ROOSEVELT, Utah (ABC4 Utah) – A pond may hold a secret that has baffled investigators for the past ten years.
Amy Westreicher disappeared in 2010 and has never been heard from since. Investigators in Duchesne County aren’t sure if she left on her own or was murdered. Now a former friend and a non-profit group have gathered new information that may put this case back on the front burner for authorities.
“It’s tragic, very tragic and no mom should not have to wonder where her baby is,” said Connie Case who knew Westreicher briefly.
Last week, Case led an entourage to property north of Roosevelt where she came to know Westreicher and the friends she was staying with. The RV camper has since disappeared but Case believed her remains are buried somewhere on the property. The Utah Cold Case Coalition is investigating the case after Case contacted the non-profit group based in Salt Lake City.
“I think there’s a good chance that Amy Westreicher died out here and her remains are still on this property,” said Karra Porter, the founder of the cold case coalition.
Case said she suspected something was wrong after meeting with people who knew of Westreicher’s circle of friends. Case said Westreicher is from California and arrived in Roosevelt and moved from house to house with these friends. She said Case eventually moved into the RV camper that belongs to her brother.
“She kind of slept there for a couple of days,” said Case. “(She was) very quiet, very shy girl.”
According to a 2010 police report filed with Roosevelt police, a former boyfriend notified them eight-months after she disappeared. David Young claimed “she had not been seen nor heard from for approximately eight months,” the police report stated. He claimed Westreicher was “dating or seeing ***** during the time. She just vanished.”
Young told police that Westreicher had a daughter in California and her mother had not seen nor heard from her during the past eight months. Connie Case said she became suspicious of Westreicher’s circle of friends and confronted them.
“I kept asking them for several months,” said Case. “I kept asking and asking,”
The two persons of interest are known to authorities. They’ve been questioned according to police reports. But no arrests resulted from those interviews.
Case said the man in question revealed to her that there was jealousy between his girlfriend and Westreicher.
“(He told me) the girl’s started fighting and they were annoying,” Case said. “And then I got her on the bed and started choking her and then I let her go that’s why she got angry and she walked out of the camper with the dog. One of my first responses was did you kill Amy? (He said) no, no.”
But Case found that hard to believe when she was told by the woman (girlfriend) that Westreicher left wearing a tank top, shorts, and flippers. Case said it was a frigid night that Westreicher supposedly left the camper. Case said the woman then said Westreicher was headed to a nearby neighbor.
“So let’s go ask them then,” Case recalled telling the woman. “(She said) Oh never mind that was a dream. That was the last that they would say about how she would have gotten out.”
Case also noticed that Westreicher’s belongings were still in the RV camper. Westreicher left behind her cellphone and a backpack.
“They had her backpack,” Case said. “Everything she had was in that backpack. Everything. She didn’t leave without that backpack. Everywhere she goes she had that backpack.”
Case said she’s certain that Westreicher didn’t leave voluntarily that night. “I know there was an altercation that night,” Case said. “My guess is that she was accidentally killed and they disposed of her body.”
Porter said the coalition planned to return to the property with a backhoe. She said the property’s owner has agreed to let them drain the pond in hopes of finding Westreicher’s remains. Porter said they will also begin using other techniques to get answers.
The coalition is offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest and or conviction.
