A missing Rushville man’s disappearance from the Speedway area over the weekend apparently wasn’t a case of foul play or mysterious circumstances.

Robert Wright, 44, of Rushville, was last seen Saturday evening prior to Sunday’s running of the Allstate 400. He was reported missing two days later.

Wright and his girlfriend, Rosalie Taylor, also of Rushville, attended a family gathering in Speedway and sometime after 11 p.m. Saturday Wright left.

Taylor reported him missing Tuesday.

It was learned late Wednesday evening that Wright contacted his parents, Duane and Patty Bever of Carthage, through an unidentified family acquaintance.

According to his mother, Wright did not know he had been reported missing when he contacted a family friend who, in turn, contacted the Bevers Wednesday.

“He (Robert) had a friend call us. The caller told us that Robert wanted us to know that he had had enough and he couldn’t take any more and so he left,” Bever said.

Bever continued by saying that she and her husband did not know that their son had been reported missing until Tuesday, more than two days after his departure, when his boss contacted them. She said that their son rarely missed work and the call from his employer at Pioneer seed plant west of Rushville, informing them that their son had missed work for a couple of days and asking if they knew where their son was, caught them by surprise

“All I know is that he’s safe and that is all that matters right now, although I don’t know where he is,” Bever said.

When asked if she thought her son had planned to leave prior to Saturday, she was at a loss to explain.

“I just don’t know. I don’t know if something was done or said that was the final straw that broke the camel’s back or not. That’s the only thing I can think of,” Bever said.

According Investigator Mike Jessup of the Rushville Police Department, the parties involved did not communicate well from the time Wright was last seen until he was reported missing.

Jessup confirmed that information received Wednesday evening revealed that Wright had parked Taylor’s vehicle at a undisclosed bus station, presumably in the Speedway or Indianapolis area. However, at press time Thursday the 1998 green Ford Ranger pickup truck with Indiana license plate number GA5625 had not yet been located.

“At this time we have no formal local charges pending against Mr. Wright,” Jessup said.



Frank Denzler can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 ext. 106 or via e-mail at frank.denzler@rushvillerepublican.com. To add a comment to this story visit our Web site at www.rushvillerepublican.com.