NE NE - Chance Englebert, 25, Gering, 6 July 2019 (new father)

[ThoughtIsFree]

I'm reading through this entire thread. I'm working on a hypothermia theory. You can get hypothermia in warm weather if you were walking in a rainstorm at 9: p.m. to midnight. Storm ended around mid night and Chance sent a text to his Aunt.
The text was odd and had an emoji and a bunch of letters that made no sense. Tells me he could have been not thinking right from hypothermia when he sent the text. On FB read the text was a little after 9:00 but can't find the time for sure. I also read around 10 p.m. Does anyone know the time he sent the text to his Aunt? Anyway it was from his phone but not certain Chance sent it. That's another theory though.

 

[ThoughtIsFree]

You are correct. I posted about it because I saw someone questioning his mental state if he was down in ditches walking. I wanted to clarify that because of what I heard in the podcast from his mom.

Why would you walk on a highway? Cars driving fast, you could be hit and killed. Walking beside the highway even in a ditch that is slanted down from the highway makes much more sense to me. Also if it started to rain hard you sure couldn't walk on the highway, drivers wouldn't see you. Dangerous to be in the ditch too with a heavy rain but supposedly his phone pinged around 10 p.m. is very likely he wasn't still in a ditch walking in flowing water. Hard rain for three hours, 9 to midnight, where was Chance during this storm?

 

[ThoughtIsFree]

You are correct. I posted about it because I saw someone questioning his mental state if he was down in ditches walking. I wanted to clarify that because of what I heard in the podcast from his mom.

Sorry posted the same post twice. Erased the duplicate post.

 

[Quill]

Why would you walk on a highway? Cars driving fast, you could be hit and killed. Walking beside the highway even in a ditch that is slanted down from the highway makes much more sense to me. Also if it started to rain hard you sure couldn't walk on the highway, drivers wouldn't see you. Dangerous to be in the ditch too with a heavy rain but supposedly his phone pinged around 10 p.m. is very likely he wasn't still in a ditch walking in flowing water. Hard rain for three hours, 9 to midnight, where was Chance during this storm?

There is certainly risk, but people do it all the time. Definition of highway is key, though. Is it rural? Not much traffic. I use a rural interstate regularly and see people walking along all the time. Not safe, but they manage.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Chance Englebert, 25, his wife, Baylee, and newborn son, were visiting Baylee’s family in Gering, Nebraska on July 6, 2019, when he disappeared. Chance was out golfing with some of his wife’s family when there was a misunderstanding and he called his wife to pick him up. On the way back to the house, he got out of the car and walked away. He never returned.

When Baylee last spoke to Chance around 7:46 p.m., she says he told her he was walking south, but he had also contacted friends and said he was walking north toward Torrington, Wyoming. Baylee said the last time anyone heard from Chance was about 8:46 p.m. Saturday. His phone was turned off shortly afterwards.

Chief George Holthus said search efforts by the Scottsbluff and Gering police departments covered at least 2,400 acres, along with Air Link which logged 280 miles and the Nebraska State Patrol helicopter which logged 100 miles.

Chance was last seen wearing a short sleeve button-up Wrangler shirt, dark blue Wrangler jeans, roper-style boots and a black and white trucker hat. Chance is 5’9” tall, medium build and has sun-lightened brown hair.

A $10,000 reward is being offered by the family for anyone who can locate Chance.

Six years of Dateline's Missing in America: 134 still missing

 

[ThoughtIsFree]

There is certainly risk, but people do it all the time. Definition of highway is key, though. Is it rural? Not much traffic. I use a rural interstate regularly and see people walking along all the time. Not safe, but they manage.

Oh shoot, I have lived in large cities and not familiar with how people walk highways in this particular rural area. Interesting. In a three hour heavy rain storm I am wondering what Chance was doing, did he seek shelter or keep walking in the storm?

 

[ThoughtIsFree]

Chance Englebert, 25, his wife, Baylee, and newborn son, were visiting Baylee’s family in Gering, Nebraska on July 6, 2019, when he disappeared. Chance was out golfing with some of his wife’s family when there was a misunderstanding and he called his wife to pick him up. On the way back to the house, he got out of the car and walked away. He never returned.

When Baylee last spoke to Chance around 7:46 p.m., she says he told her he was walking south, but he had also contacted friends and said he was walking north toward Torrington, Wyoming. Baylee said the last time anyone heard from Chance was about 8:46 p.m. Saturday. His phone was turned off shortly afterwards.

Chief George Holthus said search efforts by the Scottsbluff and Gering police departments covered at least 2,400 acres, along with Air Link which logged 280 miles and the Nebraska State Patrol helicopter which logged 100 miles.

Chance was last seen wearing a short sleeve button-up Wrangler shirt, dark blue Wrangler jeans, roper-style boots and a black and white trucker hat. Chance is 5’9” tall, medium build and has sun-lightened brown hair.

A $10,000 reward is being offered by the family for anyone who can locate Chance.

Six years of Dateline's Missing in America: 134 still missing

In the info you posted it says Baylee talked to Chance at 7:46 p. m. and he said he was walking South. Did Baylee call or Chance call Baylee at 7:46 p.m. shortly after he left O St? I have read the Police say they only know of one call and that was Chance asking for a ride home and I am under the impression that was the call to Matt, his best friend. <modsnip - Facebook info not permitted>
How many calls were made, what time and what was said? Why do Police tell us about only one call?

 

[Cagle]

In the last post from Jersey Girl with updated info from the PD on the previous page, it says the last cell use was around 9 - which I would guess would be the text to his aunt. Camera sighting was between Gering and Scottsbluff.

The Gering Police Department said Chance Englebert was seen earlier this summer on July 6 both in Gering and Terrytown on surveillance video. Police said one of the videos shows him walking in the area of the intersection of Terry Boulevard and Stable Club Road in Terrytown.

They said Englebert's phone last communicated with a tower near Riverview Golf Course just west of Scottsbluff that same day, but they weren't able to narrow down a more specific location. Police said his phone was used at around 9 p.m. that night within three miles of that cellular tower.

 

[ThoughtIsFree]

In the last post from Jersey Girl with updated info from the PD on the previous page, it says the last cell use was around 9 - which I would guess would be the text to his aunt. Camera sighting was between Gering and Scottsbluff.

I wish I could find the exact time it was sent. Before or after nine. My hypothermia theory would fit if it was after nine and also I need to know the exact time it started raining where Chance was. The Police are the ones who mentioned hypothermia and I did some research. Definitely Chance could have suffered from this especially because he was intoxicated ( alcohol in his system) and out in a severe rain storm. This could explain the illegible text scent to his Aunt. Of course trying to send a text in a down pour could end up illegible without having a condition like hypothermia. But it does fit and may be what caused Chance to be missing. Because it could be true, I would think all the places they searched around where he was walking should be searched again, so easy to miss a body. Also if he wasn't in his right mind, no telling where he may have ended up but should be somewhere in the vicinity of where they know he was walking. Unless of course he ended up in flowing water. I haven't ruled anything out but this is something that seems more logical to me than foul play, suicide etc.

 

[kelsie]

I think Chance would try to go inside if he was starting to get cold walking. It's not like he was in the middle of nowhere from what I've gathered.

 

[ThoughtIsFree]

I think Chance would try to go inside if he was starting to get cold walking. It's not like he was in the middle of nowhere from what I've gathered.

Something I considered was the time. A lot of stores close at 9 p.m. Of course I don't know these towns in Nebraska or for sure where he was when it started to storm. You would think he would get out of the rain but geez he was walking to go home to Wyoming, how sane is that? I think the alcohol and his anger were affecting his actions so possibly he would keep walking even if he was cold and wet.

 

[Kittybunny]

Thanks. 9:08 wouldn't be late enough for me to think confusion would be happening from hypothermia but don't know the exact time he would have gotten wet. Also think a doctor who knows a lot about hypothermia would need to chime in. The alcohol would speed it up from what I've read but just not sure how fast. The Police did consider it. Also he could have became ill from hypothermia and the text had nothing to do with it and possibly the hard rain did. I do think they need to be searching places they have already searched close to where he walked and maybe they are doing that.

I think, given that it was July when chance disappeared, hypothermia is extremely unlikely even taking into account the rain and alcohol. I found this from a Weather site:

"July is usually the hottest month of the year in Nebraska with the average high temperatures in the state between 86°F (30°C) to 91°F (32.8°C). Temperatures routinely shoot past 105°F (40.6°C) and stay there for many days."

I do think he had some sort of misadventure related to the alcohol and rain and getting lost, but I just don't know why they haven't found him yet. Although having read about many other cases where the body is missed, it is very possible.

 

[ThoughtIsFree]

I think, given that it was July when chance disappeared, hypothermia is extremely unlikely even taking into account the rain and alcohol. I found this from a Weather site:

"July is usually the hottest month of the year in Nebraska with the average high temperatures in the state between 86°F (30°C) to 91°F (32.8°C). Temperatures routinely shoot past 105°F (40.6°C) and stay there for many days."

I do think he had some sort of misadventure related to the alcohol and rain and getting lost, but I just don't know why they haven't found him yet. Although having read about many other cases where the body is missed, it is very possible.

From what I've read about hypothermia in warm weather it is possible because it did rain after dark and the temp was lower than during the day. Saw some temp maps for the day he went missing and hot during the day but down in the 50's at night. But I do agree it is now starting to be a theory that may not fit well.

From what I know from the facts given in this case that text to his Aunt at 9:08 seems key to me. It made no sense. An emoji that wasn't a laugh, more like confusion and a string of letters. Can't understand why the Police haven't talked about that text. Would it be he was letting his Aunt know he was in some kind of trouble or did someone else send that text just to be a jerk? Maybe he had his phone in his hand for them to send a text or possibly they looked through his phone which would tell me it was someone who knew him if they bothered to send that text.

I started following this case a couple of weeks ago so I'm really late. Was told the Aunt talked about this text in a YouTube video but guess we can't post it because it is a YouTube video. Not sure. Also I asked for a copy of the text but not sure I can post it. Has the text already been posted in this thread? I read through many pages in this thread but am reading FB groups too and boy it's a lot of reading to do. Know I'm missing somethings.

Why wouldn't the Police have talked about this text to his Aunt when giving out facts about the case?

 

[K9Enzo]

Hypothermia is absolutely possible in warmer summer nights where temps dip with rain.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

ThoughtIsFree, your hypothermia theory is interesting. Might just be what happened and I agree the walking routes need to be re-searched, a body could easily be missed.

<modsnip - inaccurate info about texts and videos>

I know I have something of it saved in my Case Archive, but don't have time to read through that now.
Chance Englebert, missing since July 6, 2019

 

[Dnp2be]

I am from Nebraska and had a house right beside the Platte that was actually destroyed during the flooding. I do however live on the other side of the state from where Chance was. IMO, hypothermia doesn’t seem extremely likely to me however, anything is possible especially with cold rain and evening temperature drops.

To answer a question above, most smaller towns in Nebraska do close early. Depending on the size of the town, sometimes only 1 store is open and occasionally all stores including gas stations are closed after 9 or 10. However, bars would remain open if the town had one. And to be honest, I cannot think of 1 town in Nebraska that doesn’t have at least 1 bar. However, I haven’t been to every town or made it a point to check for a bar when going to different towns. The only way I see a bar closing is in the case is extreme weather warnings. I’ve seen bars open during very bad weather storms unless business is slow. And of course, when the flood warnings hit (very little warning however), businesses closed. I do believe if he were cold or tired, he would have went into a bar if there were one. This case still has me divided. Although I would love to believe he is hiding out in an attempt to de-stress from some life changes he maybe was not ready for (or wasn’t aware he was getting into when he made the decisions), I still find that hard to believe. Personally, I couldn’t imagine taking off with no money, phone, etc and being able to continue off the grid without at some point becoming desperate or frustrated without any type of money or communication. I think that he fell into water on the way or was injured during a hit and run accident and is yet to be found.

Also, with the last text message, I can envision a situation where he’s walking in a downpour or even slightly heavy rain, he’s tired and maybe trying to run or catch himself from sliding in mud...the phone is on his aunts message because he looked at it last and as he tries to grip onto his phone, his fingers slide across the keyboard typing something random and by luck hitting the send button. To me this is the most likely scenario of that message. And when I’ve tried to gain a grip on my falling phone, depending on how I’m holding it, 9/10 times, my thumb slides to the send button right before my phone skips out of any grip i had of it. And many times, I will not know I even sent a text until I see it later viewing my phone. Just a thought.

 

[Kittybunny]

I am from Nebraska and had a house right beside the Platte that was actually destroyed during the flooding. I do however live on the other side of the state from where Chance was. IMO, hypothermia doesn’t seem extremely likely to me however, anything is possible especially with cold rain and evening temperature drops.

To answer a question above, most smaller towns in Nebraska do close early. Depending on the size of the town, sometimes only 1 store is open and occasionally all stores including gas stations are closed after 9 or 10. However, bars would remain open if the town had one. And to be honest, I cannot think of 1 town in Nebraska that doesn’t have at least 1 bar. However, I haven’t been to every town or made it a point to check for a bar when going to different towns. The only way I see a bar closing is in the case is extreme weather warnings. I’ve seen bars open during very bad weather storms unless business is slow. And of course, when the flood warnings hit (very little warning however), businesses closed. I do believe if he were cold or tired, he would have went into a bar if there were one. This case still has me divided. Although I would love to believe he is hiding out in an attempt to de-stress from some life changes he maybe was not ready for (or wasn’t aware he was getting into when he made the decisions), I still find that hard to believe. Personally, I couldn’t imagine taking off with no money, phone, etc and being able to continue off the grid without at some point becoming desperate or frustrated without any type of money or communication. I think that he fell into water on the way or was injured during a hit and run accident and is yet to be found.

Also, with the last text message, I can envision a situation where he’s walking in a downpour or even slightly heavy rain, he’s tired and maybe trying to run or catch himself from sliding in mud...the phone is on his aunts message because he looked at it last and as he tries to grip onto his phone, his fingers slide across the keyboard typing something random and by luck hitting the send button. To me this is the most likely scenario of that message. And when I’ve tried to gain a grip on my falling phone, depending on how I’m holding it, 9/10 times, my thumb slides to the send button right before my phone skips out of any grip i had of it. And many times, I will not know I even sent a text until I see it later viewing my phone. Just a thought.

Welcome! I agree with your thoughts. I too think the text message was a butt dial/malfunction, OR he was delirious. I think accidental death is the strongest possibility as well.

 

[Luckyzmom]

Very informative post ! TY and welcome. Where are you Chance !

 

[Rosiebones]

Way back at the beginning of the this thread, there were many google map street views of the roads that Chance was seen walking and also Five Rocks Road over the North Platte River, which would have been his way to Gering if he had been walking. All of them have a wide cleared area along side the road. It seems that it would be impossible not to find his body if he had been a hit and run victim.
I still hold to the idea that he did a voluntary walk away because his circumstances had gotten beyond his ability to manage at that time.
He may have a very good friend who picked him up, lent him the money and agreed to not say a word to anyone. Why would he need a phone, he was leaving the folks he would have needed a phone to call.
I think he left very difficult circumstances and has realized that he wouldn't be coming back to any improvements, actually he would be coming back to what he had left and another huge layer of resentment and anger etc. after the first relief had worn off.
MOO MOO MOO

 

[ThoughtIsFree]

I am from Nebraska and had a house right beside the Platte that was actually destroyed during the flooding. I do however live on the other side of the state from where Chance was. IMO, hypothermia doesn’t seem extremely likely to me however, anything is possible especially with cold rain and evening temperature drops.

To answer a question above, most smaller towns in Nebraska do close early. Depending on the size of the town, sometimes only 1 store is open and occasionally all stores including gas stations are closed after 9 or 10. However, bars would remain open if the town had one. And to be honest, I cannot think of 1 town in Nebraska that doesn’t have at least 1 bar. However, I haven’t been to every town or made it a point to check for a bar when going to different towns. The only way I see a bar closing is in the case is extreme weather warnings. I’ve seen bars open during very bad weather storms unless business is slow. And of course, when the flood warnings hit (very little warning however), businesses closed. I do believe if he were cold or tired, he would have went into a bar if there were one. This case still has me divided. Although I would love to believe he is hiding out in an attempt to de-stress from some life changes he maybe was not ready for (or wasn’t aware he was getting into when he made the decisions), I still find that hard to believe. Personally, I couldn’t imagine taking off with no money, phone, etc and being able to continue off the grid without at some point becoming desperate or frustrated without any type of money or communication. I think that he fell into water on the way or was injured during a hit and run accident and is yet to be found.

Also, with the last text message, I can envision a situation where he’s walking in a downpour or even slightly heavy rain, he’s tired and maybe trying to run or catch himself from sliding in mud...the phone is on his aunts message because he looked at it last and as he tries to grip onto his phone, his fingers slide across the keyboard typing something random and by luck hitting the send button. To me this is the most likely scenario of that message. And when I’ve tried to gain a grip on my falling phone, depending on how I’m holding it, 9/10 times, my thumb slides to the send button right before my phone skips out of any grip i had of it. And many times, I will not know I even sent a text until I see it later viewing my phone. Just a thought.

On FB a drive around the area where Chance was seen and also where is phone pinged was posted. There were areas where when it started pouring he wouldn't have been close to any business's. Someone that lives in Gering Ne said streets were flooded during the storm. I think it's possible he took shelter and something happened to him during the storm. He was last in Terrytown according to security footage and his last phone ping. But he could have been picked up by a stranger and many other possibilities for why he's missing.

As for the text to his Aunt that wasn't legible, a string of letters that made no sense. But there was a short sentence, it said I'm and an emoji that showed no emotion. A period ending this short sentence. Thing is it's been said Chance did not send emoji's when he sent texts. If he was in a desperate situation why look up an emoji to send? I would post the text message but my recent You Tube video of Chances Aunts interview was against the rules and thinking posting the text message would also be against the rules. They just get deleted and are breaking the rules. Not sure why mainstream media hasn't picked up on some of this but they haven't.

For me this case is super frustrating and all I can think to do is search Terrytown once again. Places where he was last seen. Go out 5 or 6 miles from where his phone last pinged and look in places he may have taken shelter or places that may flood during strong storms.