LANDER, Wyo. (AP) - The mysterious disappearance of a Lander woman nearly two months ago has stimulated talk of other unsolved cases with similar circumstances.
Many homicide and disappearance cases have not been solved, but it does not mean they have been forgotten, said Capt. Tim McKinney of the Fremont County Sheriff's Department.
"Those cases are not shelved by any means," he said. "We have to work the current stuff, but we never forget them."
The most "current stuff" right now is the case of Amy Wroe Bechtel, 25, who vanished July 24 in the Loop Road area of the Shoshone National Forest.
Investigators continue to check out leads, but they have little evidence and fewer clues in the case aside from her car, which she left in the mountains above Lander when she went running that day.
Although there were no signs of a struggle, investigators insist the chances of someone disappearing on purpose are slim.
"People are communicative by nature. Most of the time they want to be around people, so somebody usually finds out," McKinney said.
The Bechtel case is much like that involving Riverton's Kathleen Pehringer, who disappeared in a similar manner in April 1989 and remains missing, said Sgt. Randy Ricard of the Riverton Police Department.
Police theorized Pehringer left her house with someone she knew and that she intended to be gone just a short time. As with Bechtel, there was no sign of a struggle at her home - meaning the victim may have known her assailant.
Both cases generated enormous public interest, and search efforts for the two women focused in the same areas.
Despite extensive investigation, Pehringer was never found, and Bechtel's disappearance remains unsolved.
However, Bechtel's case continues to generate five to six new leads a day, and investigators will not give up until they have exhausted all of their resources, McKinney said.