Wyoming : Amy Wroe Bechtel

Written By Navigating Advocacy Podcast

When I think of Wyoming, my mind jumps to the stereotypical western backdrop. A ranch with thousands of acres in a valley with tons of wildlife. Something straight out of Yellowstone. Lander, Wyoming, is a picturesque town nestled in the Wind River Valley and this is where we are navigating advocacy this week. With a population of less than 8,000, researching crime statistics was a bit of a hassle. Most resources had no data reported. 

The town's focus on its residents and visitors has made it an appealing destination for those seeking a tranquil setting amidst the rugged beauty of Wyoming's landscapes. As you can imagine, outdoor activities are high on the list of attractions drawing you in. Sinks Canyon State Park , Worthen Meadow Reservoir, Shoshone National Forest and the Red Desert all feature picturesque hiking and stunning views. 


There are many museums and historic structures including the Sacagawea Cemetery where Sacagawea is buried just 15 miles north of Lander.  Every fourth of July weekend Lander hosts the Pioneer Days Parade and Rodeo. Something our husbands would love is the Lander Brew Festival that became an annual tradition in 2002. Just 5 years before that first brew festival, a beautiful 24 year old woman disappeared without a trace and Lander was left with a mountain of questions and a deep valley of fear.


Amy Joy Wroe was born on August 4, 1972 in Santa Barbara, California and the youngest of four children. During her early childhood the family of 6 would move to Jackson, Wyoming where Amy would spend most of her life. When Amy was in 6th grade, she developed an affinity for running and over the years joined track teams and cross country teams. She became one of the best runners on her college cross country team, even earning the captain spot and a scholarship at the University of Wyoming. 

While in college, Amy met and fell madly in love with her would be husband Steve Bechtel. The two married in 1996 and set roots in Lander 200 miles north west of Laramie. Lander is basically the halfway marker between Jackson and Laramie. The two were both the outdoor type. Amy was the long distance runner and Steve was an avid rock climber. In fact their outdoorsy lifestyle is one reason they settled down in Lander in 1996. The newlyweds had just bought a house days prior. They had planned on moving in over the next week. The two were in a very exciting time in their lives. They were in love, both were succeeding and settled into their jobs. Amy had paid off her student loans the month before, if I have ever said someone was thriving, by all accounts Amy and Steve were thriving! Amy and Steve both worked part time at an outdoor sporting goods store called Wild Iris Mountain Sports. Steve was becoming well known in the rock climbing world. Amy took her fitness passion and taught a few youth weightlifting classes at Wind River Fitness Center. In fact she had just earned her trainers certificate on July 22, 1997. She also earned additional income as a waitress at Sweetwater Grill. 

July 24, 1997, was a beautiful day. A high of 79 degrees beckoned people outside into nature. Amy and Steve were not going to pass up such a beautiful day. Steve had made plans to spend the day outside rock climbing with a friend in Dubios (dew bois) about an hour away and Amy had many errands to run, including calling the phone company, buying homeowners insurance, turning on the gas. They had JUST purchased a home and were still in the process of transitioning into homeownership. Another item on her lsit was that she needed to map out a run route for an upcoming 10k she was planning. The fitness club Amy worked for was hosting this 10 km hill climb and Amy was in charge of finding the route. The run was scheduled for September 7th. And she used this mapping run as further training for when she had planned to try out for the 2000 United States Olympic Team.  She got dressed in a yellow tank top, black shorts, Adidas trail response sneakers, put on her timex Ironman Triathalon Watch and her double wedding band. Her first stop of the day was teaching a weightlifting class, she then hopped into the Camera Connection photo store around 2:30pm looking for a frame she had planned to enter into a photo contest. Amy also ran into a local business called Gallery 331, where she spoke with the owner about the project she was working on. The owner said that Amy was in a bit of a rush and she kept checking her watch over and over, leading the owner to believe that she was either late for another appointment or that she was on a tight schedule. She then headed out to the Shoshone National Forest in the Wind River Mountain Area. 


At 4:30pm Steve had finished his day of rock climbing with his friend and made it back home. When he arrived he didn’t see Amy but knew she had a busy day and that one of the items on her agenda was a run. Originally he wasn’t too concerned, being a long distance runner, and that there was never an extensively detailed plan or route for her run, he assumed she was still out mapping her route or perhaps she decided to run further than the 10k. As it began to grow darker and darker outside, the more and more worried Steve got. He began calling family and friends asking if they had seen Amy and that she went for a run. No one had seen her and then the worry started creeping in further. Around 8pm Steve talked to his friends and neighbors Todd and Amy W, I know this may get confusing. Both couples had lived in a small bungalow style community and lived next door. They had stopped by to see if Steve and Amy wanted to come by for pizza. Steve asked Todd if Amy was already over there as she wasn’t home yet and when Todd told him no he decided to wait for Amy to return before heading next door. 


At 10pm Steve calls her parents to see if Amy had gone to seen them. They hadn’t. He heads towards one of Amy’s known workout locations, Sinks Canyon. This is the overall area of where Amy’s car was found. Steve then stops, turns around and returns home to call authorities first and at 10:30pm he called 911 to report her missing. There are many many discussions on the internet critiquing this 911 call. He calls in and says ”Hi, this is Steve Bechtel calling. I’m, um, I’m missing a person… and I was wondering if you maybe had an extra…” Brett and Alice on the Prosecutors Podcast talk about how some people are overly critical about this. Perhaps Steve is questioning whether he should call 911 and that Amy was going to walk through the door at any moment. I see Brett and Alice’s point, but also I tend to panic and go to the worst case scenario first and then think back about how ridiculous it is that I was so worried over nothing.


At the same time, Todd and Amy W, the neighbors head out to the area Amy was scouting for the run. 


This Sinks Canyon area is roughly 45 minutes away from their home so it takes a bit to even get into the general vicinity. It’s approximately 1 am when Todd and Amy W find her white Toyota Tercel.  In the front seat was Amy’s to-do list for the day, her expensive sunglasses and the keys to her car. On this meticulous to-do list Amy had marked off each item she needed to accomplish except for her run. She had also roughly mapped the route she was planning for the route. She had written down landmarks and mileage to ensure the route was an accurate 10k. It was unlocked and they  noticed that her green wallet was missing. Her car was parked on the Burnt Gulch Road turnoff but there were no signs of a struggle or as if anyone had gone through any of the items in her car. No blood or markings indicating that something nefarious happened right at this location. There weren’t even footprints. 


A search and rescue team was assembled immediately. Even with it being in the middle of the night over 20 people showed up. Outside Magazine talked about Lander and the surrounding areas in the most interesting way. They stated “Getting lost or injured near Lander is like having your house catch fire next to the fire station. Scores of rescuers fit and mountain wise live within rifle shot of city hall”.  The amount of resources available in this area that have the ability to truly help is astonishing. By 3am, there were boots on the ground in the Shoshone National Park searching for Amy. The town showed up for Amy. Friends, Family, Steve, Law Enforcement all volunteered to come out and look for Amy. I didn’t think of this but when I was listening to Brett and Alice they pointed out how the town of Lander is full of outdoorsy people. If you go missing in the national forest these are the people you want to come looking for you. They will have the abilities and knowledge of how to look and where to look in that specific environment.  They can rock climb, hike, etc. Law enforcement makes the decision to expand their search area to a 30 mile radius. 


At this point everyone was still under the impression that Amy must have gotten injured on her run and just needed help getting out of the forest. The team searches for hours. The trails, main road, off the trial. Working 12 hour shifts in the forest. Over 200 people would assist in search efforts. Lakes are searched on boats, people on horseback and atvs. Law enforcement hires a helicopter with infrared cameras to come in looking for heat signatures. Days pass with no evidence. A second helicopter from the Bureau of Indian Affairs is offered in assistance. Around 1,000 calls per day are coming into the police department. People are concerned! 

Steve helped establish the Amy Wroe Bechtel Recovery Headquarters in the Canyon where people could call in tips. He was an integral part of the search and rescue efforts. His wife of only 13 months was missing and he was doing everything he could to help.

After looking for 8 days, the search was called off as they were unable to find a single solitary source of evidence. Every person involved in this search said “she should have been found.” If it was an issue related to wildlife, evidence would have been found. There would have been remains or blood or some sort of struggle scene.

The FBI had 25 agents come in to assist in investigations and the forest is deemed a crime scene. TWENTY FIVE agents! 

Amy’s face was plastered everywhere. The nation knew about Amy Bechtel. She was in the media, on the internet, over 200,000 posters were mailed out. 

The tips they had received had seemingly narrowed down a bit of the timeline but many were hard to corroborate. One witness stated they saw a woman that looked like Amy was seen running along the road around 5pm. They made a point to say that this woman was running fast. Which is right on Amy’s pace. She had set marathon records! She was quick! A footprint had been reported as found but it was destroyed before molds, photos or comparisons could be made. 


In an attempt to conduct a full investigation, and as we know, the spouse is always the first person of interest. They bring in Steve for an interview. 3 hours pass during this interview where Steve offers his alibi and it checks out. According to Runner’s world magazine, an FBI agent came into the room, let’s call him Agent Colson, with a file full of papers. We are talking a couple of inches thick. Throws it down on the table saying that they know Steve is responsible for Amy’s disappearance and that they can prove it so he may as well come clean and they want him to take a polygraph. Straight out of a movie. The good cop bad cop intimidation routine. Steve immediately invoked his right to a lawyer and said he would take a polygraph the following day if his lawyer said it was okay. 

When his lawyer advised him not to, Steve declined the polygraph and investigators showed up at his bungalow with a search warrant.  

One of the tips that came in to law enforcement states that around 5pm they witnessed a vehicle that looked like Steve’s racing down Loop Rd. with a distraught blonde female passenger. This could potentially have been a reason the warrant was granted. The timeline doesn’t work out for this to be a viable lead. Steve was at their home around the same time this vehicle was reportedly seen. Steve was on the phone with a friend. It could easily have been corroborated by the friend’s testimony and phone records. And their bungalow was 40 minutes away.

When law enforcement executed the search warrant they found a journal of Steve’s inside the home. There were excerpts and quotes one particular was “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac”  Another passage related to death was written the day after Steve had lost his cousin. Amy’s family wonders if there were issues in the marriage that they were not aware of. By all accounts they had liked Steve and thought the two were madly in love. Once Amy’s brother had noticed a bruise on Amy and when asked about it Amy had playfully tossed out that Steve can get a little rough sometimes. And honestly given her and Steve’s active lifestyle as rock climbers, a bruise here and there seems normal but Amy’s brother said it was out of the norm the way Amy responded jokingly. Nothing was thought of at the time but now looking back the “what if” thoughts had intruded. 

This is where Amy’s story comes to a screeching halt. Steve continued to advocate and look for Amy but the forces had become divided. Law enforcement putting pressure on Steve and Steve seeking his own answers. His friends even turned their garage into a command post for Amy. 


Days turned into weeks, then weeks into months and Amy was still missing.


June 2003, law enforcement was notified of a watch that resembled the one Amy wore. A Timex Ironman Triathalon was found in the middle fork of the Popo Agle River. This river is 30 miles north east of Burnt Gulch. There are a system of rivers and creeks that run along Burnt Gulch to Rendezvous Road and could in theory connect from where her car was found to where this watch was found. Police have not been able to definitively determine if it was Amy’s watch or not. They also found some bones nearby but they turned out to be animal bones. 

In 2004, Steve had Amy legally pronounced deceased. He has been the only person of interest listed in Amy’s disappearance regardless of his alibi being corroborated with testimonies and phone records. 

There are many theories surrounding what could have happened to Amy. One of the most popular is that the murderer Dale Wayne Eaton could have a role in Amy’s disappearance. He was convicted of the rape and murder 18 year old Lisa Marie Kimmel and is currently the only inmate on Wyoming’s Death Row. Eaton’s brother states he was in the Lander area  when Amy disappeared. 

There was also a serial killer with the moniker the “Great Basin Killer” that officials believe are responsible for the murders of at least 9 women between Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada between 1983 and 1997. Law enforcement believes this could potentially be Eaton as well though no charges have been filed against him for these. 

Amy’s family is still looking for her. Fremont  County Sheriff’s Office asks for any information to please be sent to them at 307.332.5611. It has been 26 years since someone last saw Amy. Her father passed away without ever learning of what happened to his daughter. 

I am sharing her flyer on our social media platforms. I know we always ask you to share them but we aren’t going to stop. Please take the 2 seconds to hit the share button. Let’s get Amy’s face back out there and hope someone’s memory is jogged and that we can bring Amy back to her loved ones.

There was a $10,000 reward at one point. I could not find if it is still active or not. 

Navigating Advocacy Podcast

Whitney and Melissa, hosts of Navigating Advocacy, blend their true crime interests with a mission to spark justice through storytelling, inspiring action, and building a community of advocates.

https://www.navigatingadvocacy.com
Previous

Alabama : Heaven LaShae Ross
Next

Wisconsin : Alexis Patterson