Extensive background information is available to the investigators in the Delta Green scenario “Artifact Zero.” This document is for the Keeper’s use, to make it easier to put together documents and dossiers for use in play.

If you expect to be a player in “Artifact Zero” rather than the Keeper, stop reading now. Most of what follows is in FBI and police reports already, but not all. Some entries have further notes for the Keeper’s eyes only in the complete text of the scenario. The Keeper should review each entry and carefully consider the source of the information before sharing it with players.

All text is by Dennis Detwiller, © 2011, and is used by permission. Illustrations are by Todd Shearer, © 2011, and are used by permission.

Contents

• Evidence: The Skeletons
• Missing: Dr. Thomas Thorly
• Missing: Franklin “Frankie” Opetz Jr.
• Missing: Gareth Wylin
• Missing: Larry Kazal
• Missing: Dr. Emmet Wilson
• Missing: Denise Oester
• Map: The Dig Site and Environs

Evidence: The Skeletons

Each skeleton is laid out anatomically in its natural state in a large (6’x3’) wooden tray and is labeled “Male Skeleton #1,” “Male Skeleton #2,” and so on.

Male Skeleton #1

All bones are present and are tinted an odd orange color due to the beginnings of fossilization. It was located thirty feet down in Pliocene strata consistent with about 5.1 million years ago by Dr. Thorly and his team on July 9. The skeleton belongs to a white male, approximately 5’9” tall, with evidence of modern surgical and dental work. A steel surgical pin was found embedded in the skeleton’s left femur and two fillings were found in the skeleton’s middle right molar. Also, a pair of what appear to be twisted and destroyed aviator glasses frames were found in the box with the skeleton, and from reports by Michael Richards, these glasses were removed from the ground with the skeleton itself.

Male Skeleton #2

All bones are present and are tinted an odd green color due to the beginnings of fossilization. It was located about thirty feet down in Pliocene strata, consistent with about 5.1 million years ago, by Dr. Wilson and his team on August 19. The skeleton belongs to a white male, approximately 5’11” tall, with evidence of modern surgical and dental work.

The tailbone is slightly malformed but appears to have been corrected by a brace. When dug up, the skeleton had a ring on his right hand, worn to smoothness by time.

Male Skeleton #3

All bones are present and are tinted an odd green/orange color due to the beginnings of fossilization. It was located about thirty feet down, in Pliocene strata consistent with about 5.1 million years ago, by Dr. Wilson and his team. The skeleton belongs to a white male, approximately 6’2” tall, with evidence of modern surgical and dental work.

Male Skeleton #4

All bones are present, and are tinted an odd green/orange color due to the beginnings of fossilization. It was located about thirty feet down, in Pliocene strata consistent with about 5.1 million years ago, by Dr. Wilson and his team. The skeleton belongs to a white male, approximately 6’ tall, with evidence of modern surgical and dental work.

Male Skeleton #5

All bones are present except for the upper teeth and are tinted an odd green/orange color due to the beginnings of fossilization. It was located about thirty feet down, in Pliocene strata consistent with about 5.1 million years ago, by Dr. Wilson and his team. The skeleton belongs to a white male, approximately 5’11” tall, with evidence of modern dental work. A ruined lump of silver metal about the size of a bottlecap was located with the remains.

Male Skeleton #6

All bones are present and are tinted an odd orange/green color due to the beginnings of fossilization. It was located about thirty feet down, in Pliocene strata consistent with about 5.1 million years ago, by Dr. Wilson and his team on August 23. The skeleton belongs to a white male, approximately 5’11” tall, with evidence of modern surgical work. A healed fracture to the temple is evident. A crushed silver lump was also found near the skeleton.

Female Skeleton #1

All bones are present and are tinted an odd green/orange color due to the beginnings of fossilization. It was located about thirty feet down, in Pliocene strata consistent with about 5.1 million years ago, by Dr. Wilson and his team. The skeleton belongs to a white female, approximately 5”9” tall, with evidence of modern dental work.

Missing: Dr. Thomas Thorly

Dr. Thorly was born in Eugene, Oregon, in 1951 and attended the University of Montanta-Helena for his bachelor’s degree in archeology. He went on to complete his doctoral researches at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1973. Thorly spent time travelling the world, investigating sites of early man. In 1974, Thorly assisted in a dig with the University of Copenhagen in an area of western Zealand, Denmark, where a large megalithic site was uncovered. The Bildso dig, as it was called, was popularized in the press and won Thorly limited acclaim in archeological circles. He wrote two scholarly articles on the dig that were well-received by his peers.

That summer, Thorly suffered a tumble on the ski slopes of Switzerland that severely broke his left leg and haunted him for years afterward. In Geneva, a surgical pin was placed in his femur to repair damage to the bone. From that point on, Thorly’s medical needs proved too difficult to maintain on the road, and he soon sought a teaching position which would not require the strenuous physical activity of an archeological field researcher. He returned in 1976 to Helena to teach at the University after an unsuccessful attempt to gain employment at both the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University.

Thorly taught and settled into a routine in Helena, often leading small field expeditions of students into the wilds of Montana to search for Native American sites. His life in Helena was uneventful. What few friends he had were associates from the university, and as far as is known he did not date. Although not particularly popular with students, Thorly was considered a competent and accomplished teacher, and was a favorite of those few serious students of archeology to be found at Helena.

On June 18, 1999, Thorly was contacted by the Lewiston Prospecting Corporation of Helena and informed about their anomalous readings at Big Porcupine Creek. Thorly and two research assistants who were completing graduate work over the summer went out to the site on June 27 and made readings of their own with a ground-mapping seismograph. Thorly found the site intriguing and with his assistants, Michael Richards and Franklin Opetz, set about excavating the area. Thorly composed a letter to an associate at U-Penn, Dr. Wilson, inviting him to join the team on the leisurely summer dig. Apparently, Thorly thought he had uncovered some sort of “erratics,” deposit of artifacts in anachronistic stratum.

Dr. Thorly and his team unearthed various bits of tempered steel and set about cataloging them. In addition, on July 9 the team uncovered the remains of a modern human skeleton in Pliocene strata. From that point on Thorly became strange and swore his two assistants to secrecy about the event, threatening their funding if they spoke about the skeleton to anyone. Thorly closed the site, encouraged the Lewiston company to sell it off, and returned to Helena, hiding the skeleton in his own garage.

On August 1 Franklin Opetz disappeared from his dorm room on campus. After his disappearance became public the second assistant, Michael Richards, went immediately to the police and informed them of the threats that Dr. Thorly had made, but he did not mention the skeleton. Dr. Thorly was questioned extensively by the Helena Police, who were sure he’d crack under interrogation, but to no avail. The police backed off and waited for the doctor to make a mistake.

Just when things were calming down again, Dr. Wilson and his team of researchers from U-Penn showed up in Helena on August 15, 1999, to dig at Big Porcupine Creek. Wilson had obtained permission from the Lewiston company and Thorly was incensed.

On the afternoon of September 3 Dr. Thorly appeared at the dig at Big Porcupine Creek, brandishing his newly-acquired shotgun, and demanded to see what Dr. Wilson and his team had uncovered. Upon seeing a particular skeleton, Dr. Thorly was overcome with emotion and was subdued by those at the dig after collapsing.

Thorly was arrested by deputies and was incarcerated in the small Wheatland County Jail in Harlowton. His home in Helena was searched for evidence by Helena Police Department detectives in the ongoing Franklin Opetz investigation and the skeleton was found.

On September 5 Thorly was “observed” to vanish from his cell by three other inmates. Although the cell was unopened and completely intact, the deputies believe that Thorly escaped, and a national APB has been released to federal and state police forces in the hopes of his recapture.

Although it is unproven, it is the general consensus of the Helena FBI, the local police, and the media that Dr. Thorly was responsible for the disappearance of Franklin Opetz and the other researchers.

Dr. Thorly: Physical Description

Dr. Thorly is a male caucasian in his late forties, with graying brown hair, a short, carefully-trimmed beard, steel aviator sunglasses, and a pronounced limp on his left side. He often dresses in casual “outdoorsy” clothing, and rarely wears a suit or tie. He is 5’9” tall and weighs about 155 lbs. This description has been circulated to law-enforcement departments nationwide.

Dr. Thorly: Alibi

Dr. Thorly was busy on campus during the day of Franklin Opetz’s disappearance. After work he had dinner with one of his few friends, his physician and fellow Masonic lodge member Dr. Henry Sadier. During the dinner, Thorly complained of pain from his leg injury, and seemed distracted and upset. He persuaded the affable Sadier to a brief exam at his office following dinner, around 7:30 P.M. Sadier performed a cursory examination and provided Thorly with sedatives, though he later told police he secretly offered them more for “nerves” than for pain. He administered the first sedative at his office and then drove Thorly home.

Concerned for his friend, Sadier stayed the night. He tried to persuade Thorly to explain why he was so distressed, but to no avail. Eventually the sedatives took hold and Sadier put Thorly to bed. He watched television until it was time for another pill, around one A.M. When that was administered, Sadier went to sleep on the couch. Thorly was still out cold when he awoke the next morning, at which point Opetz’s disappearance was noticed.

Dr. Sadier is a life-long resident of Helena and is well regarded by the community.

Dr. Thorly: Medical Records

Extensive medical records are available for Dr. Thorly. His HMO, Group Health Technologies, has exhaustive files on him dating back to his 1974 hospital stay in Geneva. The HMO will surrender these files to the FBI only if they are presented with a warrant for their release; at the Keeper’s discretion, these files could have already been obtained by the Helena FBI. The aforementioned Dr. Sadier is familiar with Thorly’s case but does not possess any detailed information on that long-ago injury.

The records show that Thorly suffered a fractured right humerus (upper right arm) at age nine, which healed readily, and a compound fracture in his left femur (upper left leg) at age twenty-three, which required the implantation of a surgical steel pin in his bone to help it heal properly. Also, in 1983 Dr. Thorly had a troublesome cavity repaired on his third right molar, having two fillings inserted. Besides these occasional mishaps, Dr. Thorly was in good health.

Dr. Thorly: Arrest Report

The arrest report of Dr. Thorly from the Wheatland Sheriff’s Department has a few facts relevant to the case in it. The arresting officer, Mark Tyler Brown, noted Thorly’s uncontrollable, nearly manic behavior when he arrived at the site, after being summoned by Dr. Wilson. When the officer arrived, Thorly had already been disarmed. He was pleading to not be touched, that he was somehow “infected” by something he would not, or could not elaborate on.

Deputy Brown attempted to handcuff Dr. Thorly, who struggled and pleaded for several minutes before succumbing. Past that point, Brown reports, Thorly was silent and well behaved.

The basic gist of the attack by Thorly on the crew of U-Penn scientists is recounted in the file. The doctor strode into camp and demanded to see what else the U-Penn researchers had dug up, and, seeing that he had a 12-gauge shotgun, they complied with his demands. Thorly broke down after seeing skeleton #4 (subsequently renumbered by the FBI as #5, thanks to the skeleton found in Thorly’s home).

Dr. Thorly: Personal Effects

When Dr. Thorly was booked by the Wheatland Sheriff Department, the items he carried were taken and inventoried. The locker containing these items was turned over to the Helena FBI and can easily be viewed by agents. The notes on the locker indicates that there are a pair of keys, four quarters, a pen, a Mossberg 500 12-gauge with five shells of buckshot, and a wallet containing three fives, a single, a driver’s license, two credit cards, assorted business and video-rental cards. Also included in the list is the titanium Rolex with the inscription “For Thomas, from a proud father.”

Dr. Thorly: Witnesses

Only one witness from Dr. Thorly’s original dig still remains: grad student and dig assistant Michael Richards. The other, Franklin Opetz, is missing. Richards and his testimony are described on p. xx.

Other relevant witnesses to the mystery of Dr. Thorly are the three inmates he shared a general detention cell with at the Wheatland county jail. Early in the morning of September 5, 1999, inmates Laurence Dalgrun, Richard Severs, and Tip Yarrow claimed to see Thorly “vanish” before their eyes in the cell. The three men had attempted to break into a hardware store in Harlowton the night of Thorly’s arrest. All are low-grade felons and drifters with multiple convictions to their credit.

They swear that Thorly was simply there one second and gone the next. Despite repeated interrogations, they have stuck to their story. The FBI can find no prior connection between the men and Thorly, and in any event cannot explain how these bumbling criminals could have assisted Thorly with an escape without also escaping themselves. The FBI’s current theory is that the men were simply asleep when Thorly got out and know nothing of any use.

All three men still reside in the Wheatland County Jail.

Dr. Thorly: Associates

Dr. Thorly’s associates at the University speak fondly of him, at least in the past tense, and often comment that he seemed so normal before the dig at Big Porcupine Creek. Most now believe that Thorly was somehow involved in the disappearance of Franklin Opetz, thanks mostly to the local news.

Before the incident Thorly was thought of as a quiet, well-respected member of the Masonic lodge in town, who sometimes volunteered for summer youth programs run by the Helena City Council and attended a local Methodist church. No one, however, was much closer to Thorly than that, or so it seems on the surface.

Dr. Thorly: Residence

Thorly’s modest home was thoroughly searched by police in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Franklin Opetz. The house is still considered a crime scene, though it is not guarded.

The interior of the house was well decorated and maintained, at least until shortly before Thorly’s arrest. Boxes of take-out food, copious amounts of alcohol, and evidence of vomiting were found in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, suggesting a recent state of emotional distress.

Dr. Thorly: Other Secrets

Dr. Thorly lived a double existence. A closet homosexual, Thorly maintained a separate life in nearby Butte, Montana. There, several times a month, Thorly would openly enjoy his lifestyle without fear of backlash. Dreading his colleagues’ reactions at the university in Helena, Thorly was desperately paranoid about being discovered and hid his excursions under a shield of lies and half-truths. No one in Helena was in on his secret. In Butte, he was known to homosexual clubgoers as George Baker.

FBI Helena has discovered this fact by perusing the doctor’s credit-card records and questioning several people in Butte about his activities. These facts have led the FBI to the suspicion that Franklin Opetz was the subject of Thorly’s unwanted advances, and that Thorly killed Opetz in a crime of passion.

Dr. Thorly: Suspected Motives

When Opetz disappeared, the police rapidly promoted Dr. Thorly to the prime-suspect position. Michael Richards’ testimony as to Thorly’s threats against him and Opetz made it all look simple. Opetz wouldn’t keep his mouth shut and Thorly killed him—or so the theory went. But fruitless questioning of Thorly and his cast-iron alibi cast doubt on this scenario.

When Thorly turned up at the U-Penn dig at Big Porcupine Creek with a shotgun and was arrested, the Helena police thought the answers to the mystery would be found in Thorly’s home. Instead, after a brief glimmer of hope when the skeleton was found, a new abyss of questions opened up.

With Thorly’s disappearance, things grew even more bizarre. To top that off, the U-Penn team disappeared soon after, leaving the police hopelessly lost. The FBI soon determined that Thorly was a homosexual and suspected him of murdering Opetz out of frustrated desire, but the U-Penn disappearances threw this off track. At this point, the police and FBI have no real theory which accounts for all the facts. They hope to find Thorly or another one of the vanished archeologists and go from there.

Missing: Franklin “Frankie” Opetz Jr.

Born in Billings, Montana, in 1974, Franklin Opetz attended the University of Montanta-Helena for his bachelor’s degree in anthropology and archeology. At the time of his disappearance he was completing his graduate work in the same subject under the direction of Dr. Thorly.

Opetz led a mundane existence. What little social life he had was spent on campus in the local pub, drinking with friends, or driving into town to play pool with locals. Opetz dated a few women, most of whom worked in or around the university, but had no serious ties to the area. Everyone who knew him in Helena called him “Frankie.”

His parents, Elaine and Franklin Opetz, Sr., still live in Billings and have kept in close touch with their son over the years. They still hope a happy ending will occur, though those hopes are fading fast as the weeks roll by.

Most people in Helena believe that Opetz was somehow killed and disposed of by Dr. Thorly due to a dispute. Some of Frankie’s associates heard him speak of the dig at Big Porcupine Creek, and of Dr. Thorly’s strange behavior there right before his disappearance. Others have just been sucked into the media machine surrounding the story, which produces a new theory almost every week.

Franklin Opetz: Physical Description

Franklin Opetz is a male caucasian in his mid-twenties with frizzy brown hair, a small goatee, and thick-framed “Buddy Holly” glasses. Opetz is always casually dressed in J. Crew/Gap/Land’s End gear and never wears anything more restrictive. He is 5’11” and weighs about 172 lbs. He wears a Billings, Montana, George Washington High School class of 1992 ring on his right hand.

This description, along with a photograph, has been distributed to every major police force in the United States. Opetz is officially sought after and is thought to be the subject of either a kidnapping or murder. His parents are offering a $10,000 reward for his safe return.

Franklin Opetz: Medical Records

Opetz’s medical records are much harder to locate than Dr. Thorly’s. Although they do exist, they are scattered around Montana.

Dental records for his adult life are available in Helena at the office of Dr. Terrence Waite and show extensive dental work on his bottom teeth late in life. The doctor will freely offer these files to FBI agents, without warrant, if they are asked for politely. Waite wishes only to help the authorities find “Frankie,” who he found to be a funny and friendly person.

The only serious injury Opetz suffered was as a ten-year-old boy, when he broke his left radius and ulna (both bones in the lower arm) falling out of a tree. Records of this accident are stored at the Billings Medical Center and have sat untouched in a file cabinet for fifteen years. A warrant will be necessary to free up these files. Opetz’ parents remember the incident well if asked whether Frankie ever broke his arm.

Opetz also suffered from a slight malformation of the backbone which was corrected with braces at an early age. These records have been lost, since the doctor that administered them has long since died, but Frankie’s mother has maintained duplicate records of the files. She will readily turn them over to the agents, or at the Keeper’s discretion these files could have already been obtained by the Helena FBI.

Franklin Opetz: Dorm Room

Located on campus in the Tierney Dorms, this small suite contains a kitchen and full bathroom. Rooms of this type are difficult to come by on campus and are usually reserved for graduate students like Opetz.

On July 30, 1999, Franklin Opetz was last seen entering his room at about 9 P.M. by several other Tierney residents. Two days later, when the usually garrulous Opetz was not seen by his neighbors coming or going from his apartment and knocking on his door brought no response, the Resident Assistant on the floor was alerted.

Opetz’s door was unlocked but the chain was locked from the inside. The Helena police were called when no one responded to shouts directed into the apartment.

No signs of foul play could be located in the dorm room, and nothing out of sorts was discovered in the police search. Opetz was nowhere to be found. When the case was lumped in with the disappearances at Big Porcupine Creek, the crime scene changed hands to the FBI. It is still closed off and is being examined at length by FBI experts.

Franklin Opetz: Personal Effects

Nothing out of sorts was noticed by the police among Opetz’s personal effects. When the FBI took over the crime scene, several objects were found to be missing, including a doorknob to the bathroom door—which the Helena police insist was there before the FBI arrived.

Franklin Opetz: Witnesses

The few people who saw Opetz before his disappearance have all made statements to the police. The dorm was sparsely populated due to the fact that most classes were out for summer break. Only three other people on Opetz’s floor were present during the dates of his disappearance.

Michael Roth, age twenty-eight, lived in the room across from Opetz and knew him quite well. Roth was majoring in geology and often helped out with Opetz’s more difficult studies in geologic surveying (which Opetz was taking over summer semester). He remembers seeing Franklin (Frankie, as he calls him) going into his room on the evening of July 30 at about seven. The two exchanged brief hellos and Frankie claimed he was exhausted and didn’t feel well. Frankie then retired to his room. Roth is one of the men who, two days later, knocked on Franklin’s door and eventually alerted the police.

Sandra Friedrich, age twenty-four, saw Opetz in the hall on the same floor of his room at 2 A.M. the morning of July 31. He purchased a Sprite at the soda machine, said hello to her, and went back to his room looking tired. She did not hear anything more about him until the police showed up to knock down his door.

Easton Campbell, age twenty-six, exchanged words with Opetz on the evening of July 30 at about 6:45, as Opetz was coming down the hall to go to his room. Opetz said something which Campbell recalled as strange. Campbell, who also is in the graduate archeology department under Dr. Thorly, recalls that Opetz said something to the effect of “Thorly really lost it out on the dig, I’ll tell you later,” which he assumed referred to the dig at Big Porcupine Creek. Campbell was one of the men to alert the RA and police.

Franklin Opetz: Associates

Franklin Opetz had numerous friends and associates on campus, but only those within the archeology department know anything relevant to the case. His ex-girlfriends and drinking buddies know nothing about the dig at Big Porcupine Creek, except that Opetz had been there for several days in early July.

Those within the small department, including Eaton Campbell (covered earlier), Opetz himself, and Michael Richards (covered later) number only six. Only Richards, Opetz, and Thorly went to the site. The others were either off campus or out for summer semester.

Yolanda Young, age twenty-five, was off campus until the day before Opetz’s disappearance and talked with Opetz and Richards about the dig at Big Porcupine Creek. Opetz claimed that something odd had been dug up out there but that “Thorly had a shit-fit and doesn’t want to release the info till he’s checked it out at length.” Richards refused to speak about what had been found, but did say “I wish we never went out there.”

Ryu Horakumi, age twenty-nine, saw Opetz once two days before his disappearance at a bar in Helena. They spoke briefly about the dig at Big Porcupine Creek and Opetz, slightly drunk, said that “Thorly lost it out there. The old man went nuts like a goddamned rabid dog.” Nothing more was said between the two.

Thomas “Tom” Jablonski, age twenty-six, returned to campus the day after Opetz’s disappearance and had nothing to add to the police report, except that in his eyes there was bad blood between Opetz and Dr. Thorly for some time.

Franklin Opetz: Car

Opetz’s car, a blue 1974 VW Bug, was found parked on campus in Opetz’s parking space the day he was discovered to be missing. Opetz used this car to drive back and forth from Big Porcupine Creek. The police searched it for further clues but found nothing. The keys to the vehicle could not be found.

The vehicle was impounded as evidence and was later transported to the Helena office of the FBI for a thorough search. Odd details of the car’s state were noticed by the agents assigned to look at the vehicle. The driver’s-side mirror and the rear-view mirror were missing, as if those components had been removed carefully by hand.

Missing: Gareth Wylin

Born in Decatur, Illinois, in 1972, Wylin enjoyed a faultless childhood and excelled in schoolwork, gathering top honors from a small boys’ finishing school in Lovington. Wylin went on to study anthropology at the University of Chicago, but his interests shifted during his tenure there and soon he became engaged in the study of archeology. In 1994 he applied and was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania for a graduate degree program in archeology.

In 1997 Wylin was approached by DG Agent Charlie of Cell C and was asked to aid in an investigation of odd rock formations located at a cult hideout in western Pennsylvania. Wylin and Agent Charlie confronted some sort of “embryonic creature” on January 6, 1997, and after that incident Wylin was informed of the “organization”—Delta Green. Wylin was under the impression that DG was a legal operation.

In  August of 1999 Wylin accompanied the head of his program Dr. Wilson, to Big Porcupine Creek in Montana to dig on a site. For half a month they dug up various “erratic” fossil finds, mostly of modern human remains anachronistically located in Pliocene rock.

Then, after a last frantic phone call to DG on September 8, Wylin and his associates disappeared.

Gareth Wylin: Physical Description

Gareth Wylin is a male caucasian, age twenty-seven, with short red hair and a false front right tooth on a removable bridge. Wylin is a casual dresser and rarely wears anything more formal than a t-shirt and jeans. He is 6’2″ and weighs about 205 lbs.

This description, along with a photograph, has been distributed to every major police force in the United States. Wylin is officially sought after and is thought to be the subject of either a kidnapping or murder.

Gareth Wylin: Medical Records

Wylin’s medical coverage is through a small Philadelphia-based HMO called Firstcare. Wylin, a klutz, suffered all manner of broken bones during his adolescence and early adulthood. His right wrist was broken twice (skateboarding), four of his metacarpus bones in his right hand were also fractured in a car accident, his left radius and ulna (lower arm bones) were broken in a skiing accident on Hunter mountain, and his skull was fractured once in a fall down the stairs.

His dental health was much less exceptional, except for a missing single front tooth (also skateboarding), which was replaced by a removable fiberglass bridge.

These records can be freed up only by a warrant or court order, or at the Keeper’s discretion could have already been obtained by the Helena FBI.

Gareth Wylin: Associates

Before 1997, Wylin had numerous friends and dated several women seriously. An outdoorsy sportsman type despite his natural clumsy streak, Wylin was popular with the ladies. After 1997, however, his attitude changed completely, and he is known today as an introverted loner. Those who knew him from before the winter of 1997 speak of him as if he were a different man altogether after that particular winter break, although nothing of import seemed to have occurred in his life. A new bleak worldview was a distinctly different attitude in Wylin, which was easily noticed by his friends.

Wylin’s parents, Elise (56) and Charles (55), divorced in 1993 and live in Decatur, Illinois. They had not spoken to Gareth in some time and frankly did not care to, as their son “made it plain their relationship ended when he left Illinois.”

There are no leads to be found here.

Missing: Larry Kazal

Born in New York city in 1974, Larry Kazal grew up always knowing he would pursue a career in archeology. His post-high-school education took him first to Columbia University and then to Bard College, where he excelled in the study of early American cultures. For his graduate degree Kazal moved to the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia to finish a four-year program under the tutelage of Dr. Emmet Wilson, whose work he had admired for some time.

Kazal was one of Wilson’s favorite assistants and spent his time pursuing his love of the field. Kazal worked on more than twenty digs in his two years at U-Penn, and wrote thirty-six papers on varying archeological subjects with mixed success. Despite his obsession with the archeological sciences, Kazal found enough time to court and become engaged to Miriam Graham, a geology student at U-Penn. The two planned to marry in the summer of 2000.

Kazal disappeared on the dig at Big Porcupine Creek along with his compatriots. His whereabouts remain unknown.

Larry Kazal: Physical Description

Larry Kazal is a male caucasian, age twenty-five, with long blond hair, a short well-groomed mustache, and thin wire-frame glasses. Kazal is a casual dresser but is not above dressing up if the occasion is correct. He is 6’ and weighs 169 lbs.

This description, along with a photograph, has been distributed to every major police force in the United States. Kazal is officially sought after and is thought to be the subject of either a kidnapping or murder.

Larry Kazal: Medical Records

Larry Kazal’s medical provider was Blue Cross of Philadelphia. He had no serious health problems except his severe astigmatism, which was a constant hassle. He had no major hospital stays or injuries, except an appendix removal in 1986 which was uneventful.

His teeth were near-perfect and remained untouched until his wisdom teeth were removed in 1992. These records are available only through a court order or warrant, or at the Keeper’s discretion could have already been obtained by the Helena FBI.

Larry Kazal: Associates

Kazal had few close friends outside of the archeology program at U-Penn. His colleagues found him engaging and accomplished if a bit over-anxious at times, and he was thought to be a promising field archeologist in the making, despite his attempts to try everything at least once. The only major complaint anyone has of him was that “he could never focus on less than nine things at once.”

His fiancée, Miriam Graham, has flown to Helena to follow the investigation as closely as possible. She is residing in a Quality Inn near the airport, waiting for any news.

Missing: Dr. Emmet Wilson

Dr. Wilson was born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, in 1947 and attended the University of Pennsylvania for his bachelor’s and graduate degrees in archeology. Wilson specialized in Native American sites and was on the excavation of the Roby River Mound in Arkansas in 1969. His paper on the subject is still widely taught today.

Dr. Wilson worked with Dr. Thorly during Thorly’s doctoral researches at U-Penn. The two were friends and shared an apartment for a school season in 1971. Dr. Wilson went on to work at several high-profile digs in the U.S. and returned to teach at U-Penn in 1978. Wilson was only one of many archeology/anthropology professors on campus, but was considered a specialist in American cultures and was held in high regard.

Wilson married a research assistant, Corrine Brightem, in 1981. The couple was still together at the time of Wilson’s disappearance and have two children. Their family life appeared to be ideal. Corrine is one of the parties who filed a missing-persons report with the FBI in Pennsylvania.

In 1999 Dr. Wilson was called to Montana by his former associate Dr. Thorly. Wilson and a small team traveled out to the site at Big Porcupine Creek despite a dispute with their host, Dr. Thorly. Wilson and his team spent the last two weeks of August and the first week of September digging. An incident involving the U-Penn team and a disgruntled Dr. Thorly led to his arrest by the local Wheatland Sheriff. The dig continued. The U-Penn team uncovered six fossilized skeletons of modern humans, and finally, a bent and ruined antenna-like device from Pliocene strata.

Dr. Wilson and his small team of researchers disappeared suddenly between September 6 and 8. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

The U-Penn Alumni Association is offering a $25,000 reward for his safe return.

Dr. Wilson: Physical Description

Dr. Wilson is a male caucasian, age fifty-two, with gray hair, a mustache, small “John Lennon” glasses, and a scar across his right brow. Wilson fluctuates between outdoorsy clothing and suits and ties, which he wears while teaching class. He is 5’’11” and weighs 189 lbs.

Dr. Wilson: Medical Records

Dr. Wilson’s medical files are kept by Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and will require a warrant to free up unless his wife is asked (or at the Keeper’s discretion, these files could have already been obtained by the Helena FBI). The only severe injury Wilson ever suffered was in a car accident in 1984, when he fractured his skull on the dashboard during a sudden stop. Extensive X rays of his skull are still on file, and the scar from the accident is quite visible in any photo of Wilson past 1984.

As far as dentistry, Wilson only had his wisdom teeth removed in 1971. Otherwise, his teeth were perfect, as shown by the X rays in his file.

Dr. Wilson: Witnesses

Those few people who interacted with Dr. Wilson and his team were either employed at the Motel 6 they were staying at or at the diner they would frequent after their daily digs.

The staff of the hotel remember very little of import about the group except that they were quiet, did not drink or keep late hours, and often ordered pizza and movies from the front desk. Besides this, they have little to say.

Those at the Monterey diner recall an incident when Dr. Wilson and his associates got into a verbal argument with two local Indians over the “ownership of land and remains” on August 29, which became quite heated, but ended before the police were called. The diner staff had never seen the indians before, but the waitress noticed they drove a truck with a Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation sticker on it. The Indians seemed intent on listening in on Wilson’s conversation, and started the argument after something was said which offended them. No one got the license plate of the truck. The police and FBI have met with dead ends on the reservation front.

Dr. Wilson: Personal Effects

Dr. Wilson and his four graduate assistants were staying in nearby Harlowton at a Motel 6. The rooms have been cleared by the Helena FBI and the evidence was carefully collected and cataloged. It now rests in a storage room in Helena FBI headquarters.

Dr. Wilson: Phone Calls

Records of Dr. Wilson’s phone calls show nothing but mundane calls to his wife and children, two to the university at Helena, and one to the motel. Besides these everyday calls, there are no other records of Wilson using the phone in Montana.

Dr. Wilson: Associates

Dr. Wilson was held in high esteem by all who knew him. Students and teachers who worked with him remember him as a kind, courteous, and accomplished archeologist.

He lived in a small town called Carlton, twenty-three miles from the University of Pennsylvania, and had no known enemies or disputes with anyone in the area. There are no clues to be found here.

His wife Corrine is out of her mind with worry, and Wilson’s two children, Michael (12) and Zoe (18), are being cared for by Wilson’s brother Horatio while Corrine braces herself for bad news. All expect at any moment to hear about the discovery of Wilson’s body.

Dr. Wilson: Car

Dr. Wilson’s rental car was located at the dig at Big Porcupine Creek with the keys in it. A 1992 red Camry, it was rented at Helena International Airport by Wilson using a U-Penn faculty credit card. The keys have vanished while in police possession and have not been relocated. The car is currently being examined at length for clues by the Helena FBI crime lab.

Missing: Denise Oester

Born in Reston, Virginia, in 1974, Denise Oester was a transfer student from the University of Maryland’s archeology/anthropology department to U-Penn and had only been in the graduate program at Philadelphia for four months when she agreed to travel along on a dig at Big Porcupine Creek.

Oester was quite happy to have been accepted into U-Penn and was looking forward to studying under Dr. Wilson, although they had spent little time together up until the trip. Oester was something of an odd man out among the U-Penn group, being female and the only one not in the program for more than a year.

Denise Oester: Physical Description

Denise Oester is a female caucasian, age twenty-five, with long red hair and large aviator glasses. Oester is a casual dresser and tends to wear hiking boots and outdoorsy clothes at all times. She is 5’9” tall and weighs about 145 lbs.

This description, along with a photograph, has been distributed to every major police force in the United States. Oester is officially sought after and is thought to be the subject of either a kidnapping or murder.

Denise Oester: Medical Records

Denise Oester’s medical provider was an HMO in Philadelphia called Bioline Inc., although all her medical records remain in Virginia and have not been transferred to her new provider yet. The only medical problem she ever suffered was an intra-uterine cyst which incapacitated her for more than a month just after her seventeenth birthday.

Her teeth were corrected by braces, from her thirteenth to eighteenth year, but besides this she had little dental work. These records are available only through a court order or warrant, or at the Keeper’s discretion could have already been obtained by the Helena FBI.

Denise Oester: Associates

Denise Oester had just gotten out of a long-term relationship with a man in Maryland, Derek Lewis, before she left to join the graduate program at U-Penn. The FBI have already checked this man out and have cleared him of any possible involvement with the Big Porcupine Creek incident.

Besides this, only Oester’s mother remained close to her. Mimi Oester still lives in Reston, Virginia, and is terribly worried about the disappearance of her daughter.

“Artifact Zero” can be found in Pagan Publishing’s Call of Cthulhu sourcebook Delta Green: Eyes Only.