David Vernon Lovely, August 1985

Missing Person, August,1985, Sweetwater County, Wyoming: In August, 1985, David Vernon Lovely, age 19, was riding a maroon 1978 Model 1100 Yamaha motorcycle bearing California license 8N3477 fitted with saddle bags and a luggage rack, was traveling from California to Massachusetts with his family.They became separated in southwest Wyoming Lovely was reported to be carrying about $150 in cash at the time of his disappearance.Lovely is described as a white male, 6’ 4” in height, 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. He has surgical scars from extensive childhood kidney surgery. He was last seen wearing a three button white pullover polo type shirt, brown cotton pants, and sneakers. He also had a green army jacket along with a red nylon jacket. Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office at (307) 872-6350 or the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation at (307) 777-7181.
Family hopes new clues will surface
By KATHY GILBERT, Staff Writer
The family of a man missing for the past 19 years still has hope that someone somewhere can shed light on his disappearance.
David Vernon Lovely was 20 years old when he went missing somewhere between Fort Bridger and Baxter Road east of Rock Springs.
Lovely's sister, Cynthia Lundberg, now lives in New Hampshire.
"It will be 20 years on Aug. 5 since he disappeared. The family doesn't know if he fell victim to a crime or if he disappeared because he wanted to be lost for some unknown reason," Lundberg said.
The story of Lovely's disappearance is baffling. Although the last time his family heard from him was Aug. 5, 1985, the case didn't come to the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office until nine days later when some campers found an abandoned motorcycle near Baxter Road. At the time, the late Jim Stark was sheriff.
Deputy Mike Atwood called dispatch on Aug. 14 with a report of an abandoned Yamaha motorcycle. Former detective Mary Louise Barneski heard the radio call and remembered a teletype she had seen about such a motorcycle.
Barneski retrieved the message which was from the Lancaster County, Neb., sheriff. It indicated the motorcycle belonged to David Lovely who had become separated from his family during a cross-country move.
According to Barneski's report, Lovely's mother, Ellen Lovely, was driving a large U-Haul truck and he was was driving the motorcycle. They were moving to Massachussets from California. Ellen Lovely told Barneski they stopped every 30 miles to check on David. When they got to Evanston, Lovely's mother and sister wanted to stop but he wanted to keep going.
He left the two, telling them he would wait for them at a rest stop further east.
They never saw him again.
The last time he was heard from was a call to his aunt, Barbara Janiak. He told her he had had trouble with his motorcycle and pushed it into the Bingo Truck Stop in Fort Bridger. A "rough looking" man on a motorcycle worked on the bike and "fixed it better than it was," Lovely told his aunt.
He also told her he was afraid of the man who fixed the motorcycle.
Barneski, now remarried and living in Nevada, recalled the case and the mystery that surrounded it.
"It seemed that the family was pretty close and I really don't think he disappeared because he wanted to," she said.
She added the case bothered her for a very long time.
"We rode the area (where the motorcycle was found) with ATVs and searched all around there. The keys were left in the bike and it had a half tank of gas. It was in running condition," she remembers.
However, no sign of the young man was ever found.
Sheriff Dave Gray said the area has been searched extensively over the past several years for other missing persons. As far as he's concerned, the case is still open and if new information comes available, the investigation will be reactivated.
"I know it's hard for the family, and I'm sure there are bodies in the desert that will never be found, but I hope David Lovely is one of the missing that assumed a new identity and is alive and well somewhere," Gray said.
Lovely would now be 39. He's 6'4" tall and weighed about 160 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes.
If anyone has any information, they should contact the sheriff's office.
http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/dci/uns...d_cases.html#19