The recovered pick-up truck was registered to 42-year-old Dale Williams. The longtime area resident was a devoted husband and doting father of two teenage daughters. Dale owned and operated an auto body shop in the nearby town of Nucla. On the evening of May 27th, Dale failed to come home for dinner. His wife, Diana, assumed he was preoccupied with a job at the body shop and lost track of time. By bedtime, however, Diana was concerned. By morning, Diana awoke and was horrified to discover Dale had not made it home all night. As soon as she got her kids off to school, Diana drove straight to Dale’s garage. She then went to her mother-in-law's who also hadn’t heard from Dale. Diana and her mother-in-law checked out several places but failed to find him. Within a few hours, Diana Williams notified police and word of Dale Williams’ strange disappearance spread through Nucla.

Investigators began piecing together Dale Williams’ day. They learned Dale made a brief stop at Tami Lowrance’s office about 12:15 that afternoon. Dale was in a hurry. He told Tami he was on his way to help a stranded motorist. Investigators determined that Dale’s friend, Tom Ross, had been with him just before Tami saw him. Tom and his young son had stopped by the body shop late that morning. While they were there a call came in. A car had broken down and the caller needed roadside help. It was unusual for him to receive a call because Dale was not a mechanic.

The citizens of Nucla responded to the Dale's disappearance. 'Missing' Posters were printed up and distributed by Dale’s friends and family. However, Diana would soon come to understand that not everyone in her small town did care. The 'missing' posters that were put up in the post office were gone two days later. She’d put additional posters and days later they’d be gone. A hidden camera was installed in the post office in Nucla. Within a few weeks, the camera captured images of a man tearing down the flyers. Incredibly, he was ultimately identified as a former longtime family friend of Dale and Diana Williams. Twelve months before Dale vanished, Diana and Dale helped move the mystery man’s ex-wife to another state without his knowledge. The man was angry at Dale for helping his ex-wife move and not telling him where she was. A month after helping the man’s ex-wife move, Dale found some disturbing items outside his auto body shop including torn up pictures just laying all over the ground. The torn photographs had been stolen from his shop. They depicted Dale and Diana with their now divorced friends in happier times. Several 22-caliber bullets were also scattered across the ground. Several days later, Diana made a strange discovery in the night drop box at the video rental store she ran - a .22 caliber revolver. Diana and Dale later discovered the gun -- like the torn photos -- had also been stolen from Dale’s auto body shop.

Police interviewed Dale’s former friend about the burglaries. But he denied any involvement in the break-in. And he has an alibi for the day of Dale’s disappearance and police do not consider him a suspect. Dale’s life seemed to return to normal. Then, 11 months later, Dale Williams suddenly disappeared. Six weeks later, Dale’s truck was recovered from the river. An analysis of the vehicle and its recovery site provided more clues. The truck’s ignition was turned on. The vehicle was in gear. And the angle between the highway and the river was extremely sharp. Each detail seemed to indicate that someone had deliberately steered Dale Williams’ truck into the water. Once Diana viewed photographs of Dale’s truck, she was certain someone other than her husband last drove the vehicle. She took particular note of the partially-open driver’s side window as Dale usually drove with the driver's window all the way down but never half way.

Generating further speculation, police have not located the stranded motorist Dale Williams went to help. Was the mystery caller a woman as Dale’s friend surmised? And, why has that person never come forward? Investigators may already have that answer. The purported distress call was placed from a stolen cell phone. Dale Williams’ loved ones must also face yet another perplexing scenario. There are those who claim that Dale’s truck was parked in its normal spot at his body shop by 1:30 PM the day he vanished. If true, Dale, or someone else, drove his truck back into town within 90 minutes of his responding to the distress call outside of town. There were even reports from witnesses who claimed to have seen Dale Williams early that evening at a market in the neighboring town of Naturita.

Characteristics: Dale Williams would now be 46 years old. He is a white male who stands 5'7" tall and weighs 170 pounds. He has blue eyes and light, sandy hair. Dale has a scar under his chin, and a birthmark on the left side of his face under his jawbone. Dale Williams has not been seen since May 27th, 1999.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Dale Williams, please call the Montrose County, Colorado Sheriff’s Department, or call the Unsolved Mysteries hotline, 1-800-876-5353.