John Buck Kueper, 92, vanished after leaving Buddy’s Bar in Whetstone, Arizona, on the afternoon of January 26, 2007. He told fellow patrons he planned to drive his distinctive yellow and brown 1985 Dodge half-ton pickup to Tombstone for an American Legion event, then left between about 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. A witness later said they saw a man matching Kueper’s description being helped into a truck like his by two men in the bar parking lot; the witness thought Kueper looked ill or intoxicated, which family members said was out of character.

Four days later the pickup was found abandoned in a remote wash near the ghost town of Fairbank between Whetstone and Tombstone, stuck up to the axles in mud with the keys in the ignition. No obvious signs of blood were reported, but a hammer wrapped in paper towels and tissue was recovered from the vehicle. Extensive ground and air searches turned up no trace of Kueper. He had bad knees and relied on his truck, usually stayed within about five miles of home, and was described as well liked; the community even marked his 93rd birthday in his absence. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office has investigated the disappearance as a potential homicide, but no significant leads have emerged.

Does anyone have information about the two men described at the bar or recalls seeing Kueper or his pickup near Fairbank on or after January 26, 2007?