Overview

Last confirmed physical sighting: February 26, 1989 — Fargo, North Dakota, at a bowling tournament.

Final known contact: Early March 1989 — Hagel telephoned a friend or former girlfriend while in Kingman, Arizona. Sources differ on whether that call occurred March 6 or March 8.

Official missing date: North Dakota’s current missing-person database lists March 6, 1989. NamUs-associated records also use March 6, while The Charley Project lists March 8.

Main circumstances: Hagel unexpectedly traveled across several states after leaving Fargo. During his final known phone conversation, he reportedly said he had been through approximately nine states in nine days, was running low on money and intended to return to Bismarck. His vehicle was found March 10 near Death Valley with personal belongings inside. Investigators followed footprints from the vehicle for several miles before losing the trail. Hagel was never located.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Roy Jacob Hagel: The 1989 North Dakota Missing Person Case That Led to Death Valley

Roy Jacob Hagel was a 38-year-old North Dakota man whose 1989 disappearance began with a bowling tournament in Fargo and ultimately led investigators more than 1,500 miles away to an abandoned car near Death Valley, California. More than three decades later, Hagel has never been found, and North Dakota authorities continue to list him as missing.

Brief Case Summary

Last confirmed physical sighting: February 26, 1989 — Fargo, North Dakota, at a bowling tournament.

Final known contact: Early March 1989 — Hagel telephoned a friend or former girlfriend while in Kingman, Arizona. Sources differ on whether that call occurred March 6 or March 8.

Official missing date: North Dakota’s current missing-person database lists March 6, 1989. NamUs-associated records also use March 6, while The Charley Project lists March 8.

Main circumstances: Hagel unexpectedly traveled across several states after leaving Fargo. During his final known phone conversation, he reportedly said he had been through approximately nine states in nine days, was running low on money and intended to return to Bismarck. His vehicle was found March 10 near Death Valley with personal belongings inside. Investigators followed footprints from the vehicle for several miles before losing the trail. Hagel was never located.

A North Dakota Salesman Disappears After a Bowling Tournament

Hagel was born June 7, 1950, and was 38 years old when he disappeared. He was associated with Bismarck and Fargo, North Dakota, and was reportedly working as a traveling salesman. Descriptions from missing-person organizations list him at approximately six feet tall and around 170 to 185 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He had scars on his right wrist and left temple.

The last widely reported in-person sighting of Hagel occurred on February 26, 1989, when he attended a bowling tournament in Fargo. Rather than returning to Bismarck afterward, Hagel apparently began traveling across the country for reasons that have never been fully established.

The Phone Call From Kingman, Arizona

One of the most important pieces of the case is Hagel’s final known telephone call from Kingman, Arizona.

Accounts vary slightly on the exact date and recipient. The Doe Network describes a call to a friend in early March and uses March 6 as the missing date. The Charley Project reports that Hagel called an ex-girlfriend on March 8. During the conversation, Hagel reportedly said he had traveled through nine states in roughly nine days, had little money remaining and planned to return to Bismarck.

The person who spoke with Hagel reportedly believed he sounded depressed. Some accounts state that he made remarks suggesting he may have been contemplating suicide. Those statements became an important part of investigators’ assessment of what might have happened next, but they do not establish what ultimately occurred.

Hagel never returned to Bismarck and was never known to contact family or friends again.

Roy Hagel’s Car Is Found Near Death Valley

On March 10, 1989, Hagel’s blue Ford Tempo was discovered abandoned in a remote area near what was then known as Death Valley National Monument in California.

The location created an immediate mystery. Hagel had reportedly said he intended to return to North Dakota, yet his car was found hundreds of miles west of Kingman, in the opposite general direction.

Hagel’s wallet and keys were reportedly left inside the vehicle. Investigators or park personnel identified footprints believed to lead away from the car and followed them into the rugged desert terrain. The tracks continued for several miles—some accounts specify approximately six miles—before the trail disappeared.

No confirmed trace of Hagel was found at the end of those footprints.

Did Roy Hagel Enter the Desert?

The discovery of the vehicle has naturally led to the theory that Hagel left the Ford Tempo and walked into the Death Valley wilderness.

That explanation has never been conclusively proven.

The Charley Project notes that authorities could not establish with certainty that Hagel himself was the person who abandoned the vehicle or created the footprints. Park personnel reportedly were unable to prove that he had actually entered Death Valley.

The region’s extreme heat, vast distances, rough terrain and isolated areas can make survival and searches exceptionally difficult. If Hagel did walk into the wilderness, his remains could have been difficult to locate.

Yet the absence of definitive physical evidence has prevented that theory from becoming a confirmed explanation.

Another Theory: A Deliberate Disappearance

Investigators have also considered whether Hagel could have intentionally walked away from his existing life.

Reports concerning the case describe an unusual piece of family history: Hagel’s father reportedly disappeared around the time Roy was born but later resurfaced alive. Some investigators therefore considered whether Hagel might have staged his own disappearance in a similar manner.

There was also a reported possible sighting of Hagel in California after his disappearance, although that sighting was never confirmed.

The voluntary-disappearance theory has significant problems. Missing-person sources report no subsequent activity involving Hagel’s Social Security number or financial accounts, and no arrest under his known fingerprints has been identified.

For someone who successfully started an entirely new identity, maintaining that disappearance for decades without leaving a recognizable financial, criminal or identification trail would have required unusual circumstances.

Investigators Revisited the Case

Hagel’s disappearance did not simply disappear into an archive.

In 2008, reporting attributed to the Bismarck Tribune described Hagel as one of Bismarck Police Department’s longstanding missing-person investigations. Investigators periodically verified that the missing individuals had not resurfaced and sought renewed public attention in hopes that someone with relevant information would finally come forward.

By 2019, the Hagel case was still open. Reporting from that period identified Sgt. Mark Gaddis as the investigator then responsible for Hagel’s case and other longstanding Bismarck disappearances. Police continued hoping that a new tip or overlooked clue might provide an answer.

The Doe Network’s Hagel profile was updated again on January 13, 2023. It continues to identify Bismarck Police Department as the investigating agency and reports that Hagel’s fingerprints, dental information and DNA are available for comparison.

Current Status of the Roy Jacob Hagel Investigation

As of August 2026, the State of North Dakota’s official missing-person database continues to list Roy J. Hagel as missing, with Bismarck Police Department identified as the investigating agency. The state listing gives March 6, 1989, as his last-seen date and lists his current age as 76.

NamUs also maintains a record under MP10495. The Doe Network lists Bismarck Police case number 89-3642 and NCIC number M-349150446.

No publicly documented identification, recovery of remains, confirmed sighting or official resolution of Hagel’s disappearance was located in the most recent available sources reviewed for this article.

The central questions therefore remain the same: Was Roy Hagel the person who walked away from the abandoned Ford Tempo? Did he become lost or die somewhere in the Death Valley wilderness? Did he deliberately disappear? Or did something happen to him before his vehicle was abandoned?

Until evidence answers those questions, Roy Jacob Hagel remains one of North Dakota’s longest-running missing-person cases.

How to Help

Anyone with information concerning Roy Jacob Hagel’s disappearance should contact the Bismarck Police Department or another appropriate law enforcement agency.

Even information that seemed insignificant in 1989 could potentially help investigators when compared with records, unidentified-person cases or evidence developed in the decades since.stigating agency.