Overview

Last confirmed communication: September 24, 2010 — Isaac spoke for roughly two hours by telephone with a high-school friend in Guam while reportedly traveling toward Yellowstone National Park.
Key location: Craig Pass, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — his abandoned Lexus was discovered there on September 26, 2010.
Circumstances: Isaac left Maryland on a cross-country trip; his vehicle was later found without him; extensive ground and aerial searches produced no confirmed trace; the reason he left the vehicle and his subsequent whereabouts remain unknown.
Status: Missing and unresolved. There is no publicly established homicide determination.

Detailed Case Breakdown

The Disappearance of Stuart Isaac: Yellowstone National Park Mystery Remains Unsolved

Stuart Isaac was 48 years old when a cross-country journey from his home in Burtonsville, Maryland, ended with his unexplained disappearance in Yellowstone National Park in September 2010. More than fifteen years later, no confirmed trace of Isaac has been found, and publicly available records continue to classify him as missing.

A Cross-Country Trip With No Stated Return Date

On September 6, 2010, Isaac left his home in Burtonsville. He reportedly left his family a note explaining that he was taking a cross-country trip, but the note did not give a date for his return. He traveled in a black 2009 Lexus IS-250 bearing the Maryland vanity license plate BELLEK.

Isaac was born in the Pacific Island nation of Palau and was living with his family in Maryland when he disappeared. He was described as between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall and approximately 215 to 230 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He had three known tattoos: one on his right tricep and one on each shoulder blade.

The Last Known Communication

The most consistently documented final direct contact with Isaac occurred on September 24, 2010, when he called a high-school friend, Matsue Evans, who was living in Guam. The two reportedly spoke for approximately two hours.

The phone conversation stood out to Evans because they generally communicated through email or text rather than lengthy telephone calls. During the conversation, Isaac indicated that he was heading toward Yellowstone. Evans is identified in multiple case summaries as the last known person to have spoken with him.

Public records contain conflicting dates for Isaac’s disappearance. Some databases list September 24, others September 26, and some secondary records contain still different dates. The September 24 telephone call and the September 26 discovery of his vehicle are therefore the clearest documented points in the final known timeline.

Stuart Isaac’s Lexus Found at Craig Pass

On September 26, 2010, a National Park Service patrol discovered Isaac’s Lexus at Craig Pass along Yellowstone’s Grand Loop Road between the Old Faithful and West Thumb areas.

The vehicle was abandoned, and published accounts based on the investigation state that the keys remained with or inside the vehicle. The Charley Project and later reporting describe the Lexus as unlocked. No sign of Isaac was found nearby.

The location immediately raised concerns. Isaac reportedly had little or no experience with hiking or camping, and the area where the Lexus was located was not associated with an established hiking trail. Why he stopped at Craig Pass—and where he went after leaving the vehicle—has never been publicly established.

Ground and Air Searches Found No Trace

The discovery of the Lexus prompted searches of the surrounding Yellowstone area. National Park Service personnel searched from both the ground and the air, but those efforts failed to locate Isaac or evidence establishing what happened to him. An October 4, 2010 report concerning the National Park Service search stated that repeated ground and aerial efforts had produced no clues regarding his whereabouts.

No publicly verified evidence establishes that Isaac was attacked, deliberately harmed, died by suicide, suffered an accidental death, or voluntarily disappeared. Missing NPF currently identifies foul play and suicide as unknown or undisclosed and lists no cause of death.

For that reason, theories about what happened at Craig Pass should not be treated as established facts.

What Happened Between Maryland and Yellowstone?

One of the enduring questions concerns Isaac’s movements after leaving Maryland. Some online accounts have claimed that he reached Yellowstone shortly after beginning the trip, but not all of those claims are supported by publicly available primary documentation.

What can be established more reliably is that Isaac left Maryland on September 6, spoke with his friend on September 24, and had his vehicle discovered in Yellowstone on September 26. Exactly where he traveled, stayed, or stopped during portions of that period remains unclear from publicly released investigative information.

That gap is potentially significant. Receipts, lodging records, witnesses, photographs, encounters with other travelers, or recollections from employees working in Yellowstone during September 2010 could potentially help reconstruct his final journey.

Latest Publicly Available Case Information

Isaac remains publicly listed as missing. A 2025 report marking approximately fifteen years since his disappearance stated that neither Isaac nor his remains had been located and that the case continued to involve the National Park Service and Montgomery County Police Department.

Current missing-person databases available in 2026 also continue to carry his case. CaseTrace lists NamUs MP17228, while Missing NPF continues to identify the case as a Yellowstone National Park cold missing-person case. The Doe Network added Isaac to its database in August 2024 as 6283DMWY.

No credible public announcement located through August 25, 2026 indicates that Isaac has been found, that remains have been identified as his, or that authorities have publicly determined what caused his disappearance.

The case therefore remains an unresolved missing-person investigation rather than a confirmed homicide.

Why Stuart Isaac’s Case Remains Important

The central mystery is remarkably narrow: Isaac was known to be alive during his September 24 conversation, yet two days later his vehicle was sitting abandoned at Craig Pass and he was nowhere to be found.

More than fifteen years have passed, but relatively few publicly documented clues have emerged. No remains, confirmed personal belongings away from the vehicle, verified eyewitness account of his departure from the Lexus, or publicly identified crime scene has provided an answer.

Anyone who encountered Stuart Isaac during his 2010 cross-country trip—or who remembers seeing his black Lexus IS-250 with Maryland vanity plate BELLEK in or around Yellowstone National Park—could possess information that helps investigators reconstruct his final movements.