WY WY - Amy Wroe Bechtel, 24, Fremont County, 24 Jul 1997

[Gtcomo]

Being from Wyoming, I’ve always thought her husband Steve was responsible for her disappearance.. I still do..
But…. I wonder if Paul Hutchinson who was a student at Montana state university at the time and just recently committed suicide after he was the DNA match to semen from a cold case murder near Bozeman Montana in like 1996-97 was in the lander area at the time Amy disappeared..he was going to be arrested soon after just having a interview with a Bozeman detective who subtly let Paul know they knew it was him who murdered the 15 year old girl.. but committed suicide 24 hours after being interviewed..
Hutchinson was a huge hunter & fisherman and went on a ton of trips alone through out the years.

Just sayin… you never know

 

[Cryptic]

Being from Wyoming, I’ve always thought her husband Steve was responsible for her disappearance.. I still do..

The police shared your suspiscions and did a deep dive on her husband. The police divers came up with a certain number of troubling concerns, but nothing tangible.

The concerns the "divers" found included:

- Diary entries where women were harmed.
- Subjective testimony that hubby was an "alpha male", "hands on" type guy.
- An alibi that was strong, but not air tight. Rock climbing expedition was called off early due to lack of gear. This left a tight, but clearly possible window for a "Not Driving Miss Daisy" type driver to get to her training location.
- A local pastor seeing a truck with the same general appearance and with a similar camper shell in the area as the husband's truck, but not being able to identify the driver.
- The concerned / "concerned" husbands claims of speedily calling an area hospital looking for his wife could not be verified by pertinent hospital employees.

And now.... the other side of the coin:

- No history of violence.
- Diary entries were years in the past.
- No history of threats to wife, nor a history of jealousy that she was a budding Olympian where as his career was stuck at the "serious minor league competitor" level.
- Possible time frame of ending rock climbing / arriving at training location was tight- for any driver.

 

[PrairieWind]

Being from Wyoming, I’ve always thought her husband Steve was responsible for her disappearance.. I still do..
But…. I wonder if Paul Hutchinson who was a student at Montana state university at the time and just recently committed suicide after he was the DNA match to semen from a cold case murder near Bozeman Montana in like 1996-97 was in the lander area at the time Amy disappeared..he was going to be arrested soon after just having a interview with a Bozeman detective who subtly let Paul know they knew it was him who murdered the 15 year old girl.. but committed suicide 24 hours after being interviewed..
Hutchinson was a huge hunter & fisherman and went on a ton of trips alone through out the years.

Just sayin… you never know

I have been back and forth on whether Steve did it, but I don't think he did. It just doesn't make sense to me. I believe Dale Wayne Eaton (The Lil Miss murderer, and potential serial killer) was apparently in the area that day as well. He refused to discuss the case as well.

 

[Cryptic]

• However, his alibi (rock climbing in Dubois) has been corroborated, and there was no physical evidence tying him to any perceived crime.I

Though I agree that there was no physical evidence tying the husband to a possible crime, one extensive article I read stated that his alibi was corroborated to a good degree, but not an absolute degree.

The rock climbing trip was evidently called off early. Some sources state that the men realized that they did not have the needed equipment to make the climb. Another source suggests that the trip was only to identify interesting formations for future climbs and that no climbing was planned that day.

In either case, an early departure from rock climbing would have allowed him, at least in theory (tight window), to be at the training area while his wife was running.

 

[Aurora90]

Is there any chance the eyewitness account isn’t correct? Could something have happened the night before? Does he have an alibi for the evening prior? I’m currently watching the disappeared episode so maybe this is explained…

 

[Bodine]

Is there any chance the eyewitness account isn’t correct? Could something have happened the night before? Does he have an alibi for the evening prior? I’m currently watching the disappeared episode so maybe this is explained…

She was seen in a shop in Lander on the afternoon she went missing. That is 100% verified.

 

[Aurora90]

She was seen in a shop in Lander on the afternoon she went missing. That is 100% verified.

Thank you for confirming! I caught that as the episode went along. i’m inclined to believe that maybe the detectives know more than we do and their suspicions about the husband are correct.

 

[Skyblueday32]

I guess either the husband or the potential serial killer in the area are both plausible. One killed for pleasure, or a sick drive, but the husband would most likely have a motive, was there another woman? I would say if money troubles or debt was a reason, a body would have been needed to collect, or just after a period of time declared as dead? Being so young, was a life insurance policy purchased? I could buy the husband accidentally killing her in a fight in the home, panicking and disposing of the body, but why stalk her and make her disappear? Sounds to me more like random?

 

[DD Byrd]

Was she wearing running attire and sneakers at the confirmed shop sighting? In July, it would be light out for awhile...but if she was noted checking her watch several times it says to me she was either late for something, or was concerned she would be late for something (beyond getting her run in before dark). Such concern about the time might mean she knew someone was waiting for her, or might mean nothing. She could've been checking her resting heart rate for all we know. But it's interesting the employee noticed, so maybe she wasn't usually a watch checker.

Meanwhile, was she known for taking her wallet but not locking the car and taking her keys? For a pro runner, a "jog" might be hours. If she had gels or water bladders I would also guess she had the ability to carry keys if she brought the wallet. Of course, she might not have had the wallet there in the first place.

I'd like to know if dogs had her scent right next to the driver's door. That spot being where she intended to go doesn't mean she made it there herself. Depending on who knew her schedule, "I park at the turnout by mile marker xyz" would be specific enough. Do we know if there were other tire marks in a similar state to hers or were they a complete washout after the rain? They could rule out marks under her car or at interfering angles with her car's trajcetory. I'm assuming they were visible for some time based on the potential sneaker print that was eventually lost. I'd imagine they found the car before the print. And even if not not her print, it speaks to the state of ground impressions.

It's also possible this was an accident and split-second cover up decision by a panicked driver. Might she have rounded a blind curve at the peak level of an afternoon sun glare? A new or distracted driver, an unlicensed driver, a single parent imagining a prison sentence, and certainly a drunk driver among myriad others would all have reason to not come forward. Especially if they attempted to help her, loading her into their car and she died en route to help. Who knows. But not all pedestian v vehicle accidents, even fatalities, leave evidence even if LE was in the exact spot, and defintely not if rains came through and they weren't. I'd find it harder to belive an animal attack, unless Any ran from the road and got a lead on whatever came after her. Even then, she'd have to met her demise in a cave or somewhere not easily visible or checked by LE. An open kill would leave some dramatic evidence, rain or not.