Paul Robert "Max" Hibbard, 25, of Mead, Colorado, disappeared around May 28–29, 1976 (sources vary — see non-public note), while on a work trip near Gillette, Wyoming. Hibbard was a geologist employed by Berge Exploration of Adams County, Colorado, and had worked there for two years as a reliable employee. About a week before his disappearance, he received a phone call from someone claiming to also work for Berge Exploration, asking him to bring his specialized truck to a location near Gillette; Hibbard reported the call to his employer, John S. Berge, believing it was a hoax, and Berge agreed. Hibbard nonetheless disappeared along with the $30,000 truck — a 1976 Chevrolet van outfitted with sophisticated equipment used to detect deposits of uranium, coal, oil shale, and other minerals, and which contained a shielded radioactive source used in that work. He is described as a white male, 5'10", 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and has an appendectomy scar on his abdomen; dental X-rays are on file. His fiancée, Paulette Roth, and a friend, Kevin Meehan, both told reporters at the time that his disappearance was completely out of character.
In July 1976, police recovered nearly $10,000 of Hibbard's geological equipment — which had been carried in his missing truck — in the possession of Joseph O. Dowdy, an Upton, Wyoming resident, after Dowdy attempted to sell it to his own employer, a company that logged and drilled oil, gas, and water wells. Dowdy was arrested and charged with grand larceny; he was questioned in connection with Hibbard's disappearance but provided no firm leads as to Hibbard's whereabouts, and no charges were filed against him in that matter. Dowdy pleaded guilty to grand larceny in January 1977. Hibbard's truck itself was never recovered, though it was reportedly sighted at one point in southern Canada — unconfirmed. His employer speculated Hibbard may have been kidnapped and forced to work as a "logging operative" for an unlicensed geological exploration outfit, that the truck was simply commandeered, or that Hibbard left with it voluntarily; none of these theories has ever been confirmed. The case remains open with the Campbell County Sheriff's Office. Case Number 76-F-10.
