On January 30, 1989, Owensboro Police received a call from an individual claiming to be a friend of Stephen Swift, reporting that Swift had attended a party about a week before Christmas (December 1988), and had allegedly shot himself. According to the caller, the people at the party panicked, weighted Swift’s body, and threw it into the Ohio river. Investigators interviewed those who had been at the gathering, but all denied that any such incident occurred; they did, however, confirm that Swift was at the party. Extensive searches of the river and its banks—including sonar scans of the riverbed—found no trace of Swift. In February, 1989, a second anonymous caller told police they were searching in the wrong place, alleging instead that Swift had been buried behind the home where the party took place. Officers conducted additional searches of the property, but again uncovered nothing. Swift, who was unemployed at the time, was known to be away for stretches, but friends and family typically knew where he was. With no evidence supporting the claims and no sign of him despite multiple searches, Stephen Swift was officially listed as a missing person.