MT David Hepfer supposed to be camping in Northwest Montana, gear and personal belongings inside car, along with the keys - Last Contact, 9 Sept 2025

[Knox]

Search continues for man reported missing in Lincoln County

A search is continuing for an Illinois man who has been reported missing in Northwest Montana.

www.kpax.com

 

[Knox]

Border patrol agents made contact with Hepfer’s roommate, who said Hepfer had plans to camp in northwest Montana.

Officials determined the vehicle was in an unusual place for camping, which was not located near a trailhead, campsite or scenic area. A phone ping was attempted, which showed no activity for the previous 48 hours.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office detectives and deputies along with David Thompson Search and Rescue teams responded to the area with search dogs and a drone. No signs of Hepfer were discovered in the search area.

Law enforcement checked Hepfer’s Corolla, which contained camping gear, personal belongings and the vehicle’s keys.

Hepfer has been entered as a missing person. Search efforts continue.

Authorities Searching for Missing Illinois Man in the Yaak - Flathead Beacon

Authorities are searching for a missing Illinois man who whose vehicle was located in Lincoln County in the northwest corner of the state near the U.S.-Canada Border earlier this month, according to Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short. U.S. Border Patrol agents on Sept. 17 notified the sheriff’s...

flatheadbeacon.com

 

[indicolite22]

Last contact with family: Sept. 9
Last seen: Sept. 12
Car found: Sept. 17

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, David Edward Hepfer came to Northwest Montana to do some camping. He was last seen on Friday, Sept. 12 in the Yaak.

Illinois man goes missing in the Yaak

His vehicle and belongings were found at the Pete Creek area in the Northwest Peaks area of Yaak.

thewesternnews.com

 

[GraceG]

I can't find anything on this man, no social media or LinkedIn, no comments about the generic missing posts on FB, no white pages. Since we don't know where in IL he was from no public records check as much of the state doesn't have it publically available, so I'm not going to search county by county when chances are he's in a county that doesn't share the info. One of the articles that opened the thread stated he had moved to Montana but we don't know exactly where and Montana district courts don't have a statewise search function, it's county and court individually.

But leaving the vehicle with camping and personal supplies and key is suspicious IMO.

 

[indicolite22]

A little more info on the car location in the comments at:

https://www.facebook.com/LincolnCountySheriffMontana/posts/pfbid0kpQqzTWmgsAKs3qZtveiznY8zfnvTjsPVAWuLRDBqTWwvBn3FdRGCx6Ej2LBZgZgl

 

[sunflowermomma]

How experienced is he with hiking/backpacking? Is it possible he parked his car near where he thought a trailhead/shortcut was, or did someone move his car there? Is car theft common at trailheads around there?

 

[indicolite22]

I can't find anything on this man, no social media or LinkedIn, no comments about the generic missing posts on FB, no white pages. Since we don't know where in IL he was from no public records check as much of the state doesn't have it publically available, so I'm not going to search county by county when chances are he's in a county that doesn't share the info. One of the articles that opened the thread stated he had moved to Montana but we don't know exactly where and Montana district courts don't have a statewise search function, it's county and court individually.

But leaving the vehicle with camping and personal supplies and key is suspicious IMO.

According to Whitepages.com, his two locations listed in IL are Naperville and Saint Charles (both in Chicago area, addresses in DuPage and Kane counties).

 

[starlightstarbright]

He was last seen in Yaak in the Kootenai National Forest on Sept 12th.

His car was found in the Pete Creek area fully loaded with gear and with the keys inside on Sept 17th.

I mapped out these locations and google maps says they are about 3 hours walk from each other (that may be by road rather than usual hiking trail).

I think it’s possible he might have left the car and gone for a hike to get a lay of the land or just to enjoy a hike without all the gear, with the intention of returning to the car to get his stuff. But he wouldn’t have left the keys in it while he did that.

To me, this feels like self-harm, either disguised as a camping trip or maybe he only made that decision after he got there. It makes me sad though that LE seems to have done an initial search but no more, and now no one is looking for him, no friends or family posting. Very little engagement on the missing posts on Facebook.

Here is a map between Pete Creek (car reported found) and Yaak (last seen - by who I wonder?).

 

[indicolite22]

While his SIL spoke to the media (link in the opening post), his family is not active on SM.

 

[FoxxTraxx]

The Yaak Valley is beautiful wilderness but also some hazards - especially for solo vacationers. This site mentions how grizzly bears inhabit the area.

Montana’s Yaak Valley Grizzly Habitat Revealed
Grizzlies in NW Montana

Have you ever wondered where grizzly bears roam freely in Montana? Yaak Valley is one of those rare places. Tucked away in the northwest corner of the state, this remote area offers a unique glimpse into the natural habitat of these magnificent creatures.

 

[GraceG]

According to Whitepages.com, his two locations listed in IL are Naperville and Saint Charles (both in Chicago area, addresses in DuPage and Kane counties).

Thanks - the white pages didn't show anything when I searched (but sometimes on my computer, it gives you just 3-4 names and that's it). I found it under Spokeo, and it matches. No court records, civil or otherwise for him in the two cities he lived in in Illinois. (DuPage, Kane counties).

 

[10ofRods]

I'll posit another scenario consistent with the facts in this case. It's based on stats from national parks.

Sometimes men park at a pull out and walk into the distance to urinate. They walk far enough not to be seen from the car. According to the linked report in this thread, there were no trailheads and no specific scenic sights at the place he stopped.

People often leave their keys in the car for this. Unfortunately, any time a person goes off trail solo, things can happen. There are definitely grizzly bears. And it's that time of year when they are most active and the young ones are heading into independence and sometimes make bad decisions.

The car was in the North Peak area, but not near a campground or trail head. The road does run parallel to the Pacific NW Trail, so perhaps he wanted to check it out? It would have been about a .2-.3 of a mile to get to the trail. And while he wasn't at a scenic overlook, the North Peak and its range would have been visible in the distance. Google maps Little Guy can't be put down in the area, as it's a road with low travel, I guess.

Sounds like his phone wasn't in the car. That could be another distractor for him (he walks a ways, talking on the phone, maybe it's a conversation that goes on for some time, distracts him from setting visual markers and he loses the way back to his car? Like Barbara Thomas did. And as many people have done.

I wish we knew more about the search efforts (dogs in use, etc).