Matthew Marshall "Matt" Chase (April 10, 1966 - June 9, 1988) was a man whose remains were found in a ravine in 1988. He was identified 6 months later and his case is now considered closed.
Case[]
On June 8, 1988, Matt, and his roommate Therese Stahl went to dinner. They arrived home at around 11:45 PM, and when they got home, Matt realized he had forgotten to cash his paycheck. He left the house and took only his bank card with him.
When he failed to return home, Theresa's brother Steve, who also lived at the house, called the bank, disguised as Matt, asking for the exact details of his time at the bank.
Records show that Matt successfully deposited his check and received cash. However, 30 minutes later, he returned to the same ATM and attempted to withdraw $280 from his account. He didn't have that amount on his bank card, but he kept trying to withdraw that amount.
He would go to another ATM where he tried to withdraw amounts that were way more than what he had on his card. This time, a hidden camera captured a photo of Matt, with a man standing right next to him. This man shouldn't have been where he was, as he would be able to see the card's PIN number.
Five more withdrawal attempts were made over the next day, and finally, the card was confiscated by the machine. Police suspect that Matt had been trying to withdraw amounts that he was unable to from his card, to attract attention from the police. Authorities could only assume that Matt had been abducted and that something bad must have happened.
Theresa and Steve would show people Matt's photo's and numerous individuals at a homeless shelter remember seeing Matt come in and get food. This brought up no leads.
2 weeks after he vanished, Matt's car was found abandoned close to where he had last been seen. A blue bandanna was inside that didn't belong to Matt and probably his abductor.
On September 17, 1988, Matt's remains were found in a ravine in Pasadena. He had died of a gunshot wound and appeared to have been dumped at the location. The remains were believed to be Matt, but identification couldn't be made due to failure of tracking Matt's dental records.
In 2018, Matt's case was announced to be closed. His killer is believed to be David "Bear" Meza, a gang member who was murdered within 48 hours of Matt's disappearance. Upon being shown the ATM photo to his girlfriend, she instantly recognized the man as David. Police cannot rule out the possibility of accomplices.