UT UT - Dylan Rounds, 19, wkg on farm, “weird run-in” with a guy walking on gravel rd, no phone & CC activity, Lucin, Box Elder Co, 25 May 2022

[Erutan]

Do we know if Dylan's trailer was locked up tight when parents or LE arrived?
Or unlocked, like he had been home or someone else had been in it?

Good question, @charminglane !
I thought I'd read that many people may have touched his truck and was dismayed as I think it should have been dusted for prints ?

 

[Erutan]

After friends and family grew concerned about his whereabouts, a search team found his boots in the dirt roughly 100 yards from his truck – in the opposite direction of his camper, according to his mother Candice Cooley.

Her son has farming in his blood, she said, and has been entirely focused on working his land, foregoing other activities young men his age might be doing instead, including video games, drugs and social media.

“Dylan had a farm, Dylan had a goal, and he had a drive in life so that he would absolutely not let anything, anything, take him away,” she said. “This is a kid that the last three years has been out in the desolate desert tearing out new ground.”

Cooley says she suspects foul play but doesn’t know who would have wanted to harm her son. On Thursday, she said she was also thankful for increased help from volunteers and investigators.

Today we have dogs and much more assistance from law enforcement,” she told Fox News Digital.

She had been expecting help from aerial drones but said the day turned out to be too windy.

EquuSearch and K-9 teams from her son’s native Idaho have joined in the effort, she said.

The Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office in Utah, the case’s lead agency, said it would only be releasing updates “that do not have the potential to compromise the investigation.”

Elko deputies said they became involved in the case after a report of a hostage situation in Montello on May 31, but it turned out to be nothing.

“Family members called it in,” Undersheriff Justin Ames told Fox News Digital Thursday. “The house was cleared with consent from the homeowner, and it was misinformation passed around in a small town.”

But Elko investigators also discovered that the missing teen had visited the area on May 26, when he was seen at a restaurant. Phone records show he returned home to Utah and later called family members from there.

Missing Dylan Rounds: Utah deputies seek public's help in search for teen farmer - iNow

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Deputies are asking for the public’s help in the search for missing teenage Utah farmer Dylan Rounds, who vanished from his Lucin property late last month and was last seen in public three weeks ago. “If you have knowledge regarding the circumstances...

inow.info

bolding from me

It's good to hear they have dogs out.
I wish this had been done immediately, though.

Let's hope there are answers and Dylan is found soon !

 

[imstilla.grandma]

If you know anything please contact authorities and if you would like to follow the search party there is an official Facebook page you can be part of. There is a $20 thousand dollar reward.

This story is getting national attention, you can find more details through podcasts and YouTube channels as well.

Rigby Teenager Disappeared From Farm And Missing 3 Weeks

It has been three weeks since anyone has heard from 19-year-old Dylan Rounds since May 28th, 2022.

kezj.com

 

[Seattle1]

Great minds...
I began with duty Ron. I'm not aware of any interviews today. Tomorrow I'll work on Sleuth Mom and so on. Actually, doesn't Nancy Grace come before SM?

The first two video interviews by CC were with youtube Sparks (helicopter) and Sleuth Mom.

Since then there was East Idaho News, Gray Hughes Investigates, Nancy Grace, and DutyRon. If there were others approved for WS, I don't recall.

Thanks for your effort @spiritseeker31.

 

[Unalienable Rights]

The first two video interviews by CC were with youtube Sparks (helicopter) and Sleuth Mom.

Since then there was East Idaho News, Gray Hughes Investigates, Nancy Grace, and DutyRon. If there were others approved for WS, I don't recall.

Thanks for your effort @spiritseeker31.

She also did a 2nd interview with Sleuth Mom to give updates and answer viewer's questions.

 

[OldCop]

If Dylan didn’t disappear voluntarily, I am becoming convinced that whatever happened happened in the area of the grain shed where his boots were found. We have two possible clues right now; the boots and the clean, locked truck with the seat and drive in the wrong positions. Unfortunately, these clues are 5 miles apart from each other. What scenario would make them fit?
1) I wonder if Dylan had a farm hand, (or other associate/friend/neighbor), follow him in his truck to the grain shed while he drove the grain truck so he wouldn’t have to walk back 5 miles in the rain? Did they end up in a disagreement and Dylan ended up dead? Why/how were Dylan’s boots removed? This unknown person then disposed of Dylan’s body, drove back to the trailer, washed and locked the pickup, and left in whatever manner he had arrived in the first place. This person, if he exists, had all day and night to dispose of Dylan’s body. We know Dylan last spoke to hi gma at 6:51 am. LE tells us that the last ping was at 3:41 pm somewhere near the farm. Does LE have a bunch of other pings that day? What cell tower did they bounce off of?
2) If someone accosted Dylan while he was storing the grain truck and somehow removed his boots in the process, how does the pickup truck come into play? You wouldn’t walk 5 miles with him. If you had your own truck at the shed, you could conceivably drive him back to the trailer, dead or alive, and then dispose of him using Dylan’s p/u. But why would you do that? If you kill someone, you want to dispose of the body as quickly as possible, not drive a dead man’s truck, with a dead man’s body while you leave your own vehicle at the dead man’s farm.
3) Was there a second person at the shed who drove them back to the trailer? Why? If so, why would they wash Dylan’s truck?
4) If Dylan was accosted after he walked back to his trailer from the shed, why are his boots at the shed?
Mom said he often walked the miles between his trailer/farmland to the shed area. She said he wouldn’t walk the roads, but would take a shortcut through the barren land. Given the searches to date, Dylan’s family thought that this area had been thoroughly covered and is why they pressed ECSO for more searches on the NV side of the area.
Looking at the map, it’s pretty easy to figure out where he probably left the road to cut across to his farm from the shed.

 

[Erutan]

If Dylan didn’t disappear voluntarily, I am becoming convinced that whatever happened happened in the area of the grain shed where his boots were found. We have two possible clues right now; the boots and the clean, locked truck with the seat and drive in the wrong positions. Unfortunately, these clues are 5 miles apart from each other. What scenario would make them fit?
1) I wonder if Dylan had a farm hand, (or other associate/friend/neighbor), follow him in his truck to the grain shed while he drove the grain truck so he wouldn’t have to walk back 5 miles in the rain? Did they end up in a disagreement and Dylan ended up dead? Why/how were Dylan’s boots removed? This unknown person then disposed of Dylan’s body, drove back to the trailer, washed and locked the pickup, and left in whatever manner he had arrived in the first place. This person, if he exists, had all day and night to dispose of Dylan’s body. We know Dylan last spoke to hi gma at 6:51 am. LE tells us that the last ping was at 3:41 pm somewhere near the farm. Does LE have a bunch of other pings that day? What cell tower did they bounce off of?
2) If someone accosted Dylan while he was storing the grain truck and somehow removed his boots in the process, how does the pickup truck come into play? You wouldn’t walk 5 miles with him. If you had your own truck at the shed, you could conceivably drive him back to the trailer, dead or alive, and then dispose of him using Dylan’s p/u. But why would you do that? If you kill someone, you want to dispose of the body as quickly as possible, not drive a dead man’s truck, with a dead man’s body while you leave your own vehicle at the dead man’s farm.
3) Was there a second person at the shed who drove them back to the trailer? Why? If so, why would they wash Dylan’s truck?
4) If Dylan was accosted after he walked back to his trailer from the shed, why are his boots at the shed?
Mom said he often walked the miles between his trailer/farmland to the shed area. She said he wouldn’t walk the roads, but would take a shortcut through the barren land. Given the searches to date, Dylan’s family thought that this area had been thoroughly covered and is why they pressed ECSO for more searches on the NV side of the area.
Looking at the map, it’s pretty easy to figure out where he probably left the road to cut across to his farm from the shed.

Great post, @OldCop .

The boots left behind are puzzling to me.

If he left voluntarily, wouldn't the footwear be missing with him ?
Unless he changed shoes ?

What, if any. shoes/clothes were missing ?
A jacket ? Sleeping bag ?

It sounds as if everything except Dylan was in its' place, minus his boots, phone and another item I'm forgetting.
So am just speculating.

 

[Trackergd]

@Erutan , the boots left behind are puzzling to me as well. Sometimes an actor will have a victim remove their shoes so they can't run very far or fast. Should have been bare footprints nearby unless the boots were dumped in that spot after the fact. Anyone search the grain storage silo/area? Possible that Dylan accidently stumbled upon some sort of illegal activity.

 

[indicolite22]

What if Dylan was attacked near his trailer, but the perp(s) staged his boots near the grain truck later to divert attention to another location? Again this would point to someone close to the farm. I think his mother speculated early on that the boots had not been put out on Saturday, but later.

 

[OldCop]

Great post, @OldCop .

The boots left behind are puzzling to me.

If he left voluntarily, wouldn't the footwear be missing with him ?
Unless he changed shoes ?

What, if any. shoes/clothes were missing ?
A jacket ? Sleeping bag ?

It sounds as if everything except Dylan was in its' place, minus his boots, phone and another item I'm forgetting.
So am just speculating.

The boots are the thorns in everyone’s theories.
Missing items, according to Dylan’s mom, are:
wallet
cellphone
key fob for his pickup truck
gun
Nothing appears to be missing from his trailer. There was no forced entry and it was not ransacked.
All farm machinery/vehicles are accounted for.
We have no description of clothes that Dylan may have been wearing.

 

[iamnotagolem]

Is it possible he recently bought replacement boots and just chucked the old ones? Or maybe they were a previous pair that he hasn’t gotten rid of that he kept around for doing dirtier tasks?

If the boots aren’t relative to him missing, how does that change the perspective?

 

[rosesfromangels]

Is it possible he recently bought replacement boots and just chucked the old ones? Or maybe they were a previous pair that he hasn’t gotten rid of that he kept around for doing dirtier tasks?

If the boots aren’t relative to him missing, how does that change the perspective?

Given his boot habits, IWT it would be easy to determine if he recently purchased another pair of boots. I think his Mom (who is amazing BTW), would have known or looked in to this already?

I think those boots were purposely placed as a specific message. Not to be too dramatic, but similar to the animal head in The Godfather. A warning, a message to all. Poor kid, he crossed a wrong path it would seem.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[citizen_sleuth]

I believe this was mentioned briefly earlier, but I wanted to expound upon what is, in my opinion, a real possibility to be considered: accidental death from falling into an abandoned mine shaft.

Utah has at least 17,000 mine openings (which state officials admit is likely an undercount as they don't have enough funds to do a full state-wide survey) that have not been closed (an additional 5,000 mines have been sealed off). Since 1983, 11 people have died and 42 people have been injured in abandoned mines in Utah alone.

At its peak, there were more than 400 mining claims were staked out between Ben Lomond Peak and Collinston in northern Box Elder County. Lucin itself was its own mining district that was also conveniently located near the only railhead in the area.

While the veins in the Lucin area lacked the gold that was characteristic of the Western mining boom in the mid-late 19th and early 20th century, they were flush with less-glamorous but equally-lucrative minerals like copper and iron. Lucin's minerals were first discovered in 1868, and by 1872, the Lucin mining district was established to organize all of the new mines being established in the area. Below is a map of Lucin mining claims:




The Copper Mountain fault zone is a mineralized fault zone at the top of Copper Mountain that is more than 1,000 feet wide and intersects with many other mineralized faults. The Lucin Copper Company operated a profitable copper and iron ore mine on this fault, shipping out 130 to 150 tons of copper ore per day, although work was occasionally stopped due to strikes. The Lucin Copper Company also owned 25 claims in the Lucin district aside from the mine atop Copper Mountain.

The Tecoma mine, also located in Lucin, was extremely active and profitable. It was sold in 1871 for $125,000 in gold coins, equivalent to $2.9 million in today's money. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of other mines operating in the Lucin area during its peak. Mines frequently changed hands, either being sold to individual owners or large mining conglomerates (there were 15 of them operating in Lucin alone by 1910), as evidenced by the multitude of notices published in area papers.

The Salt Lake Company, organized by mining tycoons and engineers from Butte, MT, purchased large tracks of mines adjoining the old Lewissohn mines in Lucin in 1907. The Salt Lake mine was massive: it had an open cut 100 feet wide, 200 feet long, with a back wall of 80 feet containing nothing but copper ore. The company also had many other mines on its 500-acre claim, including "a tunnel and workings to the extent of about 1,200 feet."

Unfortunately, due to a lack of state funding and sheer number of abandoned mines in the state, there is not a comprehensive list of abandoned mines and their locations, which means there is always a possibility of stumbling across one unexpectedly.

Sources

Donald McCoy Blue, "Geology and Ore Deposits of the Lucin Mining District, Box Elder County, Utah, and Elko County, Nevada," M.S. thesis, University of Utah, 1960.

Faye Farnsworth Tholen, "Vipont, Utah: A Lost and Almost Forgotten Ghost Town," Utah Historical Quarterly 71, no. 3 (2003).

Janelle Hyatt, "Claims to fame: New exhibit looks at mining industry in Box Elder County," Standard-Examiner, 15 July 2012.

John Hollenhorst, "Nevada mining death serves as reminder of danger in Utah’s 17,000 mine openings," Deseret News, 8 March 2011.

"Big Strike in Lucin Copper Mine Reported," Salt Lake Telegram, 13 March 1918, 6.

"Sale of a Mine," Corinne Daily Reporter, 3 October 1871, 3.

Lucin Copper Mines Co. advertisement, Butte Miner, 17 June 1907, 8.

Notice of sale of the Jennie Ledge Mine, Ogden Junction, 3 June 1874, 6.

"Butte Men Get Copper in Utah: Northern Engineers Snap Up Property Adjoining Old Lewissohn Mines," Salt Lake Herald, 3 June 1907.

 

[Tealgrove]

The boots are the thorns in everyone’s theories.
Missing items, according to Dylan’s mom, are:
wallet
cellphone
key fob for his pickup truck
gun
Nothing appears to be missing from his trailer. There was no forced entry and it was not ransacked.
All farm machinery/vehicles are accounted for.
We have no description of clothes that Dylan may have been wearing.

The focus appears to be directed entirely on Dylan but not his stuff, with the exception of his wallet (no activity on cards), his phone (not being used), his gun (don’t know) and the key fob to the truck (truck is there, it wasn’t taken.

Everything taken limited Dylan’s ability to either get away or even if he did get away, inhibited his ability to survive. No money, no transportation, no gun, no phone and no boots. His boots are almost a glowing symbol at this point.

This appears to be all about Dylan to me and not about farming, accidents etc.

Could someone have dumped Dylan out in the middle of the desert with no water, no boots, no gun for protection, no phone to call for help?

 

[FlamingoLady]

I believe this was mentioned briefly earlier, but I wanted to expound upon what is, in my opinion, a real possibility to be considered: accidental death from falling into an abandoned mine shaft.

Utah has at least 17,000 mine openings (which state officials admit is likely an undercount as they don't have enough funds to do a full state-wide survey) that have not been closed (an additional 5,000 mines have been sealed off). Since 1983, 11 people have died and 42 people have been injured in abandoned mines in Utah alone.

At its peak, there were more than 400 mining claims were staked out between Ben Lomond Peak and Collinston in northern Box Elder County. Lucin itself was its own mining district that was also conveniently located near the only railhead in the area.

While the veins in the Lucin area lacked the gold that was characteristic of the Western mining boom in the mid-late 19th and early 20th century, they were flush with less-glamorous but equally-lucrative minerals like copper and iron. Lucin's minerals were first discovered in 1868, and by 1872, the Lucin mining district was established to organize all of the new mines being established in the area. Below is a map of Lucin mining claims:

View attachment 349925
View attachment 349926

The Copper Mountain fault zone is a mineralized fault zone at the top of Copper Mountain that is more than 1,000 feet wide and intersects with many other mineralized faults. The Lucin Copper Company operated a profitable copper and iron ore mine on this fault, shipping out 130 to 150 tons of copper ore per day, although work was occasionally stopped due to strikes. The Lucin Copper Company also owned 25 claims in the Lucin district aside from the mine atop Copper Mountain.

The Tecoma mine, also located in Lucin, was extremely active and profitable. It was sold in 1871 for $125,000 in gold coins, equivalent to $2.9 million in today's money. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of other mines operating in the Lucin area during its peak. Mines frequently changed hands, either being sold to individual owners or large mining conglomerates (there were 15 of them operating in Lucin alone by 1910), as evidenced by the multitude of notices published in area papers.

The Salt Lake Company, organized by mining tycoons and engineers from Butte, MT, purchased large tracks of mines adjoining the old Lewissohn mines in Lucin in 1907. The Salt Lake mine was massive: it had an open cut 100 feet wide, 200 feet long, with a back wall of 80 feet containing nothing but copper ore. The company also had many other mines on its 500-acre claim, including "a tunnel and workings to the extent of about 1,200 feet."

Unfortunately, due to a lack of state funding and sheer number of abandoned mines in the state, there is not a comprehensive list of abandoned mines and their locations, which means there is always a possibility of stumbling across one unexpectedly.

Sources

Donald McCoy Blue, "Geology and Ore Deposits of the Lucin Mining District, Box Elder County, Utah, and Elko County, Nevada," M.S. thesis, University of Utah, 1960.

Faye Farnsworth Tholen, "Vipont, Utah: A Lost and Almost Forgotten Ghost Town," Utah Historical Quarterly 71, no. 3 (2003).

Janelle Hyatt, "Claims to fame: New exhibit looks at mining industry in Box Elder County," Standard-Examiner, 15 July 2012.

John Hollenhorst, "Nevada mining death serves as reminder of danger in Utah’s 17,000 mine openings," Deseret News, 8 March 2011.

"Big Strike in Lucin Copper Mine Reported," Salt Lake Telegram, 13 March 1918, 6.

"Sale of a Mine," Corinne Daily Reporter, 3 October 1871, 3.

Lucin Copper Mines Co. advertisement, Butte Miner, 17 June 1907, 8.

Notice of sale of the Jennie Ledge Mine, Ogden Junction, 3 June 1874, 6.

"Butte Men Get Copper in Utah: Northern Engineers Snap Up Property Adjoining Old Lewissohn Mines," Salt Lake Herald, 3 June 1907.

Wow! I wonder how many of these are on DR's property, or property he would have access to or a need to be on? Reminds me of the Erin Corwin case. Could be a real possibility he is in one of them. I just don't lean to an accident. Boots left behind is not lending to an accident, IMO.

 

[Seattle1]

Wikipedia details the very strange history of Lucin, UT.

IMO, more like the town is ghosted for a good reason-- people either vanish or leave before they vanish!

Lucin (also known as Umbria Junction) is an abandoned railroad community in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, resettled by four owner-residents, along the western side of the Great Salt Lake, 162 miles (261 km) northwest of Salt Lake City.

History

Lucin was founded in the late 19th century, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of its current location, to provide a water stop for railroads to replenish their steam locomotives.

The town was moved in 1903 to serve as a stop for the Lucin Cutoff. Historically, the town's population consisted mainly of employees of the Central and Southern Pacific Railroads. In 1936 the town was abandoned, and then resettled by a group of retired railroad workers and their children.

For a while, no one had lived in Lucin, until 1997 when Ivo Zdarsky, venturing aviation entrepreneur and manufacturer of the Ivoprop, a plane propeller,[2][3] bought it and moved there.[4]

The area is managed for migrating songbirds and other wildlife by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

The town was named for a local fossil bivalve, the Lucina subanta.[5]

Lucin, Utah - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[kittythehare]

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UPDATE: THE FBI IS NOW ASSISTING BOTH BOX ELDER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND ELKO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE.​

 

[jvb]

Could there be a hole nearby his boots, perhaps not obvious, into which he might have fallen, and thrown his boots out of the hole in hopes of being found?

 

[kittythehare]

Could there be a hole nearby his boots, perhaps not obvious, into which he might have fallen, and thrown his boots out of the hole in hopes of being found?

I never thought of that.
I think they had a good look around okay but anything is possible for sure.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

Apologies if this has already been discussed, but I'm wondering whether DR always carried his gun with him when working on the farm or if he left it behind in the trailer. If he always kept it on him, IMO it would greatly diminish the likelihood of foul play since he had easy access to a deadly weapon he could use to defend himself (of course, he could have also been shot without any warning, but that seems unlikely to me. I would think that if foul play was involved, it would have been precipitated by an argument of some sort). On the other hand, if he didn't regularly carry it with him, it could make foul play more probable, but then why would his weapon be missing?

IMO I think the missing gun, and not the boots, is the biggest clue to what might have happened (aside from the cell phone data, which from my understanding isn't very helpful because the pings can only be narrowed down to a 15-mile radius).

I wonder if there were any spots on the property where he would frequent for recreation or reflection aside from the area of the property he was working on.