Psychic correctly predicted location of missing student's remains solving 52-year-old cold case
University of Utah Police have revealed a 51-year-old cold case involving a missing student has finally been solved.
On October 12, 1973, Douglas Brick walked out of his dorm at the University of Utah and was never seen again. Despite police's efforts and multiple searches, the 23-year-old senior's case remained cold for over 50 years.
However, towards the end of last year, a discovery was made when hunters found bone fragments in the foothills above the university.
And in May this year, the remains were matched to the DNA of Brick's relatives.
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Eerily, a press release shared by The University of Utah reveals that a psychic accurately predicted where Brick's remains were found over 30 years ago.
What did the psychic said about Brick's disappearance?
In 1990, 17 years after Brick disappeared, his family decided to celebrate by throwing a memorial service for him. In the same year, Brick's mother, Donna, is reported to have written an entry in her journal that stood out to investigators.
During a trip to a department store in Salt Lake City, Donna is reported as having bumped into a store clerk who claimed to be a psychic.
Her journal entry detailed Donna asking the store clerk whether she could 'tell [her] what happened to [her] son'. The psychic's response? 'Details no one would have known.'
The psychic allegedly told Donna that her son 'had gone to the foothills above the U[niversity]', as she further suggested theories as to what happened to lead him to pass away, such as him 'slipping and falling' because it was 'dark'.
However, it was the location of the 'foothill above the university' that 'stuck out' to Detective John Dial.
"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." Dial said.
Ultimately, even after 51 years, six months, and 19 days, the University of Utah Police were able to resolve Brick's case.
The police update to the case
In 2022, a new case was reopened, and one coincidence in particular aided authorities in identifying new leads into Brick's disappearance.
From finding out Brick's sister had called the university dispatch in 2018 to check in on her brother's case, leading to the team getting a DNA swab for her, to the investigations lieutenant at the time stumbling upon the person who'd initially reported Brick missing when attending a doctor's appointment with her daughter.
Police were subsequently able to confirm where officers had previously searched for Brick. Despite the trail seemingly ending there, the DNA swab on file helped keep the case open.
And then, in October 2024, when hunters found two fragments of bone - later ascertained to be a human skull - close to the same area authorities had searched for Brick at the time of his disappearance, the breakthrough came.
The bone was confirmed to be around 50 years old, and after five months, the DNA test results came back—it was a 99.9 percent genetic match to Brick's sister's DNA.
And Brick's family has since spoken out following the identification.
What have Brick's family's said?
The family released a statement on May 7, which read: "We thank the hunter who found him six months ago and reported it immediately, Detective Jon Dial and Major Heather Sturzenegger, search and rescue volunteers, and all the individuals and agencies that were involved in this case. We are requesting privacy during this time of transition."
Following the DNA breakthrough, they said in another statement that they'd 'never stopped hoping for answers about Doug's disappearance'.
It resolved: "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."
Topics: US News, Mental Health, Crime, True crime
Poppy Bilderbeck