David Vernon Lovely, known as Dave, was last seen in the vicinity of County Road 201 in Fort Bridger.
The story of Lovely's disappearance is baffling. Although the last time his family heard from him was August 5, 1985, the case didn't come to the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office until nine days later when some campers found his abandoned burgundy 1978 Yamaha motorcycle near Baxter Road.
Lovely had become separated from his family during a cross-country move. According to police reports, Lovely's mother was driving a large U-Haul truck and he was driving the motorcycle. 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 when he called his aunt. 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.
The family and authorities rode to the area where the motorcycle was found with ATVs and searched all around. The keys were left in the bike, and it had a half tank of gas. It was in running condition. However, no sign of Lovely was ever found.
Case Number 85-019506.
