Unsolved Archives: The Missing Van Dike
Missing person poster by the Sheriff’s office in Great Falls, Montana, scan from Belt Valley History, p. 169
Van Dike Disappears
On March 2, 1927 John A. Van Dike left Belt, Montana for Great Falls, Montana and was never seen again. Van Dike was a merchant in Belt and the president of the Belt Lions Club. He had approximately $40,000 invested in his mercantile enterprises in Belt, Shonkin, and Highwood.
In a letter to Mr. Grundy, manager of the Shonkin Van Dike store, Van Dike mentioned attending to business matters at a bank in Great Falls and to then drive to Highwood. "Don't look for me until I arrive," he said, "for I might get stuck in the mud." (The road to Highwood was made of thick, treacherous gumbo). It was planned for Van Dike to call Grundy after arriving in Highwood, then Grundy would drive out to attend a conference there.
Stock image collage map, staff produced
Without a Trace
Van Dike first traveled to Great Falls on March 2. Assessor Harold Mady reported seeing him on the steps in front of the Great Falls Post office, dressed in a gray pinstripe suit, a hat, a mixed color overcoat, and carrying with him a large black handbag and a suitcase. He drove a 1923 Nash Six Touring car.
While in Great Falls Van Dike spoke with Attorney O.B. Kotz and M. H. Bean, an accountant. Van Dike told Bean that he was in a hurry and was intended to drive to Highwood, however, Van Dike returned to Belt after leaving Great Falls that afternoon. When Van Dike departed from Belt for the second time that day at around 8 or 9 in the evening, it was the last he was seen.
Neither Van Dike's friends, acquaintances, nor business associates gave the investigation any inkling of an idea of why Van Dike might have ran off without a trace - no evidence of business trouble, of a woman he intended to run off with and marry, or any sort of social problem.
“Van Dike’s Disappearance Still Shrouded in Mystery,” Great Falls Tribune Clipping, March 9, 1927
Investigation Left Unsolved
Weeks after his disappearance, his vehicle was discovered at the Overland-Willys-Knight Garage on 123 1st Ave N in Great Falls on the second floor, where it had been overlooked. The employee who discovered the car said that Van Dike had left the car and that he would be away for two or three weeks.
The discovery of Van Dike's vehicle point to the probability that he took a 10pm Great Northern Train. It's unclear whether the train departure theory was investigated by the police. From reviewing Tribune articles, it seems as if the police concluded he left of his own volition, and the investigation ended the investigation there.
Still a Mystery
In August 1927, the Belt store was auctioned to satisfy a mortgage debt left behind when Van Dike vanished.
No leads came from the nation wide distribution of Van Dike's description, led dominantly by the Belt Lions Club who decided to spread the word to every chapter in the United States and Canada shortly after the disappearance.
To this day we cannot be sure whether Van Dike escaped whatever he was leaving behind successfully, or if foul play took him away early from a long life in Belt, Montana.
Story originally published as a weekly email feature, April 9, 2020