VA VA - Kevin Hulse, 22, Bracey, 4 May 2008 - U of Md Student

On May 4, Kevin Hulse called his parents to tell them that he was heading out west with some old friends to start a new life. He told them they wouldn't hear from him for a long time. Then he vanished.

The former university art and graphic design student, 22, has been missing for three months, leaving behind his wallet, ID, clothes and almost all of his possessions.

http://www.diamondbackonline.com/ne...for-missing-art-student-1.280579#.UDpD5aPmWVo

Kevin's last known whereabouts were at the family's lakehouse in Bracey, Virginia. A neighbor confirmed seeing him there on 5/3/2008. His car was found there with his ID and wallet. The Mecklenburg sherriff's department has searched the lake extensively but has not located Kevin's remains, so we are hopeful he did not do any harm to himself and really did head west with friends.

Kevin called his parents on May 4, 2008 to say goodbye. He stated he was already headed west with friends. His parents describe him as sounding extremely distraught and irrational. According to his roommates, Kevin had been antisocial and withdrawn for last 4 weeks before disappearance which was completely out of character for him. Kevin is very close to his family and he only had 2 more weeks of school at U of Md to complete the semester. He did not take his clothes, wallet, drivers license, money, etc. with him.

http://www.nampn.org/cases/hulse_kevin.html

:rose: Kevin is our featured cold case from 8/26/12 to 9/1/12 :rose:

Kevin Andrew Hulse, age 22 at the time of his disappearance on May 4th, 2008, went missing after last being seen at his family’s vacation property in Bracey, Virginia. Bracey, Virginia is located on the border of Virgina/North Carolina off of interstate 85. A neighbor confirmed seeing him come and go from the home on May 3rd. On May 4th, he called his parents and informed them he was already heading west with some old friends and he was calling to say goodbye, and has not been seen since. His parents describe him as sounding extremely distraught and irrational. He did not take his clothes, wallet, driver’s license, money, etc. with him. According to his roommates, Kevin had been antisocial and withdrawn for last 4 weeks before his disappearance, which was completely out of character for him. He had stopped attending classes and he even stopped shaving. He had not shown up for work the 4 days prior to his disappearance. Yet he still saw his family, and even acted as his sister's sponsor during her Catholic confirmation in the week leading up to his disappearance. Kevin is very close to his family and he only had 2 more weeks of school at the University of Maryland at College Park to complete the semester.

There was a paddle boat, life vest and nylon rope also missing from the lake house residence. Neither Kevin nor the boat has ever been located despite exhaustive searches of the lake and lake bottom by the Mecklenburg County’s Sherriff’s Department. Around the time of his disappearance there was an extensive, week long search for Kevin and/or his remains. Not finding Kevin during this search leaves great hope that he is indeed still alive.
Kevin is 6’2” and about 170 pounds with blue eyes. His information is registered with the North American Missing Persons Network. DNA is on file nationally.

Has there been anything at all since he went missing? Sightings? Anything? I don't quite low how to sleuth. I'm better at reading what is posted and drawing hypothesis from that. But more info would definitely be helpful. TIA.

I am curious as to whether the lake pours out into a river that can handle a paddle boat? Or, did he take these things to make it look like he had an "accident" and he really is living another life elsewhere?

Did he have a breakup with a girlfriend prior to his signs of depression?

I am not sure about the lake question. I will have to look on google maps. They searched with sonar and everything and didn't even come up with the boat. What makes me wonder is if you are suicidal, why take a life jacket? Additionally, the whole "heading out west" with old friends" makes me wonder. And... if he harmed himself why didn't the boat turn up? Some people on his facebook page suggested possible cult involvement. I looked into cults on campus, specifically on the campus of University of Maryland, and surprizingly there are always numerous cults actively recruiting. The other thing is why have someone erase your laptop if you are suicidal?

Frankie Hellis said:

I am not sure about the lake question. I will have to look on google maps. They searched with sonar and everything and didn't even come up with the boat. What makes me wonder is if you are suicidal, why take a life jacket? Additionally, the whole "heading out west" with old friends" makes me wonder. And... if he harmed himself why didn't the boat turn up? Some people on his facebook page suggested possible cult involvement. I looked into cults on campus, specifically on the campus of University of Maryland, and surprizingly there are always numerous cults actively recruiting. The other thing is why have someone erase your laptop if you are suicidal?

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If he had someone erase his laptop, he must have had something he did not want others to see on there. Info. on a group he had joined maybe? It actaully sounds like maybe he staged things to make it look like he was suicidal to me. Not taking his identification does worry me though! Maybe he was able to get hold of some fake id though. Easy enough nowadays.

See if this works - I am trying to post an overhead picture of the lake.

Didn't work.

belfastgirl73 said:

If he had someone erase his laptop, he must have had something he did not want others to see on there. Info. on a group he had joined maybe? It actaully sounds like maybe he staged things to make it look like he was suicidal to me. Not taking his identification does worry me though! Maybe he was able to get hold of some fake id though. Easy enough nowadays.

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The police recovered the hard drive but I do not know what, if anything, was found on it. How does one find someone if they did join some kind of group? I don't think you can if they are an adult, as Kevin technically was/is. I have wondered if he didn't paddle to somewhere and meet someone. Perhaps the rope was to use to take off with the boat. Just speculating.

daichab said:

Has there been anything at all since he went missing? Sightings? Anything? I don't quite low how to sleuth. I'm better at reading what is posted and drawing hypothesis from that. But more info would definitely be helpful. TIA.

Click to expand...

No sightings, nothing. There have been subsequent searches which didn't turn up anything. I would be interested in your hypothesis though.

Maybe he was trying to do what Chris Mccandless did.

I have two strong initial impressions. First would be that he is on the run because he got in to something over his head. Second thought is that he was at the age where manic depression or other mental illnesses can manifest outwardly. Is there a history of mental illness in his family, specifically on the mothers side? Did his downed behavior 2 weeks prior include hearing voices or anything that acute?

I was thinking exactly the same thing. He got into some trouble and was disappearing, or else maybe he was having something of a psychotic break - some paranoia or sense of persecution. Maybe by staging a suicide he's hoping people will stop looking.

Hoping that he is found safe.

Hopefully the police questioned the person who wiped his laptop. You do need some skills to completely clean a hard drive, it's not like the average person just knows how to do something like that, even the average young person. Did this person's 'human nature' kick in while doing the action and did he/she take a peek at the contents before erasing it? What reason did Kevin give this individual that caused them to wipe the computer? It seems odd that a friend would ask such a thing and the person doing the deed would not at least want to know why. In my opinion, the friend who erased the contents has at least some information.

Also is there a missing facebook page for Kevin ? Just want to try pick up a little of the talk of a cult as it does sound a possibility .

If this is the right spot, the lakes seem to flow together and have lots little nooks.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=brac...&t=h&hnear=Bracey,+Mecklenburg,+Virginia&z=11

I went to work and came home and you all had posted questions! I'm sorry I missed them - stupid job! No one ever said Kevin heard any voices. He did become withdrawn to where he stopped attending class regularly and his work attendance became spotty and then stopped altogether 4 days before he disappeared.

Interestingly, his father posted the following which is similar to what some of you have stated:

"In way of summary there are two 'groups' of thought or theory. The first is that Kevin has fatally hurt himself and the second is that Kevin did, or believes he has done, something terribly wrong."

There is not alot of talk of cults but someone suggested it and it has bothered me ever since I read it because really, how do you find out if someone has taken off and joined one?

Thank you for thinking about him and helping get his name out there, and for all possible theories you might have.

The facebook page is at:
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/groups/89695155528/

i have sent a request ,hopefully everyone will follow suit .

I find it very hard to accept this is a suicide ..too much to suggest it's not ...the life vest , the boat missing . Is it possible he paddled and met someone that could of loaded up the paddle boat and took it elsewhere with them ...would explain the rope also .

Any new friends or habits in the time before disappearance , that could explain the change in personality ?... did he mention any new beliefs at all ...
If there is a chance mental health was a issue , this would explain bad or unusual decision making . In this case extreme but certainly not unheard of . Has there been anything found on his computer ?

I'm sure these questions have been raised in the past but it's worth picking apart .

Any cash on him at all ?