Dave Bocks

 

Dave Bocks was divorced and the father of three children. He started working as a pipe fitter at N.L.O. in 1981.

The Feed Materials Production Center, also known as N.L.O., was a nuclear-energy facility situated in Fernald, Ohio. From 1953 to 1989, it was one of the few plants in the United States which processed high-grade uranium for use in nuclear weapons.

There was a major scandal that took place involving this plant when In the fall of 1984, an accident allowed a cloud of radioactive smoke to escape into the atmosphere. An investigation later revealed that the facility had released more than 200 tons of radioactive dust particles into the air and water supplies.

Releases from the Fernald site to the surrounding area resulted in exposure to community residents included ionizing radiation, soluble and insoluble forms of uranium, and various other hazardous chemicals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has conducted a historical exposure characterization and developed dose estimation models through the Fernald

Dose Reconstruction Project, with an endpoint of developing an algorithm to estimate doses to individual persons who lived within the exposure assessment domain (the area within a ten kilometer radius from the center of the plant site). In addition to radioactive materials, many other non-radiological toxic substances were present in the production area as materials, by-products or products. Workers were exposed to chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents, metals and metal salts, and nuisance dusts. Community residents may have been exposed to these substances through ground water pathways, soil contamination, and air dispersion of emissions from the site.

This however wasn’t the only scandal that was to happen at This plant. The next mysterious incident has never been explained and left many more questions in its wake than there are answers.

At 11pm on June 18, 1984, Dave met his carpool partner Harry Easterling and they drove to work. Dave mentioned planning to go on a vacation with his children. Dave inspected and maintained the pipes throughout the facility; only the maintenance crew and security worked during the graveyard shift. Dave started work at 12am and was given assignment to look at the pump in Building 8. Harry noticed him putting his keys and lock in the top of his tool box like normal. At 4am, an N.L.O. employee reported seeing Dave talking in a car with his supervisor; the employee noted that the windows were oddly rolled up even though it was a hot and muggy night. The same employee ran into Dave again around 5am and noticed that Dave was walking to Building 4, even though he was assigned to work in Building 8. This was the last time Dave was seen alive.

Later that morning, Harry became suspicious of Dave's absence. At 7am, there was a safety meeting, but Dave did not attend it. Afterwards, Harry saw that Dave's keys were still in his toolbox and he assumed that Dave was working overtime. Harry made several phone calls but could not locate Dave; he later left work without him. At around 7:30am, a furnace operator in Building 6 notified his supervisor that the casings in his oven were covered in a sticky residue. The operator also detected an unusual odor; he even thought he may have seen a leg in it. The supervisor, however, did not notice anything strange.

At 11pm that night, Harry arrived at the restaurant to meet Dave again, but Dave was nowhere to be found. Dave's car's hood was cold, meaning that it hadn't been driven recently. Harry had a security guard open Dave's locker, and his clothes were still in there. Dave was soon reported missing and an investigation began.

It was discovered that at 5:15am on the morning of Dave's disappearance, the furnace in Building 6 received a large temperature drop, suggesting that something foreign had entered it. A worker had also found a piece of bone on the lip of the furnace.

The furnace was soon shut down, but three days would pass before the material could be cooled enough to be searched. Several of Dave's belongings were found in the furnace, including his keys. This made no sense to Harry Easterling, since he had seen Dave's keys in his toolbox after he vanished. He did remember seeing the supervisor put the lock on the toolbox and take the keys. Along with the keys, investigators found a steel toe from a boot, part of an eyeglass frame, Dave's two-way radio, and a stainless steel wire looped in three oddly connected circles. What this was has never been ascertained. Also found in the furnace were pieces of human bone.

During the investigation, authorities suspected that Dave had committed suicide; he had a history of psychological problems and apparently attempted suicide after his divorce. However, his family and co-workers do not believe that he committed suicide, nor do they believe that it was an accident. They believe that he was lowered into the furnace by an unknown third party.

Investigative reporter D.C. Cole noted that Dave was working in Building 8 on the night of his death. This building had released the largest amount of contaminants into the water supply. Cole believes that Dave was a whistle blower, and that he was silenced in order to cover up the release of hazardous materials from the N.L.O. factory. He believes that Dave was knocked unconscious in Building 8 and was then taken to Building 6 where he was lowered into the furnace. However, authorities are convinced that Dave's death was a suicide. To this day, his family and co-workers are still searching for the truth.

Suspects

it is believed that Dave was killed because of the negligence occurring at N.L.O. The supervisor that he was seen with prior to his disappearance has been considered a possible suspect. There were theories that Dave was a whistleblower about safety concerns going on at the plant and that he knew something detrimental for him to know and he was killed by some unknown person. What he spoke with his supervisor about in the car has never been ascertained and said supervisor’s whereabouts on the night Dave died have also never been ascertained.

The other thing about this case is, it feels very eerily similar to that of Karen silkwood who died some years prior and who also worked at a plant dealing with nuclear materials. The most shocking connection was that she was also investigating the plants safety or lack thereof of its employees and she also died under what is considered very suspicious and mysterious circumstances. Her death also remains unsolved.

Interestingly, in 2013, a study found that there was a high rate of cancer among former employees at N.L.O., most likely due to their exposure to high levels of radiation.

Sources: https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Dave_Bocks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernald_Feed_Materials_Production_Center