Richard Willis Bendele, 29, disappeared on November 17, 1996, after going pheasant hunting in the remote Laidlaw Park area of Blaine County, Idaho. That evening he called his mother from his blue pickup truck, saying the vehicle had stalled despite having gas and that he suspected someone had tampered with it. He sounded nervous and said he would mark a nearby turnoff and call back; that second call never came.

Searchers located his truck the next day near Laidlaw Corral. The vehicle had a smashed window, a broken battery, and contained Bendele’s coat, cell phone, and his late father’s shotgun — an item the family says he cherished and would not have left behind. Nearby were a beer box and cans thought to have been used to mark the turnoff; searchers also found a right-hand leather glove, a fryer glove from his workplace, and one sneaker. Authorities suspect an involuntary disappearance and believe he may have been taken, but no suspects have been identified and the case remains unsolved.

If anyone was in the Laidlaw Park or Laidlaw Corral area on November 17, 1996, or has information about Richard Bendele’s movements that day, please come forward.