Darrel Wayne Kempf, 48, was last seen on the evening of January 28, 2007, leaving North Cove, Washington, around 8:45 p.m. He intended to drive his blue Plymouth Voyager van to his home in Graham but never arrived and was reported missing the next day. Kempf is described as a White male, six feet tall, 250 pounds, with graying hair, blue eyes, a mustache and a tattoo on his left arm.

The van was found the day after the report at a remote beach near the North Cove Jetty on State Route 105. The vehicle had apparently gone off the road and flipped onto its roof; there were no signs of Kempf at the scene and no obvious injuries. Investigators noted a belt tied to the steering wheel. K-9 units tracked a scent for a short distance on the road above the crash site before the trail was lost.

In the days after his disappearance, Kempf’s family received a letter reportedly from an Army friend saying Kempf’s used-car business, Triad Marketing, was deeply in debt and that loan sharks had been involved. A May 2007 review by the state Department of Licensing produced evidence suggesting Kempf may have been involved in numerous frauds connected to the business.

Did anyone who knew Kempf’s business or travel patterns around late January 2007 notice anything unusual?