · 11-07-2010, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guardian

The cell phone thing does seem a bit odd. They can pinpoint your exact location on the planet on a cell phone, yet the best they can come up with here is to say, "well, the call came from a stolen cell phone."

You have to remember, this was 1999. I don't believe they had the same abilities for tracking cell phones that they do, today. But I could be wrong.

Guardian · 11-07-2010, 06:01 PM

I will totally concede that, but it would still be smart to follow up on just who the phone belonged to. If it was stolen, who was it stolen from? That could lead to nothing, but it could also be a step in the right direction. Just seems weird that they wouldn't even mention if it was followed up in the narrative.

bell83 · 11-08-2010, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guardian

I will totally concede that, but it would still be smart to follow up on just who the phone belonged to. If it was stolen, who was it stolen from? That could lead to nothing, but it could also be a step in the right direction. Just seems weird that they wouldn't even mention if it was followed up in the narrative.

That I agree with. But logically, the cops would've done that. Not saying they did...but one would think they did. It wouldn't be the first detail left out on a UM segment. LOL

crystaldawn · 09-03-2018, 09:03 AM

https://lostnfoundblogs.com/f/dale-williams-last-call

JC1957 · 09-03-2018, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crystaldawn

https://lostnfoundblogs.com/f/dale-williams-last-call

Just read this and I have to agree about the stolen cell phone. Tracking it to its' rightful owner would have been the first logical step in solving this. Don't know if it would be too late now? My personal feeling is the ex-friend hired someone or several people to do the job. He obviously was some kind of a threat due to the fact that his ex-wife didn't want him to know where she moved to and that the Dale Williams and his wife wouldn't tell him. He needs to be looked at again. I think there's holes in his alibi.

Anyway, well done Crystaldawn!

DALLASTEXAN!! · 09-03-2018, 01:44 PM

I read the article earlier today. another good one CD. Add me to the list that suspects the individual who decided to take down the flyers at the post office. Just not a lot to go off of (From the segment) in this case unfortunately. I remember the first time I watched the segment, very mysterious and a strong desire to see it get solved. Was there any chance that Dale wanted to leave?

crystaldawn · 09-05-2018, 06:45 PM

Thanks so much everyone! Yes this case is frustrating! There is very little online and the one person who seems to be the most logical suspect is off the radar and I couldn't even find out what his name is!

Labonte18 · 09-05-2018, 07:02 PM

Trianglulation of the cell signal has been around since cell networks. So.. I'd say the cops know where the call was placed from. Now, there's always the possibilities that 'back in the day' when there were far fewer cell towers and this being a fairly rural area.. They couldn't get triangulation, but they know what cell tower the phone was connected to and therefore have a radius of where the call was placed from.

This.. Is probably one of those pieces of information that the cops hold back. So that if there's some jailhouse confession.. They ask where did you make the call from, and if it doesn't match up with what they know..

I'd also say they investigated the original owner of the phone and cleared him and that any info he had was not worthwhile to identifying the perps.

TheCars1986 · 09-06-2018, 08:36 AM

Dale's daughter did a reddit AMA (ask me anything) a month ago, which you can read here. The call was apparently traced to a stolen cell phone. And the wife of the ex-friend of Dale's was moved out a year to a year and a half prior to Dale's disappearance. The ex-friend actually did find out where she was (because the wife called him), but never pursued her and they simply got divorced. Knowing this information, coupled with the ex-friend's alibi, I think he is simply a red herring in this case.

There was also insinuations that he was having an affair based off of this line:

Quote:

He was funny, a good dad, he could have been a better husband come to find out, but they did a good job hiding their problems as my sister and I had a very wonderful, and memorable childhood.

Dale's friend who was playing darts with him that day said the call that came in sounded (based off of the way Dale was talking) like a woman. If this was a mistress of Dale's it would explain why she called him to jump her car, even though Dale did auto body repair. And it could have been a set up.

ETA: This map shows where the truck was found, and the approximate spot from where the caller said they were broke down. On UM, Dale's friend said that the caller said they were broke down about 3/4 of a mile east from the Bedrock store. They could have been on the main road 90, or off of it on the Y9 road on the map. Also on the map you can see a little dirt road that runs along the Dolores River up to Y11 road, which is the road someone would have taken to dump his truck in the spot that it was found. Seems like whoever did this, IMO, murdered him shortly after he arrived and then dumped his truck into the river before disposing of his body elsewhere.

James T · 09-06-2018, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

Dale's daughter did a reddit AMA (ask me anything) a month ago, which you can read here. The call was apparently traced to a stolen cell phone. And the wife of the ex-friend of Dale's was moved out a year to a year and a half prior to Dale's disappearance. The ex-friend actually did find out where she was (because the wife called him), but never pursued her and they simply got divorced. Knowing this information, coupled with the ex-friend's alibi, I think he is simply a red herring in this case.

There was also insinuations that he was having an affair based off of this line:

Dale's friend who was playing darts with him that day said the call that came in sounded (based off of the way Dale was talking) like a woman. If this was a mistress of Dale's it would explain why she called him to jump her car, even though Dale did auto body repair. And it could have been a set up.

ETA: This map shows where the truck was found, and the approximate spot from where the caller said they were broke down. On UM, Dale's friend said that the caller said they were broke down about 3/4 of a mile east from the Bedrock store. They could have been on the main road 90, or off of it on the Y9 road on the map. Also on the map you can see a little dirt road that runs along the Dolores River up to Y11 road, which is the road someone would have taken to dump his truck in the spot that it was found. Seems like whoever did this, IMO, murdered him shortly after he arrived and then dumped his truck into the river before disposing of his body elsewhere.

Yep, think it is far more likely he was mixed up in something-either with a woman or the drugs trade. Why the hell would a body shop guy be going out to fix a vehicle like he is Triple A?

Labonte18 · 09-06-2018, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James T

Yep, think it is far more likely he was mixed up in something-either with a woman or the drugs trade. Why the hell would a body shop guy be going out to fix a vehicle like he is Triple A?

Body shop is likely going to have jumper cables.. Wouldn't apply in this case, but a modern body shop likely has a jumpstarter. So.. That part of it isn't too terribly far fetched.. but for this to be a random crime.. That's a real stretch.

He knew his killer is my belief. Someone in town who knew him, called him up with the story to lure him to the location. Motive.. There could be thousands. I mean.. He could have repaired a car and done a bad job and someone was going to teach him a lesson. When someone decides to kill someone.. Reason is generally already out the window.

Tonee · 01-30-2019, 09:52 PM

Hello all

Thank you for continuing to talk about my father's case. Keeping it in the media is the most important I feel right now. We are nearing 20 years in May

To tie up a few questions above... Please know that the Nucla area is tiny. It has ALWAYS been tiny. I graduated with only 26 kids in 1998, so when it's questioned as to why my father answered a call as if he were Triple A, well... he kinda was. My dad worked on all sorts of car stuff, mechanically and body-wise. He had a very old wrecker/tow truck and was genuinely a nice guy! If someone needed help, especially if he knew them, and let's just cut to the chase, who in a town of 1000 doesn't know (of at least) everyone else, he was going to help them. In this case, his generosity was his doom.

The Vanished will be airing a podcast episode soon on my dad. UnsolvedSisteries picked it up without me contacting them, and CD contacted me with her amazing SO AMAZING blog. I'm very thankful of the media we've been fortunate to bring any sort of attention to my dad's case.

11-05-2010, 08:45 PM	#1
rts29803 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 31, 2010 Location: South Carolina Posts: 41	Dale Williams - Mysterious Phone Call Just watched the repeat on Lifetime.....Farina says they now know the mysterious call for roadside assistence came from a "stolen cell phone".....was this mentioned in the orig UM airing?? Any info if this phone was used more and tracked by LE to determine a pattern or area the caller was "operating" from...or tracking down "friends" the caller may have phoned...any updates?

11-06-2010, 11:08 PM	#3
Guardian Member Forum Regular Join Date: May 19, 2010 Location: WA Posts: 522	In my opinion, this is one of the best cases that lifetime produced. It is perplexing to say the least. The cell phone thing does seem a bit odd. They can pinpoint your exact location on the planet on a cell phone, yet the best they can come up with here is to say, "well, the call came from a stolen cell phone." Well thanks Sherlock, where is dale? I realize that if the phone were only used the one time to make one call, they wouldn't be able to pin point anything with it, but you would think they would say something in the narrative if that were the case. Who did the stolen phone belong to originally? That might be a clue in itself. If the phone belongs to the neighbor of that former friend of dale's, or that friends brother in law or something, that would be a good starting point. It just seems like they didn't follow up on that.
	__________________ For every mystery there is someone, somewhere, who knows what happened. Perhaps... it's you...

11-07-2010, 06:01 PM	#5
Guardian Member Forum Regular Join Date: May 19, 2010 Location: WA Posts: 522	I will totally concede that, but it would still be smart to follow up on just who the phone belonged to. If it was stolen, who was it stolen from? That could lead to nothing, but it could also be a step in the right direction. Just seems weird that they wouldn't even mention if it was followed up in the narrative.

09-03-2018, 09:03 AM	#7
crystaldawn Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 17, 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,261	https://lostnfoundblogs.com/f/dale-williams-last-call

09-03-2018, 01:44 PM	#9
DALLASTEXAN!! Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 31, 2007 Location: Devil's Backbone Posts: 3,138	I read the article earlier today. another good one CD. Add me to the list that suspects the individual who decided to take down the flyers at the post office. Just not a lot to go off of (From the segment) in this case unfortunately. I remember the first time I watched the segment, very mysterious and a strong desire to see it get solved. Was there any chance that Dale wanted to leave?

09-05-2018, 06:45 PM	#10
crystaldawn Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 17, 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,261	Thanks so much everyone! Yes this case is frustrating! There is very little online and the one person who seems to be the most logical suspect is off the radar and I couldn't even find out what his name is!

09-05-2018, 07:02 PM	#11
Labonte18 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 28, 2018 Posts: 901	Trianglulation of the cell signal has been around since cell networks. So.. I'd say the cops know where the call was placed from. Now, there's always the possibilities that 'back in the day' when there were far fewer cell towers and this being a fairly rural area.. They couldn't get triangulation, but they know what cell tower the phone was connected to and therefore have a radius of where the call was placed from. This.. Is probably one of those pieces of information that the cops hold back. So that if there's some jailhouse confession.. They ask where did you make the call from, and if it doesn't match up with what they know.. I'd also say they investigated the original owner of the phone and cleared him and that any info he had was not worthwhile to identifying the perps.

01-30-2019, 09:52 PM	#15
Tonee Member Occasional Poster Join Date: May 14, 2008 Location: denver Posts: 6	Hello all Thank you for continuing to talk about my father's case. Keeping it in the media is the most important I feel right now. We are nearing 20 years in May To tie up a few questions above... Please know that the Nucla area is tiny. It has ALWAYS been tiny. I graduated with only 26 kids in 1998, so when it's questioned as to why my father answered a call as if he were Triple A, well... he kinda was. My dad worked on all sorts of car stuff, mechanically and body-wise. He had a very old wrecker/tow truck and was genuinely a nice guy! If someone needed help, especially if he knew them, and let's just cut to the chase, who in a town of 1000 doesn't know (of at least) everyone else, he was going to help them. In this case, his generosity was his doom. The Vanished will be airing a podcast episode soon on my dad. UnsolvedSisteries picked it up without me contacting them, and CD contacted me with her amazing SO AMAZING blog. I'm very thankful of the media we've been fortunate to bring any sort of attention to my dad's case.