Found Deceased CO - Kevin Rudnicki, 20, hiker, Mount Herman, Pike National Forest, 3 Sep 2018

[Elainera]

In addition, we find it strange how the places the dogs found scent were so wide-spread. If he was hiking Limbaugh Canyon, why did a dog get a scent by the reservoirs?

rsbm

Could he have intentionally backtracked, anticipating a search with dogs? Would dogs know which direction someone walked if they turned around and walked back the same trail they came in?

Or possibly, did he walk on one of the trails the dogs hit on on a previous day? I don't think dogs can indicate "hey I got the scent but it's older" , can they?

Welcome PalmerLakeAnon and thank you for sharing! I hope you'll find him soon.

 

[Tripod]

Kevin is a danger to himself, and thus the family was in extra distress upon learning of his disappearance. Of course, any family member of a missing person would be saddened, but from the beginning, we were extremely concerned with Kevin's motive. From day 1 of the search, the main issue has been determining the motive: whether he ran away, was attacked by someone or an animal, or took his own life. Understanding why he disappeared would have provided some direction as to where to search.

I will post more relating to this once I have been completely verified. This information has not been mentioned in the MSM.

I'm so glad you're here, too, and can give new info and insight! I hate the circumstances for you and your family, but am glad there are now more things to brainstorm here in hopes of finding Kevin.

 

[Kevinsmom98]

I am Kevin's mom. I just want to say Thank you all for your kind words. Thank you for continuing to brainstorm about where Kevin could have gone. We really just don't have anything concrete to lead us in any direction. He may have set his disappearance up to look like a suicide to throw everyone off while he disappeared and went off the grid. We just don't know and that's what is so frustrating. SAR is even at a loss. They have said they have never had a case like this. He is a very smart kid, but also struggling with depression. I feel like anything is possible.

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

rsbm

Could he have intentionally backtracked, anticipating a search with dogs? Would dogs know which direction someone walked if they turned around and walked back the same trail they came in?

Or possibly, did he walk on one of the trails the dogs hit on on a previous day? I don't think dogs can indicate "hey I got the scent but it's older" , can they?

Welcome PalmerLakeAnon and thank you for sharing! I hope you'll find him soon.

It is very possible that he would try to confuse the dogs, and to my knowledge, I don't think the dogs can follow the scent in the exact direction he was traveling. I DO think the dogs pick up can pick up scent from a long time ago, which might explain the seemingly random hits they got.

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

If Kevin was running away (out of the area) >> he probably would not spend time backtracking/looping to confuse the dogs; he would have most likely hiked a straight path to make it as far away as possible before people began looking for him.

If Kevin went into the forest to hide >> he may very well have tried to confuse SAR.

If Kevin went to take his own life >> he may have tried to confuse SAR

Kevin had mentioned to our mom back in high school that if he ever did kill himself, "we would never find" him. If he is still back there, he may have taken a one-way trip into a boulder field or off a cliff, with the intention of never walking out, and thus SAR would not be able to get in and out.

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

Speaking with one of Kevin's best friends, he told me that they had discussed suicide in the past (just the topic, I'd assume, not about doing it). His friend seemed very confident that Kevin would NOT have jumped off a cliff, which is apparently rarely effective and just severely injures the jumper. He said Kevin would most likely find a place with a great view and poison himself; I guess it is the least painful method.

From what I know about Kevin, I would agree that he did not have the guts to injure himself, and would indeed choose a slow, painless method. Now, these speculations are assuming that is what he did.

We must still remember that we still do not know what he did. This is just exploring one of the possible avenues.

Back in high school, Kevin was suicide, and bought a large bag of poppy seeds. He was apparently planning on going to the cliffs above the Ice Caves and drinking the toxic tea he could make from the seeds. He never went through with it and threw out the seeds.

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

Speaking with one of Kevin's best friends, he told me that they had discussed suicide in the past (just the topic, I'd assume, not about doing it). His friend seemed very confident that Kevin would NOT have jumped off a cliff, which is apparently rarely effective and just severely injures the jumper. He said Kevin would most likely find a place with a great view and poison himself; I guess it is the least painful method.

From what I know about Kevin, I would agree that he did not have the guts to injure himself, and would indeed choose a slow, painless method. Now, these speculations are assuming that is what he did.

We must still remember that we still do not know what he did. This is just exploring one of the possible avenues.

Back in high school, Kevin was suicide, and bought a large bag of poppy seeds. He was apparently planning on going to the cliffs above the Ice Caves and drinking the toxic tea he could make from the seeds. He never went through with it and threw out the seeds.

correction: *Kevin was suicidal*

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

Here are the circumstances leading up to his disappearance:

July 2014-March 2015: Kevin and our dad had a severe falling out, the last time he talked with our dad was early in 2015. This was also the period when I think his depression really became apparent. He was a junior in high school at this time.

March 2016: Kevin became suicidal and was hospitalized for a few days.

August 2016-January 2017: Kevin attended University of Wyoming, and then transferred to CSU for the 2nd semester. He dropped out all together after only a couple weeks at CSU.

Summer 2017: Kevin began taking LSD after seeing a 60-Minutes segment on how LSD can be used to help depression and one of his friend got his hands on some. Over the summer, Kevin began experimenting with LSD and similar drugs, even drugs that had mostly unknown effects. He kept record of some "experiments" he did with the drugs. For example, taking a small amount of LSD and then being around our mom and her boyfriend (now our stepdad) and recording their reaction. OR taking a dose of LSD, falling asleep, assessing how he felt in the morning, and recording his dream. As time went on, he became increasingly into drugs.

July 2017: Kevin was tripping above the Ice Caves and became inspired to return to Wyoming and pursue a career in Forestry.

May 2018: Kevin and his girlfriend broke up, leaving him utterly devastated. This was the last time he was home in Palmer Lake before the weekend he went missing

September 2018: Kevin disappeared

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

During the first week, some of Kevin's friends were able to hack onto his computer. All that remained was one document, titled "Wishes." I have been prohibited to read this because it is "disturbing." To my knowledge, it was essentially a record of Kevin's thoughts while he was tripping. I think the document was initially created in January, 2018.

Kevin was very knowledgeable about computers, so not only was it extremely difficult to get onto his computer, but ALL other files, search history, etc. were completely erased. All but that one document.

 

[MFH]

I am so sorry for what y’all are going through, Kevin’s mom & brother. Y’all have been incredibly helpful giving a better understanding of Kevin and his state of mind.

Given the possibility of Kevin being interested in poisoning himself in the past, and based off of what his friend said, I really hope that the vial found on the trail can be tested. It would definitely be helpful to know if it was any kind of poison.

 

[zecats]

During the first week, some of Kevin's friends were able to hack onto his computer. All that remained was one document, titled "Wishes." I have been prohibited to read this because it is "disturbing." To my knowledge, it was essentially a record of Kevin's thoughts while he was tripping. I think the document was initially created in January, 2018.

Kevin was very knowledgeable about computers, so not only was it extremely difficult to get onto his computer, but ALL other files, search history, etc. were completely erased. All but that one document.

I’m so very sorry. And sad for you, your mom and family. Sounds like you all (including Kevin) have been through quite a long ordeal. What can you do when someone is determined to either just disappear or to commit suicide. It takes a toll. You are amazingly openminded about it all. I hope you find some peace even if you never do find out what happened to your brother.

 

[Angleterre]

I am Kevin's mom. I just want to say Thank you all for your kind words. Thank you for continuing to brainstorm about where Kevin could have gone. We really just don't have anything concrete to lead us in any direction. He may have set his disappearance up to look like a suicide to throw everyone off while he disappeared and went off the grid. We just don't know and that's what is so frustrating. SAR is even at a loss. They have said they have never had a case like this. He is a very smart kid, but also struggling with depression. I feel like anything is possible.

Welcome Kevin’s mom98
I’m sorry that we meet you in these circumstances as I’m sure it is a horrible time for you with your son missing and you just not knowing ( which to me personally is the worst because at least if you have answers then you can deal with them ). God bless you and your family and I sincerely hope that Kevin can be located very soon and that we at WS can assist you in this.

 

[Angleterre]

I think one of the most important lines of enquiry are to analyse if at all possible, what was in the vial . Do any of his friends have any clue ? Can his ex girlfriend shed any light on the period May to September?

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

I think one of the most important lines of enquiry are to analyse if at all possible, what was in the vial . Do any of his friends have any clue ? Can his ex girlfriend shed any light on the period May to September?

I have talked extensively with Kevin's ex girlfriend. Those two and another one of their friends were actually all living in the same house. She said some interesting things:
-She broke up with Kevin in the first place because he became extremely clingy and insecure, and developed a weird "obsession" over her. She said he was not ready for a relationship.
-Kevin seemed normal for most of the summer, but had occasional emotional episodes. During one of them, she threatened to call the police because Kevin was threatening to harm himself.
-He was obsessed with what he described as a "secret, underground, drug palace" that was located outside of Laramie. He would often draw pictures of it.
-He was obsessed with our sister's adventure: how she moved to Hawaii and lived off of the land for a couple years with friends, in isolation.

Finally, and perhaps the most interesting, was that their house received a small (3"x3") package addressed to "Dan Reynolds," obviously Kevin using a fake name. The package was from New Delhi, India, and she said Kevin refused to show her the contents. I don't exactly remember when this was, but I think it was pretty soon before his disappearance. Maybe about 2 weeks or so prior.

 

[PalmerLakeAnon]

In the one document left on Kevin's computer, there was a mentioning of the drug Nembutal, a drug historically used as a sleep aid and for euthanasia. Our dad did some research, and he said that the only places you can get the drug are Mexico, China, and India.

We had wondered if the vial had anything to do with this. When I saw the vial, I remember it was unusual, unlike the typical orange, transparent drug vials. The vial was transparent with a white lid, the underside of which had this plastic ring that sort-of extended downwards into the vial (kind of hard to describe). Bottom line, I had never seen anything like it. There was also a syrupy-residue coating the inside with a slight pink tint to it. It reminded our mom of benadryl.

I tried to find a picture of the vial on Google images. I eventually came across a picture from a website about Indian Pharma Packaging. I attached the picture. I recognized the vial and the strange lid.

 

[Angleterre]

I have talked extensively with Kevin's ex girlfriend. Those two and another one of their friends were actually all living in the same house. She said some interesting things:
-She broke up with Kevin in the first place because he became extremely clingy and insecure, and developed a weird "obsession" over her. She said he was not ready for a relationship.
-Kevin seemed normal for most of the summer, but had occasional emotional episodes. During one of them, she threatened to call the police because Kevin was threatening to harm himself.
-He was obsessed with what he described as a "secret, underground, drug palace" that was located outside of Laramie. He would often draw pictures of it.
-He was obsessed with our sister's adventure: how she moved to Hawaii and lived off of the land for a couple years with friends, in isolation.

Finally, and perhaps the most interesting, was that their house received a small (3"x3") package addressed to "Dan Reynolds," obviously Kevin using a fake name. The package was from New Delhi, India, and she said Kevin refused to show her the contents. I don't exactly remember when this was, but I think it was pretty soon before his disappearance. Maybe about 2 weeks or so prior.

That’s interesting about the package
I’m unsure of the postal system and laws in your Country ( I’m U.K. )
Would that parcel have either had to be signed for and /or would it have to have an importation sticker on it for it coming into the country? I’m thinking here that whenever we order from out of our country , internationally, because of customs and excise tax duty, incoming post has been tightened up on and generally it has to have a return address and value of content sticker attached to the parcel.
Did she see any identifying details of the parcel other than the name on it ? How would he have paid for it ? Credit card, Paypal etc and can these records be requested?
Does the name Dan Reynolds mean anything other than just an alias?
Was he a avid reader? If so what books was he reading that anyone is aware of whom he lived with?
I know you say the note he left is too disturbing but as a retired Senior Police Detective investigator of murder and serious crime, I would like to know the content of this. Has it been turned over to LE? Are they giving you acceptable assistance in finding Kevin
One more thing, when he once told your mum that if he killed himself, he would never be found- as upsetting as I am sure that is to go back in time and try to recall the conversation, can she remember anything about that distressing remark otherwise that may give any ideas of his thought patterns?
Apologies for 1000 questions

 

[Angleterre]

In the one document left on Kevin's computer, there was a mentioning of the drug Nembutal, a drug historically used as a sleep aid and for euthanasia. Our dad did some research, and he said that the only places you can get the drug are Mexico, China, and India.

We had wondered if the vial had anything to do with this. When I saw the vial, I remember it was unusual, unlike the typical orange, transparent drug vials. The vial was transparent with a white lid, the underside of which had this plastic ring that sort-of extended downwards into the vial (kind of hard to describe). Bottom line, I had never seen anything like it. There was also a syrupy-residue coating the inside with a slight pink tint to it. It reminded our mom of benadryl.

I tried to find a picture of the vial on Google images. I eventually came across a picture from a website about Indian Pharma Packaging. I attached the picture. I recognized the vial and the strange lid.

Are LE testing the content residue of the vial at all ?
I would certainly be telling LE about this and the Nembutal and the origins etc
I know it’s a needle in a haystack but your laws on importation of that kind of stuff will be strict and I think whoever your governing body is for non authorised drugs comics into your country, would be very interested this . Also, I know you said his computer is locked down tight and erased but what about phone history etc
I would be tempted to be rash and contact the Indian co that has like vials and say can I please have a repeat order , my name is Dan Reynolds etc my address is ... but I don’t have my previous reference number / order number for a repeat order
It’s amazing what details you can glean by playing Detective without them realising. And once you have any info then you can disconnect.
I appreciate that this is probably a bit too far for you to go but it would be a line of enquiry in my world to work out what the content was and then the pieces of your puzzle may start to come together.
Also what about location data on his I phone/ cloud account that are surreptitiously being recorded constantly?

 

[Timekeeper65]

It’s rare we get the insight provided by the family members of KR. Thank you both for being here and sharing information.

PalmerLakeAnon and Kevinsmom98 welcome to WEBSLEUTHS.

I have always thought the worse thing possible is to have a family member missing. And even worse is the not knowing. Maybe that’s why I follow Missing Person cases. While I don’t have a lot to offer as far as sleuthing - I do send UP positive thoughts and always always hope for the best outcome.

HOPE for a good outcome for the family and friends of KR.

 

[Elainera]

In the one document left on Kevin's computer, there was a mentioning of the drug Nembutal, a drug historically used as a sleep aid and for euthanasia. Our dad did some research, and he said that the only places you can get the drug are Mexico, China, and India.

We had wondered if the vial had anything to do with this. When I saw the vial, I remember it was unusual, unlike the typical orange, transparent drug vials. The vial was transparent with a white lid, the underside of which had this plastic ring that sort-of extended downwards into the vial (kind of hard to describe). Bottom line, I had never seen anything like it. There was also a syrupy-residue coating the inside with a slight pink tint to it. It reminded our mom of benadryl.

I tried to find a picture of the vial on Google images. I eventually came across a picture from a website about Indian Pharma Packaging. I attached the picture. I recognized the vial and the strange lid.

You did some good sleuthing there! I have seen this type of packaging/lid used to hold tablets/capsules in place so they don't break during transport. Sometimes a small ball of cotton also lies on top of the medications, held down by that lid. I don't think it is used for liquid/syropy medication. But the residue you saw in the vial might have been from leftover tablets/capsules that dissolved due to moisture.

I agree with Angleterre that the vial should be tested. Where is it now? If you have it in your posession could you post a picture here?

 

[Vail]

Suicide/Toxification/Pentobarbital - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

Based on the above info, I very strongly believe he is within the area around the vial and the last hit east of that. There is a lot of evidence here that supports his intent to commit suicide, and Pentobarbital will do the job very quickly at a high dose. I am worried any remains have since been scattered to the four winds by animals, unless he is the type to entomb himself, in which case think about looking for old bear dens and the like. I am very sorry to share such ideas with you PLA, but it seems like you understand the circumstances are grim. Kevin sounds like he may have had undiagnosed bipolar depression and was using drugs to manage it. My heart hurts for him and all who love him.