Found Deceased MO - Caleb Rios, 26, O’Fallon, 1 Oct 2019

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'We want you to come home' | O'Fallon, Missouri, family searches for missing Army veteran son
upload_2019-10-7_22-40-34.jpeg

Caleb Rios, army veteran missing from MO.
Can be seen on surveillance camera getting into his 2008 Saturn Vue at 1 o'clock in the morning and he drove away on October 1."

In the video, you can see Caleb leaving his parents home on Rembrandt Drive.
RED FLAGS:
They found out that Caleb was looking up suicide articles online. Beyond that, the night he left, Caleb left the back door unlocked and left with cash. Plus, he took a firearm with him. Also, two of Caleb's friends just committed suicide in the last month in a half.
They have received one little tip. According to a license plate reader, his vehicle was spotted in Lincoln. Nebraska, the morning that he went missing.
Caleb does not have any ties to Nebraska.
 
Father holds out hope Army veteran son Caleb Rios who vanished from O’Fallon, Missouri will return home

Three weeks before he vanished, Caleb’s family said they noticed his demeanor started to change. He was sleeping all day. He missed work. He never wanted to talk to anyone.
According to the St. Charles County Police, on October 1, 2019, Caleb got into his gray 2008 Saturn VUE bearing the license plate MCK-1368 and drove away.
Caleb’s older brother found something worrisome on Caleb’s internet search history.
There were searches on “how to commit suicide” and “what to do to go to heaven.”
 
–UPDATE:
A Missouri family is crying out for help to all of East Tennessee as they hope someone can help.
Caleb’s father says part of the search for Caleb counting national parks, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; as well as the Glacier mountains and the Rocky mountains – due to Caleb’s internet search history.
Loved ones say park rangers in the Smokies, along with other national parks, have been alerted.

Missouri family worries missing Army vet may be in the Smokies
 
Is there any indication the Rios might be backpacking in Smokies or do they just believe he has gone to the park's auto-accessible areas? Backpacking requires equipment. Would be helpful to know if he owned such equipment and if it is missing to know if we need to look on the 500+ miles of trails.
 
The Rockies would make more sense to me, given his route. He was headed in that direction. In fact, I immediately guessed Colorado as his destination based on the google map Tatiana posted. Why would he drive 6+ hours to the west and then come back east to the Smokeys? I’m anxious about his plans, but praying he is found safe and soon. IMO
 
From O’Fallon to Estes Park, CO is an approximately 12.5-13.5 hour drive. The shorter route requires tolls, so if that is his destination and he wants to avoid detection he would avoid tolls.

From Lincoln, NE to Smoky Mountain park, TN is a 14-15 hour drive. From Lincoln to Estes Park, CO is 7.5 hours.

Again, the Rockies makes the most sense to me given his trajectory. Of course, he could be meeting/picking up someone before heading to Tennessee. Or have any number of other ideas!
IMO

ETA: If he is heading to Montana (Glacier Bay), that is a >24 hour drive from his home and the most efficient route would have him heading north through Omaha. However, going through Lincoln adds only 1 hour to the trip. So he could just as likely be heading to Montana.

As Hiker stated above, I’m also wondering if he has purchased or plans to purchase survival supplies. I’m hoping he is getting away to reset his mind, and since he has the means, maybe they should have bolos for him at camping supply stores, army-navy surplus, etc.

All IMO/MOO
 
Last edited:
The St. Charles County Police Department has two posts about Caleb being missing:

Original post: St. Charles County Police Department

"St. Charles County Police Department
October 3 at 12:11 PM ·
#SCCPDMissing: The St. Charles County Police Department today issued an Endangered Missing Person Advisory for Caleb N. Rios. He was last seen on Oct. 1, 2019, in the 1600 block of Rembrandt Drive, driving a gray 2008 Saturn VUE bearing Texas license plate MCK-1368. According to relatives, Caleb has expressed suicidal thoughts and is in possession of a handgun.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Caleb N. Rios is asked to call Det. Knobbe at 636-949-7900, ext. 4465 or dial 911. #SHARE"

Second post: St. Charles County Police Department

"St. Charles County Police Department
October 4 at 5:48 PM ·
‪The search continues for Caleb N. Rios. Call us if you know his whereabouts."

Both posts included his "missing poster," but @JerseyGirl already posted the same poster from another source (TY!).
 
Based on Caleb’s internet search history just before he disappeared, the search included the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.


MISSING ARMY VETERAN FROM MISSOURI MAY BE IN EAST TENNESSEE


The vast acreage alone would be overwhelming to search...on top of not knowing for certain if he went there. It’s a sad situation. I hope he is found safe soon.
 
Update from 10/13/19 from SmokyNews.net. Police Chief of Tallulah Falls, GA, made a statement that a hiker reported they may have encountered Caleb Rios in Tallulah Gorge. There is no confirmation that it was Caleb, but officials are responding as if it is and are searching. Details in link:

CALEB RIOS MISSING - NEW INFO

I hope this was him and that he is found safe.
 
CALEB RIOS MISSING - NEW INFO

Police are working on pinging Caleb’s phone, they’ve alerted rangers, they’re searching and all resources are looking for Caleb. Chief Elrod says even though they don’t have confirmation this is Caleb, they’re treating it like it is Caleb and they won’t stop looking for him until he is found.
 

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