Mystery at Chalk Creek

Dennis Murphy Correspondent • Profile

Chalk Creek thunders out of the Rockies in the late spring...The snow melt becomes furious whitewater as it slices its way down the canyon by the old Colorado ghost town.

Just imagine losing your footing here and tumbling headlong.

The story they'd tell later would make you flinch when you actually saw the spot...The place where the mother of three left this life.

Wes Linville: I said, "Well, mom's dead." 

But then it's still all so mysterious what actually happened up here on Chalk Creek that day...

...What happened to Nancy Mason.

Wes Linville: "You know, what if it wasn't an accident?"

Matt Linville: Caring and loving.

Wes Linville: Always upbeat and happy...

Miriam Gaede: She loved to entertain.  And she loved to be with family.

There are three things that everyone who knew her will tell you about Nancy Mason:

She liked parties...was born to take care of others...and she loved to read...

Nancy's parents Bill and Miriam Gaede.

Miriam Gaede: She always had a book...she read every Nancy book they had available–Nurse Nancy, Nancy Drew.

But it was Nurse Nancy, not Detective Nancy, that would inspire her career path. She became a neo-natal nurse on the night shift watching over the preemies. So Nancy.

It was an American life like so many others.

She'd married her first boyfriend, a kid she met at church camp, and together they had three sons.

Wesley is the baby...

Wes Linville: I was the youngest of three boys. I was–I was kinda spoiled. 

The family was just nuts for hockey–and spent many a weekend in Denver's glorious mountain backyard.

But Nancy? For her, sports were something you happily watched from the stands or a comfortable chair.

Wes Linville: Mom would go with us to go fishing, but she had a lawn chair and a book. How close is the parking lot to–to the lake?

Nancy was the kind of Mom who kept meticulous scrapbooks. There are all the holidays and the fun vacations–but you won't find the event recorded there that blew a hole in their family in 2002.

That's when Nancy's husband Todd–a wealthy probate attorney–up and left after 26 years.

Her oldest son Matt:

Matt Linville: It was horrible, and it was all my dad's decision. He was done with that part of his life.

Usually upbeat Nancy was, by all accounts, slipping into a deep depression.

Wes Linville: She would just cry all the time.

Nancy the caretaker desperately needed someone to look out for her a little, so she joined a divorce recovery group at her church, and slowly the fogbank of her sadness began to lift.

It was there she met a man who just maybe could dry her tears.

His name was Dan Mason.

Miriam Gaede: She would say things like, "He's–he's always–in the middle of all the fun. He's the life of the party.  He's–"

Dateline Correspondent Dennis Murphy: Did she need that?

Miriam Gaede: Yes. And he was there when she cried. He was there to pat her and–and tell her that everything was okay. She wasn't alone. 

The ink was barely dry on Nancy's divorce papers when Dan, the life of the party, proposed a Vegas wedding.

Dan Mason on Home Video: You're watching the nervous groom tie his tie.

It was all a little quick to be sure, but Nancy's parents and son Matt made an effort to be supportive.

Matt Linville: I was happy for her, anything to make her happy. I encouraged it. 

But son Wes–not so much.  Sixteen at the time, he didn't care for “New Dad.”

Wes Linville: You know, when you walk into a car dealership and that guy walks up to you, and just starts talking, talking, talking?

Dennis Murphy: And that person is Dan.

Wes Linville: That was Dan. 

Dennis Murphy: Trying too hard?

Wes Linville: Trying way too hard.

Wes went out of his way to avoid his Mom's new husband...and the new life they were building together.

A new start financed by Nancy's handsome divorce settlement.

And the new husband came with a package deal. Along with him, Nancy was getting his young friend Efren Gallegos, too. A kind of sidekick of Dan's–a guy who Dan–and now Nancy–were taking under their wings.

He'd work with Dan on some business ventures, and help Nancy around the house...

Miriam Gaede: And of course, Nancy looks after everybody. And they made room for him to move in.

And six months into the new marriage, Dan, Nancy and their friend Efren decided to take a fishing trip over Memorial Day weekend.

Dan was familiar with the canyons around Salida, Colorado, about three hours from Denver.

So off they went. And even though her family says Nancy had never been one for lacing up the hiking boots–far from it–Dan would later recall that on Sunday morning the three took a hike on the old gold-miners trails...out past the ghost town of St. Elmo.

Later, they stopped at a fishing spot on Chalk Creek just below the ghost town.

It was secluded.

How the river roared.

MORE FROM CRIME STORIES

Crime stories Section Front

The Night Mary Jane Disappeared The Friday the 13th Mystery Mystery at Lost Dog Road Slideshow: Photos in the Bob Duke case When The Smoke Clears Slideshow: The Christie Fleming murder Through The Pouring Rain In Plain Sight: Jaycee Dugard Bad Chemistry Bad Chemistry: Photos in the case Crime stories Section Front   Add Crime stories headlines to your news reader: