A MISSING PIECE
Morgan Huelsman
"I knew on September 3rd, 2013 at 11:30 at night that I would never see my husband again," said Kelly Welch. "There was a literal, physical seperation I felt in my heart."
Kelly's heart couldn't have been more right. Riley County Police Department's (RCPD) press release stated, "Evidence located at the scene indicates the accident occured on September 3rd, 2013."
On September 2nd at around 8:30 PM, Dave Welch left for Menards to pick up items for the cookout his family was hosting that evening. On September 3rd, the Welch family contacted Riley County Police Department a second time, after the initial call on September 2nd, to notify that Dave had never returned home.
Although several news outlets and reports stated that there was no present medical conditions that contributed to the accident, the family was not reluctant to share that Dave had been medically treated for early onset dementia by three different physicians.
A missing persons report was not filed until September 6, 2013 and the local media was not briefed of this report until September 9th, 2013.
A facebook group named "Find Dave Welch" was created on September 29th, 2013. The group flooded with outpours of shares and comments from Kelly's previous and current students, family members, and strangers helping to gather information from all across the country to help find Dave.
The Manhattan community rallied behind Kelly and her family along with Kansas State students tweeting, sharing and posting every tweet and Facebook post to help in the efforts of bringing Dave home. Students also helped in fundraising efforts and anything they could do to make the six week stretch easier, including making meals and helping with upkeep of the Welch's home.
On October 1st, 2013, the RCPD conducted searches both in and outside of their jurisdiction, which included twenty law enforcement personnel and members of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. After the search didn't turn up any evidence, Dave was still reported as missing.
Seventeen days later, on October 18th, 2013, the Welch family recieved the call. Utah Highway Patrol contacted the RCPD in reference to a single vehicle fatality accident at the bottom of a ravine, found by a hitchhiker. Utah Highway Patrol positively itentified the driver in the accident as Dave Welch.
"My sons didn't think much of it because they knew he was just confused but he'll be back," said Kelly. "Because he had early onset dementia, but I was hysterical."
The 80 foot cliff that Dave's vehicle slid off was a desolate area with no guard rail due to this being the area that snow was pushed off during the winter time. The depths of this ravine, including boulders and several patchy areas, made for a very hard time for Dave, Kelly said in her interview.
His letters to his family, written using Kelly's grading bag from school, showed how much pain he was in after the vehicle went off the road, yet still showed the strength of his faith, the love for his family and his courage.
"There were news outlets that said he died a lonely death, but we know he wasn't alone," said Kelly. "His letters reveal that he wasn't alone."