David Glenn Lewis was born on December 11, 1953, in Borger, near the city of Amarillo (Texas, USA). Lewis graduated from Phillips High School and then went to college. He chose Texas Tech. He studied political science there, graduating in 1975. However, one field of study was not enough for an ambitious man. So David began prestigious law studies, graduating in 1979. Three years later he married his wife Karen. The couple had one daughter.
The Lewis family lived in the town of Dumas, less than an hour from Amarillo. David ran his own law firm and also served as an assistant district attorney. In 1986, he was elected as a judge. Four years later, however, he resigned from this job. He did this because he was running for another high-ranking position in the justice system. This time, however, he failed. So he focused on his own law practice. In addition, he also taught classes at a college in Amarillo.
On January 28, 1993, Lewis finished work at the office earlier than usual, around noon. He told his coworkers he wasn't feeling well and would go straight home. On the way, he refueled his car, as indicated by his credit card statement. Despite his previous poor health, the man led a college class in the evening, which ended around 10 p.m.
The next day (Friday, January 29), David's wife and daughter went to Dallas for the weekend to browse the local shops. According to other sources, they left the day before, i.e. on Thursday. Anyway, the head of the family decided to stay home to watch the Super Bowl. The Dallas Cowboys, Lewis's favorite team, played there. It was to be the Cowboys' first appearance in the NFL championship game in 14 years.
On Friday, David was spotted by a member of the church in Dumas, which also included a lawyer. It took place at Amarillo International Airport. However, Lewis' friend did not notice that he had any luggage with him.
At 10:30 p.m. Friday, a police officer patrolling downtown Amarillo saw a red Ford Explorer in front of the courthouse. Lewis had a vehicle of the same make and model and the same color. The next day the car was no longer there. On Saturday, a neighbor noticed a red Explorer parked in the driveway in front of David's house.
On Sunday morning, a sheriff's deputy saw the same Ford parked at the county courthouse again. At the same time, a man matching Lewis' description was across the street at the time. He had a camera in his hands and apparently wanted to take a photo of his car.
On Sunday evening, after the game ended, the lawyer's wife and daughter returned home from Dallas. David wasn't home at the time. However, it turned out that the VCR was still recording the final match. It later turned out that the equipment had been turned on before it started, around 5:15 p.m.
There were two turkey sandwiches in the fridge and wet laundry in the washing machine. A wedding ring and a watch lying on the kitchen counter were also quite interesting finds. It looked as if the lawyer had left the house in a hurry. Karen Lewis, however, assumed that her husband might have decided just before the game started to go to one of his friends so as not to watch alone.
More hours passed and David did not return home. When Karen learned that her husband had missed two work meetings, she called the police to report him missing. Lewis was a very conscientious person who had never experienced such situations at work before.
Early in the investigation, police learned that someone had purchased two plane tickets using the name David Glenn Lewis. The first transaction took place on January 31. It was a flight from Dallas to Amarillo. The second ticket was purchased the next day. The plane was flying from Los Angeles to Dallas at the time.
No one could explain what might have prompted David to buy these tickets. Additionally, in 1993, US airports did not require ID before purchasing a ticket and boarding a plane. For this reason, it was not even possible to verify whether it was the missing person who bought these tickets.
Another unexplained detail that came to light during the investigation was that on January 30, $5,000 was deposited into the Lewis family's bank account. Unfortunately, it was not possible to determine who made the payment. It is also difficult to say whether it could have been in any way related to the man's disappearance.
David's Ford Explorer was also eventually found parked in front of the courthouse. The car keys were found under the floor mat and the driver's license, credit cards and checkbook were also found inside, which was very strange.
A taxi driver from Dallas also turned himself in to police. He testified that on Monday, February 1, he was supposed to take a man who looked like Lewis to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. The taxi driver said his passenger seemed nervous and paid in cash. The driver noticed that the passenger had a large amount of hundred-dollar bills on him.
On February 1, around 10:30 p.m., drivers driving near Moxee, Washington, saw a man walking in the middle of the road. They passed him and then turned around to warn other drivers. When they returned to where they spotted the disoriented man, they found him lying in the road.
It looked like someone hit him and then fled the scene. Witnesses spotted a Chevrolet Camaro nearby, which quickly drove away. However, it is difficult to say whether it was a car that hit the man or just drove by.
It quickly turned out that the accident victim was dead. The deceased did not have any documents with him. The unusual clothes of the deceased seemed to be a clue that could enable identification. He was wearing a uniform and military shoes. An autopsy was performed, which confirmed that the cause of death was injuries after the accident. No alcohol or drugs were detected in the victim's body. Ultimately, the man's identity could not be established.
After 11 years, there was an unexpected twist. All thanks to policeman Pat Ditter. In 2003, the investigator became interested in the cases of unidentified victims. Ditter checked police databases of such people and compared them with cases described on the Internet. That's how he came across the case of Lewis' disappearance. The detective noted that David looked very similar to the unidentified victim of the Moxee accident.
The only thing that didn't fit was that David wore glasses, which also had very characteristic thick frames. The person who died in 1993 did not have glasses. Ditter decided to check this issue again. He managed to gain access to the accident victim's clothes, which were preserved.
It turned out that glasses that looked identical to those worn by Lewis were found in one of the pockets of the military uniform. DNA tests were also performed to confirm. They conclusively showed that it was the Texas lawyer who was fatally hit by a car.
It could be said that the case of Lewis' disappearance has been solved. This is not entirely true. We do not know how and why the man traveled over 2,500 kilometers between his home and the site of the tragic accident.
It is also puzzling why he was not wearing glasses (without which his vision was very poor) and why he stepped into the road. The issue of the military uniform was also strange. Karen Lewis claimed that her husband had nothing to do with the army. He did not have such specialized clothing.
The lawyer's wife claimed that one person was involved in his death, seeking revenge for a decision made by Lewis during his legal career as a judge or attorney. There was one particular case in particular. David was a defendant in a case brought against him and several other lawyers. Interestingly, Lewis was supposed to be the last to testify, but he didn't have time to do so. All of his documents related to the case disappeared with him and were never found. However, it was never possible to determine whether it was just a coincidence. However, this situation could have an impact on the man's mental state.
Another hypothesis was suicide. The family argued that David had no reason to take his own life. However, we know from many criminal cases that relatives often do not know about the problems of people who decide to commit suicide. Even if this was the case, the method Lewis chose seems quite unusual.
Quite often, there are speculations that the man may have had a psychotic episode or mental illness. It is also very possible that Lewis suffered from dissociative fugue just before his disappearance. It is a dissociative disorder, most often a reaction to a traumatic or very stressful event.
Fugue most often manifests itself as amnesia. The patient does not remember who he is. After the dissociative fugue ends, the memory of the events that occurred during the episode is lost. It is worth adding that this disorder often leads to a sudden escape ("fugue" in Latin means escape). The patient can then cover a long distance without being fully aware of what is happening around him.
Finally, I will add that Judy Smith also experienced a similar long journey before her death. The David Lewis case also reminds me a bit of the strange death of Chuck Morgan. If you haven't heard about these equally peculiar stories before, I encourage you to read them!
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