Lance Guevarra
Real Name: Lance Gueverra
Nicknames: No Known Nicknames
Location: Big Water, Utah
Date: August 13, 1996
Bio[]
Occupation: None
Date of Birth: August 4, 1990
Height: 3'10"
Weight: 56 pounds
Marital Status: Single
Characteristics: Asian male with brown hair and brown eyes. Lance is of Filipino heritage.
Case[]
Details: Six-year-old Lance Guevarra lived in Big Water, Utah, a small town near Lake Powell along the Utah/Arizona border. On the evening of August 13, 1996, he went with his ten-year-old brother to the home of their cousin, Alexander James "Alex" Bybee, to play with him and several other children. He was last seen leaving Alex's home at around 8PM. He planned to go back to his house to get a video game; he never returned. Police believed that Lance was abducted while walking home. However, searchers found no trace of him.
Suspects: Police suspect that Lance was kidnapped by someone that he knew, but have no suspects.
Extra Notes:
- This case originally aired as a Special Bulletin on the November 8, 1996 episode, along with Jesus De La Cruz.
- Lance's case was also profiled on America’s Most Wanted.
- Some sources state that Lance vanished on August 14, 1996.
- It was excluded from the FilmRise release of the series.
Alex Bybee
Results: Solved. In February of 1997, Alex Bybee attempted suicide. After being placed in a mental institution, he confessed to murdering Lance. He led police to Lance's remains, which were buried in a shallow grave. He was then charged with first-degree murder. In his confession, he claimed that he accidentally broke Lance's arm during a fight over a video game. After Lance passed out, he took him over a nearby hill and strangled him. He told police that he killed Lance for fear that his uncle, Lance's father, would be upset over him breaking Lance's arm.
Bybee pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to five years to life in prison. He has since been released on parole.
Links:
- Lance Guevarra on Unsolved Archive
- Lance Guevarra on Bonnie's Blog of Crime
- Small Town Searches for Missing 6-year-old - August 17, 1996
- Boy's kin to take polygraphs - August 19, 1996
- Probe of missing Big Water boy shifts - August 20, 1996
- Half-buried toys, TV show offer hope - November 9, 1996
- Photo of Missing 6-year-old to go into Millions of Homes - November 11, 1996
- Officials believe they've located remains of boy - February 8, 1997
- Boy's Parents Give Blood for DNA Tests - February 11, 1997
- Court papers list motive for boy's slaying - April 5, 1997
- Big Water man pleads guilty to murder of 6-year-old cousin - March 31, 1998
- Big Water teen sentenced in death of child - May 17, 1998
- State v. Alexander Bybee (2000)
- Man who killed 6-year-old while he was a teenager asks for parole - August 7, 2013
- Alexander Bybee Inmate Information