FL FL - Kyle Eppler, 20, Naples, 29 July 1999

MagnoliaMountain

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  • #1
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/e/eppler_kyle.html

http://www.nampn.org/cases/eppler_kyle.html

http://doenetwork.org/cases/1311dmfl.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/show/11497

NAT_11497_1.jpg


Date Of Birth: March 6, 1979
Age at Time of Disappearance: 20 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'10"; 160-165 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; green eyes. He may have long, curly hair and a full beard.
Marks, Scars: He has 2 tattoos on his shoulder and a scar near his right eye.
Clothing: A brown plaid, short-sleeved shirt; brown shorts and a pair of Birkenstocks.

Circumstances of Disappearance
:
On July 28 around 11 a.m., Eppler, a 1997 Lely High graduate, went to see his mother at Germain Honda BMW, where she worked, in East Naples. He borrowed $20 for gas, said he was going to see his girlfriend and then head to work at 4:30 p.m. at the Grouper House, where he worked as a waiter.

He never visited his girlfriend and he never dropped off his mother's dry cleaning, an errand she had asked him to do. He left a note reading, "Gone to find my river and myself."
The day after he disappeared, his mother filed a missing persons report with the Collier County Sheriff's Office.

He was driving a 1988 Toyota Camry, that was later found abandoned at the Coastal Prairie Trail in Flamingo, Monroe County, Florida. The Everglades National Park receipt in his car was dated July 28.

A search of the car turned up some camping gear, a framed back pack, a duffel bag full of clothes, a jar of peanut butter, some crackers and a few journals, hinting that he may have planned the trip. Kyle had talked about going to the Fakahatchee Strand and the Everglades.

He liked traveling and meeting new people. He'd gone on several trips to New Orleans, Texas and North Carolina when he was attending Santa Fe College in Gainesville, studying zoology. He volunteered at Animal Control, the Humane Society and during his college years, worked at several snake farms in the Gainesville area.

Kyle's mother checked his room for hiking boots and found at least a pair missing from home. A navy hat with a white star on it that he always wore was also missing.
His shirt was found about three miles along the trail in the Everglades National Park.

He was on medication but did not take it with him.

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Collier County Sheriff's Department
Detective Harold Minch
941-793-9235

Agency Case Number: 99-84076N
NCIC Number: M-730037427
 
  • #2
Bumping.
 
  • #3
Let's find this guy. We were in the same grade, just a few states away.

I can't decide if it is suicide, "lost in the woods and starved" or what?...
 
  • #4
I'd be interested in the medication he didn't take with him. I highly suspect a mental illness was already known.
 
  • #5
I'd be interested in the medication he didn't take with him. I highly suspect a mental illness was already known.
I agree with this. The two previous suicide attempts and ''gone to find my river and find myself' comment points that way.
 
  • #6
Two previous suicide attempts at the age of 20 make me think he'd been dealing with mental health issues for a while.
 
  • #7
Kyle has been missing for 18 years this month.
 
  • #8
Bumping.
 
  • #9
  • #10
I'd like to add that I think his note about finding his river is likely a reference to the R.E.M. song "Find the River".
 
  • #11
Wow. That seems very likely. Good call.
 
  • #12
Kyle was a grade school friend of mine. He was always a sweet guy and he’s greatly missed!!
 
  • #13
Kyle was a grade school friend of mine. He was always a sweet guy and he’s greatly missed!!
Hello and welcome... I'm sorry for your loss... On the Charley Project website it says that he has an unspecified illness... Could it be something mental? Do you know if he ever ran away before? Could he have had any problems with someone because of a girl or bullying?
 

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