CO CO - Ray Collins, 57, Salida, July 1987

[ZannO]

The Doe Network:
Case File 614UMCO

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Ray, as we approach 33 years

 

[Pennysmom1]

Ray Burssie Collins – The Charley Project

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Collins, circa 1987; Dave Caffey, circa 2008

• Missing Since 07/01/1987
• Missing From Salida, Colorado
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race Native American, White
• Date of Birth 10/03/1929 (93)
• Age 57 years old
• Height and Weight 5'9, 150 pounds
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• Associated Vehicle(s) Toyota pickup truck (accounted for)
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• Distinguishing Characteristics Biracial (Caucasian/Native American) male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Collins speaks with a Southern accent. He has a scar on the bridge of his nose, and the tips of his pinky, ring and middle fingers on his right hand are missing due to a carpentry accident. Collins wears eyeglasses for reading.

Details of Disappearance​

Collins was last seen in Salida, Colorado sometime during July 1987. He resided in Winter Haven, Florida at the time of his disappearance. In July 1987, Collins and two friends, Dave Caffey and Richard Birth, quit their jobs and went to Salida on a three-month gem mining expedition. Three weeks into the trip, Birth had a family emergency and had to return home to Lake Wales, Florida.

Caffey stated Collins wanted to see the Grand Canyon, so Caffey dropped him off at a bus station in Colorado Springs, Colorado a few days after Birth quit. Collins's family found this story odd, as he had already visited the Grand Canyon several years earlier. He has never been heard from again. Later in July, Caffey returned to Florida driving Collins's Toyota pickup. Collins's clothing and mining equipment were still inside the vehicle.

A photograph of Caffey is posted with this case summary. He had purchased $50,000 in life insurance on both Collins and Birth prior to the trip, which the men were aware of. Collins's policy was cashed in when he was declared legally dead in 1988; his brother collected half the sum and Caffey took the other half. Birth and Collins had given Caffey $5,000 each before the trip. Caffey told them they were mining on private land and he needed the money to lease the property, but in fact the land was public.

Collins's case was reopened in 2008, and Colorado law enforcement officials traveled to Florida to interview Collins's mining partners. Police stated Birth has been very cooperative in the investigation, but Caffey has not.

Caffey is the prime suspect in Collins's disappearance. He reportedly bragged about killing Collins in the years following 1987. These statements have not been confirmed and, when interviewed by the press about Collins's disappearance, he said he did not know what happened to him.

Collins has work experience in the auto repair, carpentry and construction fields. He was married at least twice and has a large family to whom he was devoted. Foul play is suspected in his disappearance, which remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency​

• Chaffee County Sheriff's Office 719-539-2814

Source Information​

• The Ledger
• The Mountain Mail
• 9 News
• Chaffee County Sheriff's Office
• Colorado Bureau of Investigation
• NamUs

Updated 7 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated September 23, 2012; middle name and picture added, distinguishing characteristics updated

 

[Pennysmom1]

3657DMCO - Ray Burssie Collins

Name: Ray Burssie Collins
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: July 31, 1987
Location Last Seen: Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: October 3, 1929
Age: 57 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown. Parted on the left side.
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Tan complexion. He has a scar on bridge of nose and three deformed fingers (tips of fingers missing) on right hand (pinky, ring and middle) due to a carpentry accident. He spoke with a southern accent.

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: gold ring with a green October birth stone. The stone was oval with a Cabochon cut and encircled with a ring of tiny beads.
Additional Personal Items: wore reading glasses.

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Friends Dave Caffey, Richard Birth, and Ray Collins quit their jobs and set out on a three-month mining expedition to Salida, Colorado, in July 1987, with hopes of finding gold and rare gems. Three weeks into the trip, a family emergency called Birth back to Lake Wales. A few days later, Caffey said he dropped off Collins, who wanted to see the Grand Canyon, at a bus station in Colorado Springs. Later that month, Caffey returned to Florida driving Collins' Toyota pickup, which also held Collins' clothes and mining equipment. Collins was never heard from again.

During previous investigations, Colorado detectives discovered Caffey bought two $25,000 life insurance policies on both Birth and Collins before their trip. Birth and Collins were aware at the time that Caffey had purchased the insurance, since Caffey considered the trip a business venture. But the other two did not do the same. Birth could not afford to take out insurance, and Collins' expectations of the trip were not as serious as Caffey's. Caffey had also collected $5,000 from Collins to mine minerals on the Colorado claim. But, as detectives learned, the mining camp they set up was on public land frequented by prospectors. Caffey later collected the life insurance funds after Collins was declared dead by the state in 1989. Caffey hasn't been cooperated with investigators.

Birth contacted Colorado authorities about two years after the trip, concerned that something tragic may have happened. By that time, he and Caffey were no longer friends. Birth told detectives that Caffey's behavior turned "weird" and hostile after they got to Colorado.

Collins and his wife at the time had taken several trips to Franklin, North Carolina, to mine for rare rocks. He called a couple of times during the three men's trip to tell her that he was having fun and that they had not found much. He did not mention wanting to visit the Grand Canyon. When Collins did not come home, the family was suspicious. Married at least twice, Collins had a large family including three biological children, stepchildren and grandchildren.

The case was re-opened in 2008 and Colorado investigators worked a joint investigation with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Winter Haven and Lake Wales police departments.

Collins grew up on a farm in Alabama and moved to Winter Haven in 1969. He worked as a mechanic at the Chevrolet Center for years. Years later, Collins switched to carpentry and construction, where he met Birth and Caffey.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Chaffee County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Detective Andy Rohrich
Agency Phone Number: 719-530-5729
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 87-2613

NamUs Case Number: 12001
NCIC Case Number: Unknown

Information Source(s)​

NamUs
Colorado Bureau of Investigation
The Ledger

Admin Notes​

Added: 2/15/2008; Last Updated: 11-13-2021 - By: Htmlcnvtr

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Ray Burssie Collins – The Charley Project