Amy Joy Wroe Bechtel, 24, of Lander, Wyoming, disappeared on July 24, 1997. That morning she and her husband, Steve Bechtel, went separate ways after breakfast: Steve drove to Dubois with a friend to scout rock-climbing routes, while Amy taught a children's weightlifting class at the Wind River Fitness Center before running errands in town. She was last confirmed seen around 2:30 p.m. at a downtown Lander photo shop, wearing a yellow/gold tank top, black shorts, and Adidas running shoes. Investigators believe she then drove to the Loop Road area of the Shoshone National Forest to scout the course of a 10-kilometer race she was organizing. When Amy had not returned by 10 p.m., Steve called her parents, then the Fremont County Sheriff's Office. Around 1 a.m. on July 25, searchers found her white Toyota Tercel station wagon unlocked near the Burnt Gulch turnoff on Loop Road; her keys, sunglasses, and to-do list were inside, but her wallet was missing. A camper reported seeing a light blue pickup truck, resembling one owned by Steve Bechtel, driving at high speed through a nearby campground around 5 p.m. that day with a blonde woman in the passenger seat.
The Fremont County Sheriff's Office led the investigation, assisted by the FBI and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. A search involving hundreds of volunteers, canine teams, and aircraft did not locate Amy or produce physical evidence of her whereabouts. Steve Bechtel was investigated after journals containing violent poetry were found in the couple's home; he denied any involvement, was never charged, and the witness account of his truck was later found inconsistent with phone records placing him at home at the time of the sighting. Investigators have also examined a possible connection to Dale Wayne Eaton, a convicted murderer who was living on a Natrona County property near the disappearance area at the time; Eaton has not been charged in Amy's case and has declined to discuss it. In October 2025, the property's current owner reported finding documents and personal items inside vehicles Eaton once kept there, and the Fremont County Sheriff's Office says the tip is worth checking out, though no additional evidence has been confirmed. Amy was declared legally dead in 2004. The case remains open under NamUs #MP87 and NCIC #M-044462316 (Fremont County Sheriff's Office case #46860). Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fremont County Sheriff's Office at 307-332-1000 or the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation at 307-777-7181.
