Patrick Vostades, a 41-year-old Hispanic father, son and friend, was found fatally shot on a county road about five miles south and half a mile west of Stegall in the early morning of August 21, 1971. Investigators believe he had been killed elsewhere and his body transported to the remote spot where it was discovered.

The Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation but no arrests or public identifications of suspects have been made. The case remains open and unsolved decades later, leaving many unanswered questions about who was responsible and why Patrick was targeted.

Anyone with memories of Patrick, knowledge of the area, or information about events in western Nebraska around August 1971 is urged to come forward, no matter how small the detail.