Dark Side of the Mountain /// Part 1 /// 882

Summary

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True Crime Garage: "Dark Side of the Mountain /// Part 1 /// 882"

Release Date: November 5, 2025
Hosts: Nic and the Captain

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Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, Nic and the Captain dive deep into the eerie and intertwined mysteries of two disappearances from the tiny mountain town of Silver Plume, Colorado. The episode sets the stage for “the Dark Side of the Mountain” saga, beginning with the 1987 disappearance of Tom Young and his faithful dog, and followed by the vanishing of sportswriter Keith Reinhard just months later—while he was investigating Young's case and occupying his old shop. With setting detail, local histories, and extensive character backgrounds, this episode weaves together themes of isolation, local lore, the pull of the Rockies, and the chilling coincidences that still baffle Silver Plume’s close-knit community.

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Setting the Stage: About Silver Plume, Colorado

Timestamp: 05:51–12:21

• Description:
  Silver Plume is described as an “old mining town located in Clear Creek county...central western part of Colorado...currently home to about 200 full time residents living in the shadow of the mountains.”

• Atmosphere:
  Picturesque but eerie—“the mountainside at Silver Plume...very interesting looking place. I've never been there before, only 200 full time residents. So this is a very unique place to live and visit.”

• History & Lore:
  A history riddled with disasters and strange deaths, including the legend of Clifford Griffin, a miner said to have committed suicide in 1887, who is still memorialized above the town.

  “Silver Plume is often described as a living ghost town.” —Nic (06:50)

• Unique Environmental Quirks:

  • “Silver Plume sits draped in shadows...north side sometimes experiences less than two and a half hours of direct sunlight a day. The south side is sunless for about six weeks of the year.” (08:08)

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Key Individuals

Keith Reinhard

Timestamp: 12:21–20:12

• Background:

  • Born 1938, Chicago area; military service; decades-long sportswriter for the Daily Herald.
  • Loved Silver Plume, having visited for 12 consecutive years (16:09).
  • Approaching 50, feeling the “first stirrings of what some would call a midlife crisis”—took a three-month sabbatical to recharge, write a novel, get in shape, and possibly relocate with his wife, Carolyn.

• Personal Connections:
  Lifelong friendship with Silver Plume local Ted Parker, a well-known fixture running the KP Café.

• Quotable:

  “It's not uncommon for folks, when they start to get up there in years, to want to do a little soul searching and maybe change their life in what may seem like a dramatic fashion.” —Nic (15:35)

Tom Young

Timestamp: 22:45–27:49

• Profile:
  • Quiet, private, artistic; former high school art teacher and a U.S. Special Forces veteran.
  • Moved to Silver Plume in 1969, became known for running the Charing Cross Station Bookstore.
  • Constant companion: his black lab, Gus.

  “This deer dog that...You can't even call this a dog because it's more of Tom's companion. The two went everywhere together.” —Nic (24:14)

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The First Mystery: Tom Young Disappears

Timestamp: 27:49–33:48

• Event:
  • Sept 7, 1987: Tom Young, 47, locks up his bookstore with Gus and disappears into the mountains.
  • Initially shrugged off as a possible vacation to Europe, but he left no evidence—no ticket, vehicle left at home, and dog Gus wasn’t kenneled.
  • After weeks with no contact, missing persons report filed; nothing turns up.

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Intertwining of Fates: Keith Reinhard Follows

Timestamp: 33:48–38:07

• Coincidence:
  • Months later, Reinhard arrives in Silver Plume—taking up residence in the same apartment, leasing the same shop space as Tom Young, who’s still missing.
  • Reinhard becomes fascinated, then “obsessed” with Young’s disappearance, seeing a “kindred spirit” and deciding to make Young’s story the inspiration for his novel, blending fact and fiction.

“He was kind of walking in this man's footsteps a bit, working in this Same space right. With my antique store. People of Silver Plume say he became obsessed with Tom Young's story...” —Nic (35:57)

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Tom Young’s Fate Revealed

Timestamp: 42:08–46:07

• Discovery:

  • Six weeks after Reinhard’s arrival, more than 10 months after Young vanished, hunters find Tom Young’s skeleton, propped against a tree, with Gus’s remains nearby on Mount Sherman (about an hour’s hike from town).
  • Evidence: Both died of a gunshot wound to the head; nearby—Young’s recently purchased Smith & Wesson Model 36, and a backpack.

• Official Ruling and Community Doubts:

  • Authorities rule it a suicide; local autopsy concurs.
  • Townsfolk are suspicious: would Young really kill his beloved Gus? Wild rumors abound about a tarp possibly covering the bodies.

“Most reports state that no ballistics were ever performed on the bullets that killed each. Now, locals, however, were not so certain that Tom died by his own hand. Their belief, they couldn't fathom the idea that Tom would ever hurt his loyal companion, Gus.” —Nic (43:10)

• Mystery of the Tarp:
  Disparate reports—some say both dog and man under a tarp, others only Young; possible narrative inflation.

“The general consensus seems to be, well, he didn't shoot himself and then hide his body under a tarp. It's also not entirely impossible that he was already under the tarp before he shot himself.” —Nic (45:10)

• Community Response:
  Locals arrange a party-like memorial for Young and Gus at the KP Building, attended by Keith Reinhard.

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Keith Reinhard’s Final Days

Timestamp: 49:36–55:42

• At the Memorial Party:

  • Keith is “fully obsessed” with Young’s story; loudly proclaims he doesn’t believe it was suicide.
  • Announces intention to hike Mount Pendleton, even though he’s not a hiker and has a fear of heights.
  • Pushes for a reporter position covering the Chicago Bulls—evidence he intended to return to normal life.

• August 7, 1988: The Disappearance

  • Reinhard closes his shop early, walks around the town saying he’s going to summit Mount Pendleton, expects to return by 10 p.m., and tells friends to call for help if he’s not back.
  • Ted Parker, among others, thinks he’s joking because of his lack of hiking experience and poor physical preparation.
  • Last confirmed sighting: around 4:30–5:05 p.m., at Buckley’s General Store buying a can of soda, dressed in a T-shirt, flannel shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes—no outdoor gear or provisions.

"If Keith Reinhardt did go up into the mountains that evening on August 7, 1988, regardless of where he went, he's never been seen again.” —Nic (55:25)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the town’s strange fate:

  “This is a city...that is used to its share of scares and today's story is not far from that at all.” —Nic (05:56)

• On Reinhard’s mindset:

  “Well, the term midlife crisis isn't a great term because for some people it's a...awakening.” —Gretchen (16:27)

• On the mystery’s resonance:

  “Regardless of the reporting, one thing that seems extremely consistent is authorities say suicide. The people of Silver Plume, who would have known Tom Young very well, they're all very suspicious of this ruling.” —Nic (47:39)

• On the investigation’s uncertainty:

  “The reporting is all over the shop on the finding of Tom Young...where did the first version of this tarp portion of the story go?” —Nic (44:51–46:07)

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Key Timestamps

• 05:51: Silver Plume town background and lore
• 12:21: Keith Reinhard’s biography and reason for sabbatical
• 22:45: Introduction and profile of Tom Young
• 27:49: Tom Young’s disappearance
• 33:48: Reinhard arrives/gets obsessed with the case
• 42:08: Discovery of Tom Young’s and Gus’s remains
• 46:07: Community suspicion about cause of death and details about the tarp
• 49:36: Keith’s final days, memorial party, his own disappearance setup
• 55:25: Last confirmed sighting and summation of Reinhard’s fate

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Episode Tone & Flow

• The hosts maintain a blend of meticulous research, conversational speculation, and dark humor, as is signature for True Crime Garage.
• Emphasis is placed on the psychological state of both subjects ("midlife crisis," "awakening," "kindred spirits") and the role of local rumor and lore in clouding facts.
• The storytelling is immersive, letting listeners feel embedded in the desolate, foreboding atmosphere of Silver Plume.

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Summary: Key Takeaways

• Two men—Tom Young and Keith Reinhard—disappear from Silver Plume under remarkably similar circumstances 10 months apart. Both rented the same shop from the same local; both had substantial ties to Silver Plume.
• The mysterious deaths give rise to local suspicion, particularly due to a beloved dog’s death and bizarre details like the possible presence of a tarp.
• The episode closes with Reinhard—drawn ever deeper into the mystery he intended to fictionalize—vanishing himself without a trace, setting the stage for an even deeper investigation in Part 2.

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Stay tuned for Part 2, where Nic and the Captain continue unraveling the haunting enigma of Silver Plume!

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(All timestamps MM:SS are approximate based on original episode content.)

Transcript

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[Nick]

Hi there.

[Gretchen]

Hey.

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[Gretchen]

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[Gretchen]

Foreign.

[Nick]

Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, thanks for listening. I'm your host, Nick, and with me, as always, is a man with a.

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[Nick]

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[Gretchen]

You'll never get out alive. It's good to be seen and good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.

[Nick]

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[Gretchen]

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[Nick]

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[Nick]

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Two men, each possibly grappling with his own version of a midlife crisis, vanish 10 months apart from the same tiny town in the Colorado Rockies under eerily similar circumstances. The odds of this happening seem frankly astronomical. Yet In September of 1987, a solitary 47 year old man and his faithful dog vanished from the near ghost town of Silver Plume, Colorado, a once booming silver hub. A century earlier. Months later, In August of 1988, another man staring down the barrel of 50 years of age retraced the missing man's steps to investigate the mystery. He too disappeared. Naturally, both disappearances had a profound and lasting impact upon the close knit community of fewer than 200 residents. In a place where practically everyone knew one another, it isn't difficult to imagine the shock and grief that resulted when one of their own vanished without a trace or turned up dead. This is the true crime story of Tom Young who went missing on the dark side of the mountain. And two, the story of Keith Reinhardt who may have vanished forever. This is true crime.

[Nick]

Garage.

[Gretchen]

Foreign.

[Nick]

Silver Plume, Colorado this is a very picturesque old mining town located in Clear Creek county which is in the center central western part of Colorado. Currently it is home to about 200 full time residents living in the shadow of the mountains. You have a few businesses and the train station down at the bottom of a ravine and some quaint homes with a lot of windows that dot the mountainside at Silver Plume. Very interesting looking place. I've never been there before, only 200 full time residents. So this is a very unique place to live and visit. Between the town's founding and current day, there was a massive fire and a deadly avalanche. So this is a city that in town that is used to its share of scares and today's story is not far from that at all. Silver Plume is often described as a living ghost town. After the Silver crash of the 1890s, the town had seen some dark times and mysterious tragedies going all the way back to the late 1800s. Presiding over the town is a granite shrine marking the final resting place of miner Clifford Griffin. In 1887, the Englishman came to Silver Plume following his fiance's death on the eve of their wedding night in New York. According to Find a Grave, he quickly became wealthy upon discovering a rich vein of ore containing both silver and gold. But as it seems he was very much still overcome with grief, he spent his evenings alone in a modest mountainside cabin that he had built, he would sit and play the violin late at night, alone. On June 19, 1887, the 39 year old dug a grave into the rock in front of his cabin. Then the sharp sound of a gunshot rang out. When miners raced up to see what had happened, they found Griffin had fallen face first into his grave, dead from a bullet piercing his heart. A note found inside his cabin requested that he be left in his stone grave. And he had dug into the earth and he was. The miners erected a granite marker to stand over the grave. And I tell that story here, Captain, because this bizarre, mysterious story that we are going to tell today, that takes place a hundred years later after this Englishman Clifford Griffin seemingly took his own life. This story has some markings that could be considered similar to the death of what the townsfolk will tell you is the strange death of Clifford Griffin. A little more about Silver Plume. It is nestled deep within the Arapaho National Forest, cradled between two peaks of the Rocky Mountains in the Clear Creek Valley. This is very interesting because because it sits at the bottom between two mountains, Silver Plume sits draped in shadows. The north side sometimes experiences less than two and a half hours of direct sunlight a day. And the south side is sunless for about six weeks of the year. Silver Plume is 46 miles to the west of Denver, right off of Interstate 70. Now that we got the skinny on the location, let's get into this week's true crime story. We have to introduce to you Keith Reinhard. He was born to parents John and Ruth on September 10, 1938. He has one sibling, a sister, Lynn. Keith grew up in the Chicago area in the 1960s. Keith served this great country in the United States army and was stationed in Germany, where he met his first wife, Astrid. They had a son together. His name's Sven. This was while he was still stationed abroad. The couple ultimately ended up returning to the States, coming back to the states to live in the greater Chicago area. And once they did this, Captain, they welcomed two more children, another son, Kai Allen, and a daughter, Tiffany. Eventually, however, the couple would separate, with Keith remaining a devoted father to his three children. Sometime around 1966, Keith begins working as a sports writer for the Daily Herald, a newspaper located in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights. Keith's beat was primarily local high school sports, but he also sometimes would cover the NFL, Chicago Bears, and the NBA's Chicago Bulls. I pulled an example of Keith's work from this September 20, 1975 article to give you a little example of Keith's work here. The headline was wheeling collects 22 to 8 win by Keith Reinhardt and it reads Wheeling came up with a mixed bag of heroes Friday night and notched one in the win column for new head coach Gary Clinton by downing the visitors from Fenton 22 to 8. A blend of hard nose running, key passing and alert defense all played a part in the first Wildcat triumph of the campaign. After two previous setbacks, the Cats never trailed following a first quarter touchdown and were never really threatened. Keith Reinhardt, Known to coworkers around the office as kr, he was universally liked and described as a responsible and hard working person, as well as a friend and a mentor to his colleagues. He did marry Again it's reported that Keith was happily married to his second wife, Carolyn. This is in as opposed to unhappily.

[Gretchen]

Married to his first wife.

[Nick]

This is in 1985 or 86. The sources vary on when he married his second wife. But then in early 1988, Keith seemed to be feeling the first stirrings of what some would call a midlife crisis. In June of 1988, Keith was just months from turning 50 years of age and he had worked by this time in his life, captain as a sports writer for 22 years. When he decided he needed a break. He wanted to take stock of his accomplishments, do some soul searching and reflection, and chart a path for what may lay ahead. On the phone with his longtime friend, his name Ted Parker, Keith decided that he was going to go out and visit the small former silver mining town of Silver Plume, Colorado. I want to point out here something that is left out of this story frequently. Two things. First, his friendship with this Ted Parker goes way, way back. Okay, so Keith was turning 50. He's six years older than Ted Parker. The two actually grew up across the street from one another, knew each other at when they were boys. I believe that they first started talking to each other and were aware of one another when Ted Parker was like 5 or 6 and Keith would have been about 11 or 12. So they're from the same neighborhood, grew up across the street from one another. Ted Parker was a very good athlete when he was in high school. Now by the time Ted Parker's in high school, Keith would have already graduated several years prior. Their friendship would be a lifetime friendship because at some point in Keith's adult life, Ted Parker's already living down in Silver Plume, right? And he would go down there for an annual visit and visit Ted Parker and basically stay for about a week or so down in Silver Plume once a year. And it's reported that he did this for like 12 consecutive years before he actually decided to. He's ultimately going to decide to. To move there for an extended stay. We shouldn't say move there, but go and stay there for an extended stay in 1988.

[Gretchen]

But doesn't he tell his wife, like, if I like it down here, if I find a path, I would like you to come down with me. So, yeah, she's maybe a possible stay, long term stay.

[Nick]

Yeah, she's mostly on board with this, it sounds like, but a little reluctant. He loves Silver Plume, as said so much that he visits there once a year, consecutive years. And I think the idea was he's like, hey, I've reached this point in my life, I can get a break from my job. They're willing to let me have an extended leave. I'll go down to Silver Plume and if I can make and sort of set up a life there, she can move down and stay with me. Keep in mind, I mean, his kids are all grown by this point.

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

He's worked for the newspaper for 22 years. And it's not uncommon for folks, when they start to get up there in years, to want to do a little soul searching and maybe change their life in what may seem like a dramatic fashion. But really this whole idea of moving to a place like Silver Plume appeals to me. It seems like you're living in this very beautiful mountainside community where you can strap on your boots every day and walk to everywhere that you want to go. And I think this might have been one, an adventure for him. But two, also, maybe a way to ease himself into retirement right where he's. Where he would only be doing what he wants to do rather than reporting for work each and every day.

[Gretchen]

Well, the term midlife crisis isn't a great term because for some people it's a. It's awakening.

[Nick]

Oh, yes, a resurgence, if you will. So Parker, his friend Ted Parker is interesting because this is a bit of a resource that most folks wouldn't have, right? Like, if you just show up to a small town like Silver Plume, most of the time I would assume you're strolling in there and you don't know anybody. But he's known this guy for his, basically the entirety of his life, the majority of his life. And Parker is well set up down there in Silver Plume. So by this point, Parker had been living there for a considerable amount of time. He's running a small business. It sounds like he owns several buildings that are located there. Some of them he restored. Now, although Silver Plume is little more than a dot on the map. Ted Parker's assuring his friend, like, hey, if. If you do want to come down here and try to hang out or have an extended stay in this peaceful berg that's tucked within the shadow of the Rockies, this might be exactly what you need, my friend. I mean, at some point, Ted Parker moved there and never went back to the Chicago area.

[Gretchen]

Yeah, but I question this, because if it's such a magical place, don't you think more people would live there?

[Nick]

I didn't. I don't know it to be magical. What I, what, what I'm seeing here is Ted Parker fell in love with this place. And at some point, Keith fell in love with this place to the point where he returns to a year after year for an annual trip. So this is probably something that the two shared in common, and they seem to both love this place. There was a lot of thought, I think, that went into this idea, because the general idea here, guys, is that Keith was going to go down there and just stay for three months. And while it's commonly reported that he. His intentions, his sole intention was to go down there on this extended vacation and start to write a novel. He had always wanted to write a novel. We know he's a writer. He'd been writing for the newspaper for 22 years. That's always the short version of this. But the longer version and probably the more correct version is Keith wanted a break from his life. Keith wanted a break from his work. Yeah, he always wanted to write a novel, and that is certainly part of this story. But he also said things to his wife and friends back in Chicago, like, look, I'm getting up there in age. I want to get there. I want to get in better shape. I want to focus on a few different things and try a few different things before I get too old. You know, we got to keep in mind you might live to be 80, 90 years old. Many of us won't be hiking the mountains when we are 80 and 90 years old.

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

And so that was part of this adventure. This was going to be not just a trip to hunker down and bang out a novel. No, this was much more than that. The novel, in my opinion, from what I can see, seems to just be a piece of that. He wanted to kind of go down there and live in this town and experience this town for 90 days for three months, rather than just one week.

[Gretchen]

Well, like you said, it's a. It's a break from his current reality, but almost a Refresh or a. A new start to old Keith to.

[Nick]

Dive into his relationship with his wife a little bit more. And this is from the sheriff's department out there. This is not my opinion. The Sheriff's department has reported on this that Keith stayed in regular contact with his wife, Carolyn. They would regularly have conversation, phone conversations. Most nights, when the Sheriff's department would speak to Carolyn, they would learn that she was often sad. You know, she was sad about him being gone. And she even said that the phone calls, while she enjoyed talking with Keith, would kind of upset her. She was intending to go down there and visit with him. They had a scheduled visit. She was going to come down and spend a few days with Keith. But then, as you will see, things got went off the rails here before that could happen. And the captain's absolutely right. There was some talk that if things go well for Keith while he's down here, he will permanently stay and Carolyn will eventually join her husband down and set up roots in Silver Plume. Upon his arrival to the town, Keith rented an apartment behind an abandoned Catholic church. He also leased the adjacent space across from his friend Ted Parker's business. So Ted Parker owned and ran the KP Cafe. This, from my understanding at the time, was the only cafe in town. In addition to being a journalist and a writer, Keith Reinhart was also a skilled amateur photographer. And he opened up. So he's running the small antique shop that he's leasing from his friend Ted Parker. But a big part of that, what he wanted to do with that antique shop here, Captain, was he's going to display and sell his matted and framed photographs and some other items. So the space that Keith was renting for this shop was formerly a bookstore. The name of that bookstore was the Charing Cross Station Bookstore. This had actually been run by a local man. His name is Tom Young. Now, not much is known about Tom Young in particular, not much is known about his early life. But what we do know may be more mysterious than the Keith Reinhardt part of this very, very strange story. We do know that Tom Young had been an art teacher at Arvada High School. He was a U.S. army Special Forces veteran. In 1969, at the age of 30, Tom pulled up stakes and moved to the mountain hamlet of Silver Plume, Colorado. Upon his arrival in town, Tom settled in on the south side of Pendleton Mountain, which was perpetually shrouded from the sunshine for a portion of the year. The south side of the mountain is also known as the Dark side due to a strange environmental quirk. Based on the town's position between two towering peaks of the Rockies, Tom was considered to be creative, a touch eccentric. He was generally well regarded by the locals in Silver Plume. He. But he was a man that was very private, not extremely outgoing, and the locals seemed to respect his privacy. And although he kept mostly to himself, folks got used to seeing him throughout town and among the hiking paths. Now, one thing that he was well known for was his dog. So he has this. This deer dog that. That. You can't even call this a dog because it's more of Tom's companion. The two went everywhere together. He had a black Labrador retriever named Gus who was always by his side.

[Gretchen]

Old Gus.

[Nick]

Old Gus.

[Gretchen]

What a great name for a dog.

[Nick]

Especially a black Labrador retriever. Tom owned, and operated, as we said, a small bookstore on main street in Silver Plume in the old Knights of Pythias building in the tiny village of fewer than. So today it's 200 residents, but at the time, I believe the residency was more of close to 150, 140. So very small, very small community here. And the important thing to note is that the bookstore that Tom ran would then become the antique slash photograph store run by Keith Reinhardt on September 7, 1987. So this is a little less than a year prior to Keith Reinhardt arriving to stay for his extended stay in Silver Plume. Tom Young on this day is 47 years old. He closes the front door of his bookstore, and along with his faithful companion Gus, walked off toward the majestic Rocky Mountains and then seemingly vanished without a trace. Now, at first, captain, it was assumed he had gone on a lengthy vacation, so his disappearance sort of goes unnoticed. Tom had told friends that he might be visiting Europe at some point. In fact, he had mentioned that this trip might be sooner rather than later. So in the short term, if Tom was unaccounted for or could not be reached by friends, they just sort of assumed that he had went on this trip that he had been talking about. But as the weeks passed and no one had heard from Tom, his friends and family grew concerned. So they report him missing to the Clear Creek county sheriff's office, who then opened up an investigation. What they find here, captain, is the authorities say they find no evidence that Tom had traveled abroad or traveled outside of Silver Plume. There was no record of any type of plane ticket, and Gus was not at the kennel that Tom would typically use to board him if he needed to leave town. So neither man nor dog could be located by the authorities, and they checked Tom's apartment. Obviously his vehicle, a Chevy Blazer, was sitting in the driveway exactly where he had left it when he had locked up his store for the day. So the last time this man could be accounted for was on September 7, 1987. Tom Young and his steadfast companion Gus seem to have disappeared into thin air, leaving behind a mystery that confounded authorities and unsettled the close knit town of Silver Plume, Colorado.

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[Nick]

Food, treats, toys, even supplies for horses.

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[Gretchen]

All right, we are back. Cheers mates. Thanks watching for for joining us here in the garage for not one mystery, but seems like two mysteries.

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Yeah.

[Nick]

And I think you could easily go, we might have three or four mysteries here. This is a story that bear with us for a minute because it takes a moment to set this one up. But this is. And all the time we've been chilling here in the garage, this one is about as strange as. As they come. So let's fast forward here several months. Right? So Tom Young, along with his black Labrador, Gus, they vanish without a trace less than a year before Keith Reinhardt arrives to stay in Silver Plume. And of course, we know the mysterious circumstances surrounding that disappearance. Yeah, Keith knew the circumstances as well. So Keith, this part's interesting because remember, Keith would regularly visit Silver Plume, and as you kind of keep going back to, there's not a whole lot of people there. So if you're going there and hanging out for a week, year after year after year, you're going to kind of bump into everybody at some point or pass them and walking or maybe chit chat with them at some point. And Tom had been there for a while, for many years before he went missing. So while they didn't know each other very well, it's reported that Keith and Tom were acquaintances. And so they had met on more than one occasion. Keith gets there, he learns that this guy's missing. He also learns that, oh, I'm now taking over his bookstore and running an antique shop out of it. The guy's been missing for a little less than a year. Keith was first intrigued by the disappearance story, then inspired. And ultimately the townsfolk say he became obsessed with Tom's story.

[Gretchen]

Well, like you were saying, he. He wanted to go there and possibly write a book, but I don't think he had a subject matter for that book.

[Nick]

Correct. From what I could find, when he left the Chicago area, he had this dream of. Of starting a novel. Subject unknown, he arrives into Silver Plume, learns about this disappearance of this man that he knew. And keep in mind, what's missing from our telling of this story and from everybody else's is what are they talking about at the tavern? What are they talking about at the church? What are the rumors in Silver Plume about the disappearance of Tom Young? I'm sure they are all over the shop and range from very simple, easy to understand, to very mysterious. Could have been anything. And so Keith arrives into town and he's like, whoa, here's this story. And not only is this story very interesting to me, I'm kind of walking in this man's footsteps a bit, working in this Same space right. With my antique store. People of Silver Plume say he became obsessed with Tom Young's story, the story of his disappearance. And then this very quickly becomes the subject of his novel. Now I've not seen, not had the, not been able to read any of his workings on this novel. It doesn't sound like he got very far into the process. But what I want to point out from the little bit that I've been made aware of, it sounds like this was going to be the inspiration for a work of fiction he wasn't working on. Document. A documentary about this missing man that's all factual and in his own personal investigation.

[Gretchen]

Yeah, but more like a. Based on a true story.

[Nick]

I don't even think it was that. I, I mean really, when you examine a lot of good fiction out there, a lot of it is surrounded in truth and fact, real life experiences and such. I think that that's what he was, that was the yarn that he was going to spin.

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

So nine months before Keith Reinhardt arrives in Silver Plume, 47 year old Tom Young vanishes after closing the front door and locking up his Charing Cross Station bookstore for the day. That brings us back around full circle to 49 year old sports writer Keith Reinhard leaving the Chicago suburban area for the small mining town of Colorado Silver Plume. As said, with his wife's reluctant blessing, he takes this three month leave of absence from his job as a journalist. And he's there with his good friend, lifetime friend Ted Parker, who is running the KP Cafe across the street from Keith Reinhardt's now antique store. Ted Parker would later tell many people that when he starts to make Keith aware of the prior occupants. Unknown fate. Tom Young's unknown fate.

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

As said, like I think it's important to include this part. He says that it was almost like nothing that had piqued Keith's interest so much in many, many years. You know, kind of that aha moment. You had said an awakening earlier. That's how I would kind of describe what Ted Parker is saying about him telling his friend Keith about this other man disappearing.

[Gretchen]

Well, you said he wasn't that far along in the process, but I think this is hard to decipher and you'd know this better than most people because you actually wrote a book. But I've talked to some writers where like, well I just got to do the research, I just got to do the planning. The writing is not going to take me that long. Once I have this portion done that's.

[Nick]

Quite insightful, I would Agree with that. I think everybody has a different process.

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

But I'm with you on that. Even oftentimes, for the stories we tell here in the garage, one of the hardest parts for me is, well, what's the shape of that story?

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

Again, without being able to review his work. And there's not great reporting on his work with this novel. The reporting is that the authorities do find some stuff, and we'll get into that later. But the best I could come up with here, Captain, was it sounds like he was well on his way working through the outline of the soon to be novel. He was fleshing out the Tom Young character, and some reports state that he was creating his other protagonist. And then other reports say that the Tom Young character was going to be named Guy Gypsum. So either Guy Gypsum, without having seen the work, is either another character and Tom Young would be a character, or the real life Tom Young is going to morph into this fictional character of Guy Gypsum.

[Gretchen]

For his book, which was my nickname in high school.

[Nick]

Mine was the Midnight Hammer. The character appears to be from what folks who knew both, they say they believe the character was a combination of both Keith and Tom Young. Which some would even say that Keith was starting to see the two as almost kindred spirits. Right. That they, for some reason, they were both put in the same place at different times. But it's often reported that they both had. That they had very different personalities where Keith was very outgoing, very positive, very optimistic.

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

Tom Young was more reserved, kept to himself, would prefer to read alone rather than hang out with a whole bunch of people. Yeah.

[Gretchen]

But maybe he just viewed it as serendipitous that he came across this story when he's looking for subject matter for his novel.

[Nick]

Six weeks after Keith arrives in Colorado. So this is more than 10 months after he was last seen. The skeletal remains of the missing Tom Young and his dog Gus are discovered. Hunters stumble across the remains on Mount Sherman. This is about an hour's hike outside of the town of Silver Plume. Tom's skeleton is found propped up near a tree. And Gus's remains were found a short distance away. Also nearby, they found a gun. This is a Smith and Wesson Model 36 and a backpack. Both man and dog had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Local authorities learn that Tom Young had purchased a gun four days before he went missing. And then they rule his death a suicide. The autopsy report lists suicide as the manner of death. This is something we're going to circle back to. So Bear with me, please. Most reports state that no ballistics were ever performed on the bullets that killed each. Now, locals, however, were not so certain that Tom died by his own hand. Their belief, they couldn't fathom the idea that Tom would ever hurt his loyal companion, Gus. So because of that, the locals suspect some foul play. Then there were whispers that surface that when this man was found, eventually located, that a tarp was placed over his body. All right, I want to stop our timeline right here for a moment. Pause it, because we need to get eyeballs deep into this part of the story here. It might help to clear any confusion, but it also will very likely add further to the mystery. So these two men, about the same age, they rent the same space for a small shop from the same guy, the one to do it first. Tom Young vanishes along with his dog. And only after several weeks of Keith Reinert arriving for an extended stay in Silver Plume, Tom Young and his dog, their bodies are found both shot and killed, found in the woods. Authorities say suicide. Townsfolk are really curious and wonder if it could have been something else.

[Gretchen]

Well, not to critique you, but you're. You're not hitting home the idea that these bodies were found underneath a tarp for good reason.

[Nick]

The reporting is all over the shop on the finding of Tom Young.

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

And that's interesting that you bring that up, because I, too, have seen reports that say both man and dog were found under the tarp. I've also seen a report that states that the dog was found a distance away and only Tom Young was found under a tarp. The general consensus seems to be, well, he didn't shoot himself and then hide his body under a tarp. It's also not entirely impossible that he was already under the tarp before he shot himself.

[Gretchen]

Exactly.

[Nick]

And the dog may have already been there with him as well.

[Gretchen]

And this could be a nothing burger, because narrative matters. And what we've Learned over these 10 years of doing this show is there's little details that sometimes make the story a little bit more of a story. Like, Brian Schaefer went into a bar and is never seen leaving the bar. What happened to him? Did he leave the bar? Little details that once you start investigating the case and you start talking to other individuals that investigate a case, they're like, well, one, this guy could have shot himself underneath the tarp, and then that explains it away. And it's a simple explanation. Or he wasn't found underneath the tarp. It's a nothing burger.

[Nick]

It would be really insightful. To figure out where the first version of this tarp portion of the story go. But the thing here, too, that the two major parts of this captain, are very obviously the tarp number one, but also the gun.

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Right?

[Nick]

So some reports never mention a tarp. Others do. As far as the gun and the ballistics of such are concerned, I would like to crowdsource this to all of our garage friends out there because here's what I have. Some reports stating it was a suicide dog side. Other reports stating that it was changed from suicide to mysterious death or even unsolved.

[Gretchen]

Here's a man with his dog, Gus, and they're, like, famous in that town to be the best of buddies. Do we have any understanding of the health of the dog? Because I do know some dog owners that are like, hey, if I. If I'm going to have to put him down, I'm going to put him down myself.

[Nick]

I would say, more importantly, do we know, have a great understanding of the physical health or mental health of Tom Young?

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

Because while it seems inconceivable to most of us regular folks, there are many, many occasions, sadly, where a mother or father or both have wiped out their family or killed their kids before killing themselves.

[Gretchen]

Right?

[Nick]

But regardless of. Here's one thing that makes me stick with this story and want to sink my teeth into it more. Regardless of the reporting, one thing that seems extremely consistent is authorities say suicide. The people of Silver Plume, who would have known Tom Young very well, they're all very suspicious of this ruling. And a lot of talk in town at the time that maybe the authorities got it wrong. So whether it was changed to mysterious death or unsolved, Right. Further digging is required here. Now locals arrange for a memorial service to honor Tom Young and Gus. So this is going to take place on August 6th. Keith attends this service, and it's referred to as a service a lot of times, But I think we should refer to it as what it sounds like to me, more of a party. Right. A celebration of this man and dog's life, because it's referred to in the local papers as a beer party that a lot of people attended. So Keith attends this service or party. His fascination with the mysterious circumstances surrounding this man's disappearance have increased since the discovery of the remains earlier that same day. So this service party takes place in the evening, and it sounds like it goes late into the night. But earlier the same day, Keith had actually contacted his bosses at the Daily Herald, and he's requesting that when he returns from his sabbatical that he be able to cover the Chicago Bulls for the paper. Remember, this is right at the height of Michael Jordan's rise to superstardom.

[Gretchen]

Yeah, this would have been a big deal because like you said, he mostly did high school sports.

[Nick]

Yeah. Filling in on occasion for the Bears and the Bulls. But I believe what's happening here is the the person in charge of covering the Bulls was either moving on to another position with the paper or was leaving the paper. And when he became aware of this opening, he wanted to toss his hat in the ring for consideration. To me, this is one of the markers in our timeline that doesn't seem to be in dispute. And so to me this is a clear indication that Keith was at every intention of returning to his life after this three month break was completed. So he's making plans for the future here. As said, the party is on August 6th. Keith attends that party. It's held at the KP Building in Silver Plume, hosted by a Denver radio station. By now the writer is fully obsessed with the mysterious disappearance. Sources report that Keith was seen talking at length with a woman whose name was either Greta or Gretchen at the event. People believe she was from out of town. Rumor has it that she may have hailed from Denver. He also seems to be having a good time, drinking freely and getting pretty buzzed while loudly confiding in partygoers that he doesn't believe that Tom Young's death was a suicide. He also declares to all attendees of his intention to hike to the top of the of Mount Pendleton. It's reported that his friends first take this declaration with a grain of salt because Keith is not an experienced hiker.

[Gretchen]

He's not in great shape.

[Nick]

Not in great shape and he has a fear of heights. So the following afternoon, Keith closes up his antique shop a bit earlier than normal. Most reports say around 2.30pm and despite this fear of heights, his inexperience as a hiker and potentially a hangover from the party from the previous night, Keith then walks around town and he goes to the cafe, amongst other places. He's telling people that he encounters that he is off to go to the top of Pendleton Mountain, stating he expects to be back by 10pm that night and advising friends to call authorities if he's not back in the morning. It's believed that at some point Keith sets off on this journey. Given that it's about a six hour round trip to the peak of Mount Pendleton. By now it is already late afternoon. Locals were skeptical that this dude's serious. Some of them even said, we thought he was pulling our leg because it's awfully late in the day to be leaving on this hiking trip. And his friend Ted Parker. Yeah, his friend Ted Parker, who owns the cafe also said, I assumed he was kidding. But part of this Ted Parker version of this day is he says, Keith asked me if I wanted to go with him. I think he had asked Ted Parker at the party the night before. Ted Parker says, I told him no, I wasn't going to go with him. This is interesting because Parker would say that Keith, the limited times that he would actually go out on a hike or attempt to go up the mountains was always in Ted Parker's presence. Ted Parker liked to hike. Keith was kind of tagging along and on a couple of those occasions he had experienced vertigo. Keith had and was not able to keep up with Ted Parker. Parker says that he just sort of assumed that Keith was pulling his leg. They're good buddies. And when Ted Parker said, no, I'm not going to go hiking, I don't have the time or, or I don't have the, you know, not able to go with you, he just assumed that Keith's pulling his leg and that Keith was not going to go and would wait till another date and time when Parker could accompany him.

[Gretchen]

Right.

[Nick]

Parker also says that he believes that Keith Reinhardt had made no preparations for such a hike. Brought no supplies with him, no water, no protective clothing or footgear other than the clothing on his back. The only thing it's believed that Keith Reinhardt took with him if he did go on the hike would be a can of soda.

[Gretchen]

Sounds, sounds like the way the captain would pack.

[Nick]

Yeah. That's based off of what is believed to be the last known sighting of Keith, which takes place sometime between 4:30 and 5:05pm when he stopped into the Buckley's General Store on the northern edge of town and purchased a can of soda. So the Cannesota part comes from somebody else, another person in this story, another location, talking to folks in town. The authorities would put together that same timeline and state that Keith was last seen wearing only a T shirt, a dark red and black flannel plaid shirt, blue jeans and beat up tennis shoes. If Keith Reinhardt did go up into the mountains that evening on August 7, 1988, regardless of where he went, he's never been seen again.

[Gretchen]

I want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage. Thanks for telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother. Stick around for part two.

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