In the summer of 1987, Ray Burssie Collins, a 57-year-old resident of Winter Haven, Florida, embarked on what was meant to be a three-month adventure. Collins, along with two friends, Dave Caffey and Richard Birth, quit their jobs and traveled to the area of Salida, Colorado, with aspirations of finding gold and other rare gems. Collins was a man with a large, devoted family and had experience in carpentry, construction, and auto repair. The trip took a turn when, about three weeks into their mining expedition, Birth had to unexpectedly return to his home in Florida because of a family emergency. This left Collins alone in the mountains of Colorado with Caffey.
The circumstances following Birth's departure became troubling and unclear. According to Dave Caffey, just a few days after Birth left, he drove Collins to a bus station in Colorado Springs. Caffey claimed that Collins had expressed a desire to visit the Grand Canyon.
This explanation struck Collins' family as odd, as he had already been to the Grand Canyon years before and had not mentioned any such plans to them in his recent calls home. Collins was never seen or heard from again. Suspicion grew when Caffey returned to Florida later that month driving Collins' Toyota pickup truck. Inside the vehicle were Collins' personal clothing and all of his mining equipment.
As time passed with no word from Collins, a more disturbing picture began to emerge. Investigators later discovered that before the trip to Colorado, Caffey had taken out a life insurance policy on Collins. After Collins was legally declared deceased, Caffey collected on this policy. It also came to light that Caffey had collected $5,000 from Collins, purportedly to lease the land they were mining on; however, the land was actually public and required no such fees. The case was officially reopened in 2008, prompting investigators from Chaffee County to travel to Florida to re-interview both Richard Birth and Dave Caffey. Law enforcement has stated that Birth was cooperative with their inquiries, but Caffey was not. Though foul play is strongly suspected, the disappearance of Ray Burssie Collins remains an unresolved case filled with troubling questions and the pain of a family left without answers.Last Seen: Jul 31, 1987
