Michael Rust, 56, disappeared from his remote Saguache County, Colorado, property after returning from grocery shopping on March 31, 2009. He reported a burglary, then left on his motorcycle to pursue suspects after finding fresh tire tracks. He never returned and was not heard from again.

Searchers found Rust’s motorcycle at the bottom of a steep ravine with the seat stained by blood, plus a blood-covered vest and a broken wooden gun handle. Human remains found in January 2016 about five miles from his home were later identified as Rust’s; an autopsy determined he had been beaten and died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Investigators eventually focused on Charles Moises Gonzales after Gonzales’s son reported a suspicious filled-in hole on the family property. Gonzales confessed, saying Rust had shot at him first, but a jury rejected that account and convicted him in December 2017 of first-degree murder and related counts. Two life sentences without parole were imposed.

Did anyone in the area know Michael or see him on March 31, 2009?