In March of 1988, Scott A. Hilbert, a 19-year-old student at Morehead State University, was home in Milford, Ohio, for his spring break. On March 13, he left a note for his parents on the refrigerator, informing them he was taking the family's black 1984 Ford Tempo to visit friends at Ohio State University in Columbus, a journey that should have taken about ninety minutes. The note ended with 'I'll be back later.
Love ya, Scott.' This was the last communication anyone in his family would ever have with him. When Scott failed to return home in time for the end of his spring break, his family reported him missing on March 21. His friends at Ohio State University confirmed that he never arrived.
The case took a bewildering turn on April 1, 1988, when Scott's Ford Tempo was discovered abandoned in a remote desert area. The vehicle was found on a dead-end road in the Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness Area in Arizona, near the Utah border, approximately 1,700 miles from his home in Ohio. The car's odometer revealed a perplexing detail: it had been driven 3,800 miles since Scott's disappearance, leaving over 2,000 miles unaccounted for. The scene suggested a deliberate attempt to get rid of the vehicle, as it appeared someone had tried to push it off a cliff, but it was caught on a tree. The front and rear license plates had been removed and were never recovered.
Inside the car, investigators found a book of matches from a restaurant in Denver, Colorado, and pages torn from a Long Beach, California phone book. Scattered in the vicinity of the car were some of Scott's personal belongings, including his dormitory key from Morehead State University, a lug wrench, a bottle of shampoo, and a kitchen knife from his parents' home. However, there was no sign of Scott himself, and the suitcase he had packed for his trip to Columbus was missing. Fingerprints were found in the car, but aside from one of Scott's on the passenger side, the others could not be identified. Over the years, the investigation has involved multiple agencies, including the Union Township Police Department, the FBI, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, but no solid leads have ever emerged. Investigators have considered various possibilities, including foul play potentially connected to drug activity, but the case has remained cold. The unexplained mileage on the car, the strange collection of items found, and the vast distance from where he was last seen create a deeply puzzling and unresolved mystery. His family has been left without answers, and the case of what happened to Scott Hilbert remains an enduring and sorrowful enigma.Last Seen: Mar 13, 1988
