Name: Dale Duane Williams
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: May 27, 1999
Location Last Seen: Naturita, Montrose County, Colorado
Date of Birth: July 15, 1956
Age: 42 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 170 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green (listed as Blue by some sources)
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scar under chin, scars on each side of face along jawline, scar on center of chin, birthmark on left side of jawbone, jawbone has damage and is only visible if X-rayed; recently had teeth pulled in anticipation of getting dentures
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Blue T-shirt, blue jeans
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Contact lenses
On the evening of May 27th, Dale failed to come home for dinner. His wife assumed he was preoccupied with a job at the body shop and lost track of time. By morning his wife discovered Dale had not made it home all night. As soon as she got her kids off to school, she drove straight to Dale’s garage. She then went to her mother-in-law's who also hadn’t heard from Dale. They checked out several places but failed to find him. Within a few hours police were notified.
Investigators began piecing together Dale Williams’ day. They learned Dale made a brief stop at Tami Lowrance’s office about 12:15 that afternoon. Dale was in a hurry. He told Tami he was on his way to help a stranded motorist. Investigators determined that Dale’s friend, Tom Ross, had been with him just before Tami saw him. Tom and his young son had stopped by the body shop late that morning. While they were there a call came in. A car had broken down and the caller needed roadside help. It was unusual for him to receive a call because Dale was not a mechanic. When he went on the service call, he left his shop open. His tools were scattered around the car he had been working on, and the door to the car was open. Everything appeared like he intended to return shortly to finish the job.
There are those who claim that Dale’s truck was parked in its normal spot at his body shop by 1:30 PM the day he vanished. If true, Dale, or someone else, drove his truck back into town within 90 minutes of his responding to the distress call outside of town. Police did not locate the stranded motorist Dale Williams went to help, but the distress call was placed from a stolen cell phone. The last anyone reportedly saw of Williams that day was at the Family Market grocery store in Naturita, where a clerk said he walked in about 6 p.m. and bought a can of soda.
Approximately six weeks after his disappearance, Dale's white 1994 Ford pick-up truck was found under 10 feet of water, by children swimming at the confluence of the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers in western Colorado. The ignition was on and the truck was in gear, and that the driver's side window was rolled down. The truck entered the river at an angle that required a sharp turn from the road. Tire tracks show the truck was allowed to slowly roll down an embankment and into the river without braking. There was no indication that an accident caused the truck to go into the river. Investigators do not believe Williams was inside the truck when it went into the water. This confluence is located near a dirt road that connects Colorado 141 and 90 between Uravan and Bedrock.
Authorities have found no reason to believe Williams voluntarily left his children and his wife of 23 years.
Agency Name: Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Agency Contact Person: Agent Brooks Bennett
Agency Phone Number: (970) 248-7500
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 99M-00047
Agency Name: Montrose County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Sheriff Rick Dunlap
Agency Phone Number: (970) 249-6606
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: MCSO W-1753-99
NamUs Case Number: 361
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs
Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Unsolved Mysteries (air date 9/22/02)
Denver Post (6/11/99)
Added: 5/26/08; Last Updated: 11-13-2021 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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