More Questions Arise After Chance Englebert’s Remains Found After Six Years

The family of Chance Englebert finally has some closure, but is there any comfort in this?

Official Chance Englebert Facebook Page

It was the holiday weekend of July 4, 2019, when the 25-year-old Nebraska native Chance Englebert went for a walk, but never returned. While the family suspected the worst after more than six years of wondering what happened to him, it has been confirmed that he is no longer with us.

Last month, remains that have now been identified as Englebert were found in a very rural area near Gering, Neb. There was quick speculation based on the items that were found with the body, but nothing had been confirmed until now.

The news has spread like wildfire as many across the country had been left wondering what happened that weekend and even though he has been found there are still so many questions even though the original announcement, per his mother, is that his death is due to an accidental fall which she does not believe.

Chance's mother Dawn spoke with Jen Kocher from the Cowboy State Daily news surrounding her son and the moments before he vanished off the face of the earth.

What Happened that Day in Nebraska?

Chance, his infant son and his wife Baylee were visiting her family in Gering for the holiday, but it wasn't going well, per Dawn and one of his closest friends. Chance had gotten into a fight with his in-laws and told Baylee he wished to return back to Torrington, Wyo, nearly 40 miles from where they were.

When Baylee refused to leave, Chance decided that he would be making the trek on foot, but the last sighting of him was on a surveillance camera about a mile and a half north of Gering which was the last time anyone would see him.

A storm swept into the area, but it is hard to understand a few different things, and now there are many who are puzzled by the entire situation, even though he was finally found.

• What happened?
• Was this accidental?
• How did he end up in such rough terrain?
• Why would he have been there?
• Why was he on one of the longest paths possible to get to Torrington?
• Why was he in an area that rarely saw hikers of any sort, let alone someone trying to walk home?

Unfortunately for the Englebert family most of these questions, amongst many others, will likely remain unanswered which is truly an unimaginable pain. His loved ones will be able to put him to rest at least as his remains will be presented to Baylee tomorrow (11/26) and the young man is expected to have a celebration of life in the near future.

Chance was a rodeo star and loved the sport to his core. In 2013 the Tri-State Livestock News did a feature on the then young cowboy and he expressed both his future plans and his true love of the sport.

As a young bareback rider, Englebert wanted to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals and said, "I would love to be able to stay in rodeo for as long as I can and when I am unable to ride I would love to be able to come back with a good bucking string or doing anything I can do to keep bareback riding going."

Englebert went on in his interview to talk about some of the favorite horses he had been on and gave credit to several for helping him along the way. As he ended the interview he was ask what was on his playlist. The cowboy answered, "Chris Ledoux, Johnny Cash or any of the good older country artists."

In the words of Chris LeDoux, "Sit tall in the saddle, Hold your head up high. Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky. Live like you ain't afraid to die. Don't be scared, just enjoy your ride." Somehow, after learning so much about this cowboy, we believe he would have loved these lyrics and lived his life this way.

Rodeo on SI would like to give our condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy as this is an incredibly heavy loss as he was truly loved (and missed) by many.

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