February 24th, 2019 was Brittany Davis’ 23rd birthday. She planned to spend the weekend celebrating with her husband, Tyler Davis. Between their 20-month-old son, Aaron, and their hectic work schedules, (Brittany was a bartender and Tyler was a manager at Wendy’s – they worked late nights) the two rarely had any alone time. The couple made it a point to schedule 3 weekend getaways a year, one for each of their birthdays and another for their anniversary.
For Brittany’s birthday that year, they decided to visit Columbus, Ohio. It was only 90 minutes away from their home and Brittany hadn’t been there before. They made reservations to stay at the Hilton Columbus at Easton because it was within walking distance to the Easton Town Center – “the Midwest’s premier shopping, dining, and entertainment destination.”
They left their son, who was 20 months old at the time. with Tyler’s family.
They continued on into Columbus and checked into the hotel at around 5pm. Schon Hughes, friend of Tyler’s, joined the couple and they went to a few bars and looked around the area. At 3am, they decided to go back to the hotel. And then Tyler started acting strangely.
It is helpful to look at an overview of the entire night before diving into Tyler’s disappearance. Kiersten from Attempt to Locate helped us to put together this comprehensive rundown of events. You can check out their Tyler Davis group here.
Saturday February 23, 2019
It’s 3:30 am, Tyler is on his way home from work which is about a 30 minute drive. When he gets home, he and Brittany chat for a bit before heading to bed around 5 am.
At noon they were planning to meet Tyler’s parents to drop off their son for the weekend, but they slept later than planned.
At 12:30, they woke up and rushed to get ready. They met his parents at Texas Roadhouse on Stringtown Road for lunch and stayed until sometime around 3:30.
After stopping at Speedway for gas and coffee, they were ready to start their journey to Columbus.
They check into their hotel at 4:58 pm and proceed to get ready for their night out. Their friend, Schon Hughes, arrives around 6:30 to join the celebration. Tyler gives Schon a room key just in case they get separated during the night.
At 8:30, the trio leave the hotel to check out the Easton Town Center. After an hour of exploring the shops, they stop at Bar Louie for a drink. According to reports, Brittany had two drinks, Tyler had half a drink, and the three took a shot together. They stayed for just under an hour before moving to Adobe, the bar next door.
At Adobe, they paid their tab at 11:30 pm, but didn’t leave until midnight.
This brings us to Sunday, February 24th, 2019.
After leaving Adobe, they head back to the hotel, but their night isn’t over yet. From there, Brittany suggests taking an Uber to a strip club called The Dollhouse.
Dollhouse seems to be a popular venue with a 4.5 star rating on Yelp. According to the manager, they have a large selection of rare top shelf vodka, scotch and beautiful women. They also offer bottle service, a VIP lounge, champagne rooms, private dances, 4 stages and a large bar with a stage.
They arrive at Dollhouse at 12:45 am. Tyler and Brittany talk to one of the girls and buy her a drink while Schon is off doing his own thing. Brittany was drinking Bahama Mamas, Tyler was drinking vodka or tequila and Schon was drinking Captain and Diet Cokes. At some point, Tyler and Brittany go outside to smoke.
Around 2:30am, Tyler and Schon got into an argument with a bouncer who wanted them to leave since Dollhouse closed at 2 am. They argued they were waiting for Brittany who was in the bathroom. Brittany meets them outside and Schon orders an Uber back to the hotel because Brittany’s phone was dying. They end up having to wait 20-30 minutes for the Uber. While waiting, a Dollhouse employee came out to offer them some water.
The Uber arrives around 3 am. Schon sat in the front, Brittany sat behind him, and Tyler sat behind the driver. Tyler and Schon both fell asleep on the drive back, which was only 18 minutes.
When they arrive at the hotel, Brittany wakes up Schon first and then they both wake up Tyler. Brittany has said Tyler was “grumpy” when he woke up. They got out of the car and Tyler stumbled, seeming confused and disoriented. He asked where their ride was going and said they needed to get back to the hotel. Brittany said he seemed “groggy, exhausted and confused.” She also said he was “aggravated, like he was mad they weren’t where they were supposed to be.”
Tyler started walking away and Brittany went to follow him, but Schon offered to go instead. Brittany asked if he was sure and he replied, “Yeah, we’ll be back soon.” She watched the two walk away through the parking lot before heading inside to plug in her phone since it was only at 4%.
After charging her phone for a few minutes, Brittany went back downstairs to see if the two had returned, but there was no sign of them. She tried video calling Tyler on Facebook, but he didn’t answer.
At 3:37 am, about 20 minutes after they arrived at the hotel, Tyler calls Brittany. He apologizes and says he is just walking around the block to smoke a cigarette and cool down. He tells her he will see her soon.
Then, Schon returns to the hotel alone, but tells Brittany not to worry – Tyler was just blowing off some steam.
By 4:10 am, Tyler has still not returned. He calls Brittany again and says he is “walking through the woods and can see the hotel” and tells her he will be there in 5 minutes.
One minute later, Brittany receives another call from Tyler, but after 4 seconds of silence the call goes dead. She immediately calls him back, but his phone goes straight to voicemail. When they were leaving Dollhouse earlier, she remembered Tyler said his battery was low. It’s assumed his phone died at this point.
By 4:12 am, Brittany’s phone is almost dead again. Schon has had enough and leaves. Brittany returns to the room to charge her phone and calls her friend Harlee to tell her what’s going on.
Security footage catches someone walking toward the hotel that looks like Tyler at 4:15 am, but further investigation will discover it was actually Schon and not Tyler.
Brittany is still talking to Harlee at 5am. She walks around the area near the Hilton looking for Tyler. It’s not long before her phone dies. She returns to their hotel room to plug it back in. At this point, she begins calling hospitals, jails and friends to try to find Tyler. One friend being their former roommate Adam, who comes to help Brittany.
With no sign of Tyler by 10:30 am, Bittany calls Tyler’s parents and his father joins the search. At 11:15, Tyler’s mother tells Brittany to call the police and file a police report – which she does.
The police arrive at the hotel at 12:30 pm. Brittany met them in the parking lot. A missing person report was entered into the system at 1pm. The group continued searching the area for Tyler, but there was no sign of him.
At 5pm, Aaron offers to drive Brittany home to pick up her son. She goes with Adam, leaving her car and keys at the hotel for Tyler in case he returned.
At 1 am on what would now be Monday, Feb. 25, Brittany and friends returned to the Hilton to resume their search. They spoke to the night manager of the Hilton about what was going on. He pulled the CCTV footage for them to review. They also informed the security at Easton Town Center of the situation.
For 7 hours they continued searching for Tyler. They stopped at 8 am.
Police began their own search for Tyler on Tuesday, Feb 26th. They obtained CCTV footage from the Town Center and pinged his phone. Dogs hit on a pond area that was then searched by dive teams and with sonar, but nothing was found.
The Ongoing Search for Tyler
Columbus Police have admitted that they dropped the ball in their search for Tyler because they initially believed he and Brittany had gotten into an argument which resulted in him running off. This is why they didn’t start their search until 3 days after he disappeared.
8 months after Tyler disappeared, a new officer, Detective Jason Brammer, was assigned to the case. He held a press conference in October 2019.
New audio was released during the press conference, showing that Tyler asked his phone for directions back to the hotel.
Detective Brammer said, “What it showed me was intent. It showed me that Tyler wasn’t trying to go sneak off and have a life somewhere else. That shows me, I want to get home.”
Brittany was at the press conference. She asked the public for help finding Tyler, stating “If anybody has any information on what happened to Tyler or where he might be, please come forward.” She said she deserved answers.
Tyler’s family believe he was unaware that he was as lost as he was. They pulled his browser history from Google and saw he was watching videos and listening to music while trying to find his way back to the hotel.
This image shows Tyler’s phone activity from 3.46am – 3.53 am:
Police have now mapped out the route Davis took that night using digital forensics. His last known location was 3:53 a.m. near Stelzer Road and Morse Crossing – 0.9 of a mile from the Hilton.
This map shows the Detective pointing out the areas that have been thoroughly searched in red. There are many other areas that are still yet to be searched.
In January 2020, a Columbus Police Department source confirmed to us (specifically True Crime Society) that Brittany has taken a polygraph test in relation to Tyler’s disappearance and passed. It is believed that Schon has never taken a polygraph test and has obtained a lawyer.
In May 2020, Brittany made a facebook post relating Tyler’s case to that of runaway teen Madison Bell:
Also in May 2020, police released a new video of Tyler walking away from the Hilton the night he disappeared. This is the last known sighting of him.
So, what happened to Tyler? Did he stumble into some of the swamp land surrounding the Hilton and he just hasn’t been found?
Could he have been hit by a car and the perpetrator is covering it up? Or did he randomly come across an opportunistic killer? It seems less and less likely as time goes on that Tyler went missing voluntarily.
If you’d like to learn more about Tyler’s disappearance, True Crime Garage did an episode where they spoke to Brittany.
We browsed reddit for some other theories and this is what we found:
· One theory we saw was that Tyler caught Brittany and Schon flirting and that’s what set him off. He went on a walk to cool off, but Schon followed him. The two got into an argument and a fight ensued that resulted in Tyler’s death.
· Another theory is that the group was doing drugs and it’s being left out of the story by Brittany – which is why some parts of the story don’t make sense (like, that he was angry enough to go walk around at 4 am but that didn’t seem alarming to her). It’s conceivable she doesn’t want the negative attention that would arise from admitting this publicly, but that it was still an accident at the end of the day, albeit one that drugs contributed to in some way. Tyler wandered off and succumbed to the elements in some way.
· Alternatively, another theory is that Tyler went to go buy drugs for the group and died in a drug deal gone wrong.
· Brittany and the friend were having an affair and purposefully killed Tyler. A sub-theory here is that they actually killed Tyler earlier in the day. However, the uber driver, strip club bouncers, etc. all seem to back up that Tyler was with Brittany and the friend throughout the night.
Tyler did not seem to drink tooooo much, based on Brittany’s account of the night. Could someone have spiked his drink at the Dollhouse? We came across this review on yelp –
These people will drug you and steal every last dime in your pocket!
I recently went to The DollHouse because it was close-by, and I needed a drink. I had 2 beers, and then the bartender offered me her special that came in a martini glass. I accepted. To get one thing clear, 3 drinks does not put me under the table. From the “Fruitini” on, I remember nothing of the rest of the night. Next thing I remember is waking up in my bed 8 hours later. I will tell you, that my girlfriend said I was literally dropped on my front step by two huge, scary looking men at nearly 3 am, and I had sustained cuts and bruises on my body.
Keep in mind I went in to have 2 or 3 beers. The next day, checking my bank records, this establishment had charged $2000 to my credit card (which is the limit). I have no memory of the time from around 10 until I woke up in my own bed. My girlfriend had to get a cab to retrieve my car.
If I had spent $2000 on drinks, that would be the worst hangover of my life. Yet I woke up feeling just a little weak and fuzzy headed. No headache, no nausea. I have a dispute with my bank to hopefully get my money back, and I have filed a police report. I even offered to pay for the drinks I did order.
GHB can kill you. This is what I believed happened to me, and I will never drink from a bottle I didn’t personally open with my own two hands. Nothing I didn’t make myself, no more nightclubs, and no more Dollhouse. Thank God I am just out $2000 and that I didn’t die that night.
Tyler Davis is described as being 5’10” tall and weighing 170 lbs. with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue and green flannel shirt with blue jeans and black and white Nike shoes. Tyler has a birthmark on his right arm. If you have any information on the circumstances surrounding Tyler’s disappearance, please call the Columbus Police Department at 614-645-4545.
The Disappearance of Chance Englebert
Chance Englebert, his wife Baylee and their infant son, Banks, were visiting Baylee’s family in Gering, Nebraska – four hours from their home in Moorcroft, Wyoming.
On Saturday, July 6th, 2019, Chance, his father-in-law, and brother-in-law decided to go golfing at Chimney Rock Golf Course in Baynard, Nebraska. The group was drinking and something was said that upset Chance to the point where he called his wife to pick him up, requesting to go home.
Baylee has since said it was a misunderstanding over a comment about Chance’s job that he took offense to. She said he was drunk and she couldn’t talk any sense into him.. She picked him up and returned to her grandparents house in the 400 block of O street where they were staying to gather their belongings. Chance told her he didn’t want to be there. He wanted to go home now.
Around 7:30 pm, Chance gets out of the car in Baylee’s grandparents driveway and walks away. Baylee runs inside to give their son to her grandparents and goes back outside to intervene, but lets him go figuring he will cool off and return.
In an interview with Dateline, Baylee said – “When he gets mad, he’ll walk to cool down, but I didn’t think he’d go far. He just kept walking until I couldn’t see him. I didn’t think he was serious.”
From there, Chance would essentially vanish, besides being caught walking on surveillance video in Gering and in Terrytown later that night. Which has left many to wonder whether he left his life behind or if something more sinister happened to him.
Chance was 25 years old when he disappeared. He and 20-year-old Baylee met in 2017 and after only a year of dating, the two got married in 2018. Their son, Banks, was born in May, 2019, making him only 3 months old when Chance disappeared. Friends and family of Chance said their relationship was rocky at times, but Baylee says they had a great marriage.
Chance’s family describe him as a hard worker and an all around good guy. He loved the rodeo and rode horses and bulls bareback competitively. He also enjoyed working on his derby cars and participated regularly in the Demolition Derby. Baylee says he was “such a good father” who was “stupid excited” when he found out she was pregnant. She says he would never leave their baby. His mother, Dawn, said he was excited to start a new job that coming Monday after being laid off from his previous mining job. He even had plans to pick up a package at his parents’ on Sunday afternoon.
Needless to say, those who knew Chance didn’t think he would simply walk away with no intention of returning.
“I think whatever happened is really bad,” Baylee said. “People just don’t vanish. Something happened to him.”
After he walked off, Chance called his good friend, Matt Miller and asked for a ride. He told him he was walking the highway to Torrington until someone came to get him. Matt had been drinking and couldn’t come himself, but said he would try to find Chance a ride.
Matt texted Chance’s mother and asked her to call him. She did and Matt told her he just got off the phone with Chance who had “a little run-in in Gering and wants to get out of there.”
Chance’s family started calling and texting him to try to figure out what was going on. His Aunt Katie said she called and he didn’t answer, so she texted him. He responded an hour later around 9 pm which was the last time anyone heard from him.
Several months later, on Nov 27th, police would discover that there was no activity from his phone after 10:00 pm and that his phone last communicated within 3 miles of a cellular tower west of Scottsbluff, which is only 3 miles or 8 minutes away from Gering. This update came out on Nov. 27th 2019.
The night Chance disappeared, his mom spoke with Baylee. Dawn asked if they should come help search, but Baylee insisted her family had it covered. Chance’s parents lived in South Dakota and by the time they arrived, it would be dark and difficult to see. Plus, they assumed he would turn up that night once he cooled down.
Unfortunately, Baylee and her family were forced to stop searching because of a severe storm that swept through northern Nebraska, causing tornadoes in some areas. The rain that night was heavy and cold, along with the added danger of lightning and flooding.
Baylee assumed Chance took shelter in a bar or building nearby and that he would be okay, but when she woke up the next day Chance still hadn’t returned. She knew something was wrong.
In an interview Baylee said, “I still wasn’t that worried. I figured he’d come slinking in late that night. But he didn’t. And when I woke up the next morning and he wasn’t there… I knew it was bad.”
Saturday July 7, 2019
When Chance hadn’t returned Sunday morning, Baylee filed a police report around 11am. She still told his parents that everything was fine and they didn’t need to head down. His parents were still confident he would show up later that day.
On Sunday night, Baylee and his mother spoke again. Dawn says Baylee started crying and said “I just know he’s coming home in a body bag.” Dawn told her “Don’t think that. There’s a good chance, but let’s stay positive.”
On Monday, July 8th, police began their search for Chance. Baylee has said she felt police initially thought he was just another drunk who stormed off.
Chance’s parents and brother drove to Nebraska to join the search for Chance. They drove around and saw the search parties looking for him. They were told not to intervene with the main searches, so they searched other areas on their own instead.
On Tuesday afternoon, Captain Rogers asked Baylee and Dawn to come to the police station. The two were worried, but he only ended up telling them they found no sign of Chance during their search. Baylee then asked about a death certificate – which confused Dawn and Captain Rogers who told Baylee they were going to do everything they could to find him.
You can view clips of updates about the search for Chance here:
Thursday July 11, 2019
Gering Police Chief George Holthus held a press conference with Chance’s family. He went over the search efforts to locate Chance which consisted of:
- 147 people participating in ground searches covering 2,400 acres
- Air Link and the Nebraska State Patrol covered 380 miles by air.
- Sonar and K9s were used to search 10 lakes and ponds, in addition to the river, riverfront property and irrigation ditches and canals.
- Nothing belonging to Chance was located.
Chief Holthus also said officials are relatively certain that Chance is not in any of the areas searched – primarily in north west Terrytown and southwest Scottsbluff. He continued by saying the searches have concluded and that the operation has turned investigative. They will now focus on things like cell phone data, interviews with friends and family, and financial activity.
His mother spoke at the press conference and said, “I never felt that Chance would leave his family. I feel that if he just needed a break and ran away from being a grown up, I get it. I am disappointed. I am hurt, but please, Chance, if that is the case, come home. Reach out to anybody.”
Dawn has made many social media posts about Chance’s case:
You can view posts that his wife Baylee made here:
There have not been any updates about Chance’s disappearance in 2020. Friends and family have been calling for the FBI to get involved, saying this should be investigated as a homicide – but there is no evidence of foul play or homicide. The FBI stated – if information developed that changed the circumstances, they would review that information with local investigators to determine if a federal investigation could be opened based on information that suggests a federal violation has occurred.
Theories about what happened to Chance
The most popular theory I’ve seen is that Baylee’s family did something to him.
From reddit: I know a lot of people are blaming his wife, Baylee, of being involved in his disappearance because of comments she’s made regarding the issuing of a death certificate but I think that’s just down to her being a lot younger mentally than she is in years – to me, she comes across like a fourteen year old not a twenty year old. But I do feel her family know what happened to Chance and I believe it’s a case of them deciding he wasn’t the right man for their little girl and taking matters into their own hands to end the relationship. He was on foot in their neck of the woods at the time of his disappearance. I believe Baylee or her grandparents probably rang and told the guys (her family) they’d left at the golf course after the argument that he’d just walked off and left Baylee at her grandparents and that they drove out and picked him up. It would be good if they had just threatened him to leave Baylee and the baby but – from what his friends have said, I think he would have been happy to leave Baylee – I don’t believe he would have left his baby or vanished from his family and friends. The fact that some locals in his wife’s family’s area have told Chance’s family they have information but don’t want to get involved, unfortunately suggests to me her family may have done more than just threaten him. If I were Chance’s family, I would be looking for his remains every place that Baylee’s family aren’t leading searchers.
- He just walked off mad and succumbed to the elements
- Someone picked him up and killed him
Chance was last seen wearing a short-sleeved Wrangler shirt, Wrangler jeans, roper boots and a black and white trucker cap. He is described as 5’9” or medium build with sun-lightened brown hair. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Gering Police Department by calling the Scotts Bluff County Communications Center at 308-436-6666.
If you’d like to learn more about Chance’s disappearance, there is a great episode of The Vanished podcast which features his case.
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