WY WY - Amy Wroe Bechtel, 24, Fremont County, 24 Jul 1997

[PrairieWind]

I think about this case occasionally.

 

[chaddylex]

Going West Podcast just released an episode about Amy's disappearance

Amy Bechtel // 311 by Going West: True Crime

megaphone.link

 

[PrairieWind]

Going West Podcast just released an episode about Amy's disappearance

Amy Bechtel // 311 by Going West: True Crime

megaphone.link

Thanks for the heads up. I'll try to listen to this in the next few days.

 

[Pennysmom1]

Uden murder mystery solved – some day we will learn about Amy Bechtel

Note: The Oxygen Cable TV network aired a new documentary on the 1980 murders of Virginia Uden and her sons. It will be aired repeatedly on into the future.

www.wyomingnews.com

<<Amy Wroe Bechtel, 24, disappeared while jogging in the Wind River Mountains above Lander on July 24, 1997. Although what happened to her is not known, it is believed she is dead.

And it is also believed she died at the hands of a serial killer, who authorities believe is already in custody for a similar Wyoming abduction and killing.

That suspect is Dale Wayne Eaton, the man on death row for the famous and heinous “Little Miss” killing. Eaton kidnapped, raped and murdered another pretty young woman in 1989.

Fremont County Detective John Zerga recounted that Eaton’s brother told him that the convicted killer was in the Lander area at the time of Amy’s disappearance.
But evidence is lacking and Eaton is not talking.

My wife Nancy and I have positive memories of both Amy and Virginia.

Amy Bechtel was a part-time photographer and a darned good one.>>

 

[Pennysmom1]

Jan 21, 2021

Amy Bechtel - Disappeared

24-year-old Amy Bechtel was last seen in Lander, Wyoming on July 24, 1997. She disappeared while jogging in the Wind River Mountains of the

disappearedblog.com

 

[Pennysmom1]

1998 articles

When Amy Bechtel Didn't Come Home

When a promising young runner went missing in Wyoming's Wind River Range, everything changed for the community of athletes she left behind.

www.outsideonline.com

Missing

A runner begins her afternoon workout and vanishes without a trace. Her husband spends his every minute and hour organizing a search effort. But he won’t take a lie-detector test. What happened to Amy Wroe Bechtel?

www.runnersworld.com

 

[Cryptic]

And it is also believed she died at the hands of a serial killer, who authorities believe is already in custody for a similar Wyoming abduction and killing.

As a side note, I dont think her husband at the time was ever fully cleared by police either.

As with the serial killer possibility, there was a strange trail of coincidences, inferences, and possibilities leading to him. There was, however, no concrete evidence against the husband.

 

[PrairieWind]

I do think it is quite possible that Dale Wayne Eaton could be responsible. But there just appears to be little to no evidence. And he isn't talking. I had hoped that with his death sentence, as execution date neared he may start talking about other victims of his. But now that that was converted to life in prison, I suspect he will take his secrets to the grave.

 

[JnRyan]

I do think it is quite possible that Dale Wayne Eaton could be responsible. But there just appears to be little to no evidence. And he isn't talking. I had hoped that with his death sentence, as execution date neared he may start talking about other victims of his. But now that that was converted to life in prison, I suspect he will take his secrets to the grave.

That's my closest guess. Of course, she could have had a stalker no one knew about or an opportunistic person who spotted her on that very lightly traveled road.

I know the spouse, boy friend, etc., is always looked at very hard. But in this case, I don't see it as a strong possibility. The biggest part is I don't see a motive.

 

[Cryptic]

I know the spouse, boy friend, etc., is always looked at very hard. But in this case, I don't see it as a strong possibility. The biggest part is I don't see a motive.

I think the possibility was there, but also agree with you that a strong motive as lacking.

Evidnetly, the possibilities the police noted included diary entries made years earlier with references to hurting women and area hospitals did not have records of the immediate phone inquires he claimed to have made.

Likewise, a truck similar to his was seen in the area, and his alibi, though strong was not air tight as the rock climbing trip was called early due to a lack of needed equipment. The victim's parents and some friends also informed police that the husband was an "alpha male" type and "hands on".

But.... as you noted, I dont think the police ever developed a firm motive.

No one had ever seen the husband violent. No one had noted any jealosy of his wife's national level athletic recognition where as he was staying at "strong minor league" level. No insurance pay outs either.

Likewise, even with the shortened rock climbing trip, it evidently would still have been a very tight- but still possilbe, schedule to make it back, find and murder his wife before she finished her run.

And... as others have mentioned, alpha male personalities and "self love first and always" attitudes are not uncommon with athletes.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Amy gets a brief mention, as being one of the cases...

New Laws Could Expand Efforts To Solve Wyoming Cold Case Crimes

 

[Richard]

Missing for over 26 years...

Amy Wroe Bechtel, age 24
Missing since 24 July 1997

LINK: