Here is where the story turns from disquieting to fantastic. According to Unsolved Mysteries, a private detective named Phil Harris claimed to have been awakened from sleep around 4 a.m., about three months after David Chase’s disappearance, by a disembodied voice. The voice was Chase’s. According to the ghost‘s story, Chase and Orahoske got into an argument the night of June 6. Chase had planned to buy a truck from his friend but changed his mind; Orahoske, who needed the cash, struck Chase, and soon the men were grappling. In their tussle, Orahoske struck Chase hard in the back of the head with some kind of blunt tool, killing him. He then dumped Chase’s body in the river with the help of an unknown accomplice.

That, in any event, is Harris’ account. The detective promptly looked up Chase’s widow and took on the case, for the nominal fee of $1.