Way back in 2000, two days after we celebrated the new millennium, a young man named Zebb Quinn disappeared after his shift at a Wal-Mart in Asheville, North Carolina. What makes this missing persons case particularly interesting to police and online investigation hobbyists is the assortment of clues. They all seem random, almost purposefully so, and few connections if any at all can be traced back to a convincing suspect.
Can you solve the case of Zebb Quinn, 15 years after he disappeared?
Zebb Quinn finished his shift at Wal-Mart at 9pm on Jan. 2, 2000. He then met up with his friend, Robert Owens in the parking lot. The two drove separately to look at a car Quinn was interested in buying.
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On the way to the car lot, Quinn pulled over to the side of the road and flashed his lights, indicating to Owens the he should to pull over too. He told Owens he had just received a page and needed to return the call. He seemed frantic. When driving away he even accidentally rear-ended Owen’s vehicle.
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Two days later, Quinn’s supervisor at Wal-Mart received a mysterious call from a man claiming to be Quinn. The man on the line said that Quinn was sick and had to take off that day. Police eventually traced the call back to Owens’ place of work, a nearby Volvo factory. Owens admitted to making the call, saying he was just helping out a friend.
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Before his disappearance, Quinn became involved with a woman named Misty. Quinn claimed to friends and family that Misty’s boyfriend was abusive to her and even threatened Quinn’s life on one occasion.
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The mysterious page that Quinn received before Owens last saw him was sent from the home of his aunt, Ina Ustich, who rarely had contact with Quinn. That night Utisch was eating dinner with her friend Tamra who is Misty’s mother. Misty and her boyfriend also stopped by Utisch’s house that night.
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Stranger still, two weeks after his disappearance Quinn’s car was found at a restaurant across the street from the hospital where his mother worked. Inside the car were a curious assortment of items. They included a hotel key card, bottles of alcohol, a jacket that didn’t belong to Quinn, and a black labrador puppy. A pair of lips were drawn on the windshield along with two exclamation points.
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Although Robert Owens’ story is a little shaky and indeed he is one of the prime suspects, there is nothing that ties him to Quinn’s disappearance. Misty or her boyfriend were also cleared on any wrongdoing. It’s very possible that we may never know what happened on that day, 15 years ago.
