As Larry Rivers drove through the southwestern New Mexico desert on October 31, 1988, he came upon a young man walking along the shoulder of the road. It was Halloween morning, and the odd encounter spooked Larry. The morning was cool and crisp, yet the man carrying a yucca walking stick was clad only in shorts and a t-shirt.  Believing the man to be lost, Larry pulled to the side of the road to offer his assistance.

The pedestrian confirmed he was searching for something, but he was seeking a thing, as opposed to a location; he told Larry he was searching for “The Beast.”

Not sure what to make of the odd answer, Larry offered to drive him into town. The man politely said that was not necessary because “The Beast” was somewhere in the desert. The man thanked Larry for his concern but assured him he was fine and bid him a good day.

The man whom Larry Rivers had chanced upon was ultimately identified as twenty-nine-year-old David Stone of La Jolla, California, and it was the last confirmed sighting of the successful businessman.

The encounter in the desert was the first in a series of odd clues surrounding David Stone’s disappearance. Thirty-six years later, only part of the puzzle has been put together.

David Stone

David Stone lettered in football in high school, and the El Paso, Texas, native played linebacker in college for his home town University of Texas El-Paso (UTEP) Miners. His best friend was Steve Haskins, the son of longtime UTEP basketball coach Don Haskins.

David was slated to be best man at Steve’s wedding, scheduled for November 5, 1988, six days after David was seen walking in the New Mexico desert.

Football Player

David was a stock market analyst who ran a branch of his father’s business in La Jolla. He lived in nearby San Diego. David had many friends and was well liked, but he was also quick tempered.

On October 28, three days before the encounter in the desert, David hosted a party at his apartment during which he became angry with a guest and punched him multiple times before being restrained. The incident was the most severe of several recent tantrums. After David cooled down, he apologized.

At approximately 9:00 a.m. the following day, David, regretting his outburst of the evening before, told his friend, John Duffes, he was going away for the weekend, saying he needed some alone time to reflect on his recent anger issues. He was not sure of his destination; he thought he may go to the Sonoran Desert or the Grand Canyon before heading to El Paso for Steve’s wedding rehearsal.  David, however, did not arrive for the rehearsal three days later and did not call to offer an explanation.

He was then reported missing.

Temper Tantrum

Authorities determined that David had stayed several hours at a motel in Eloy, Arizona, three-hundred-sixty- miles from San Diego, on October 29. That evening, he drove fifty miles southeast to Tucson, where he withdrew $200 from an ATM at 10:22 p.m.

At 4:03 a.m. the following day, October 30, David purchased gas near Road Forks, New Mexico, one-hundred-forty miles east of Tucson.

David Heads East

On November 2, three days after the Halloween morning encounter with Larry Rivers in the desert, David’s car, a Buick, was found abandoned on a desolate stretch of Highway 80 in Hidalgo County in southwest New Mexico, seven miles from the Arizona border and approximately fifty miles from the Mexican border. No indications of any recent food or beverages were found in the car.

Motorist Lillian Richins had earlier seen David sitting on his car writing on a piece of paper. Another driver, Glenn Duncan, said he had seen him walking across the desert in an almost trance-like state chanting, “I am the power.”

Odd Behavior

While working and living in Houston in 1986, David had become involved in the New Age Movement, which encompasses a variety of religious beliefs and philosophies to promote self-enlightenment and spiritual growth.

New Age followers believe they can tap into a universal energy through the use of crystals, pyramid powers, and meditation. Through the process, the movement’s adherents believe they can experience a vision which will reveal their true identity.

New Age Movement

The stretch of highway where David’s car was found was near the Pyramid Mountains in east central Hidalgo County, in the far southwestern part of New Mexico. Because pyramids are an integral part of New Age philosophy, many followers came to this area of the desert to follow “Vision Quests,” introspective journeys taken to discover one’s inner self and to conquer their internal negativism in order to reach a state of oneness with God.

The Pyramid Mountains may have been David’s starting point to find his Vision Quest and conquer his inner “beast,” to which he was likely referring when he met Larry Rivers.

Pyramid Mountains

Searchers discovered a series of strange clues believed to have been left by David in the Granite Gap area of the desert, approximately a half-mile from the highway.

The first was a small stone pyramid. Further down the canyon, they found what appeared to be fresh tracks. The following day, approximately a quarter mile from the first pyramid, the searchers found another small pyramid, along with David’s gold Rolex watch and two quarters.

David’s Trail

Approximately three miles to the north, searchers found a series of numbers written in the sand. The numbers were part of the Fibonacci Series used by Stock Market analysts. The sequence is a series of numbers in which a number is the sum of the previous two numbers. The last numbers written in the sequence should have been 21 (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21) but instead was 18.

David’s parents, Harry and Carol, believed the incorrect number in the Fibonacci sequence may have been their son’s signal that he was in trouble.  The #18 was a significant number for him. Although he wore #14 while at UTEP, David wore #18 for his high school football team.

Was The #18 A Sign of Trouble?

In addition, David’s car had been found at Mile Marker 18, only a few miles from the Arizona border town of Douglas, which at the time was the southern end of United States Highway 666.

Followers of the New Age Movement often referred to the number 666 as the symbol for “The Satan,” or “The Beast.” Because David had told people he was searching for the beast, and because 6×3 equals 18, investigators pondered if there was some sort of spiritual significance of the car being found on United States Highway 666.

U.S. Highway 666 was changed to U.S Highway 491 in 2003, the most recent American route to be decommissioned.

Are The Numbers “666” A Clue?

High temperatures in the area were consistently between the upper seventies to lower eighties; low temperatures hovered around the high twenties to lower thirties.

The searchers found no sign of where David had eaten or slept. Bloodhounds tracked his scent across the terrain back to Highway 80. His trail ended at the intersection of Interstate 10, approximately thirteen miles north of where his car had been found, leading searchers to believe he may have hitched a ride out of the desert.

Where David’s Trail Ends

After the search, David’s parents went through the items left in his car. Tucked in a pocket bible they found the business card of Tony Ballesteros of Arizona.

When David’s parents contacted Tony, he told them he had never met David and said he had placed his business card on a mesquite tree in the desert for friends to find their campsite. The card had likely blown down and was picked up by David as he crossed the area.

Tony Ballesteros was cleared of any involvement in David Stone’s disappearance.

Tony Ballesteros

One final odd item was found by David’s parents among his possessions: a note reading “They think the WORD is in the safe. Six knives in Rob’s room. Yous [sic[ buys your tea and yous [sic] takes your chances Halloween.”

“Rob” may have referred to one of David’s former roommates, but no one could make sense of the note.

A Final Odd Finding

In February 1992, three-and-a-half years after David Stone’s disappearance, two hunters found human remains in the Granite Gap area of New Mexico, between the towns of Rodeo and Road Forks. The locale was the same area where David Stone’s watch and the written Fibonacci numbers had been found. Dental records confirmed the remains were his. The finding again left investigators scratching their heads.

The area where David’s body was found had been searched on November 9, 1988, ten days after he was last seen. On that day, bloodhounds had followed his scent along the side of a mountain. The dogs passed within two-hundred feet of where his body was found three-and-a-half years later. Police are certain the trained bloodhounds would have picked up David’s scent if he had been there at the time, dead or alive.

An autopsy could not determine the cause, manner, or time of David Stone’s death. His skull had multiple holes in it, but there were no bullet holes or knife marks on the skeleton. Coroner Mani Eteshami believed the holes were caused by animals gnawing on the bones.

Map of The Stone Saga

Most of David’s possessions were never found, including his car keys, driver’s license, credit cards, eyeglasses, and clothing. His tennis shoes were recovered but oddly in different locations; one was found near his remains, while the other was in a ravine several miles away.

It is possible David was murdered as the southwest New Mexico back country and desert are choice locations for drug smuggling and civilians have been killed to protect shipments.

With the absence of any evidence suggesting murder, however, Dr. Eteshami determined David Stone probably succumbed to dehydration and prolonged exposure to the outdoors, and listed the most likely cause of death as “death by misadventure.”

“Death by Misadventure”

Because foul play is not suspected in the death of David Stone, his case is officially closed. Investigators, however, would still like to hear from anyone who can recall seeing him between the time he was last seen on October 31,1988, and when his remains were found in February 1992.

If you happened to be in the southwestern New Mexico desert, particularly the Granite Gap area, at any point during that time period and can recall seeing anyone who may have been David Stone, please contact the Hidalgo County, New Mexico, Sheriff’s Office at (575) 542-3833.

Case Closed

But Open to More Information

David’s father, Harry, was a prominent El Paso businessman.

He served as the first President of the Board of Directors of the Ronald McDonald House, a charity providing financial housing and assistance to parents of seriously ill children. The Sun Bowl, college football’s second-oldest bowl game after the Rose Bowl, is played in El Paso each year, and Harry Stone also served as Sun Bowl President in 1979, and was active in the expansion of Sun Bowl Stadium.

Harry Stone died in 2008 at age seventy-four.

Harry Stone

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98760458/david-lawrence-stone

SOURCES:

• Albuquerque Journal
• El Paso Times
• Prescott Courier
• Santa Fe New Mexican
• Unsolved Mysteries