Eugene Bud Branton Jr., 36, was last seen at his Hutchinson, Kansas, home at about 9:30 p.m. on August 6, 1984. He did not report to work the next day at the Far-Mar-Co elevator, and his supervisor reported him missing. Officers found his house unlocked with a light on and no signs of struggle or forced entry; his personal belongings, including clothing, appeared to be present. Branton’s eleven-year-old daughter was away on vacation, and he had become engaged two days earlier.

In January 1985 a co-worker, George Taubert, told the Reno County Attorney that he and another Far-Mar-Co employee, Leslie Norman Walker, lured Branton to a remote area under the pretext of buying a horse. Taubert said both men shot Branton, stole about $270 and several firearms, then left his body in brush; he later learned Walker moved the remains and covered them with rocks. Walker was arrested and in 1985 was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery in connection with Branton’s disappearance and death. Branton’s remains have never been recovered and the case remains an endangered missing person investigation with the Reno County Sheriff’s Office.

Did anyone in the Hutchinson area know Branton’s habits, the horse sale story, or places in western Reno County that fit this account?