Human skull found in Nebraska may belong to missing man Chance Englebert who vanished in 2019

A human skull found in rural Gering, Nebraska, could belong to a man who went missing over six years ago.

Wyoming man Chance Englebert, 25 years old at the time of his disappearance, vanished while visiting his wife, Baylee’s, family in 2019.

The human remains were found in Scotts Bluff National Monument, which is around five miles from where the missing man was last seen walking alone on a rainy night.

Private Investigator Ryan Crouch has confirmed that law enforcement officials were spotted at the site in recent days.

“It’s an area that myself and many other people have felt that (is where) Chance may have went missing,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “We’ve always suspected that he could be anywhere from the North Platte River from Five Rocks Road going west out to the Monument area.”

“More than likely it is Chance,” he added.

The young father was golfing with his father-in-law and other members of his wife’s family on the date of his disappearance.

Englebert had recently landed a new job after being laid off from a coal mine, before one member of the golfing group allegedly commented on his new occupation, which angered him.

Englebert stormed off and, according to Wyoming Truth, called his wife. Baylee took him back to her grandparents’ house, where they allegedly argued as well.

Englebert left the property and called a friend named Matt Miller before stating that he planned to walk 35 miles to Torrington in heavy rain.

Shortly after, Englebert stopped replying to texts and phone calls, with his final text message being a random selection of numbers and emojis. His mother, Dawn, said the message was particularly odd because Englebert never used emojis.

She told Cowboy State Daily that she believed someone else was using his phone.

A massive search was launched to locate Englebert, which involved 17 agencies, drones, cadaver dogs, hundreds of volunteers, divers, and ATVs, but no trace was found.

Dawn launched a Facebook page named “Help Find Chance Englebert,” which regularly posts updates about the case.

Two days ago, a post from the account revealed that Chance’s loved ones believe the discovery of the skull is a “critical juncture” in the case.

“Early this morning, our family was contacted by Law Enforcement officials in Scottsbluff County,” the post read. “We were informed of a discovery that may be related to the disappearance of Chance.

“At this critical juncture, we need to emphasize that there is no positive identification or additional evidence to confirm that the individual is Chance.”

“We ask the entire 'Chance's Army' community for your patience and respect during this time,” the post continued. “Please allow Law Enforcement to conduct their thorough investigation.

“Our family is waiting for official confirmation and further information from the authorities.”

There have been many theories investigated by authorities following Englebert’s disappearance, with Cowboy State Daily revealing that an investigator from PI firm RD Investigations discovered that Englebert had a “tense” altercation with an unknown man after leaving Baylee’s grandparents’ home in a convenience store.

Englebert was spotted in the store in the community of Scottsbluff between 8:30 pm and 9:00 pm. He told a store clerk that he was heading back to his wife’s family home as a big storm was due to hit. That’s two miles from where he was last seen.

The clerk did not see if Englebert walked away from the store, where he bought tobacco and a Monster energy drink, or if he got in a car, although the store worker described Englebert as being level-headed.

The detective from RD Investigations also told Cowboy State Daily that two women were seen screaming on a roadside, a mile from the store.

Both women were spotted at 9pm, shortly after Englebert had left the store, before they climbed into a white pickup truck towing a small boat on a trailer.

Previously, Linda Kluender, Englebert’s grandmother, offered a $200,000 reward for any information that led to a break in the case.

However, the funds remain unclaimed.

“If they didn’t, there was no reason to leave this money sitting in a savings account indefinitely,” she wrote in a message to the Wyoming Truth. “I am saddened that I couldn’t have cut a cashier’s check for this money and find some answer to this mystery for myself and my family.

“Seems the people in the know feel their life is more valuable than $200,000, and Chance’s life is worth nothing.”

Dawn also lamented in the Wyoming Truth that she feels no amount of money will make a difference in the case.

“I don’t think we have enough money to get all the answers, but I hope that people will realize how much pain there is with Chance missing and speak up,” she said.

However, she does not believe the theory that Englebert was killed by the harsh weather conditions local to the area, which include severe thunderstorms and floods.

“I don’t know what could have happened, but I know that didn’t happen,” she said.