Shelby Wright (2 of Clubs, Washington)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Deck – Shelby Wright (2 of Clubs, Washington)

Episode Date: November 5, 2025
Podcast: The Deck (audiochuck)
Host: Ashley Flowers
Featured Case: Disappearance of Shelby Wright, July 2004, Machias, Washington

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Overview

This episode of The Deck examines the puzzling, haunting cold case of 14-year-old Shelby Wright, who vanished from rural Washington in 2004. With the help of Detective Dave Bilyeu, surviving family, and community members, the show interweaves the investigation’s twists, family dynamics, shifting theories, and persistent rumors in hopes of reigniting interest and finding new leads.

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Key Discussion Points & Case Timeline

Shelby’s Disappearance: The Night in July 2004

• [01:32] Ashley Flowers introduces Shelby Wright as the “two of Clubs” in Washington’s cold case deck. Shelby, a 14-year-old “computer whiz,” disappeared late July 2004, last seen with his laptop—leaving behind his scooter, which he rarely went anywhere without.
• [02:10] Shelby was last seen after calling 911 from a payphone, stating he was having suicidal thoughts. However, the responding deputy realized Shelby primarily wanted a ride to his mother’s home because he was overwhelmed staying with his great-grandmother, who had dementia.
• [04:20] Detective Dave Bilyeu confirms Shelby was taken by the deputy to his mother's (Lisa Wright) house—no apparent concerns at the time.

Initial Search & Runaway Theory

• [05:28] Upon returning from a trip, Shelby's grandparents (his primary caregivers) Yvonne and Dennis Wright, realized he was missing.
• [06:39] Yvonne and Dennis stress Shelby wasn’t the type to run away:

  “He would never be gone this long without contact.” —Yvonne Wright [06:39]

• His laptop and scooter missing initially hinted he intended to leave, but family doubted this.

Investigative Challenges and a Parallel Crime

• [07:35] Two weeks into Shelby’s disappearance, a local woman, Kelly Sarston, was found murdered, drawing police resources and further muddying the timeline.

Last Confirmed Movements

• [08:54] Shelby was dropped at his mother’s, then later went to Rob Wolf’s house (his mother’s ex-boyfriend and possible father-figure).
• [09:43] Fred Williams saw Shelby alone at Rob Wolf’s property around 3PM; also reported seeing a “suspicious man” later identified as a neighbor, possibly linked to rumors of drug activity.
• [10:33] Neighbors suspected Rob Wolf’s property saw drug activity. No confirmations found by investigators, but stories stoked uncertainty.
• [11:33] Hoku Tavares (Rob’s girlfriend) last saw Shelby at 1:30AM. Shelby told Hoku he was leaving:

  “He says something to the effect of ‘I’ll be fine,’ and he departs.” —Ashley Flowers [11:33]

• Hoku was uncomfortable about a 14-year-old leaving alone so late, but Shelby insisted he did it often.

The Mystery of the Scooter & Technology

• [13:51] Scooter was left behind at Rob’s, picked up later by Shelby’s mother. Two unidentified prints found on the scooter.
• Shelby was known for his interest in computers; debate whether he was active in chat rooms (grandpa Dennis claims yes, friends no).

  “Other evidence…suggests that Shelby was most likely in chat rooms.” —Ashley Flowers [17:13]

• Family monitored his online activities—no suspicious emails or chats traced after disappearance ([18:01]), but his missing computer is a dead end.

The Suicide Note & Suspicious Behavior

• [22:00] Weeks later, great-uncle Robert Rucks produces a typewritten note allegedly by Shelby, left the night Shelby called 911.

  “I can’t take the stress and problems anymore…I gotta get outta here or I’m gonna kill myself.” —Letter, read by Det. Bilyeu [22:13]

• Detective Bilyeu found the delayed delivery of the note suspicious:

  “Why would Shelby find the need to type out his entire name…to his uncle? I found the note to be very suspicious.” —Det. Bilyeu [22:48]

The Glasses Clue

• [24:34] Months later, visitors to Robert’s house were handed a pair of small, oval glasses while looking for Nora’s pair—believed possibly to be Shelby’s.
• Investigators confirmed Shelby was almost always wearing his (necessary for vision). Search of Robert’s property and use of cadaver dogs found nothing ([25:32]). Discrepancy over color of Shelby’s frames (gold or gunmetal) sowed further confusion.

Wild Rumors and the ID Card Saga

• [28:31] In 2007, a mistaken ID card application for a “Lucas” led to a case of suspected identity fraud. Investigators briefly thought Shelby was living under an alias but found it was a different young man named Jason, involved in a licensing scam by his father Joseph.
• The ID thread led nowhere, both Joseph and his real son Lucas are now deceased, and Jason remains “troubled.”

The Meth Lab and Dune Buggy Rumors

• [34:40] In 2008, a tipster (Cindy) claimed she overheard Rob Wolf and an associate confess: Shelby had found a meth lab in an abandoned house and was killed, body hidden in a septic tank, then under a shed.

  “Logistically just doesn’t make sense.” —Det. Bilyeu [35:27]

• Full property searches with radar and dogs turned up nothing ([36:16]).
• Another rumor stated Rob Wolf accidentally ran over Shelby with a dune buggy or shot him.

  “Nothing came of that interview that changed the course of the investigation…” —Det. Bilyeu [38:46]

Dead Ends and Continuing Efforts

• A second property search in 2013 yielded no evidence ([39:30]).
• [40:43] Det. Bilyeu concludes:

  “I am confident saying that it appears that something terrible happened to him…Which is why we’re looking at this as an unsolved homicide.” —Det. Bilyeu [40:43]

• No signs of Shelby or his computer have ever surfaced; DNA and dental records are on file.

The Family's Ongoing Grief

• [41:52] Yvonne Wright:

  “We’re running out of time. We’d like to see something, some resolution. … He’s everywhere in our house.” —Yvonne Wright [41:52]

Awareness & Appeal

• [42:18] Shelby’s face appears on semi-trailers via the Homeward Bound project for increased public awareness.
• [43:00] Det. Bilyeu underscores the importance of broad interest:

  “It takes an entity such as Audio Chuck and The Deck to show some interest…hopefully that will generate some information that will help us move this case forward.” —Det. Bilyeu [43:00]

• Call for Tips: If you have any information, contact 425-388-3845.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He would never be gone this long without contact.” —Yvonne Wright [06:39]
• “Why would Shelby find the need to type out his entire name when the note is going to his uncle? I found the note to be very suspicious.” —Det. Bilyeu [22:48]
• “It takes an entity such as Audio Chuck and The Deck to show some interest…hopefully that will generate some information that will help us move this case forward.” —Det. Bilyeu [43:00]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:32] Shelby’s profile and mystery introduction
• [04:20] Detective Dave Bilyeu’s involvement
• [06:39] Grandparent’s perspective on Shelby’s character
• [11:33] Last known sighting; conflicting stories about Shelby leaving at night
• [13:51] The scooter, fingerprints, and technology trail
• [17:13] Shelby’s online life—myth or fact?
• [22:13] The suicide note and suspicion
• [24:34] The glasses clue and property search
• [28:31] The ID fraud twist
• [34:40] Meth lab/murder rumors; extensive property searches
• [40:43] Detective Bilyeu declares probable foul play
• [41:52] Family’s ongoing pain
• [42:18] Shelby on semi trailers, push for awareness
• [43:00] Urgent call for tips and the value of media outreach

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Episode Tone

• Compassionate, dogged, realistic: Flowers expresses both the heartbreak and the doggedness required for cold case investigations.
• Empathetic and urgent: The voices of Shelby’s family and Detective Bilyeu bring a raw urgency and personal sadness.

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Conclusion

The episode paints a portrait of Shelby as a resourceful teenager caught in the cracks of a chaotic family and a distracted justice system, whose disappearance sparked decades of rumors, dead ends, and lingering pain. The lack of physical evidence, conflicting witness accounts, and the transient, overlooked nature of Shelby’s life complicate the case. Awareness, public interest, and the sharing of Shelby’s story remain crucial in hopes of one day finding answers, for his family and for justice.

If you know anything about the 2004 disappearance of Shelby Wright, please contact the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office at 425-388-3845.

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Transcript

[A]

Hi everyone. I'm Ashley Flowers, creator and host of Crime Junkie, the Go to Crime podcast for the biggest cases and the stories you won't hear anywhere else. So whether on your commute, studying or while you work, let us keep you company. With new episodes every Monday, it is truly a crime Junkie's dream. So join me, my best friend Britt and our entire Crime Junkie community right now by catching up on hundreds of episodes and by listening to a new case every Monday on Crime Junkie, available wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Our card this week is Shelby Wright, the two of Clubs from Washington. What happened to Shelby in The summer of 2004 has been a mystery for more than two decades. The 14 year old boy described as a computer whiz is said to have walked away in the middle of the night with only his laptop in hand, leaving behind his scooter, which was his only mode of transportation. Rumors have swirled for years that Shelby came across something he wasn't supposed to see or died in an accident that has since been covered up. But then the case takes some weird turns. Someone claims to have held onto a goodbye note from Shelby and only turns it in weeks into the investigation. Stories from those who last saw Shelby in the middle of the night don't totally line up, and a parallel investigation makes a hard left and collides right in with Shelby's case. In one of the strangest twists I have ever come Across. Are the rumors that circulated true? Or could it be possible that Shelby's active online life put him in unknown danger? Or is someone very close to Shelby holding onto a secret? I'm Ashley Flowers, and this is the deck. It was the early hours of July 27, 2004, when the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from 14 year old Shelby Wright, who said that he was having suicidal thoughts. So a deputy drove out to the tiny unincorporated community of Machias, and that's where he found Shelby, alone at the same pay phone he'd called from. But as they talked, the deputy realized that Shelby was looking for a different kind of help than he'd suggested. In the call, Shelby was looking for a ride. Shelby told the deputy that he'd been staying with his great grandmother who lived nearby, but he was trying to get to his mom's place 10 miles down the road. He explained that his great grandmother Nora had dementia and they hadn't been getting along.

[C]

You know, we're Talking about a 14 year old boy out in the middle of the night. I think any reasonable law enforcement officer would feel compelled to feel responsible for the safety of that child and deliver them to their parent.

[A]

That's Detective Dave Bilyeu of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office. He's on Shelby's case today. He was able to confirm to us that the responding deputy back in 2004 had indeed given Shelby a lift to his mom Lisa Wright's house. He explained the situation to Lisa, who didn't appear to be upset. If anything, she was happy to see Shelby. Now, no one would have thought much of this call on its own. And I certainly wouldn't be talking about Shelby two decades later if that call was all there was. But it wasn't. A week later, on August 5th, the sheriff's office received another 911 call. Not from Shelby this time, but about Shelby. His grandparents were calling to report him missing. Yvonne and Dennis Wright were Shelby's primary caregivers, so normally he stayed at their house. But over the last couple of weeks, they'd been out of town and Shelby had been staying at his great grandmother, Nora Rucks place, along with his great uncle Robert Rucks, who was Nora's full time caregiver. Yvonne and Dennis had expected to see Shelby when they got back into Town on July 28.

[C]

Shelby is not at their home like they assumed he would be. Lisa doesn't know where he is, you know, within a few days, you know, they can't find him. They can't locate him. Nobody knows where he is.

[A]

Shelby's family life was complicated. His father wasn't in the picture, and while Shelby's mom was around, she wasn't super dependable. And she had a substance use disorder that made her relationship with Shelby volatile. And though Shelby lived with his grandparents most of the time, he bounced between other relatives houses too.

[C]

You know, Shelby lived a bit of a nomad life, and if you consider his age being a 14 year old boy, it's pretty alarming. But that appeared to be the norm for Shelby and his family.

[A]

When Yvonne and Dennis reported that Shelby was missing, they told law enforcement that there were other things that concerned them. His beloved laptop computer and motorized scooter were also gone, which to some might suggest that he intended to leave on his own. But that is not what Yvonne and Dennis believed. He would never be gone this long without contact.

[D]

I would say that somebody took him. That was my worst fear. I never. He never. He wasn't into running away. He decided he was gonna go away. And he actually, I still have his letter. And it said, dear grandma, I am hiding. Please leave food on the porch. And Shelby was the kind that no matter where he was, if he needed money, he would have called us and said, grandma, I need money or I'm hungry or I'm here, I'm There he was, he was, he was into his family.

[A]

But authorities weren't so sure. They of course, asked around, talked to family who'd seen him, but it didn't seem like there was anything nefarious there to suss out.

[D]

They seem to remember. I think they treated it kind of like a runaway.

[A]

Now, part of the reason why the runaway theory may have taken a strong hold could have been partially due to the fact that the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office got pulled onto another crime just two weeks after she Shelby had been reported missing. A local woman named Kelly Sarston had been found murdered near her home in the same small town. And though no one at the time thought that Shelby and Kelly's cases were connected, Kelly's case, where they had a body and more to go on, got more focus for a while. Law enforcement did keep asking around about Shelby, though they continued to check in with his mother, Lisa, and his grandparents too. But the more time that went on without any contact from him, the more the runaway theory looked less and less likely to law enforcement. So in September, more than a month after Shelby's grandparents reported him missing, that's when the case was handed off to investigators. Through interviews with family and friends and other community members, authorities were able to develop a rough idea of Shelby's last known movements. Shelby was in Lisa's care after the deputy dropped him off in the early morning hours of July 27. He spent the latter part of that morning working on his scooter there. And at some point later in the day, he told his mother that he was going to go over to Robert Wolf's house.

[C]

So mom Lisa, you know, Rob Wolf was her ex boyfriend. She apparently trusted him enough to feel comfortable with Shelby going over there, you know, on a routine basis. I think we can probably say that maybe Rob Wolf was a bit of a father figure for Shelby. He's in Machias as well, happens to live about a mile away from great grandma Nora and great uncle Robert Rups. So mom Lisa says, yeah, that's fine, you can go to Robert Wolf's place. And so Shelby takes off sometime on the 27th of July from Lisa's custody and navigates his way to Robert Wolf's place.

[A]

It's confirmed he made it there because a guy named Fred Williams dropped by Rob's place that day at around 3 o' clock looking for Rob's girlfriend who happened to be his ex wife. They needed to discuss child support or something along those lines. But when he got there, the only person there was Shelby, who said that no one else was home. So Fred left shortly after that. But for the time he was there, Fred told investigators that he saw a suspicious man near Rob's property. Investigators later learned that this so called suspicious man was most likely Rob's neighbor who he shared a driveway with. Now, this neighbor couldn't remember seeing Fred's car there to corroborate his story, but he did tell investigators that there were often people coming and going on Rob's property at all hours. So at some point it just stopped standing out.

[C]

Well, I think that it was the neighbors that, that said, you know, they suspected, or at least one of the neighbors did, that there was some drug activity occurring at Rob Wolf's property.

[A]

It's unclear if investigators could ever confirm that the allegations of drug activity were true. Now, if Fred was there to see Rob's girlfriend, investigators wanted to talk to her next. Had she been there before Fred dropped by or after? Did she see Shelby when he was there? The answer turned out to be maybe. Rob's girlfriend, Hoku Tavares confirmed that Shelby was at Rob's place in late July, although she was fuzzy on the exact date. Whenever it was that she interacted with him. It definitely wasn't right before or after Fred came by at three in the afternoon. She told investigators that she spoke to Shelby some night at around 1:30 in the morning. Rob was home too, but he was laying down in another room when the two spoke.

[C]

Shelby is up, he's on his computer and he tells Hoku that he's going to leave. She says, hey, but you know, I don't think it's safe for you to leave in the middle of the night. He says something to the effect of I'll be fine, and he departs.

[A]

Hoku admitted that she didn't like the idea of Shelby just going off into the night. Notes from one interview said that she told investigators, quote, I didn't want to let him go, but he said he did it all the time, end quote. And honestly, he might have right? This is a kid who was calling 911 after midnight to get a ride. But some things about this story didn't totally line up.

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[A]

While Hoku told investigators that she had no idea where Shelby was going when he headed out at 1:30 in the morning, Rob told investigators something different. According to him, Hoku told him at the time that Shelby was going back to his great grandmother Nora's house, which was just about a mile away. Now, the most logical thing, at least in my mind, is that if he was going to make the one mile trip, he would have taken his motorized scooter, since that was his main form of transportation. But that scooter was found parked behind an RV on Rob's property a few days after the last interaction Hoku had with him. Now, his computer was still nowhere to be found, but he did leave behind some other things. Hoku said that there was a computer mouse and a cell phone that she thought was his. But Shelby's grandparents told us that Shelby didn't have a cell phone, at least not that they were aware of. So maybe this wasn't his. Or Maybe, like many 14 year olds, he was keeping something from the adults in his life. When we asked Detective Bilyeu about this, he said that he wasn't sure what to make of it, but he wouldn't expect Shelby to leave his cell phone behind if he was bringing his computer somewhere. Now, authorities weren't the one to get Shelby's scooter from Rob's place. His mom, Lisa had actually picked it up in the days after he first disappeared, and she was the one who eventually turned it over to investigators to see if it held any clues. They did end up finding two prints on it, and those were compared to prints on file for a bunch of people, including Shelby's mom, his grandmother, Robert Wolfe, and Fred. But none of them was a match. Law enforcement records don't show if others, such as Shelby's grandfather Dennis, or his great uncle Robert Rucks or Hoku were compared directly. And unfortunately, these prints were not suitable to enter into the APHIS database. It's also possible, by the way, that these prints just belong to Shelby. Authorities don't have a copy of his prints on file for comparison. Now, the thing that kills me is that no one today seems to know whether Shelby's scooter was in working order when it was recovered. Reports say that when he was at his mom's house, remember, he'd been working on it. And when she woke up, both he and his scooter were gone. So I think she assumed he'd ridden it to Rob's. So if it was working, I think him leaving it behind is weird. But if it had problems and crapped out on him again, maybe it isn't so suspicious after all. Like I said, the walk to his great grandmother's is only a mile. If he really was going there, that's very doable for Shelby. He also could have been picked up by someone, but who might be hard to pin down because one of the investigators initial concerns was that it could have been a contact from Shelby's online.

[C]

Life because Shelby was so computer savvy, you know, did Shelby have some sort of online relationship with somebody that nobody knew about in chat rooms that he reportedly would participate in? The school age boys that knew Shelby said that he did not use chat rooms, but his grandpa Dennis said that he did. So we have conflicting information whether Shelby actually did participate in any chat rooms.

[A]

Other evidence in the law enforcement files suggest that Shelby was most likely in chat rooms. Shelby's grandmother Yvonne, told investigators that she discovered that he had been in teen chat rooms and was describing where he lived with people in those chats. When our reporters asked Shelby's grandparents about his online activity, they said it was monitored pretty tightly, which, knowing teenagers, still leaves for me a lot of gray area. I mean, I was Shelby's age in 2004, and I'm sure my parents thought I was super safe too. I was not. I was a damn fool who had no clue about the real dangers of the Internet. But without Shelby's actual computer, tracking down the chat room activity would be next to impossible. But there was a way to check some of his other online activity.

[C]

Yvonne had the login information for both of Shelby's email addresses, and she would routinely check to see if there was any incoming, outgoing emails, any activity on Shelby's accounts that you might associate, you know, a daily use of an email address user, and there was nothing at all. So all of the evidence reference Internet activity, email activity, suggests that it absolutely ceased to exist after Shelby disappeared.

[A]

For the people close to Shelby, this was especially troubling. He wasn't just a teen who liked going online. He was really into computers.

[C]

Shelby, by all accounts, was a young computer whiz. He would buy computer parts either at computer stores or at secondhand stores and then build computers. Everything I've read about him indicated that he was beyond his years as far as technology was concerned.

[A]

Investigators did get warrants on Shelby's email accounts and found no activity. And there were no incoming or outgoing emails to suggest that Shelby had Planned to run away or had plans to meet someone that he'd met online. But there was some weirdness around Shelby's computer and some mobile activity. In December 2004, some four months after he'd been reported missing, Yvonne contacted authorities with news.

[C]

After Shelby had disappeared, they received an additional charge on their card, which alarmed them. The grandparents then contacted the sheriff's office and said, hey, you know, we realize there's been zero activity on his email accounts, but we did get this charge on her credit card.

[A]

The charge was from months prior. It was connected with a t mobile hotspot that Shelby had used in the past. So Yvonne and Dennis wondered if someone had been using it again. When investigators reached out to t mobile, they confirmed that the only activity they could see on their end occurred in April 2004, lining up with the last time Shelby was known to use the hotspot.

[C]

It certainly caused some alarm when it occurred, but there's nothing in the file to indicate that the side investigation into that credit card charge resulted or, you know, opened up a can of worms or provided any additional information that led the investigation anywhere.

[A]

So the hotspot appeared to be a dead end. In fact, most of what the investigators were running into over the course of 2004 were dead ends. And often they were left with more questions than answers. Some of the bigger questions investigators were still puzzling over revolved around Shelby's great uncle, Robert Rucks, the one that he was staying with at his great grandmother's. And this is not to be confused with Rob Wolfe, the guy whose house Shelby was last seen at. When Shelby made his initial 911 call back in July, he'd been trying to get away from the Rucks house. And the more sheriff's deputies dug in, the more they understood why.

[C]

By all accounts, from other witnesses and from Robert Rucks himself, it appears that he is a very paranoid person, or was a very paranoid person back then. Robert thought somebody was trying to kill him, so he would keep the curtains closed all the time, Keep the doors locked, Wouldn't open the door when people would knock. So I could see why, if I was a 14 year old boy, why I would not want to be stuck inside this old house with the curtains drawn and the doors locked, you know, trying to take care of my great grandmother who has dementia. So I could see why Shelby would want to leave.

[A]

Weeks after Shelby had been reported missing, Robert Rucks showed investigators a letter that he found the same day Shelby made the call to 91 1. And it painted a very bleak picture.

[C]

I'll read it verbatim. Hi. I know I'm not supposed to leave. I can't take the stress and problems anymore. I gotta get outta here or I'm gonna kill myself. I just have to leave. I'm sorry. Goodbye. Shell be right.

[A]

Obviously, this note raises a lot of questions. The first being, what was Robert waiting for? Why did he hang on to the letter for several weeks before telling authorities about it? And there's something about the note that bugs Detective Bilyeu.

[C]

Why would Shelby find the need to type out his entire name when the note is going to his uncle? I found the note to be very suspicious. So unfortunately, because it was computer generated and printed there at the house, supposedly can't compare Shelby's handwriting to that note.

[A]

Shelby's mom Lisa had told law enforcement that her son actually mentioned leaving a letter behind when he left the Rucks household. And this letter does line up with what Shelby himself said when he called 91 1. So maybe it's not much of a mystery at all. It does beg the question, though. Was there more going on in the house that Shelby had to get away from and in such a hurry that maybe he would have left something pretty important behind, Something Nora's church friends, of all people, believe they stumbled upon.

[C]

And on one particular Sunday, roughly five to six months after Shelby's gone missing, these folks show up at the Rucks residence to pick up Nora to take her to church. And they discover in the car that Nora doesn't have her glasses. And so one of these folks, they walk back to the door and get Robert's attention and tell him, hey, Nora doesn't have her glasses. She needs them.

[A]

Robert shut the door and reappeared a moment later with a pair of glasses before closing the door again. But when the glasses were handed off to Nora, they all noticed something. They weren't her glasses. In fact, they didn't even look like glasses for an adult.

[C]

And they appeared to be smaller child sized glasses. And they thought that to be, you know, to be odd.

[A]

These glasses appeared to be similar to what Shelby wore. Oval metal frames.

[C]

People assumed, you know, those glasses to be Shelby's because of the shape was consistent with what Shelby wore and they were smaller in size.

[A]

Investigators confirmed with Shelby's grandmother Yvonne and his mother Lisa, that Shelby only had one pair of glasses and needed them to see, as in he was almost always wearing them. This, of course, raised the interest of investigators. So on February 10, 2005, warrant in hand, Robert's home was searched. During this, investigators realized that Robert was Carrying a gun, so they had to disarm him. In addition to the house, Robert's property was searched using cadaver docks.

[C]

So a number of glasses were located in the house, but none of them matched the presumed or suspected to be Shelby Wright glasses. And the K9 operation outside of the house did not result in in anything either.

[A]

Like almost every clue in this case, this feels like it could mean everything or nothing. Because there's one answer that could put this whole thing to bed. Was Shelby wearing his glasses when that deputy interacted with him? Did his mom see him wearing them when he was dropped off? What about Hoku? But unfortunately, today, no one knows the answer to that. A detail like that isn't mentioned in the case file. But there is something mentioned in the file that could suggest those glasses that were found might not have been his. Investigators had talked to Shelby's eye doctor, who told them that his frames were gunmetal gray, not gold, as Nora's church friends had described. Now, I'll say that in one of the only photos available of Shelby online when we first started reporting this case, he's wearing glasses. And I would easily call them gold. So what glasses people saw and if they were even Shelby's, remain a mystery. And our attempts to reach Robert Rucks to ask about this incident, the glasses, the letter he found, have so far been unsuccessful. For a while after this, nothing seemed to move the needle forward in Shelby's case. Did he walk away? Did he meet with foul play? Every possibility was still on the table. But in no world could I have predicted what came next. Because it's one of the weirdest twists I've ever come across in a true crime case.

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[E]

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[A]

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That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life. Visit RosettaStone.com deck to get started and claim your 50% off today. Don't miss out. Go to RosettaStone.com dec and start learning today. In May of 2007, the National center for Missing and Exploited Children reached out to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office. They'd been involved in another investigation and they believed that they may have located Shelby Wright. They even had a photo to pass on. And the boy in the photo? You guys, I don't make bets unless I'm sure. And I would have gone all in on this one. He has the same round face, same short cropped hair, same ears, same nose, the same damn glasses Shelby used to wear. Now, granted, the boy in the photo looks a little older, but some time had passed and kids at that age grow in spurts. Now, this picture they were given was from a photo ID card issued by the Department of Licensing, basically Washington state's version of the dmv. But the name on the ID wasn't Shelby. It was Lucas. And here's where things get weird. This came on NC Nick's radar because an employee at this department of licensing thought that something fishy was up. This guy named Joseph had brought his son in because he needed to get a driver's license. Cool. No problem. They're going through the whole rigmarole, Filling out the application for his son Lucas, taking the picture. But when the person went to go file it, they were like, hold up. There is already one filed. Joseph had come in the year before and done something similar for his son Lucas. A Lucas who is definitely not the same kid that was with him. Then the DOL employee confronted Joseph, but he denied that he had brought in two different young men, saying that Lucas had simply lost weight. And the DOL employee didn't buy this and escalated it to the state police for investigation. That's when the state police contacted NCMEC and sent them a picture in an effort to cross reference with any missing children. And Shelby seemed a likely match. Investigators in Snohomish county immediately jumped in. They began surveilling Joseph's house. The Washington State Patrol had already confirmed that he did, after all, have a son named Lucas. And his real son was the second boy that he brought in to get the driver's license. But he was not the boy in the photo from the first ID that investigators were so interested in. It was that first boy that investigators wanted to talk to, the one that they thought could be Shelby. So during evening surveillance one night, sheriff deputies actually saw this mystery boy show up at Joseph's house. Investigators confronted him, and the boy identified himself as Jason. He gave investigators his birth date, his address, his phone number, and the only photo ID he had on him was, which was an old high school one from 2005. But investigators were eventually able to pull Jason's driver's license, which said that the boy was four years older than Shelby Wright would have been. But if he had an id, why get another? When asked, he said that it was all Joseph's idea, but he had no idea why he wanted him to do it. Now, this was hard for investigators to believe. Even after meeting him in person, they thought there was a possibility that he was Shelby. But through the DOL and speaking with a family member, investigators were able to confirm that Jason was, in fact, Jason. Now, it's unclear from the law enforcement files whether Joseph was ever questioned further about what was behind the duplicate IDs. We asked Detective Bilyeu about this, and he said that once Snohomish county detectives determined the alleged licensing fraud case didn't involve Shelby, they didn't spend any additional time or thought on it. They left that to the DOL to sort out. And I'm still trying to follow up on this thread with DOL because my spidey senses do not like whatever was happening there. Although answers might be hard to get because Joseph has passed away, as did the real Lucas, and Jason has seemingly struggled a lot in his adult years. So I can't help but wonder what else was at play here. But I, like Snohomish detectives, have to focus on the task at hand for now. And there is plenty to do here because with the whole Joseph, Jason, Lucas saga going nowhere, that left detectives back at square one. Though it wouldn't be long before another wild story about Shelby bubbled to the surface less than a year later. So In April of 2008, a woman named Cindy contacted investigators and told them that she knew what happened to Shelby. She said that back around February or March of 2007, she was visiting Rob Wolf's place and hanging out there. The same Rob Wolf whose house Shelby was last seen at. Cindy said that she had curled up on the couch and overheard a shocking conversation. Thinking that Cindy was asleep, Rob and another man, David told, started talking about Shelby. They said that Shelby had stumbled across a meth lab in an abandoned house on a nearby property where a guy named Joshua lived. Now, technically, this property was owned by Nora Rucks and would have been across the street from where she lived with Robert Rucks. According to Cindy, when Shelby threatened to tell about the meth lab, he was killed and his body was placed in a septic tank on the property. She said that the body was eventually moved after authorities had been looking around in that area, which could be in reference to when Robert Rucks property was searched back in February of 2005. Now, Cindy told investigators that Shelby's body was then buried under a shed on Rob Wolf's property.

[C]

You know, if you look at that story in the totality, a body being placed into a septic tank, removed from a septic tank, transported to another location, and then buried underneath the shed. That logistically just doesn't make sense.

[A]

And there was another problem with this story. At 14 years old, even being as smart as Shelby was, would he even know what a meth lab was?

[C]

Well, yeah, you know, if you made me say yes or no, I would say no, that Shelby would not know what that is.

[A]

But investigators, including Detective Bilyeu, who had just started working with the Major Crimes Unit at this point point, couldn't ignore any tip.

[C]

And that story actually led to the application and execution of some very labor Intensive search warrants.

[A]

On April 13, 2008, both Rob Wolf's and Joshua's properties were searched with ground penetrating radar and cadaver dogs. Although Joshua had moved off the property at this point, the septic tank on Joshua's former property was drained and searched, but nothing turned up. Rob's property, which consisted of several sheds and outbuildings and broken down cars, offered up no evidence that Shelby was buried there either. Now, personally, I have a hard time buying Cindy's story because she also came forward with a tip in Kelly Sarston's case. Remember the woman who was murdered just a few weeks after Shelby went missing? I've been digging into Kelly's case for over a year, and based on what I know, the tip she gave in that case is pretty far off base. So her tip here could be off base as well. But that doesn't mean that there couldn't be a kernel of truth in it. Despite the extensive search of his property, Rob Wolf continued to be the subject of rumors and speculation even after he moved to North Dakota and was killed in a car accident there in 2008.

[C]

And another rumor that started up was that Shelby had died during an accident on Rob Wolf's property, that Rob Wolf had accidentally run Shelby over.

[A]

According to an anonymous tip received by investigators, a woman named Kathleen had information about this accident. So they tried to track Kathleen down, but it took a minute. Now they discovered that she had moved to North Dakota with Rob Wolf before his death, and they were rumored to be dating. But even with the help of North Dakota authorities, they still could not pin down Kathleen for an interview. So it wasn't until 2013, when she returned to Snohomish county, that they finally got a chance at her. But if they were expecting a significant breakthrough, it didn't materialize. Kathleen told investigators that she heard the same rumor, specifically that Rob had hit Shelby while driving a dune buggy, but that it wasn't true. She suspected it was a rumor started by Joshua, the guy who the meth lab rumor was about and whose property was searched. She said that he was always jealous of Rob and didn't like him. And she even offered up a rumor of her own that she had heard that Rob shot Shelby 17 times. But again, it's not a rumor she believes, and it doesn't appear that investigators did either.

[C]

Nothing came of that interview that that changed the course of the investigation or provided any additional or new information that helped solve Shelby's disappearance or led the investigation in any other direction.

[A]

Like many of the stories and rumors, and tips surrounding Shelby. It was often a game of telephone with no real evidence to back up any of them. But investigators did everything they could to verify the information that they received, including a final lead. Just days after investigators interviewed Kathleen, they received a call from a man who had done the penetrating radar search of Rob's property back in 2008. He said that he had received a tip from a friend that Shelby was buried under a shed, which apparently they hadn't been able to check under at the time. Unclear exactly why, but again, Rob's property had multiple sheds and outbuildings. And this guy basically told investigators that he was so haunted by Shelby's case that he would search the property for free with new radar technology. So investigators tracked down the source of this guy's information, but that source denied having any firsthand knowledge that Shelby was buried on Rob's property. This meant that investigators couldn't get a warrant to search there Again, there was a plan B, though. Rob Wolf's family still owned the property, and when investigators contacted them, they agreed to allow the property to be searched for a second time. And over the course of two days in April 2013, that property was searched again, Using new radar technology and dogs. But just like the first go around, nothing was found, not under any shed or anywhere. And unfortunately, that was the last major push in Shelby's case. For detective Bilyeu, the mystery of Shelby's disappearance is as baffling today as it was then.

[C]

I don't know what happened to Shelby, but I am confident saying that it appears that something terrible happened to him. It's would be very odd for a boy to have gone missing in 2004 and have zero evidence that he's still alive to suddenly have him resurface. Which is why we're looking at this investigation as an unsolved homicide rather than just a missing person's investigation.

[A]

No sign of Shelby or his computer has surfaced since. Since 2004, dental records and DNA samples are on file for comparison in the event that Shelby is ever found. Even the serial number of his computer is stored in NCIC in case it ever surfaces. But to date, no one has been arrested in connection with Shelby's disappearance, Including any of the people that we've talked about. Shelby's mother, Lisa, died in January 2022, and she died never knowing what happened to her only son. That's not what his grandparents, Yvonne and Dennis, want. Shelby, after all, is their only grandchild.

[D]

We're running out of time. We'd like to see something, some resolution. I Started looking around and I have, let's see, I'm in the spare bedroom. There's two pieces of his artwork in here, and there's one in the hallway, one in the kitchen, and one in the dining room. He's everywhere in our house. It's not like I, you know, took him down and put him away.

[A]

Detective Bilyeu has no intention of putting Shelby's case away either. If anything, he and other authorities are pushing harder. Recently, the Washington State Patrol has partnered with Camway Transportation to feature Shelby on the side of semi truck trailers. It's part of a project called Homeward Bound, and the goal here is to promote more awareness of his case. And awareness is the key word here. It's one of the reasons we wanted to tell Shelby's story. It's not a case that was heavily reported on when he first went missing. And Detective Bilyeu knows better than anyone that it's cases like these that need our attention. Telling these stories to as many people as possible might help get them solved.

[C]

So a case like Shelby's, where there's little to no physical evidence, tips haven't come in for years. It takes an entity such as Audio Chuck and the Deck to show some interest. And then we're able to open up the file, take a look, get the word out on your global platform, and hopefully that will generate some information that will help us move this case forward.

[A]

If you have any information about the disappearance of Shelby Wright in Snohomish County, Washington, please call 425-388-3845 or submit a tip anonymously by visiting the link in our show. Not the Deck is an Audio Chuck production with theme music by Ryan Lewis. To learn more about the Deck and our advocacy work, visit thedeckpodcast.com I think Chuck would approve. Hey, everybody, it's Babs. You know, one thing that makes the holiday season so magical is the traditions we share year after year. And that's why I'm so excited to tell you about Birch Lane. Their classic furniture and festive decor is carefully crafted to bring joy to every seasonal celebration. Plus, it's delivered fast and free so you can start spreading the holiday cheer. Shop my hand picked Birch Lane collection and more classic [e-mail]. ah, DSW Earth, place of the humble brag here. The shoes are so good, no one would ever know how little you paid if you didn't go telling everyone, that is. And with never ending options for every style, mood and occasion, all at really great prices, they'll definitely give you something to brag about. So go ahead. Stock up on fresh sneakers from your favorite brands or try those boots you always secretly knew you could pull off. Find the shoes that get you at prices that get your budget at DSW stores [e-mail] let us surprise you.