The Most Baffling Case You’ve Never Heard Of: The Disappearance of David Glenn Lewis
It began like something out of a psychological thriller.
A quiet stretch of highway near Yakima, Washington. A winter night so cold it made the darkness hum. A lone figure walking along State Route 24 — no coat, no identification, and no one around for miles. When a concerned driver turned back minutes later, the man was gone. In his place, a motionless body lay across the asphalt.
He was pronounced dead at the scene — the victim of a hit-and-run. But the real mystery was who he was. For eleven years, no one knew his name.
It would take more than a decade for investigators to learn that this John Doe, found in rural Washington, was actually David Glenn Lewis — a 39-year-old attorney and former judge from Amarillo, Texas, who had vanished days earlier under bizarre circumstances.
A Quiet Life in Amarillo
David Lewis was the kind of man people described as steady. A successful lawyer, a part-time college instructor, a devoted husband and father. He taught government at Amarillo College and was known for being organized, disciplined, and deeply religious.
On Thursday, January 28, 1993, he left his law office midday, saying he felt ill. That afternoon, he bought gas — a routine stop, a paper trail left behind. That night, he showed up to teach class as usual, dismissing his students around 10 p.m. It was the last confirmed time anyone saw him alive in Texas.
The Vanishing Weekend
The next day, his wife Karen and their 9-year-old daughter left for Dallas on a short trip, planning to return before Sunday’s Super Bowl. David stayed home — he’d told them he wanted to relax and record the game.
But by Friday night, something odd happened. A patrol officer spotted David’s red Ford Explorer parked outside the Potter County Courthouse — locked up tight, empty, and left in a deserted lot. By Saturday, it had somehow moved again, this time parked neatly outside their home in Dumas.
Inside, the house looked like time had stopped mid-motion.
Two sandwiches sat uneaten in the fridge. Clean laundry folded on the couch. The VCR set to record the game. His wedding ring and watch were on the counter. It was as if he’d stepped out for a moment — and never came back.
On Sunday, January 31, the same Explorer appeared downtown once again. A deputy even saw a man who looked like David taking photographs of the courthouse. By the time anyone followed up, the man was gone.
Clues That Don’t Add Up
When Karen returned home that evening, she assumed David was out watching the Super Bowl. By the next morning, she was calling police.
Investigators discovered a string of details that only deepened the mystery:
- A $5,000 deposit had been made to his bank account on January 30.
- Two airline tickets had been purchased in his name — one from Amarillo to Dallas (Jan 31), another from Los Angeles to Dallas (Feb 1).
- A taxi driver in Dallas later reported picking up a nervous, disheveled man matching David’s description, carrying no luggage but a wad of $100 bills.
When police finally located his Explorer on February 2, it was parked downtown again — keys under the floor mat, everything inside untouched, including his ID and checkbook.
The Lawsuit No One Could Explain
At the time he vanished, David was one of several defendants in a civil lawsuit involving a former client. Nothing about it suggested danger — but David’s wife later noticed something chilling: he was the only defendant who hadn’t yet been deposed. And when investigators checked his office, they found his files on that case missing.
Karen couldn’t help but wonder if the lawsuit had something to do with his disappearance. But David’s own attorney brushed it off, saying no one involved had any reason to harm him. Still, the missing files remain one of the eeriest details in this case.
The John Doe in Washington
Meanwhile, more than 1,600 miles away, the body of a John Doe lay in a Washington State morgue. He had died on February 1, 1993 — the same day Karen reported David missing.
He’d been walking along State Route 24 when he was struck by a car. Witnesses saw a blue Chevrolet Camaro fleeing the scene, but no driver was ever found. He had no ID, no money, and was wearing camouflage fatigues and work boots — clothing his family swore he didn’t own.
For eleven years, no one made the connection.
Eleven Years Later: The Internet Detective
In 2004, Washington State Patrol detective Pat Ditter revisited the case using a new tool — the internet. He began cross-referencing old John Doe cases with missing person databases online.
Then something clicked. A listing for a missing man in Texas — David Glenn Lewis — showed a photo of him wearing distinctive eyeglasses. Ditter checked the evidence from the John Doe case. Inside the clothing, in a pocket, were similar glasses.
A DNA test confirmed the match.
The John Doe from Yakima was David Lewis.
What Really Happened to David Lewis?
Even after the identification, the case remains one of the strangest unsolved mysteries in modern true crime.
If David left voluntarily, how did he cover 1,600 miles in less than 48 hours?
Why was he wearing someone else’s clothes?
Who deposited the $5,000?
And who was behind the wheel of the car that killed him?
Investigators never found answers. Amarillo police ultimately closed their missing person case, calling it voluntary. His family never agreed. “He didn’t run,” Karen said. “He was a good man, a good father. Something happened to him.”
The truth lies somewhere between Texas and Washington — maybe buried under miles of highway, maybe in those missing legal files, or maybe in whatever David was carrying with him that night.
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Resources:
Barber, M. (2004, October 8). 1993 hit-run victim is finally identified. Seattle Post-Intelligencer Reporter.
Wikipedia. (N.D.) David Glenn Lewis. Wikipedia.
CBS News Staff. (2004, October 8). Google Helps Solve John Doe Case. CBS News.
LostnFound Blog. (2021, January 31). David Glenn Lewis: Cross Country Conundrum. LostnFoundBlogs
Bartlett, M. (2022, June 24). David Glenn Lewis. 987 The Bomb.
“Episode 177 – David Lewis.” (2020, June 3). The Trail Went Cold podcast. https://www.trailwentcold.com/e/the-trail-went-cold-episode-177-david-lewis/
True Crime Writeups. (2025, May 14).The Disappearance and Death of David Glenn Lewis. True Crime Writeups.
True Crime Garage. (2025, January 29). David Glenn Lewis Episodes 816-817. True Crime Garage.
Find a Grave. David Glenn Lewis.
Short, M. (2025, April 25). The Strange Disappearance and Death of David Glenn Lewis. Hub Pages.
What a wild ride! This case is like a twisted cross-country game of Wheres Waldo? with a dead body and missing legal files. Seriously, who buys plane tickets and then doesnt show up, only to end up dead 1,600 miles away in someone elses fatigues? The internet detective work in 2004 was a true crime superhero moment! But even with David identified, the who, how, and why remain as baffling as a VCR set to record a game that never happened. Amarillo says he left自愿, but Karen knows better. Its like the universe itself is playing a dark, mysterious joke. Definitely one of the most baffling cases Ive ever encountered!