Found Deceased MT - Dave Norton, adult, left phone, last seen riding mountain bike, Lost Trail, Darby, 14 Feb 2019

[cybervampira]

Police search for Darby man missing since February 14

Police in Darby, with assistance from the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office, continue to search for a Darby resident who has been missing for almost a week.

Dave Norton is described as being 5’9″ with a gray beard. He has some tattoos along his wrist.

Norton was reported missing February 14 by his employer. He was last seen traveling south in the direction of Lost Trail riding his green Mountain bike.

Four people told police they spotted Norton riding his bike south in the north lane of traffic, which law enforcement said was a little odd. It’s not the only thing that sounded out of the ordinary to officials.

Darby Marshal Larry Rose said Norton also left his cell phone at the shop.

“It’s a little strange that he had left on a mountain bike in that kind of weather,” Rose said.

Police found a bike on the side of the road that they believe could belong to Norton, however, they are still unsure.

 

[Jim_M]

Found his Facebook. It appears his wife has updated his page:

Log into Facebook | Facebook

 

[Hap]

Strange that he was reported missing by his employer, rather than a family member.

 

[azure]

Strange that he was reported missing by his employer, rather than a family member.

Reading between the lines, it seems like maybe he left work suddenly, in a distraught state? Just my speculation.

 

[mickey2942]

Too cold out for camping. Unless he was on drugs. Hopefully, he will turn up at a friend's house or something.

 

[sasha17]

Still searching. Search continues for missing Darby man

 

[Jim_M]

Still searching. Search continues for missing Darby man

Hmmm, no mention of the bike that was found. Perhaps they determined it wasn't Dave's? (Link in Post #1 from 3KRTV)

 

[ms_x_to_the_m]

This sounds fishy. I wonder if something happened at work
was he going the way home
he left his phone, so i guess he didnt want to be contacted. Maybe something happened at home and then at work and he just got fed up and left.
many times i feel like just taking off, but then just get over whatever hump life gives me.
i hope he is found safe.

 

[swanniee11]

Strange that he was reported missing by his employer, rather than a family member.

Reading between the lines, the wife said "we were married for 25 years" thinking maybe they're no longer together. IMO

 

[TatianaBarbie]

Interesting comment by Dave's wife/ex-wife on Dave's FB regarding the ownership of bicycle that has been found.

 

[TatianaBarbie]

This local news story has a few more details, but it was written 5 days ago. There are no newer news articles at this time.

Darby marshal: Missing Darby man may have left the area

. . . He was reported missing on Saturday.

Since then, Rose said he has heard from 10 different people who saw Norton riding his bike in the snow on Highway 93 between Rye Creek and the Sula store.

After being reported missing, volunteers mobilized to put out signs and search both sides of the road looking for Norton, a longtime Darby resident who worked at Neff’s Whitewater Customs and lived in an apartment over the shop.

. . . A bike that was found alongside the highway turned out to be wrong make. Norton was riding a green Raleigh Tokul.

“It appears like the bike that was found maybe fell off a vehicle,” Rose said. “It was pure coincidence that it was there.”

The news article also talks about a helicopter search, and other leads that LE has followed up on.

 

[cybervampira]

Missing Darby man found deceased

A Darby man who has been missing since Valentine’s Day was found dead of an apparent suicide on Friday.

[...]

 

[TatianaBarbie]

Missing Darby man found deceased

A Darby man who has been missing since Valentine’s Day was found dead of an apparent suicide on Friday.

[...]

How sad! I was so hoping that he just wanted some time away. RIP Dave.

Missing Darby man found dead near Tin Cup trailhead