NE NE - Chance Englebert, 25, Gering, 6 July 2019 (new father) #2

[Songbird1973]

I wasn't arguing with you. I was stating an opinion. Many people, from the get-go on this, have maintained vehemently that he had run off and abandoned his family. I have never believed that and it puzzles me that so many people have polarized on that. Time will tell, if this is his body that they are recovering.

I've never believed Chance intentionally dissappeared either. But the debate in my mind is whether "someone", as you said, caused him to disappear. or if it was an accident. I would lean towards a natural accident, or a harm during a completely unplanned encounter at the last minute with a person. It simply couldn't have been something planned ahead because no one, including Chance, knew ahead of time where he was going to be. Chance's decision to spend the weekend in Gering was a last minute change of plans (he got into an argument with his own family). His decision to have Bailey come get him early before the game was over at the Bayard Golf Course was unplanned (he got into an argument with Baily's family). And his final decision to walk through Gering and Terrytown was completely unplanned (he got into an argument with Bailey.)

 

[Quill]

I've never believed Chance intentionally dissappeared either. But the debate in my mind is whether "someone", as you said, caused him to disappear. or if it was an accident. I would lean towards a natural accident, or a harm during a completely unplanned encounter at the last minute with a person. It simply couldn't have been something planned ahead because no one, including Chance, knew ahead of time where he was going to be. Chance's decision to spend the weekend in Gering was a last minute change of plans (he got into an argument with his own family). His decision to have Bailey come get him early before the game was over at the Bayard Golf Course was unplanned (he got into an argument with Baily's family). And his final decision to walk through Gering and Terrytown was completely unplanned (he got into an argument with Bailey.)

Yes, your timeline supports that but he told the convenience store clerk he was headed back home.There is the possibility that he encountered someone (stranger or known to him) on the way back or that he made it back and the earlier argument continued and escalated.

 

[Songbird1973]

Is this country club connected to the golf course where Chance left from the tiff with in laws?

The golf course where the tiff took place was the Chimney Rock golf Course at Bayard, NE, 30 miles to the east. The skeletal remains were found beyond the Monument Shadows Golf Course in Gering. (Chance was last seen one and a quarter mile east of the remains, travelling in this direction.)

 

[rosesfromangels]

Id sure like to know who the alleged screaming and running women on the road, close to where Chance was last seen. If I understand correctly, these women are allegedly witnesses to something. I would sure like to know what they saw.

Amateur opinion and speculation only

 

[Songbird1973]

Yes, your timeline supports that but he told the convenience store clerk he was headed back home.There is the possibility that he encountered someone (stranger or known to him) on the way back or that he made it back and the earlier argument continued and escalated.

It does sound like the encounter with the convenience store clerk is credible, so it's believable that he did tell the clerk he was headed back to where they were staying. But I wonder when in the timeline of his disappearance that he said that to the clerk? Does it carry more weight than his statement to Bailey that he was walking south, or the statement to his friend one minute before that that he was walking west towards Torrington?

But regardless of what he told the clerk, he was last seen on surveillance camera (after talking to the clerk), at the west edge of town, continuing to walk west-northwest toward WY, (the opposite direction from Bailey).

So again, I'm not saying there's not foul play involved. But I don't think the clerk's conversation proves that Chance turned around and headed back to Bailey. If he did try to go back, he was disoriented, because he wasn't seen going that direction afterwards.

Now, while I do think Chance's direction of travel the last time he was sighted could have taken him straight into the Scottsbluff National Monument Park, the skeletal remains appear to have been located a short way up the side of the monument, which is certainly suspicious. Unless he was attempting to escape some rising water in the lower area of the park. But, we shall soon know if it was Chance...

 

[Songbird1973]

Light Blue lines: Major streets in Gering, NE
Dark Blue starting point, lower right: Near Bailey's grandparents, where Chance started walking.
Dark blue line: Approximately where Chance walked.
Lower red circle: Location Chase was seen walking
Upper red circle: Location Chance was seen walking and studying phone before turning left (west)
Red Pin: Last location Chance was seen on surveillance camera about 10 pm.
Green line: remainder of street Chance was walking on , before it "T's"
Yellow Line: Dry irrigation ditch mistakenly marked as road or trail on Google Maps
Purple line: Boundary of Scottsbluff National Monument Park
Yellow "X": location of green panel gate seen in photo where "large presence of law enforcement" was reported. This is the same location in the news reports called the "back gate to the monument", and "End of Country Club Rd."
Pink area to the right: The actual bluffs of the monument are. The skeletal remains were somewhere at the edge of the bluffs.

Yellow X, where law enforcement (unmarked vehicles) were parked in a photograph, is here.

41°50'27.1"N 103°41'24.8"W

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[Songbird1973]

Individual photos from here, courtesy of Kelly Mann. I arranged them below and added the red circle where I believe the inseted photo is enlarged from.

I enlarged this portion of the above photo, which I believe is the same area as the article indicates that skeletal remains are being removed from.

 

[Bethan]

I don’t remember all the details about his phone now ( except that he had tried to get a lift from a friend/relative before his disappearance)

Perhaps he had climbed up to higher ground to try & get a signal? Or perhaps to orientate himself? The surrounding area is so very flat.

I’m surprised how many homes are in the area & sad that he didn’t ask for help if he was lost, cold & wet.

 

[Songbird1973]

I don’t remember all the details about his phone now ( except that he had tried to get a lift from a friend/relative before his disappearance)

Perhaps he had climbed up to higher ground to try & get a signal? Or perhaps to orientate himself? The surrounding area is so very flat.

I’m surprised how many homes are in the area & sad that he didn’t ask for help if he was lost, cold & wet.

His phone had died or been shut off prior to his last surveillance sighting.

 

[Quill]

Id sure like to know who the alleged screaming and running women on the road, close to where Chance was last seen. If I understand correctly, these women are allegedly witnesses to something. I would sure like to know what they saw.

Amateur opinion and speculation only

Me, too @rosesfromangels . It definitely is something that I want to know more about. In a case like this where it has seemed like a person just dropped off the face of the earth with little to no leads, this would seem important. Now, as we all know, sometimes those leads are investigated and found to be unrelated and they go *poof* without explanation. But, I would like to know if it was fully investigated or not.

 

[Quill]

It does sound like the encounter with the convenience store clerk is credible, so it's believable that he did tell the clerk he was headed back to where they were staying. But I wonder when in the timeline of his disappearance that he said that to the clerk? Does it carry more weight than his statement to Bailey that he was walking south, or the statement to his friend one minute before that that he was walking west towards Torrington?

But regardless of what he told the clerk, he was last seen on surveillance camera (after talking to the clerk), at the west edge of town, continuing to walk west-northwest toward WY, (the opposite direction from Bailey).

So again, I'm not saying there's not foul play involved. But I don't think the clerk's conversation proves that Chance turned around and headed back to Bailey. If he did try to go back, he was disoriented, because he wasn't seen going that direction afterwards.

Now, while I do think Chance's direction of travel the last time he was sighted could have taken him straight into the Scottsbluff National Monument Park, the skeletal remains appear to have been located a short way up the side of the monument, which is certainly suspicious. Unless he was attempting to escape some rising water in the lower area of the park. But, we shall soon know if it was Chance...

Yes, it does seem so weird that anybody, whether it's Chance or not, would be found up there. It does make you wonder if the person was trying to get to higher ground. As you say, we will soon know if it is Chance and we'll know more about how he came to be there, hopefully.

 

[SunSun]

Or could have the person fallen from much higher up?

 

[PrairieWind]

I was just thinking the same things. It has been decades since I was on Scotts Bluff. That area the body seems to have been found is an odd place to be for sure. So, could he have been on top of the Bluff and fallen down the side and come to rest in this location?

 

[rosesfromangels]

Yes, it does seem so weird that anybody, whether it's Chance or not, would be found up there. It does make you wonder if the person was trying to get to higher ground. As you say, we will soon know if it is Chance and we'll know more about how he came to be there, hopefully.

There was lightening in Gering that evening:

Hourly records for nearby Scottsbluff (same metro as Gering) show “Thundershowers” at 7:53 PM and “Thunderstorms” at 8:33 PM on Saturday, July 6, 2019—i.e., thunder and lightning were occurring that evening. Time and Date

Local coverage also noted that the July 6–8 system brought heavy rain and a “spectacular lightning show” over parts of Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska, including the Panhandle. kgwnscottsbluff.com

Chance is a country boy. He knows better than to go to the top of a hill during a thunder/lightening storm.
Being on top of a hill does increase the risk of being struck by lightning.
Here’s why:
Lightning seeks the easiest path to ground. Elevated points—like hills, ridges, open fields, and lone trees—present shorter paths for an electrical discharge to travel from cloud to ground.
You become the tallest point if you’re on a hilltop or ridge without taller objects nearby. In that situation, your body can act as the primary “lightning rod.”
Open terrain amplifies danger. Even without direct impact, lightning can travel outward through the ground surface up to 100 feet or more (ground current), often causing fatal injuries.
Safety advice:
If you’re caught on a hill during a storm, descend immediately to lower ground.
Avoid open fields, isolated trees, metal objects, or bodies of water.
If no shelter is available, crouch low with your feet together (don’t lie flat).
The U.S. National Weather Service summarizes this principle as “When thunder roars, go indoors.”

Unless Chance went up on the hill to have a talk with his Maker, I don't see that happening.
Waiting on the official reports before I start sharing my speculations.

Amateur opinion and speculation