AZ AZ - James Daniels Jr, 42, from WY, moving friend w/refrig trk b/w Kingman & Wickenburg 21 Aug 2021

[UrsulaWrenn]

What a strange and twisted tale. I've read the whole thread, and I'm very confused. Let me try to outline to see if I have the story straight?

Two men (JD and AD) and a dog (Penny) left Wyoming to go to Mississippi. They were in a refrigerated truck with no license plates (or were the plates just expired?), and a pickup pulling a trailer.

The trailer on the pickup got a flat tire. The driver (AD?) unhitched the trailer (and left it?) to go to Wickenburg to get another tire, leaving JD and Penny in the refrigerated truck on the side of the road. Nothing was open, so he stayed the night in town.

Sorry, but I'm already lost. Can we take a few posts to clarify?

Was the pickup hauling the trailer? Or was it hitched to the refrigerated truck? If he unhitched the trailer...where did it get left? Where is it now?

When he left JD and the dog, did they have water and food? Did JD have a cell phone?

When he reached Wickenburg did he ask anyone for help at the police station or any of the local businesses? Where in town did he stay? Did he rent a motel room? Did he sit in a diner all night drinking coffee?

Someone saw JD and Penny and called the police. An LEO went out, but only saw the dog, who ran away. Did the LEO know a person was out there? Did the LEO try to follow the dog to see if she led him to the person?

Later, AD showed up a friend's house in Phoenix where he spent three days acting strange and stressed. Then...he sold the trailer...when did he go back to pick it up? When he got back there but JD and Penny were nowhere to be found where did he think they went? Where is he now?

Was there a full-scale search of the area where JD was last seen?

Sorry...but it just seems to get stranger from there, and even after reading through a couple of times now I still don't know for sure what happened.

 

[iamnotagolem]

What a strange and twisted tale. I've read the whole thread, and I'm very confused. Let me try to outline to see if I have the story straight?

Two men (JD and AD) and a dog (Penny) left Wyoming to go to Mississippi. They were in a refrigerated truck with no license plates (or were the plates just expired?), and a pickup pulling a trailer.

The trailer on the pickup got a flat tire. The driver (AD?) unhitched the trailer (and left it?) to go to Wickenburg to get another tire, leaving JD and Penny in the refrigerated truck on the side of the road. Nothing was open, so he stayed the night in town.

Sorry, but I'm already lost. Can we take a few posts to clarify?

Was the pickup hauling the trailer? Or was it hitched to the refrigerated truck? If he unhitched the trailer...where did it get left? Where is it now?

When he left JD and the dog, did they have water and food? Did JD have a cell phone?

When he reached Wickenburg did he ask anyone for help at the police station or any of the local businesses? Where in town did he stay? Did he rent a motel room? Did he sit in a diner all night drinking coffee?

Someone saw JD and Penny and called the police. An LEO went out, but only saw the dog, who ran away. Did the LEO know a person was out there? Did the LEO try to follow the dog to see if she led him to the person?

Later, AD showed up a friend's house in Phoenix where he spent three days acting strange and stressed. Then...he sold the trailer...when did he go back to pick it up? When he got back there but JD and Penny were nowhere to be found where did he think they went? Where is he now?

Was there a full-scale search of the area where JD was last seen?

Sorry...but it just seems to get stranger from there, and even after reading through a couple of times now I still don't know for sure what happened.

I’m right there with you. I’ve never understood the actual “facts” in this case or the timeline. I actually thought the whole thing was fake until I saw the missing posts on the Teton County Sheriff’s FB page.

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

I’m right there with you. I’ve never understood the actual “facts” in this case or the timeline. I actually thought the whole thing was fake until I saw the missing posts on the Teton County Sheriff’s FB page.

Sad thing is, all the doubts and questions cause the whole case to be shuffled 'round and left to gather dust.

If JD has not been located at all, and no one has heard from him, the logical conclusion is his remains are in the desert where the truck was found. But then how did his phone ping in Ajo?

Here it is, 2023, and I'm sure his family would like some answers.

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

This afternoon I watched a short youtube video about this case.

Apparently, JD moved the truck a few miles from the place AD parked it. I assume he left the trailer, but I s'pose he could've hitched it to the box truck if it had a hitch.

I speculate:

If AD called and told him he wouldn't be able to return 'til morning, he might've been very concerned he would run out of water. That would be a crisis, so they might've agreed he would drive it into town...but that doesn't explain AD going to some "nowhere town" days later looking for him.

Arizonans my age remember the Tison gang, and that would make any sane person very reluctant to risk offering any aid other than calling the police, especially if someone is acting strangely.

Also...there's the possibility he was drinking beer or something, which would add to the poor decision making.

 

[Eyerish Eyes]

For 30 years I‘ve driven Hwy 93. The 3 LE jurisdictions are AZ DPS if it involves the road. Mohave County Sheriff Office is the northwestern authority whereas Yavapai County Sheriff is closer to Wickenburg. Many areas of the road have no cell service. The county line appears to be mile post 149 per an ADOT map. If the truck was at mp 164 it seems DPS would notify Yavapai County for impound. Here is my math: Wickenburg is approx mp 200. In the other direction, mp 94 is the Hwy 93/I-40 junction and it is another 21 miles to Kingman. So impound was 80+ miles instead of 36 to Wickenburg, or 60 miles to Prescott via Hwy 89. There are DPS stations at Wickenburg and Wikieup so these patrol officers know the road and the jurisdictions very well.

https://apps.azdot.gov/files/ROW/Plans/US_93/US_93_Index_11sheets.pdf

Earlier comments state that Hwy 93 is flat and there are no mountains. It is a dangerous road that is curved, hilly and the area near milepost 164 is close to the Santa Maria Bridge so if southbound you have to brake to avoid speeding. It has many passing zones and is safer than it used to be but it is notorious for fatalities. By no means is Hwy 93 flat.
AZ DOT works on freeways on weekends. Portions of I-40 were closed the weekend of 8/20/2021. Hwy 93 is an alt route which may be why they went that way.
There are many gas stations in Kingman but after leaving it’s desolate. There is a Petro at Blake Ranch, then three in Wikieup and nothing more until Wickenburg.
Burro Creek is north of Santa Maria Bridge and is a campground. Wikieup also has a campground. I saw a comment wondering about campgrounds in the comments.

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

I wonder if calling the AZ DOT would yield any more information? Who impounded the truck? What made them think it was in an accident? Did any of them speak to JD or even know he was there somewhere?

The phone ping in Ajo really bothers me, as I can't help imagining someone finding him in the desert and taking his phone.

 

[iamnotagolem]

Saw this article posted on Daniel's thread, but it's so much closer to where James went missing.

Human remains found in northwestern Arizona; no identity yet

Responding deputies located the remains wrapped in a tarp among a large pile of debris.

www.azfamily.com

I still haven't seen anything regarding the identity of the body in the above article.

But looking in NAMUS I found this UID in Kingman but there is so very little information The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

Would a person skeletonize between August and October in AZ?

ETA: Never mind; he disappeared in '21 but the person was found in '22.

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

I wonder why he would be in Kingman? None of this makes any sense to me.

(Of course, maybe that's why I'm not a detective)

 

[Eyerish Eyes]

I still haven't seen anything regarding the identity of the body in the above article.

But looking in NAMUS I found this UID in Kingman but there is so very little information The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

According to AZ DPS Crime Lab the website shows a current turn around of 106 days for DNA analysis.

January 6, 2023 | Arizona Department of Public Safety

The Crime Lab at the Arizona Department of Public Safety has released a status update regarding their backlogged cases. These cases are culminate from the four laboratories across the state: Tucson, Phoenix, Flagstaff and Lake Havasu.

www.azdps.gov

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

Maybe they passed through Kingman before, and he tried to go back because he knew for certain there would be places open there where he could find help.

If AD called him and said "I'm in Wickenburg, there's nothing open here so I'm going to stay" and then he thought "well, I can't wait, I have to have supplies for myself and this dog, so maybe I can go back to Kingman".

Make sense?

So...then...if the remains are his how did he get dead?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

James Daniels Jr., 43, was last seen on Aug. 21, 2021, on Highway 93 between Kingman and Wickenberg Arizona. Daniels was helping a friend move when the two got a flat tire. Daniels stayed with the box truck he had been driving and the trailer his friend was towing while the friend went to get a new tire in his Chevy Truck. The friend did not return until the late afternoon of Aug. 22. Four witnesses claim to have seen Daniels between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Aug. 22, disoriented on the side of the highway. An Arizona State Trooper arrived on the scene at about 4:30 a.m. and had the box truck towed. Daniels was not with the truck. The dog Penny was spotted by the trooper but ran off into the desert.

Feb. 3 is National Missing Persons Day, three local missing persons cases remain unsolved

Editor’s Note Feb. 6: This article has been updated to include the correct information about the last known whereabouts of Cian McLaughlin on the Lupine Meadows trail system on June 8, 2021. JACKSON, Wyo. — Feb. 3 is National Missing Persons Day which aims to raise awareness for missing person...

buckrail.com

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

James Daniels Jr., 43, was last seen on Aug. 21, 2021, on Highway 93 between Kingman and Wickenberg Arizona. Daniels was helping a friend move when the two got a flat tire. Daniels stayed with the box truck he had been driving and the trailer his friend was towing while the friend went to get a new tire in his Chevy Truck. The friend did not return until the late afternoon of Aug. 22. Four witnesses claim to have seen Daniels between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Aug. 22, disoriented on the side of the highway. An Arizona State Trooper arrived on the scene at about 4:30 a.m. and had the box truck towed. Daniels was not with the truck. The dog Penny was spotted by the trooper but ran off into the desert.

Feb. 3 is National Missing Persons Day, three local missing persons cases remain unsolved

Editor’s Note Feb. 6: This article has been updated to include the correct information about the last known whereabouts of Cian McLaughlin on the Lupine Meadows trail system on June 8, 2021. JACKSON, Wyo. — Feb. 3 is National Missing Persons Day which aims to raise awareness for missing person...

buckrail.com

Is there new information? For instance, I'm still curious about the dog, and I'd like to know for sure AD went to Wickenburg to get a tire, not back to Kingman. But that's just the start...this story seems to lead to whole rabbit warren, and I don't think we'll understand what happened 'til there a lot more clear, unbiased facts to work with.

 

[MissMYB]

I'm beginning to think we may never know what happened here. So strange.

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

I'm beginning to think we may never know what happened here. So strange.

I hope more info is forth coming, but in the meantime just a clear timeline of events and some of the missing details filled in would really help.

I suppose someone who knows how to investigate stuff like this eventually will, and hopefully they'll let us know what they've found out.

The info about the truck -when it was towed, where it was taken, etc. should be on file somewhere? Same with the report by the LEO who saw the dog. Who found out a phone pinged in Ajo?

As it is, the info offered is so scattered, sketchy and vague that I don't think any of it can be trusted. I just end up shaking my head, thinking "I have no idea what happened, and I don't even know if I believe a word of what has been posted".

 

[PH4N745M]

Hi Webslueths, I am watching the first episode of web of death and thought I'd share this case I've been working on for almost a year now. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank You for all that you do


*modsnip*/ source not verified in line with TOS

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[livewiiiiire]

This disappearance is so mysterious, and so heartbreaking for the people that knew him. I wonder so much where he went...Thank you for sharing and the work you've done

 

[PH4N745M]

This disappearance is so mysterious, and so heartbreaking for the people that knew him. I wonder so much where he went...Thank you for sharing and the work you've done

Thank You for that! I hope that if I can get this story out to more platforms something will pop up that breaks this missing persons case.

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

Can we clarify some of the facts?

Who owned the pickup?
Who owned the box truck?
Who owned the trailer?
Who owned the dog?

Are the locations of the pickup and trailer known now?

According to earlier posts, the box truck either didn't have plates, or the plates were expired. Do we know which it was?

Other than the phone ping, do we know of any other evidence JD was in Ajo?

 

[PH4N745M]

Can we clarify some of the facts?

Who owned the pickup?
Who owned the box truck?
Who owned the trailer?
Who owned the dog?

Are the locations of the pickup and trailer known now?

According to earlier posts, the box truck either didn't have plates, or the plates were expired. Do we know which it was?

Other than the phone ping, do we know of any other evidence JD was in Ajo?

Yes I can the pickup and boxtruck were both owned by Anthony. The trailer and the dog Penny were also Anthony's. the pickup and trailer were with Anthony and he took them with him on his way to Mississippi. He sold the trailer and contents in New Mexico and later the Chevy truck. We are unsure when that happened.

The boxtruck plates were expired from Washington state.

There is no other evidence that we know of that would point either man as being present in Ajo. Last location that can be verified is the eye witness 911 calls at 4am at mile marker 164 US 93.