ID ID - Darwin Vest, 48, Idaho Falls, 2 June 1999

[Ozoner]

I'm a little surprised that there doesn't seemed to be a thread for Darwin Kenneth Vest. His disappearance garnered a fair amount of media attention at the time.

Vest was a well-known expert on spiders. He disappeared in the early morning hours after leaving a bar to walk home.

There was speculation that he may have drowned in the Snake River, which runs through Idaho Falls, but it would not have been on his likely route. A witness reported seeing a body floating in the river the morning after Vest's disappearance.

A man who had previously assaulted Vest had just been released from prison after a two-year stint, so some suspect him.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/v/vest_darwin.html

http://doenetwork.org/cases/3798dmid.html

 

[KateB]

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2091

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Darwin Vest's file on Idaho's Cold Case site:

http://eastidahocoldcasesinc.com/eastcentral-idaho-missing-persons/vest-darwin-k-idaho-falls-idaho-1999/

 

[Rayemonde]

2006 article:

detectives at the department believe Vest died after falling into the rushing Snake River that cuts through town.

"We're stuck until somebody comes forward or we find some remains," said Lt. Joe Cawley, the department's spokesman. "That's why we're not positive he's deceased - we just don't have any indications. We don't have any signs of foul play or notes of suicide, nothing as far as him packing up his clothes and leaving."...

"Yes, Darwin would have had some reason to be down by the river, but he hated rain, like a cat," Rebecca Vest said. "I just have no doubt in my mind - there just had to be foul play involved."

Darwin Vest had been assaulted and robbed a few years earlier, and some suspected that his attackers had returned. But Hoffman said police checked all those leads, and didn't find anything suggestive of a crime.

"Most of the leads we get are people overhearing someone saying that someone else talked about killing him, and none of those have turned out," Hoffman said. "When you have a small town, lots of rumors get started."

Vest was well-liked by most but did ruffle some feathers in the community, Seneff said.

"Most people just devote themselves to making money, getting married and having kids, but he listened to a different drummer," Seneff said. "A lot of people thought he was weird or gay, but I think he was truly an asexual guy. He was also an atheist, and this community is really Mormon."

http://trib.com/news/state-and-regi...cle_43843f6e-eaed-577a-ba23-4939c994a85c.html

 

[Rayemonde]

2010 article:

Darwin Vest, a 48-year-old self-educated toxinologist, was last seen in the early morning hours of June 3, 1999, at a bar in downtown Idaho Falls. Earlier that evening, Vest had walked from his home to another bar for a weekly trivia game with friends.

Vest often walked at night, relatives and friends told The Associated Press. He had previously been mugged on the streets of Idaho Falls...

Vest was legally declared dead in 2004, but his family still welcomes possible information about what happened to the scientist. Log on to Vest’s website, http:// hobospider.org/dar.html.

http://magicvalley.com/news/local/y...cle_dc768b8f-8264-5eb4-94d9-fc18619e8da5.html

 

[Rayemonde]

Vest experimented with Hobo Spider venom on rabbits (poor rabbits ) and concluded that their bite was dangerous to humans, but more recent studies have disputed this.

Vest, D.K. (1987). "Envenomation by Tegenaria agrestis (Walckenaer) spiders in rabbits"


] Vetter, R.S.; Isbister, G.K. (December 2004). "Do hobo spider bites cause dermonecrotic injuries?"

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Darwin, now missing over 21 years...

 

[Bipolar Express]

Came here to see if this case was here…and here it is. Im fascinated by this case

 

[Pennysmom1]

Missing Person / NamUs #MP2091

View NamUs missing person case MP2091 for Darwin Kenneth Vest missing from Idaho Falls, Idaho. Date of last contact: Jun 02, 1999. NCMEC case number: --.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

<< Darwin was last seen in Idaho Falls on 06/02/1999. He had been to a couple bars with friends before deciding to walk home in the rain and he hasn't been heard from since>>

Facial Hair Description
Beard and mustache

Scar/mark
3\" Scar on forehead
Scar on abdomen
Scar on head

"Clothing"
Wears a black leather jacket and 501 Levis

---

"Jewelry"
Watch with rotating spider web: tiny black spider; Belt buckle: brass rattlesnake; Key chain with several bicycle chains

 

[Pennysmom1]

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88993408/darwin_kenneth-vest

 

[Pennysmom1]

Darwin Kenneth Vest – The Charley Project

<< He has a three-inch scar on his forehead, a scar on his head and an appendectomy scar on his abdomen. He has previously fractured his clavicle and his right ankle. Vest's nickname is Dar.>>

Details of Disappearance​

<<Vest was last seen in Idaho Falls, Idaho during the early morning hours of June 2, 1999. He played a weekly trivia game at the Frosty Gator with friends, then walked to the Golden Crown Lounge on Shoup Avenue for a nightcap.

Vest disappeared while walking back to the residence he shared with his mother. It was raining that night, but he declined a taxi ride. Vest has never been heard from again.

Vest is a toxicologist and an expert on spider, snake and plant poisons; he also named the hobo spider with his sister. He owned Eagle Rock Research in Idaho Falls in 1999, and also worked as a projectionist for Micro Moviehouse. He has no formal degree, but was self-taught instead.

Vest often testified about spider bites in court and occasionally worked with the FBI and the CIA. He had also appeared on the Discovery Channel.

His sister told authorities a company was interested in purchasing a hobo spider trap kit Vest invented shortly before he vanished. The deal was reportedly quite lucrative, but it is not known if it was connected to Vest's disappearance.

Vest's family has said it is very uncharacteristic of him to leave without calling any of his loved ones. They suspect foul play was involved in his case.

Vest's relatives stated that he had not been informed when a man who assaulted and robbed him in 1997 was enrolled in a work release program shortly before he disappeared in June 1999. According to his family, the individual has since been arrested again and released several times on drug charges.

The person has never been charged in connection with Vest's case and it is not known if he or she was involved. Authorities stated that the individual was placed in a halfway house at the time of Vest's disappearance and could not have escaped undetected.

Several of Vest's loved ones believe that the person was seeking retribution and may have harmed Vest the night he vanished. He is known for taking many late-night walks.

Investigators said that Vest had been drinking the night of his disappearance. He does not hold his liquor well and may have been intoxicated when he was last seen. Authorities theorize he may have stumbled into the Snake River while walking home.

Vest's family members dispute that theory, saying that he was not a heavy drinker and the river was not along his usual route home.>>

3798DMID - Darwin Kenneth Vest

Date of Birth: April 22, 1951

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown