Man heads for hills after losing bet
2/14/2006, 6:16 a.m. CT
The Associated Press    

BASIN, Wyo. (AP) — A man staged his own disappearance in the Bighorn Mountains after losing $40,000 on a Super Bowl bet, police said Monday.

Marvin Hackworth, 46, of Gillette, was reported missing on Feb. 6, the day after the Super Bowl, according to the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office.

Search and rescue teams spent two days looking for him in the rugged Bighorn Mountains in north-central Wyoming where he had told his wife he was headed to "clear his head" after losing the money, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Only Hackworth's pickup truck and a trailer with one of the two snowmobiles missing was found.

The search was suspended Wednesday evening due to lack of clues or any evidence of where he might have been.

On Friday, police received a call from a person identifying herself as Hackworth's daughter, saying she had received a voice mail message from her father saying he was OK, police said.

Police traced the call to Chadron, Neb., which is about 200 miles from Gillette, and they found Hackworth.

Turns out Hackworth had stashed a new pick up truck in the mountains before the Super Bowl in order to "disappear for a while" in case he lost the bet, police said.

"Hackworth said he knew he had to do something, because he was getting in so deep financially due to gambling losses. If he won on the Super Bowl game, it would have all worked out, but if he lost, he had everything in place now to disappear," Big Horn County Sheriff Dave Mattis told the Northern Wyoming Daily News.

Mattis said Hackworth indicated he did not intend for a search for him to be conducted. Hackworth said he was seeking counseling help for a "gambling problem," the sheriff said.

Mattis said he has not decided whether he will seek restitution for the expense of the search and rescue operation.

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Information from: Northern Wyoming Daily News, http://www.wyodaily.com

Moron.

Quoted: "The runaway deadbeat"?

Well, he is from Wyoming:

Wow, that guy just redefined the term "loser".

On Friday, police received a call from a person identifying herself as Hackworth's daughter, saying she had received a voice mail message from her father saying he was OK, police said. Police traced the call to Chadron, Neb., which is about 200 miles from Gillette, and they found Hackworth.

[sarcasm button on] But according to every TV show I've ever seen, you have to keep the guy talking for a couple of minutes to trace the call and the cops have to set up the trace beforehand and be listening in while he's talking with all this fancy equipment beeping in the background.  You mean TV lied?  [sarcasm button off]

he should pay up, someone's out $40,000