The Bakken oil boom, a dam and a man named ‘Skeeter’ – Why Joe Lee’s disappearance still stumps investigators

The summer time of 2013 in Williston was characterised by the Bakken oil increase, lending to a drastic uptick within the city’s inhabitants — and mysterious crimes, together with the disappearance of Jose “Joe” Christopher Lee.

Lee was amongst those that stumbled upon misfortune within the midst of the profitable — and sometimes harmful — oil rush. On June 3, 2013, he was legally declared a lacking individual after a automobile he was driving was discovered deserted, together with his cellular phone on the passenger’s seat, close to town’s Epping-Springbrook Dam.

The case has been open with the Williams County Sheriff’s Workplace since Lee was declared a lacking individual, but the case’s lead investigator, Caleb Fry, hopes that developments in DNA expertise, paired with social media publicity, will result in new info associated to Lee’s disappearance.

“I’ve adopted up on all of the leads as they’ve are available in over time. However I’ve simply re-released it, if you’ll, with advances in expertise and the quantity of social media sharing there may be,” Fry stated in a latest interview with Discussion board Information Service, “I assumed perhaps that may shake out some cobwebs in individuals’s brains.

Lee borrowed the automobile from an acquaintance on June 1, 2013, with an association to return it the following day.

The day after it was scheduled to be returned, it was found deserted alongside the facet of a county highway.

Investigators have been in a position to observe down the person who loaned Lee the automobile. It was an everyday settlement between the 2 — and Lee had by no means earlier than didn’t return the automobile, based on Fry.

The investigation into Lee’s disappearance initially led search crews to the sting of Stony Creek, positioned on the south facet of County Street 6, the place the automobile was parked. There, they found boots and socks, believed to belong to Lee.

Authorities weren’t in a position to affirm that the boots and socks belonged to Lee, Fry stated.

The creek is positioned on the alternative facet of the highway, the place the dam is located.
A big-scale search was carried out to find Lee, together with using cadaver canine, sonar expertise, rescue divers, airplanes and on-the-ground search groups. Ultimately, the efforts got here up quick.

The search primarily centered on the realm in and across the creek, citing the boots and socks found on the scene, based on Fry. The creek itself was small in measurement, but Fry stated the waters have been excessive in June of 2013, which meant water was transferring at a speedy tempo.

Interviews carried out within the days following Lee’s disappearance revealed he had been driving the automobile with a person often called Skeeter. Investigators weren’t in a position to decide Skeeter’s id, which implies they weren’t in a position to observe down the person, who was solely described by a latest Williams County Sheriff’s Workplace press launch as “carrying a cowboy hat.”

“I’m nonetheless wanting into that,” Fry stated concerning the person identified solely as Skeeter. “I don’t suppose individuals perceive that hardly anyone who was once right here continues to be right here.”

The Williston space noticed speedy development within the prime years of the oil increase, rising 67% from 2010 to 2014, based on the U.S. Census. But these numbers usually are not thought-about to mirror the magnitude of the expansion, as many didn’t have a everlasting residence within the space.

The expansion was pushed primarily by males who traveled to the realm to both work within the oil fields, or the industries that boomed on account of the inhabitants development.

In lots of situations, those that traveled to the realm for work had no everlasting handle. Data concerning employers — and residents — have been usually nonexistent.

That was the case for Lee, too. He had made acquaintances via work and crashed on couches within the space, but not many really knew a lot about him, based on investigators.

His transient way of life additionally created boundaries for investigators aiming to navigate the fluid social circles of the rising neighborhood.

Lee was initially from Arizona, but additionally had household ties to the Tennessee space. Fry stated these connections have additionally failed to provide leads.

Lee is described as having black hair and hazel eyes. He stands 5 toes, 10 inches tall and weighed roughly 210 kilos on the time he went lacking.

Nameless suggestions might be despatched to Investigator Fry by texting NDWILLIAMS to 847411.