Overview

Last seen: Evidence cited by later case summaries places John Michael Boutin in Rawlins, Wyoming, on or about January 6, 1983, following a night out and possibly after attending his welding class. Some official-derived databases use January 13, 1983 as the missing-person date.

Main circumstances: Boutin disappeared at age 24 while nearing completion of a state-sponsored welding program. He left his belongings behind, reportedly had been documenting alleged wrongdoing involving the welding operation, and a notebook later recovered from his trailer had pages missing. Authorities now suspect homicide, but no remains have been recovered and no one has been charged. The investigation remains open.

Identifying information: Boutin was approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He had “John” tattooed on his upper left arm, scars including a cross-shaped scar on his upper left arm, and was known to wear eyeglasses and a large turquoise-and-silver ring.

Detailed Case Breakdown

John Michael Boutin: The 1983 Rawlins, Wyoming Disappearance and Suspected Homicide

John Michael Boutin was 24 years old when he disappeared from Rawlins, Wyoming, in January 1983. More than four decades later, his disappearance remains an open case, and authorities have come to suspect that Boutin was the victim of homicide.

Boutin was enrolled in a state-sponsored welding program and was nearing completion of his training when he vanished. He left his belongings behind at his mobile home, stopped communicating with a family that said he normally kept in frequent contact, and was never confirmed alive again.

A Welding Student Nearing the End of His Program

Boutin was participating in a vocational rehabilitation welding program at Carbon County Welding in Rawlins. According to family accounts reported decades later, he was approximately one week away from receiving his welding certificate.

His family said Boutin had become increasingly troubled by what he believed was misconduct connected with the welding shop. He reportedly told his sister that he was documenting alleged problems—including questionable timekeeping and theft—in a notebook and intended to report the information after completing his certification.

Those allegations remain allegations. No publicly available evidence establishes that the suspected wrongdoing Boutin described caused his disappearance. They are important, however, because they became a significant part of his family’s theory about what happened to him.

The Night Before John Boutin Disappeared

On January 5, 1983, Boutin reportedly ate dinner with welding instructor and acquaintance Richard Heald before the men went out drinking in Rawlins. They visited the Golden Spike and later the American Legion.

At the Golden Spike, Boutin encountered a woman he knew, then known as Valerie Butterfield, who decades later described Boutin as someone with whom she had developed a romantic connection. She recalled talking and dancing with him that night and said Boutin expected to be up early the next morning.

According to Heald’s account contained in the historical investigation, Boutin left the American Legion by himself sometime around 2:30 to 3 a.m. Heald reportedly left shortly afterward.

Was Boutin Seen at Welding Class on January 6?

One of the central uncertainties in the case is exactly when Boutin was last reliably seen.

Historical reporting indicated that a Carbon County deputy said Boutin had been seen after his welding class on January 6. Heald also reportedly said Boutin attended class that day.

Boutin’s family later questioned the welding-shop timecards. According to family members interviewed by Cowboy State Daily, they did not believe the handwriting on Boutin’s timecards was his, and they said the cards had not been initialed by him. The shop owner reportedly offered an explanation for the missing initials, but it remains unclear from available records whether investigators ever took the timecards into evidence.

This uncertainty helps explain why databases do not all display the same disappearance date. The Charley Project identifies January 6, 1983 as Boutin’s last-seen date, while NamUs-derived records, the Doe Network and CaseTrace use January 13, 1983 as the official missing-person date.

His Family Was Not Alerted Immediately

Boutin’s family did not immediately know he was missing.

On January 12, according to later reporting, his mother received a telephone call from a state vocational rehabilitation employee asking whether Boutin had returned to his family’s home in Green River.

He had not.

His family immediately rejected suggestions that he had simply left Wyoming voluntarily. Boutin had maintained frequent contact with relatives, and when they investigated his Rawlins trailer, they found his possessions still there.

The Notebook With Missing Pages

One of the most intriguing pieces of the case emerged when Boutin’s mother and sister searched his mobile home.

They reportedly found a notebook with several pages torn out. Boutin’s sister believed this could have been the notebook he had previously described as containing information about alleged misconduct surrounding the welding operation.

The family turned the notebook over to authorities and was reportedly told it would be sent to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation for testing.

There is a major problem today: Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken told Cowboy State Daily in 2026 that the limited records currently available to him do not contain documentation establishing exactly what happened to the notebook.

A Person of Interest Emerges

According to Sheriff Bakken’s 2026 account, conversations with former investigators indicated that Gerald “Jerry” Williams, the owner of Carbon County Welding, had been considered the primary person of interest in Boutin’s disappearance.

That designation is not evidence that Williams killed Boutin, and no one was charged with Boutin’s disappearance or presumed death.

Williams later left Wyoming. Three years after Boutin disappeared, Williams was convicted of murder in Texas on March 10, 1986, according to records reviewed by Cowboy State Daily, and served a 10-year prison sentence. Williams later died in 2001.

Sheriff Bakken said he would expect investigators at the time to have followed up with Williams after the Texas conviction, but because the complete Boutin case file has not been located, he cannot determine whether such an interview occurred.

Richard Heald, meanwhile, was another important figure because he had been with Boutin shortly before the disappearance and reportedly filed an initial missing-person report. Available reporting does not establish that Heald was officially considered a suspect. He also later died.

Why Authorities Believe John Boutin Was Killed

Boutin’s case was originally handled as a missing-person investigation, but authorities eventually came to suspect homicide.

Several circumstances have contributed to continuing suspicion of foul play: Boutin disappeared abruptly while nearing completion of his program; he left his possessions behind; his family considered it highly uncharacteristic for him to stop communicating; questions remain regarding the exact circumstances of his final day; and family members said he had recently expressed concern about alleged wrongdoing that he intended to document.

The Charley Project states that authorities believe Boutin was a homicide victim, while more recent Wyoming reporting likewise identifies him as a suspected homicide victim.

No body has been recovered, no homicide date has been established and no one has been charged with killing Boutin.

The Red Desert Skull and a Possible Break That Wasn’t

A potential development surfaced decades later after a hunter discovered a human skull in Wyoming’s Red Desert in November 2023.

In 2024, the remains were assessed as belonging to a male approximately 25 to 35 years old. Boutin had disappeared at age 24, putting him close enough to the estimated range that the discovery attracted attention in connection with his case.

By 2026, however, authorities had ruled out Boutin. Cowboy State Daily reported that DNA and dental information from the skull had been entered into databases and that the remains could not be his.

Latest Investigation Information

The most significant recent public update came in March 2026, when Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken discussed the investigation with Cowboy State Daily.

Bakken said Boutin’s case remains open, but investigators face an unusual obstacle: the complete historical case file has not been located. The sheriff said it was believed to be stored in one of three possible locations, leaving him with only limited records from which to reconstruct an investigation that began more than 40 years ago.

Bakken also said Boutin’s name had recently been run through federal databases without producing a hit, and there had been no confirmed sightings or new substantive leads. He questioned how the case ultimately became a Carbon County Sheriff’s Office investigation because Boutin disappeared within Rawlins, where the Rawlins Police Department ordinarily would have had jurisdiction.

The absence of the complete investigative file leaves unanswered questions about what evidence was collected, whether the disputed timecards were preserved, what testing—if any—was completed on Boutin’s notebook, and whether investigators interviewed Williams after his later Texas murder conviction.

Despite those obstacles, authorities have not closed the case.

Boutin’s relatives have supplied family DNA for comparison with unidentified remains. His sister has also emphasized one particularly recognizable item: Boutin frequently wore a large silver-and-turquoise ring, which the family hopes could someday help identify his remains.

Very Brief Case Summary

Last seen: Evidence cited by later case summaries places John Michael Boutin in Rawlins, Wyoming, on or about January 6, 1983, following a night out and possibly after attending his welding class. Some official-derived databases use January 13, 1983 as the missing-person date.

Main circumstances: Boutin disappeared at age 24 while nearing completion of a state-sponsored welding program. He left his belongings behind, reportedly had been documenting alleged wrongdoing involving the welding operation, and a notebook later recovered from his trailer had pages missing. Authorities now suspect homicide, but no remains have been recovered and no one has been charged. The investigation remains open.

Identifying information: Boutin was approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He had “John” tattooed on his upper left arm, scars including a cross-shaped scar on his upper left arm, and was known to wear eyeglasses and a large turquoise-and-silver ring.