SALT LAKE CITY — The mystery over a 23-year-old University of Utah student who disappeared over a half-century ago has finally been solved following a recent discovery in the foothills above campus.
Douglas Brick walked out of his dormitory on October 12, 1973, and was never seen again despite lengthy searches that continued for about a year before the case stalled and went cold for more than 50 years.
Before he studied physics at the university, Brick was a National Merit Letter commendation winner, a member of the Boys Council, Key Club and German Club in high school in Idaho. However, according to friends and family, when Brick left to start his final year at Utah, he seemed depressed and possibly suicidal, according to a school press release.
The case gained the attention of the University of Utah Police last year after the discovery of skull fragments near the summit of Black Mountain. Last week, a lab that had extracted DNA from the bones said it was a 99.9 percent genetic match with one of Brick's living relatives.
“We never stopped hoping for answers about Doug’s disappearance,” said Brick’s family in a statement provided by the university. “Many years ago, we pushed for the cold case to be reopened with the addition of DNA evidence. We are relieved to finally have some answers. After 52 years, this result, while sad, is nothing short of a miracle.”
The solving of the case came 51 years, six months and 19 days after Brick went missing.
The university release said Brick's mother, Donna, had a "chance encounter" with a psychic at a Salt Lake City department store in 1990 who told her that her son had gone to the foothills and contemplated ending his life.
"He became afraid, and because it was dark, and he slipped and fell. “He really wants you to find him,” the psychic said.
According to Detective Jon Dial, the psychic shared details that no one else would have known.
“These details stuck out to me,” Dial said. “Where the skull was located, the terrain I was traversing as part of the search, it is extremely steep and loose on both sides, and I was having a hard time in the daylight keeping my footing under me and figuring out where I was going.”
It's still not known how Brick died, but police plan to continue to search the area for answers.
