Eighteen-year-old David Stack was a popular, charismatic high school graduate who loved rock music, partying, and travel. In early summer of 1976, he decided he was going to do some of the latter, planning to hitchhike his way to California, ostensibly to visit some family members in Berkeley or Truckee. He left his home in Broomfield, Colorado on June the 1st, and then seemingly vanished off the face of the earth.
Nine days later, the body of a young man was discovered in a landfill in Tooele County, Utah, the victim of two bullet wounds to the skull. The young man, first listed as a John Doe, had reportedly been seen alive at about three p.m. on June 9th in the town of Wendover, Utah, not far from where the remains were ultimately found.
For decades, the body remained unidentified. Authorities circulated descriptions and facial reconstructions of the victim, who was a white male between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two years old, with shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and a white scar on his forehead.
Finally, in 2010, the missing persons report that the family of David Stack had filed not long after his disappearance was entered into a national database, and subsequently the investigation into his case was reopened. In 2015, the John Doe found in Utah was definitively identified as David Stack, a tragic blow to his family, who had maintained hope since 1976 that the young man was still alive. Sadly, however, David had fallen victim to foul play only a few days after leaving for his trip.
Now that David’s remains have been recovered, authorities are hopeful that they will eventually be able to solve the riddle of who murdered him and why.
Crime Immemorial 