Cause of Death Revealed for Dad Who Vanished on Family Visit, Only for Remains to Be Found Years Later in National Park

Skeletal remains discovered last month near Nebraska’s Scotts Bluff National Monument have been identified as those of former rodeo standout Chance Englebert, who vanished in October 2019, authorities announced.

The confirmation brings a heartbreaking end to a years-long search that spanned multiple states, agencies and hundreds of interviews, as friends and relatives held out hope for answers.

“After a full investigation,” a joint news release from the Scotts Bluff County Attorney and the Gering Police Department stated, “there is no evidence that the death of Chance Englebert was anything other than accidental.”

Englebert, a 25-year-old father at the time, disappeared six years ago, prompting an intensive, multiyear investigation involving numerous law enforcement agencies and volunteers.

At the time he went missing, Englebert had been visiting his wife Baylee’s family in Gering, Neb., along with the couple’s infant son. During the visit, an argument reportedly broke out, and Englebert contacted his friend Matt Miller to ask for a ride back to his home in Moorcroft, Wyo., according to the Cowboy State Daily.

“He sounded upset,” Miller recalled in a 2022 interview with NewsNation. “He wanted to get the heck out of Nebraska.”

Surveillance footage cited by NewsNation later captured Englebert walking through Gering in the early evening around the time he sent a final, garbled text to his aunt that included a grumpy face emoji. Shortly after, his phone went dark.

His worried wife contacted police the next morning to report him missing, triggering extensive ground and aerial searches. For years, no physical trace of Englebert was found despite repeated efforts using K-9 units, drones and teams of volunteers.

That changed on Oct. 10, when hikers reported possible human remains near the north side of Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering Police Capt. Jason Rogers told The North Platte Post.

According to Cowboy State Daily, former volunteer private investigator Ryan Couch said the remains were discovered roughly three to five miles from where surveillance cameras had last recorded Englebert walking alone.

Investigators now believe Englebert died after a fall in the rugged national park, an area known for its dramatic rocky bluffs and steep ridges.

“It was further determined [that] the distance from where the fall occurred ranges from approximately 130 feet at the shortest point to 290 feet where the torso was discovered,” authorities said in their joint statement.

Englebert’s death brings an abrupt end to what had once been a promising future in professional rodeo. As a competitive bareback rider, he spoke in 2013 with Tri-State Livestock News about his ambitions while targeting qualification for the Wrangler National Finals.

“I would love to be able to stay in rodeo for as long as I can,” he said at the time. “And when I am unable to ride I would love to be able to come back with a good bucking string or doing anything I can do to keep bareback riding going.”

For those who loved him, the discovery of his remains has offered answers but not peace. On the “Help Find Chance Englebert” Facebook page, launched shortly after his disappearance, one moderator summed up the family’s grief beside a photo of Englebert fishing at sunset.

“All I can say is, that this is not any type of closure to us,” the post read. “[There] will always be more questions.”