William Wil Hendrick was a 25-year-old theater student at the University of Idaho who disappeared from a party in Moscow on the night of January 10, 1999. He was last seen in the early morning after attending a gathering where two social groups mixed; he had been drinking and was reportedly concerned about a friend’s trouble with her boyfriend at a separate party in the same building. When he failed to return, his partner of five years, Jerry Schutz, and others searched for him.

A week after the disappearance Hendrick’s unlocked car was found downtown with his wallet, artwork portfolio, and work keys inside — items his partner said he would not have left. The driver’s seat was pushed all the way back and there was mud in the wheel wells, but no obvious signs such as blood or hair. Multiple agencies interviewed numerous people from the party. Investigators considered a hate-crime motive; several persons of interest were developed, including a former employee who had used an anti-gay slur and a hitchhiker the employee reportedly picked up.

In September 2002 hunters found a skull and jawbone in a remote Latah County wood; dental comparison identified Hendrick and the death was ruled a homicide, though cause could not be determined from the limited remains. No arrests have been announced. Did anyone at the party or in the neighborhood see Wil that night or notice someone leaving the building?