EDGEMONT – This past Monday evening, on July 6 at 7:48 pm, it was exactly seven years since Dawn and Everett Englebert of Burdock received a phone call that their eldest son Chance needed help.
At the time, Chance was 25-years-old and living in Moorcroft, Wyo., but visiting his in-laws in Gering, Neb., with his wife Baylee and their infant son Banks.
The call that Dawn and Everett received that evening in 2019 was not from Chance but rather from Chance’s best friend Matt Miller, who was at his own home near Moorcroft, Wyo. Matt called to let them know that he had just heard from Chance who was wanting him to come to Gering to pick him up and take him home. Matt was unable to make the 3 ½ hour trip at the time so was trying to find someone closer who could maybe go lend Chance a hand.
The very next day, on July 7,2019,theEnglebertslearned their son was missing when their daughter-in-law Baylee called and said she was going to the Gering Police Department, which prompted an intensive, more than six year search, that ultimately ended with the discovery of his remains by some hikers on Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska, on Oct. 10, 2025.
Now, nine months after he was finally found and later identified through forensics, Chance’s friends and family are holding a Celebration of Life at the Fall River County Fairgrounds in Edgemont on Saturday, July 11. The event, open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m in the Grandstand and then move to the Beer Garden for dinner and then a dance at 7 p.m.
“It’s an emotional week,” stated Dawn on Monday morning, as she referenced the seven year timetable of Matt’s phone call to her and her husband. “Feels like a lifetime ago but yet just like yesterday too,” she said. “This weekend’s event is to also thank all the people who have supported us the last seven years and helped keep us going,” Despite the official cause of death being described as “accidental” and from “a pattern of blunt force trauma most consistent with a rapid deceleration event including, but not limited to, a fall from height,” those closest to Chance are skeptical.
The last time he was ever seen on the night of July 6, 2019, was on surveillance video walking down a residential street in Gering. His remains were found eight miles away at the bottom of a trailhead on Scotts Bluff National Monument, where it is believed he fell anywhere from 130 to 290 below. Some officials speculate that he may have been trying to walk to Torrington, Wyo., which is about 40 miles away but most all of the details of his disappearance remain a mystery.
“Although his remains were found, we will never understand how they can just rule this an accident,” Dawn said in an interview earlier this week. “Chance would not have thought that was a shortcut to Torrington and would never take a route like that. He was just smarter than that and was the type of kid who would say ‘why work harder than you need too.’” Dawn said the next hardest part of finding his remains is that they weren’t allowed to bring him to rest on their ranch at Burdock, since his body was released to this then-wife Baylee.
“He would have wanted to be on the ranch here at Burdock more than anything,” Dawn said. “But I must learn that this is not what defines Chance and the most important thing is that we remember all the important things of Chance. He was a great kid that loved his family, friends, and community more than anything. He worked hard and played harder! And those few short months of him being a dad to Banks was truly a great day and that little boy was his world!”
On top of trying to deal with the tragic and mysterious loss of their son, as well as not being able to lay his body to rest in Fall River County, the Engleberts have also since lost contact with Chance’s son, and their grandson, Banks, who is now nearly 8 years old. Dawn said they don’t know exactly where Baylee and Banks are living now, but have been told they are in Oregon.
“We will always hope and pray that someone will come forward and help us know the truth about that night on July 6, 2019, but we also have to believe we will meet up with Chance again when it’s our time. And if someone hurt him that night, they will not be going to that same beautiful place and that helps me each day.”
Dawn then shared a quote, which she said best explains her son Chance, which reads, “There are some who bring a light so great to the world that even after they are gone, the light remains!’
In addition to Chance, the Engleberts’ other two sons include Miles, 29, and Clay, 26.
Miles and his wife Emma live in Philip and have two children including Elaina, 4, and Callan, 1 ½. Clay currently lives on the family’s ranch and also has two children including Tucker, 3 ½, and Chancee, 1.
Mile’s wife Emma helped create the program which will be shared at this weekend’s celebration of life for Chance. In it, she says, “To Miles and Clay, he was more than a brother – he was a protector, a mentor, and a best friend. They looked up to him not only because he was their older brother, but because of the man he was. His example. His guidance, and the memories they shared will remain with them forever.”
She goes on to say, “Among the many roles Chance held in his life, being a father was one he cherished deeply. The pride and love he felt for his son, Banks, was evident to everyone who knew him. And becoming a dad brought him immeasurable joy. Chance leaves behind a legacy far greater than words can ever describe. He will be remembered for his adventurous spirit. His stubborn determination. His generous heart, and the countless stories that will continue to be shared around kitchen tables, campfires and rodeo arenas for years to come. Though his earthly ride has come to an end. The impact he made on the lives of others remains. In every sunset over the prairie, every gate that swings open, every engine that roars to life, and every cowboy who nods his head and takes one more ride – a piece of Chance will forever live.”
Dawn said others who will be taking part in Chance’s celebration of life this weekend include Grandma Linda, Grammy Margaret, Grandpa Monty and Grandma Jane, along with aunts and uncles and numerous cousins and great friends “who all miss him very much.”