A Father. A Fall. And a Six-Year Question That Refuses to Die.

On an October day in Nebraska, six years after he walked away from a family gathering and vanished into the night, the truth about Chance Englebert finally surfaced.

But instead of closure, it delivered something darker, heavier, and far more soul-stirring:

A revelation without answers. A cause of death without a story. A mystery that still feels half-told.

Authorities say there is “no evidence” of foul play.
His remains were found near a national monument known for steep cliffs and unforgiving terrain.
His family says nothing feels resolved.

And between those two realities lies a haunting timeline—one that plays out like a slow-burn Netflix true-crime documentary, filled with quiet moments, sudden turns, chilling silences, and the finality of a young life cut short.

This is that story.

CHAPTER 1

The Rodeo Boy Who Wanted a Different Ending**

Before the headlines, before the manhunt, before the questions that would echo for years, Chance Englebert was simply a kid who rode bareback broncs with a stubborn grin and a dream bigger than the Wyoming skies he grew up under.

In interviews during his rising rodeo years, he spoke with the kind of optimism only a 19-year-old competitor could have:

“I’d love to stay in rodeo as long as I can… and when I can’t ride anymore, I still want to be around it.”

He wasn’t famous.
He wasn’t reckless.
He wasn’t the type to disappear.

He was 25, a new father, a husband, and a man trying to build a life.

And then came October 2019.

CHAPTER 2The Visit That Pulled Everything Apart**

On the morning that would become the start of a six-year mystery, Chance, his wife Baylee, and their infant son traveled to Gering, Nebraska, to visit her family.

Nothing about the day stood out—until it suddenly did.

An argument broke out.
Details remain unclear.
No official reports describe it in depth, and family members have kept the emotional specifics private.

But the result was undeniable:
Chance felt he needed to leave. Immediately.

He called a friend—Matt Miller—asking for a ride back to Wyoming.

Matt later said in an interview:

“He sounded upset. He wanted to get the heck out of Nebraska.”

That was the moment everything shifted.
Not a dramatic fight.
Not a physical altercation.
Just a young man, frustrated and emotional, stepping out into the Nebraska evening for a walk.

A walk he would never return from.

CHAPTER 3

The Last Known Footage**

Surveillance cameras across Gering captured what would become Chance’s final recorded movements.

A young father in jeans and a T-shirt.
Head down.
Walking alone through twilight streets.

No chase.
No suspicious figure behind him.
No moment of danger caught on camera.

Just a quiet, haunting image of a man who looked like he was thinking hard, moving fast, trying to leave something behind—or get back to something.

His last known communication came moments later:
A text to his aunt—containing a grumpy emoji and jumbled letters.

No one knows what he meant.

And then, in an instant, his phone went dark.

CHAPTER 4

The First Morning Without Him**

Baylee called authorities the next morning, unable to reach him.

From that moment forward, the search for Chance became one of the most extensive multi-state investigations the region had seen in years:

Dozens of agencies across multiple states
Hundreds of interviews
Volunteer groups combing fields and riverbanks
K-9 units
Drones scanning miles of rural land
Posters blanketing small towns and highways

But nothing—absolutely nothing—turned up.

Not clothing.
Not a personal item.
Not a witness who saw something suspicious.

Just the unsettling fact of his absence.

CHAPTER 5

Six Years of Silence**

For families in missing-person cases, silence is the cruelest adversary.

Days turned to weeks.
Weeks to months.
Months to years.

Every new lead collapsed.
Every rumor evaporated.
Every theory eventually contradicted itself.

Online groups debated possibilities.
Investigators quietly kept the file open.
Family members turned grief into stubborn hope, refusing to accept the worst.

If this were a Netflix documentary, this is the part where the screen fades to black, and white text appears:

“For six years, no trace of Chance was found.”

Until October 10, 2024.

CHAPTER 6The Call That Changed Everything**

On a calm fall day, two hikers exploring the rugged north side of Scotts Bluff National Monument spotted something unusual in the terrain.

They reported it.
Authorities responded.
Investigators hiked into the area and found what the family had feared for six years:

Human remains.

The location?
Between three and five miles from where Chance was last seen on camera.

The terrain?
Steep, rocky, and unforgiving—marked by drops ranging from 130 feet to nearly 300 feet.

For the first time in six years, there was finally something to examine.

CHAPTER 7

The Identification**

After forensic analysis, authorities delivered the news:

The remains were Chance Englebert.

Then came the official conclusion from the Scotts Bluff County Attorney and Gering Police Department:

“There is no evidence that the death of Chance Englebert was anything other than accidental.”

They believe he died after a fall.

No signs of foul play.
No criminal evidence.
No contradicting physical findings.

To investigators, it was a tragic accident in dangerous terrain.

To his family, it was anything but closure.

CHAPTER 8

A Fall. But No Answers.**

On paper, the explanation makes sense:

He was upset.
He walked away alone.
His phone died.
He reached unfamiliar terrain after dark.
The area is known for steep bluffs and unexpected drop-offs.
A fall that caused fatal injury would be consistent with the environment.

But in the true-crime world—in the hearts of families—logic does not erase mystery.

Why was he walking that direction at night?
Why didn’t he call for help earlier?
Why was nothing found for six years?
Why that location?
Why that distance?

How did no search team cross that area despite multiple sweeps?

These questions aren’t accusations.
They’re grief-born puzzles with missing pieces.

And they are the reason the family said publicly:

“This is not any type of closure to us… there will always be more questions.”

CHAPTER 9

Inside the Canyon of Uncertainty**

A Netflix-style reconstruction would show:

A lone figure walking under dim streetlights
A quiet Nebraska town settling into night
The phone screen going dark
The shift from suburban roads to wild land
Unmarked paths
Silence
The vastness of Scotts Bluff
And one wrong step in the dark

But documentaries also highlight what we cannot see.

Why did he go that way?
Was he trying to cool off?
Trying to reach a road?
Trying to call someone?
Lost?
Determined?
Confused?

No investigation has answered those questions.

It may never.

CHAPTER 10

The Weight of a Family’s Grief**

For six years, Chance’s family and friends lived in a suspended state between hope and dread.

They created a Facebook page: Help Find Chance Englebert.
They organized community searches.
They interviewed with news outlets.
They posted anniversaries.
They kept his name alive.

When the remains were identified, one moderator wrote:

“This is not closure.
There will always be more questions.”

Their grief isn’t argumentative.
It isn’t confrontational.

It’s human.

When a young father disappears and is found years later, miles from where he was last seen, no explanation—accident or otherwise—feels emotionally sufficient.

CHAPTER 11

The Official Ending**

Authorities concluded:

No signs of criminal involvement
No evidence contradicting an accidental fall
No indication he encountered anyone after the surveillance footage
Terrain consistent with a tragic accident
Distance consistent with prolonged walking while distressed

With those findings, the case is considered resolved.

But true-crime stories rarely end with official statements.

They end in the hearts of the people who lived them.

And for them, resolution is not the same as understanding.

CHAPTER 12

What Remains**

What remains of Chance’s story is not a conspiracy, not a scandal, not a sensational twist.

What remains is:

A young father whose life ended too soon.
A family with a hole they can’t fill.
A community that searched for years.
A set of remains found in rugged terrain.
An accidental death ruling.
And a six-year silence that will always feel too loud.

In the world of true-crime documentaries, this is the kind of case that haunts viewers—not because of violence or villains, but because of absence.

Absence of evidence.
Absence of clarity.
Absence of the man himself.