By Allison Peck | The Post
SCOTTS BLUFF COUNTY, Neb. — Authorities have confirmed that skeletal remains discovered last month at Scotts Bluff National Monument belong to Chance Englebert, the Moorcroft, Wyoming man who went missing in July 2019. After a six-year investigation involving dozens of agencies across multiple states, officials say there is no evidence his death was anything other than accidental.
According to a joint press release from the Scotts Bluff County Attorney’s Office and the Gering Police Department, hikers found what appeared to be human remains on October 10, 2025. Law enforcement responded immediately and secured the scene. Dental records and DNA testing later confirmed the remains were those of Englebert.
Experts in forensic dentistry, anthropology, archaeology, pathology, and DNA analysis — including specialists at Physicians Laboratory in Douglas County, the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, and the Center for Human Identification in Fort Worth, Texas — assisted in identifying the remains. The Douglas County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death to be “a pattern of blunt force trauma most consistent with a rapid deceleration event including, but not limited to, a fall from height.” The death has officially been ruled accidental.
Investigators found evidence aligning with this conclusion. The release states that Englebert died as a result of a fall from a significant height at Scotts Bluff National Monument. The distance from the likely point of the fall to the location where his torso was found ranged from roughly 130 feet at the shortest point to nearly 290 feet.
Englebert disappeared on July 6, 2019. In the days that followed, law enforcement and volunteers conducted extensive ground searches throughout the Scottsbluff and Gering areas. As the case progressed, the investigation shifted toward gathering technical and forensic information. Officers executed numerous search warrants, reviewed phone and social media records, examined financial data, interviewed hundreds of individuals, and followed up on countless tips.
The search efforts also included multiple large-scale operations with K-9 units, forensic teams, specialized search and rescue crews, and partner agencies from across Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and beyond. The release notes that agencies including the FBI, Nebraska State Patrol, National Park Service, Nebraska Game and Parks, multiple county sheriff’s offices, fire departments, medical examiners, and the NamUS Center for Human Identification all contributed to the investigation over the last six years.
Despite the volume of tips and extensive forensic work, authorities say none of the information gathered over the years indicated foul play or suggested that Englebert’s disappearance was anything other than a tragic accident.
Family and next of kin were notified prior to the public release of the findings.