Case Details
- Photo URLs:
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- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 02/01/1995
- Missing From:
- Missing From Hayden, Colorado
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Male
- Race:
- Race White
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 06/08/1917 (107)
- Age:
- Age 75 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 6’0, 220 – 270 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Graying red hair, brown eyes. Roberts’s nickname is Dick. He may use the alias names Chester Roberts, Dean Roberts, Dean Thayer, Dick Thayer and/or Richard Thayer. He is a chain-smoker.
- Details of Disappearance:
- Mayor Roberts vanished from Hayden, Colorado on February 1, 1995. He’d been mayor for three years. That evening, he told the town clerk he couldn’t make a meeting, then had coffee at a local diner. He was never seen again.
Reported missing on February 9th, the police didn’t investigate for a few days because he often traveled for work (consulting for oil companies). But his home was messy and unlocked—unusual for him—with his personal belongings left behind, except for his wallet, car keys, a gun, and a rifle. He even left a birthday card for his daughter.
His truck was found abandoned deep in a Utah desert on February 27th, far from any road. It looked deliberately hidden. There were a few unclear footprints, but no signs of a crime.
Theories suggest suicide. He was depressed, jobless, in debt, drinking heavily, and having relationship problems. His mayoral salary was low, and he hadn’t worked other jobs since October 1994. However, there’s little evidence to confirm this or any other theory.
Roberts was a quiet, shy man who’d been a truck driver and construction worker. He was divorced but close to his ex-wife and adult daughters. His disappearance remains a mystery.
- Agency:
- Hayden Police Department 970-276-2535
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 02/01/1995