Erica Siaulinski, Staff Writer
On July 25th 1997, 24-year-old Amy Wroe Bechtel left her house for her routine afternoon run and disappeared. Thirty years later authorities are still left with no answers as to what could have happened.
Amy Joy Wroe was born on August 4th, 1972 in California. In 1992 she began attending the University of Wyoming, where she broke records as a long distance runner. Following her graduation, she continued to run and hoped to eventually maybe compete in the 2000 Summer Olympic games. In 1996 she married Steve Bechtel.
On the day of her disappearance, Bechtel taught a fitness class and ran a few errands. When her afternoon was finished she drove to Shoshone National Park, to run on a trail she was somewhat familiar with.
Steve Bechtel, Amy’s husband, had returned from a day out rock climbing with a friend around 4:30 p.m. to find that Amy had not yet returned. Around 10 p.m. Steve contacted Duane Jo Anne Wroe to ask about Amy’s whereabouts. When he discovered they had not heard from her, he contacted the local police department.
Around 1 a.m on July 25th, Amy’s vehicle was discovered in Shoshone National Park. By 3 a.m. there was a full launched investigation looking for any traces of her. This case quickly caught the attention of the media, as well as people across the country. Tips and leads of what may have happened to Bechtel poured in with no result and no further leads.
It was believed that Amy had fallen victim to the elements of the park. It was theorized she had been attacked potentially by an animal or fallen off a steep ledge somewhere. Steve had initially been ruled out as a suspect. That was until authorities discovered journal entries that described detailed violence committed against women, specifically his wife. “I’ve read them, and they were very, very specifically about my sister, and were extremely disturbing. And misogynistic, hateful, violent writings,” Amy’s brother said years later. Law enforcement attempted to get Steve to admit to playing a role in his wife’s disappearance or potential homicide. Steve insisted that the journals were not serious, and simply lyrics for his band. Following this, Steve became reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement.
Amy’s family also began to suspect Steve may have had something to do with what happened to Amy. They believed that they may have seen bruises on her arms that resembled finger prints at one point. No more leads came from the case, no more suspects were pinpointed.
In 2004, Dale Wayne Eaton was put on death row in Wyoming for the murder of Lisa Marie Kimmel in 1988, her case went unsolved until DNA evidence linked her body to the killer’s identity in 2002. Although he was only charged for one murder, it is believed that he had many more. At the time of Bechtel’s disappearance, Eaton’s brother claims that Eaton was living in the same area. In 2012, an investigator searched Eaton’s vehicle that remained mostly untouched from the time of his arrest, and discovered a receipt for gas near Lander, close by to where Amy lived around the date that she had gone missing.
30 years passed without any more leads. Bechtle was pronounced legally dead in 2004. Her family still holds out hope that she’ll return home safely some day. “Amy wouldn’t give up on me ever. I’m not giving up on her,” her brother says.
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