Me too.
I noticed the most recent FB posts were him selling stuff. That was a bit of a red flag. JMO
I wouldn't read too much into that. The article states that this was a new employer. If he'd been between jobs, finances might have been tight.
----------------------------
TIMELINE
Th Jul 21
- Delivered first trailer to Littlefield (1)
Fr Jul 22 (
WEATHER - 80-109F, no precipitation)
- Scheduled to drive second trailer from Littlefield to Idaho (1)
- Truck overheating in desert, having anxiety attack / mental health crisis (1)
- 4:47PM - Texted employer (2), who offered to put him up in hotel and send another driver (1)
- Phone off, unreachable (3)
- "Last seen" at Eagles Landing Pilot gas station (4)
Sa Jul 23 (
WEATHER - 86-102F, no precipitation)
- [or FRI?] Trailer reported stolen by employee to speed search effort (3)
- [or FRI?] Wife makes missing person report in Layton, UT (3)
- Trailer found in Littlefield, AZ (3)
Su Jul 24 (
WEATHER - 82-97F, no precipitation)
- 4:45AM - Officially reported missing after welfare check by Mohave County Sheriff (1)
- Truck found "hidden" behind storage trailers (3) ~200 yards from Eagles Landing Pilot gas station at 4031 Fleet St. Littlefield, AZ (2)
- Search & rescue teams w helicopters dispatched (1)
SOURCES
(1) -
St George News Jul 24
(2) -
Gephardt Daily Jul 24
(3) -
KSLTV Jul 24
(4) -
MSN / Charlotte Observer Jul 25
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NOTES/MOO
The distance between Littlefield, AZ and St George, UT is only 30 miles (30min drive), so the truck must have started overheating fairly quickly after leaving Littlefield that day for him to choose to go back to Littlefield rather than continue on to the much-larger St George.
It doesn't say where he was delivering to in Idaho, but from Littlefield, AZ it'd be at least 6.5 hours to the Idaho border or 5 hours to his home in Layton (if he was planning to stop at home that night and continue on the next day). If he was leaving Littlefield at about 5pm, he'd get home around 10pm, which seems like it'd be a very reasonable plan.
From FB photos, it appears that he owned the orange truck, which could help explain why the truck and trailer ended up separated -- he might have left the trailer somewhere 'safe' to be picked up later by his employer's other driver, intending to take his own truck to a hotel or to be serviced for whatever engine issues it was having or continue back to UT (without the extra strain of the trailer's weight)