Kimball's Unsolved Mystery

First Of Two Parts

Almost 70 years ago before social media, cells phones, and cable TV, when oil was king, local children suffered from polio, and a washing machine at Montgomery Ward would cost you $159.95, Kimball's Bobby Wilson, 4 foot 6 inch in stature, disappeared from a local service station in broad daylight and was never heard from again.

No body was ever discovered that matched his size, and no crime scene was ever found. Bobby Wilson just disappeared into thin air, never heard from again.

The disappearance long plagued the family as they repeatedly established a reward fund, and the community of Kimball had no actual knowledge or finality to the disappearance. A mystery that has never been solved.

Those directly involved, including family members of Wilson, are deceased, but rumors and stories in the community have persisted, although facts about the case are extremely sketchy.

Rumors and gossip in town suggested several possible scenarios. A popular rumor was that he was put down a "rat" hole at a drilling site in Banner County, while others claim he was entombed in concrete in a basement or a highway construction project. Even a story about a fight at the Lost Park dance hall surfaced when inquiries were made in recent months.

Numerous individuals were rumored to be involved in the disappearance, but no one was ever charged. Authorities were unable to pinpoint a motive for Wilson's disappearance, although talk on the street linked his disappearance to jealous husbands.

Articles in the Observer in the months after his disappearance, from October and November 1956, left unanswered questions about the missing "Shorty" Wilson.

On Nov. 8, 1956, the first article about his disappearance appeared in the paper. "No Trace of Bob Wilson; Disappeared 30th" was the headline. The report said Wilson was dropped off at Ray's Sinclair Service (Ray Schadegg) at 3 p.m. by Mrs. T. R. James. She was supposed to return to Ray's Sinclair Service a half hour later to pick him up. Ray's Sinclair was located on Highway 30, three blocks east of the stop light.

Wilson was well known throughout the town. He drove a taxi for James Taxi Service and collected checks for Dalton Buick. One account describes him as a dwarf, while another referenced an illness as a youth that stunted his growth.

Less than a week after Wilson's reported disappearance, a huge blizzard hit the Panhandle dropping 9 inches of snow and creating blizzard conditions that shut down highways and stranded oilfield workers for days. One headline about the storm put it like this: "The worst blizzard since 1949 struck without warning Friday morning."

The Nov. 8 Observer article said that the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department and many volunteers conducted "an intensive search of Kimball and many miles without turning up a single clue."

But it is unclear when the search took place.

Certainly, the huge snowstorm and blizzard delayed quick action by the authorities and the possible discovery of important evidence.

Two weeks after Wilson had gone missing, the area was still digging out of the snowstorm. The Nov. 15, 1956, Observer had an update. According to the article, "not even the slightest clue has been uncovered to date as to what might have happened to him (Wilson)."

Also mentioned in the story was that Bobby Wilson's brother Don and friend Gilbert Nelson flew over Kimball and Banner counties to try to find some trace of him but to no avail.

A few more details emerged in the Nov. 15th Observer. It was not believed that Wilson had much cash, but he had checks that he had collected on Dalton Buick accounts, which were still in the car he was driving – a Buick which, according to some stories, was parked at Ray's Sinclair.

The disappearance of Bobby "Shorty" Wilson baffled authorities in the '50s. With the boom in the oil field, there was no lack of crime in Kimball, but it was not of an extremely violent nature. Some offense at this time included drunk driving, no account check, assault, stop sign theft, and breaking and entering.

An adult missing person just didn't seem to be of much interest to the authorities at the time.

Kimball County Sheriff George Brandt suggested no foul play or kidnapping. He also said that there was no evidence that Wilson left on a trip, and no checks had been cashed by him since he went missing.

Most newspaper articles following the disappearance of Wilson were quests for information about his disappearance and the family, mostly his twin brother Dick Wilson, offering a reward for information.

The Wilson family offered a reward of $500, but near the end of 1956, Dick Wilson canceled the $500 reward in search of information about his brother.

A small story on Dec. 6, 1957, was under this headline: "Still No Clue Regarding Mystery of Bob Wilson".

In August 1957, nine months after Wilson had gone missing, the family re-established the reward; they upped it from $500 to $1,000. The article said no concrete information on the case had been uncovered. County attorney Jack Meyers said they had "run down" every lead.

See next week's Observer for more on the mystery of Bobby "Shorty" Wilson.