Kimball's Unsolved Mystery

Bobby "Shorty" Wilson disappeared without a trace from the streets of Kimball on October 30, 1956, and the family struggled with his disappearance and searched for years for clues or his remains.

In 1958, the family had a marker erected in the Kimball Cemetery that read: Robert G. "Shorty" Wilson. His birth date was May 28, 1925, and he was born in Kimball, Nebraska. The simple headstone says, "Disappeared on October 30, 1956."

A description of Shorty Wilson was provided in a reward posted in 1957: "Age 31 years; height 4'8", weight 200 lbs., blue eyes, address: Kimball, Nebraska. This person has been missing since October 30, 1956. He is a dwarf person. He should have in his possession Nebraska Drivers License J71-767."

The mystery of the disappearance of Bobby Wilson has always been a subject of talk and rumors in Kimball and the story was revisited in 1976, 20 years after his disappearance, by Western Nebraska Observer owner Bob Pinkerton.

Pinkerton interviewed Dick Wilson at length, and Wilson shared many of his thoughts about what happened to his twin.

Then the story creeps into the local news again in 1993, when Sheriff John Thacker brought in a non-profit search organization from Colorado in an attempt to locate the body of Shorty.

The Wilsons were a Kimball family. According to the history book, the Wilson brothers, Dick, Bill and Don returned to the Kimball area after serving in World War II and purchased dump trucks and trucks with grain boxes. They hauled everything from corn, cattle and poles and 11,000 dead sheep to Denver after the blizzard of 1949.

The Wilson brothers started a Ready Mix plant in 1953 and purchased another concrete plant in Wheatland, Wyoming. They got the contract for pouring concrete irrigation ditches, then poured the concrete for the Atlas Missile site south of Kimball. They prospered and were solid community members involved in many aspects of Kimball.

After retiring from the Wheatland Ready Mix Plant, Don Wilson moved to Buffalo, Wyoming. He ran a rock shop on the edge of Buffalo, and occasionally he would talk about the disappearance of his brother with people from the Kimball area.

Shorty wasn't involved in the Ready Mix plant or the trucking business, but he had a number of jobs in Kimball, such as selling cars at Dalton Buick Co., collecting accounts for Jim Dalton, and driving part-time for James Cab Service.

Pinkerton's story reported that "He (Shorty) was dwarfed, probably by an early childhood disease." The information continued to explain that Bob was a normal baby, but what was attributed to rickets attacked the infant, and he developed abnormally after that. His arms and legs, especially the upper joints, were extremely short, although his head and torso were normal. He grew up to be about 4'8" or 4'9".

When Robert Shorty Wilson went missing at about 3 p.m. October 30, 1956, from a service station known as Ray's Sinclair Service (315 3rd St.), law enforcement did not appear to investigate the incident immediately. Still, the family was genuinely concerned about the missing man. He didn't show up for his 6 p.m. regular cab driving shift. His brother Dick remembered that he was last seen at Plains Body Shop, so discrepancies emerged immediately.

In Pinkerton's interview, the Wilsons were described as a close-knit family. Dick Wilson said, "That is what made it so hard. Dick remembers, "Bob was staying with Mother, helping her along." Their father had died the previous year. Mrs. Wilson died about 10 years later with no knowledge of what happened to Bob.

Pinkerton's frank conversation with Dick Wilson about his brother is revealing. Dick said while collecting past due bills for Jim Dalton, "Dick remembered an $8,000 plus check that bounced on the Bushnell bank. Bob had been "shook up" about the dirty deal his boss was getting. He may have been trying to collect that, Dick doesn't know."

Dick also said that Bob was a "feisty individual, and in more than one altercation, he proved an equal to those taller than himself." Dick said, "Yes, Bob had a temper."

Dick settled on an idea about what he thought happened; he felt that Bob got in a fight over a Dalton bill and was hurt enough that his attacker "got scared to let him live." Bob had two big brothers Dick, 6-4 and 250 pounds, and Bill, 6-6 and 300 pounds, and they would be there to protect their brother.

According to the Pinkerton interview, Dick said that Bob had no enemies, but authorities were not in agreement with that theory. "They hinted at Bob's involvement in various things, but there was nothing concrete mentioned. Another rumor circulated at the time linked Bob, a bachelor, with certain women around town." Dick discounted that as a motive for the disappearance or murder.

Two clues were found in the car Shorty had been driving: blood spots on the seat of the car, and a small rope in the trunk. His jacket and checks, which he had collected, were found in the car. The car was parked at Dalton Buick Co., and Mrs. Dalton drove the Buick for three weeks before the authorities scoured it for clues.

Bob's bank account was untouched, no car was missing, none of his tailor-made clothes were taken, and bus depots were checked for any sign of him purchasing a ticket. Dick Wilson said, "I knew that he never just left town ... they never could convince me that he just up and left."

The family dealt with many possible sightings that were chased down, reports of people who witnessed the event, and letters claiming to have information. Some information turned out to be scams, people just trying to get the reward money.

In the hopes of finally finding the body of Shorty Wilson, Sheriff John Thacker conducted an in-depth investigations and then found NecroSearch International, LTD, an organization out of Colorado dedicated to research and assistance with locating clandestine graves and offering services at no cost locally.

Initially, a bloodhound with the NecroSearch team sniffed a basement area of a house on Washington Street in Kimball. For years, it had been rumored that Wilson was buried in the basement and concrete poured over his grave. The bloodhound did not hit on the area, and no additional search was conducted in the basement.

The dog eventually found a scent of human remains at an old well site, which was also rumored to be a place where the body was hidden.

By November 1993, NecroSearch began digging up an old abandoned isolated well site southeast of Bushnell between Interstate 80 and Highway 30. A local investigation, a witness, and the bloodhound pointed to the 1950s well site. The NecroSearch volunteer team consisted of a geophysicist, geologist, computer programmer, forensic physical anthropologist, an archaeologist, a criminalist, an archaeologists, a forensic scientist, and a specialist in infrared imaging and ground penetrating radar.

On a cold and blustery weekend in November, the team carefully scraped away the dirt covering, the rat hole, the mouse hole and the plugged well-head, but after hours of further digging and using ground penetrating radar and infrared machinery it was determined that no body existed in either the rat house or mouse hole. The hit from the dog was assumed to be human latrine waste. Thacker and the family were disappointed in the lack of discovery of human remains.

A botched investigation, a huge snowstorm and blizzard and the availability of dozens of possible burial sites made solving the disappearance of Robert Wilson impossible in 1956. The three surviving Wilson brothers made a gallant effort to try to uncover the mystery behind the loss of their brother. Chances are all the major players in the Shorty Wilson disappearance case have gone to greener pastures and taken their secrets with them.