Delia D'Ambra

But what I can tell you is in early December, nearly four months into the investigation, investigators got their biggest break yet when a tipster came forward claiming he knew where Ellsworth was.

According to coverage by Bison Media Company and the Shoshone News Press, an anonymous source came forward during the first week of December 1934 and told authorities that back in mid-September, so just a few weeks after the disappearance, he'd seen Ellsworth Teed walking north on a highway in Republic, Washington, headed toward the Canadian border.

For reference, the city of Republic is more than 200 miles northwest of Mullen and about 35 miles south of the U.S.-Canada border.

The tipster said that he and Ellsworth had stopped and chatted briefly.

Officials who took this source's word wouldn't reveal publicly who he was or if they'd found any evidence that supported his claim, but they did state that the tipster was someone who'd been acquainted with Ellsworth and formerly worked with him in the mining industry.

The guy had also previously lived in Mullen, but currently resided in Spokane, Washington.

In response to why their source had waited so long to report this alleged sighting of Ellsworth after his disappearance, the sheriff of Shoshone County told the newspaper, quote, This man did not give us the information before because he thought that Teed would be arrested if found.

He did not want to be a squealer, end quote.

The sheriff and another deputy game warden, who were the main guys steering the investigation at that point, felt confident, based on the tipster's information, that Ellsworth was still alive and likely living in Canada somewhere.

They said as much to reporters, but it was reported that these officials were never actually able to find any proof that Ellsworth had gone to Canada.

To his loved ones, the suggestion that he'd simply abandon his life, his family, and a career he loved to take off to Canada seemed preposterous.

By all accounts, he was content with his life and, not to mention, had left his vehicle, personal belongings, and life insurance money behind.

From the content I came across, it seems like the only connection that Ellsworth had to Canada was his sister, who, like I mentioned earlier, had put up a $300 reward for information in the case.

The obvious question I asked myself was, why would she do that if she was, for instance, aiding Ellsworth?

Also, why would she put up the funds if she suspected for any reason that her brother had come to Canada to escape his life in Idaho?

I searched for answers to these questions in the coverage, but I couldn't find anything.

And that's because there was a huge lull in reporting.

Almost eight years went by before the case made headlines again.

On February 6th, 1942, Alma, Ellsworth's widow, won a civil suit against the insurance company that held his life insurance policy.

By that point, it was widely assumed that Ellsworth was dead, but the company had not paid out.