Paper Example on Mystery of Amy Wroe Bechtel: What Led Investigators To?

Amy Wroe Bechtel disappeared on July 24, 1997. She lived with her husband in Lander, Wyoming, US. On the day of disappearance, Amy reportedly stopped at a Camera Connection close to her home in Lander at 2:30 p.m. after teaching a Children's Weight Lifting class at the Wind River Fitness Center. However, her initial disappearance occurred after her last sighting at Gallery 331, where she stopped shortly to talk to the proprietor, Greg Wagner.

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What facts and evidence led investigators to believe the victim or victims were abducted?

An eyewitness saw a woman resembling Bechtel and wearing black shorts running along the Loop Road in the Shoshone National Forest, where Bechtel was believed to have gone to practice for the upcoming 10K run she had been enrolled to participate in. Bechtel was reported to have worn similar attire to those described by the eyewitness suggesting that she was most probably the sighted runner.

Apart from that, Bechtel's car was found parked on at Burnt Gulch turnout in Lander. However, she was not in the car at that time.

The police found journals written by Amy Wroe's husband, Steve, describing violence towards his wife. In addition to this suspicion, a female witness sighted a truck that looked like Steve's in the area where Bechtel disappeared. It is suspected that Steve might had arranged for his wife's disappearance. The suspicion was further heightened Steve's refusal to be interviewed on the matter as well as a polygraph test.

What did investigators do to try and locate the missing victim or victims?

Investigators involved the general public to help with tips and potential leads in the disappearance of Bechtel. The police also engaged in in-depth search on various mines and lakes. Later in August 1997, the FBI examined satellite images from NASA taken on the area on the day of disappearance. Following no useful results from NASA, the FBI also examined satellite images from Mir, the Russian Space Station. Unfortunately, both yielded no significant results.

How were the abduction or abductions investigated? What was the investigative plan if you can find information on this?

The abduction was investigated through interviews with suspected persons and those persons that had a close interaction with Bechtel shortly before her disappearance. Detectives also interrogated Bechtel's husband, Steve, in association with his wife's disappearance.

If the victims or victims were found, how were they found? If not found, what is believed to have occurred to the victim or victims?

The victim, Amy Wroe Bechtel, was not found. She is believed to have died. Speaking during a 2007 interview with the Billings Gazette, Sheriff Seargeant Roger Rizor stated that he believed that it might had been a homicide.

If there was a suspect in the disappearance, what was their possible involvement? Was the suspect convicted? If convicted, what was the sentence they received?

The suspects included Bechtel's husband, Steve, and Dale Wayne Eaton, a Wyoming's death row convicted murderer. Steve was suspected to have murdered his wife. On the other hand, Dale was sighted by his brother near the forest where Bechtel disappeared.