PA PA - Dale Kerstetter, 50, Bradford, 13 Sept 1987

[UMfanforever]

Dailymotion - Dale Kerstetter - a Music [email]video@@AMEPARAM@@http://www.dailymotion.com[/email]/swf/xaedls_dale@@AMEPARAM@@xaedls_dale

Above video from Unsolved Mysteries
Insight from Dale's daughter:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=181799&page=3

Dale Kerstetter
missing since 9/13/1987 in Bradford, PA

Gender: Male
DOB: 3/7/37
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 130 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown/gray; receding hairline


Dale Kerstetter
Did a missing employee steal half a million in platinum from a glass plant?

Dale Kerstetter

Missing:

Gender: Male
DOB: 3/7/37
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 130 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown/gray; receding hairline
​

His truck was found abandoned​

He left keys, a packed lunch, and cigarettes​

CASE DETAILS

Security cameras captured a masked man​

Saturday, September 12, 1987, began as a typical work day for Dale Kerstetter. The 50-year-old security guard and maintenance man had worked for 27 years at the Corning Glassworks plant in Bradford, Pennsylvania. At 11 PM., Kerstetter began his shift as a weekend security guard. That night, $250,000 worth of platinum pipe vanished from the plant and Dale Kerstetter was never seen again. Pound for pound, platinum is one of the most precious commodities in the world. After Dale Kerstetter disappeared, authorities were mystified. Was Kerstetter the unwitting victim of a robbery or had the engineered the heist himself?
By all accounts, Dale was an ordinary man who was loved by his family and respected by his employer. His son, Al, remembered him as being very compassionate:
"He's just a great father. I mean, there wasn't a kid in the world that wouldn't want to have him as their dad."
On Sunday morning, September 13 th , security guard John Lindquist arrived at 7:00 AM. He expected to find Dale waiting to be relieved:

Was Dale a victim or was he in on the heist?​

"He usually sat right inside the door and he wasn't there. So I walked in the cafeteria and I see his lunch pail sitting on the table. I happened to pick up the newspaper and there were the keys. So then I looked in his lunch pail, and I see that... everything was there. He hadn't eaten."
Later that morning, Dale's pickup truck was discovered in the plant parking lot. Police were called in to investigate. The truck yielded a number of clues that suggested Dale had not disappeared voluntarily. His keys were still in the ignition, and he left behind a full carton of cigarettes, an empty gun holster from his .22-caliber pistol, and his daypack.
That afternoon, the sheriff's K-9 unit was brought in to track Dale's movements in the 112,000-square-foot factory. The dogs led police to the second floor. This was the site of the plant's glass furnace, also known as "the tank." The tank contained the valuable platinum pipe but was not part of Dale's normal security rounds. Even though Dale's scent was found near the tank, he was nowhere in the building.
The investigation next focused on the three security cameras that monitor the factory around the clock. Personnel manager, Patrick Foley, was disturbed by what the cameras had recorded:
"The first thing I saw was a masked man in the back of the plant in the one area. When I saw the masked man on the tape, I was very alarmed. At first I thought... there's been some foul play, Dale's involved in foul play, and he probably is missing. And then Dale Kerstetter came back and met this masked person in the back of the plant. I had a very empty feeling in my stomach. I said, 'What on earth?' And then, as I continued to review the tapes, I saw the masked person come back out and go up to the tank area, then I was extremely anxious because at that time I realized that not only do we have a missing employee... there was a good possibility that we had missing platinum in the plant. Whoever removed the platinum from the tank was extremely familiar with the plant, everything in the plant--they knew exactly where to go."
Police could not tell if Dale was being coerced or if he was part of the heist. At one point he looked directly into the camera. Was Dale signaling for help? Or was he coolly flaunting his crime? Patrick Foley was sure he knew the answer:
"I think the fact that he did everything in front of the cameras was once again just Dale Kerstetter saying to us, 'Look, hey, here I am. I'm taking your platinum and there isn't a thing you can do about it.'"
However, Wendy Kerstetter believed her father was an innocent victim. According to her theory, Dale heard or saw the masked intruder and went to investigate:
"If he had planned on taking off anywhere, why would he bother packing a lunch? I mean, just little things like that. And a whole carton of cigarettes, and he smoked all the time. I mean, he would've taken his cigarettes."
Another theory places Dale at the center of a bold and premeditated robbery. Inspector Max J. Bizzak of the Pennsylvania State Police was one of the lead investigators on the case:
"Through our investigation we determined Dale Kerstetter was approximately $30,000 to $40,000 in arrears on various payments--trailer payments, vehicle payments and, different bills which he had owed throughout the area."
Whether Dale Kerstetter committed the crime or not, his daughter Wendy and the rest of his family are anxious to know if he is still alive:
"He had six kids, two grandkids. And to do something like that and take off, and not call any of them--you know, just take off and never talk to your kids again? I just... can't believe it."
Dale Kerstetter is 5'4" tall and weighs 130 pounds. He has blue eyes, brown and grey hair and a receding hairline.

 

[:+:MrTT:+:]

UMfanforever you really hit my senses on this one.
Not only did i get a headache , i had to lay down and take a nap just to think about this case.
Dorothy Allison would be so proud of you right now if she was here.
WELL DONE!

I Google this case, and found that there are some family members talking about this case elsewhere, i am hoping they find there way here eventually, to help answer some questions, they may be able to answer since LE is not here to do so.

But this thief, was walking around that plant like he had all the time in the world, like he was in his garage working on something.
according to a family member, policy was, if the guard did-not check in every hour on the hour, then the person the guard was suppose to check in with, was to call the police to have them respond to the plant to check on things, check on things to see if the guard was hurt, had a heart attack etc.........and according to this family member, the police was no more then a mile from the plant...........

plant management said, a NEW employee was working that night, and was unsure of procedure as far as what to do, if the guard did not check in every hour on the hour.............I find that hard to believe, this new employee, didn't know one of the most important procedures to follow!!!........which was to call the police, if the guard did not check in every hour on the hour, I just don't believe that.

How lucky, for this thief, that a new employee was working that night, and being new, forgot about calling the police when the guard failed to call in every hour on the hour........from the video, it took longer then an hour to do all that was done, to get that stuff out and loaded.

and perhaps, the guard looking into the camera, was really saying, where are you.........i have not called in, where are the cops!!
perhaps he knew, when he did not call in, the police would be called, and the thief caught..so the guard cooperated with the thief, knowing soon the cops would be there since he did-not call in.........

But lucky for the thief, this NEW person, forgot this procedure, and didn't call???............
Was this thief, and the new person working together?
did the new person quit or fired soon after, and where did they come from?
250,000 back then, would be around what 750,000 today?
perhaps this thief got paid 50,ooo or so for this material from someone.
had to have someone ready to buy the stuff after/ before! he took it.
would not steal it first, then try to sell it.
No, i say he had a buyer already lined up.

back in 87 in PA, whom would know what to do with that stuff in advance........after it left the facility?
it went somewhere?

But i wonder where it came from, was it made there, or was it brought in from somewhere, and stored there for awhile, and whom was it stored there for, and whom had ordered it?

Whom ordered it, and had it delivered to that facility, if it was not made at the plant, which i don't think it was made there, but could have been produced there i guess.
Back at that time, in the area, would the mob, or other crime family, had been interested in this material, to sell on the black market?
Was that a angle that was looked at?

where did this stuff come from?

​

 

[morf13]

I always wanted to see this case resolved, ever since i saw it on UM. Very Fascinating. Since the statute of limitations is up, he could come home if he was involved, which make me think he was victim

 

[necco]

I wonder if there was a central monitoring station for the glass kiln temperatures. The melting point of glass is significantly above the temperature of a crematorium. It's awful to say, but I don't think Dale every made it out of that building.

 

[thefragile7393]

I wonder if there was a central monitoring station for the glass kiln temperatures. The melting point of glass is significantly above the temperature of a crematorium. It's awful to say, but I don't think Dale every made it out of that building.

I don't think so either. I don't know why he would set himself up as the fall guy deliberately...wouldn't both be masked if they were in on it? I honestly think this thief was a current or former employee, as he knew where everything was. He had it all perfectly set up-Dale's face is the only one visible. He quite possibly knew about his debts. It meant that Dale would be the one hunted and searched for. Then at the end, Dale ends up in a glass kiln.
Even if he was in on it, I think sadly that is where he ended up. This masked person pretty much made a perfect crime.

 

[neverletgo]

:bump: for Dale, missing over 25 years now. Where is Dale Kerstetter?

 

[justagirl247]

Have recently run across this case what i find odd is the manager suggesting that him looking into the camera was a taunt .... First of all it is typical human behavior to want to believe the best in people unless there is a reason to think he would do something like this which in that case why was he still employed ?? Furthermore if he was indeed taunting them why just look at the camera? If I wanted someone to KNOW I was taking from them and wanted to also rub it in their face I think I would sarcastically wave or maybe even flip the camera off just looking into it doesn't indicate to me he is taunting anyone .... However I can't find this video to watch so I haven't seen it myself

 

[STANDREID]

Unless I'm having a false memory, wasn't this on Unsolved Mysteries and didn't they suggest that he might have been dumped into a vat of molten metal?

 

[justagirl247]

From what I understand yes it was on unsolved mysteries as far as the other I am not sure I only started reading about this case yesterday and there seems to be several theories but from what I can't tell no evidence to anything ... I've never seen that episode or the Video..

 

[Redux]

Unless I'm having a false memory, wasn't this on Unsolved Mysteries and didn't they suggest that he might have been dumped into a vat of molten metal?

I don't recall if it was suggested in Dale's case ... this case made me think of Dave Bocks who was also featured on an unsolved mysteries episode. He worked in a uranium plant and either fell or was pushed into a uranium vat... maybe that's who you were thinking of?

 

[STANDREID]

That's probably right-thanks.

 

[justagirl247]

Yes I think that's correct I read a little bit about him while researching about dales case ... I think it was said someone either saw or thought they saw him in the vat. So many sad cases wish there could be answers to all of them

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Very curious.

The price of platinum on 13 September 1987 was $580.50 per troy ounce so that's about 430 troy ounces, or 29.5 lb (13.4kg) of metal.

http://www.macrotrends.net/2540/platinum-prices-historical-chart-data

That's an awful lot of platinum for someone to have to get rid of. Given that its use is almost entirely industrial with a small proportion going to jewellery, fencing it would have been pretty problematic.

It does make me more inclined to see this as an insurance job by the company.

 

[alb1on]

It does make me more inclined to see this as an insurance job by the company.

This seems very unlikely. I was an Underwriting Director and know such crimes happen, but it is rare to the point of I have never come across a case for such an insurance crime to be committed by such a large and successful company as Corning. They are commonly committed by small companies or sole traders who are financially troubled. However, my experience would certainly suggest a case like this would involve an insider, whether that is Dale or someone else. I find it especially strange that LE have not definitively identified an insider, as that is the usual key to such cases and would be where they would focus initial enquiries.

 

[Jmp209]

I've followed this case for a few years now and still have far more questions than answers. I've lived in Bradford my whole life and there is very little talk about this case. My grandfather retired from corning and was actually working there at the time of the incident and was friends with Dale. A few things I've been able to get info about are
1. The platinum was used in one of their manufacturing processes and was not one of the companies products they made or sold.
2. The part of the factory that the platinum was located was not being used at the time of the robbery nor was the process that used the platinum.
3. There were no kilns running at this time and no way for a body to be disposed of in the factory

I really hope this is solved someday. Every time I drive by that place I can only wonder and imagine what happened that night.

 

[apollo11descent]

I've followed this case for a few years now and still have far more questions than answers. I've lived in Bradford my whole life and there is very little talk about this case. My grandfather retired from corning and was actually working there at the time of the incident and was friends with Dale. A few things I've been able to get info about are
1. The platinum was used in one of their manufacturing processes and was not one of the companies products they made or sold.
2. The part of the factory that the platinum was located was not being used at the time of the robbery nor was the process that used the platinum.
3. There were no kilns running at this time and no way for a body to be disposed of in the factory

I really hope this is solved someday. Every time I drive by that place I can only wonder and imagine what happened that night.

if #3 is really true, then either he got away with it, or maybe his remains are somewhere around here. I live in Bradford also, and am just finding out about this. And I have some drones, I wonder if I could look around the woods, but you would think they would have looked back then right?

 

[Jmp209]

if #3 is really true, then either he got away with it, or maybe his remains are somewhere around here. I live in Bradford also, and am just finding out about this. And I have some drones, I wonder if I could look around the woods, but you would think they would have looked back then right?

My grandpa was still working there at the time and he said there was no way Dale could have been disposed of within the building at that particular time. I'm sure he made it out of the building but unfortunately nobody knows for sure if it was on his own free will. He didn't appear to be super alarmed by the intruder and seems to have approached him directly rather than calling for help or alerting someone else first. That makes me think he at least knew who the guy behind the mask was even if he wasn't involved. If that's the case I lean towards it being someone who worked there or at least had a good knowledge of the place. But if it was someone local, I find it hard to believe they never narrowed down a suspect or found Dale. Honestly I can't come up with a single scenario that totally makes sense for this.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

[BrownPaperBag]

That poor man. I just saw the Unsolved Mysteries on this, and his boss really didn't give him a fair shake. I was really hoping this case would be resolved after all this time. I don't have a great feeling that this man lived through that night.

 

[Find Brenda]

His case information is also featured on www.unsolved.us

 

[HardBoiled]

I've been interested in this case ever since I saw the original Unsolved Mysteries segment as a kid, and I'm really disappointed it has not been resolved. That said, where I live in Australia, the Police have been on a recent tear cleaning up cold cases, many of them even older than this one. I have not given up hope
The original UM segment featured a reconstruction of the CCTV footage from the plant and not the actual footage. Does anyone know why this was when it was the one piece of evidence they actually had? Does anyone know if the footage survives in any shape or form?
And how the hell did the culprits dispose of the stolen goods? Surely the platinum market is a very small one. As a 99.9% certainty this was an inside job to at least some extent, surely it must have been a very small number of people who knew about the platinum and had a means to get rid of it?
Hopefully Dales body turns up somewhere and the police recover some physical evidence to finally put this one to bed. I have not given up that this may yet be solved.