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When a nuclear plant employee’s remains are found in the plant furnace, some say it was suicide, others murder.  Dave Bocks  Was Bocks lowered into the furnace? CASE DETAILS  Factory stored uranium for nuclear weapons Twenty miles northwest of Cincinnati is the small farming town of Fenald, Ohio. For many years, the town’s main employer was “The Feed Materials Production Center,” also known as N.L.O. Unknown to the public, NLO was actually owned by the Department of Energy. From 1953 to 1989, it was one of the few plants in the United States that secretly processed high-grade uranium for nuclear weapons. Former N.L.O employee Harry Easterling believed the plant was safe:
But conditions at the plant weren’t fine. In the fall of 1984, N.L.O. was rocked by scandal when a factory accident released massive amounts of radioactive smoke into the atmosphere. An investigation later revealed that, over the years, N.L.O. had released more than 200 tons of radioactive dust particles into the air and local water sources. Reporter D.C. Cole investigated the story:
 Tons of radioactive materials leaked out In June of 1984, just a few months before the N.L.O. disaster, one of the plant’s employees, Dave Bocks, died a gruesome death inside the factory. His family was convinced he was murdered, possibly because he was going to blow the whistle on the quantity of radioactivity the plant was releasing. Dave was hired at N.L.O. as a pipe fitter in 1981, and quickly earned the trust and respect of his co-workers. Dave was divorced, but remained close to his ex-wife and three children. Casey Drake is Dave Bocks’ daughter:
Dave worked the graveyard shift. On Sunday night at 11:00 PM, he met his rideshare partner and co-worker, Harry Easterling, in the parking lot at a local restaurant as usual:  Bocks’ keys didn’t melt, raising suspicions
Dave’s job was to inspect and maintain equipment throughout the factory. This included making sure that the safety pumps and dust collectors used in the uranium processing were working properly. Harry realized Dave was aware of what the factory was doing:
Only the maintenance crew and security personnel worked the graveyard shift. The production lines were shut down. At midnight, Dave reported to the maintenance room for his assignment. Harry recalls that the night began just like any other:
A worker saw Dave and a supervisor in a parked pickup truck. He said Dave and the supervisor seemed to be having a “serious discussion”, but he could not tell what they were talking about. He noted that the windows of the truck were rolled up, even though the weather was hot and humid. An hour later, the same witness ran into Dave on the factory grounds. He noticed that Dave was walking towards Plant 4, not Plant 8 where he’d been assigned. It was the last time Dave Bocks was seen alive. Later that morning, Harry Easterling became suspicious because he hadn’t seen Dave in hours:
At around 7:30 that morning, a furnace operator in Plant 6 told his supervisor that the casings in his oven were covered with a strange, sticky residue. The worker also noticed a strange odor. The supervisor apparently found nothing wrong and told the furnace operator to go back to work. On the way to his next shift, Harry went to the restaurant to meet Dave as usual. It was Dave’s turn to drive, and his car was already there:
Harry was worried. When he got to work, he reported Dave missing and had a security guard pry open his locker. Inside the plant, an investigation had begun. Plant records show that at 5:15 on the morning Dave disappeared, the temperature in the furnace in Plant 6 had briefly dropped 28 degrees. This sudden change suggested that something “foreign” had been dumped into it. A worker also found what appeared to be piece of bone on the lip of the furnace. The Sheriff’s Department was called in and the furnace was shut down. It took three days for the molten liquid inside to cool. When employees searched through the waste material, they found a set of keys. Former Hamilton County Police Chief, Deputy Sheriff Victor Carelli, investigated the case:
If the keys pulled from the furnace were Dave’s, they would presumably have fallen in along with the “foreign body” at 5:15 AM. But if Dave’s keys were seen more than two hours later in his toolbox, how did they get into the furnace? Investigators concluded that Dave was probably dead. Harry was stunned. He was also confused about Dave’s keys:
Besides the keys, investigators found a steel toe from a boot, part of an eyeglass frame, fragments of Dave’s walkie-talkie, and a stainless steel wire that was looped together in three oddly connecting circles. Also recovered were several pieces of human bone.
Former N.L.O. employee, David Day agrees:
Investigative reporter, D. C. Cole believes he knows why Dave Bocks may have been murdered:
According to former Chief of Police Victor Carrelli, the evidence for murder was never there:
Harry Easterling hopes someone might come forward and tell what they know:
In 1989, five years after Dave Bocks’ death, the N.L.O. was shut down. Sadly, years later, Dave’s family is still unable to lay him to rest. Dave’s remains are just a few bone fragments and are too toxic to be buried in the ground. They have been sealed in a drum, and shipped off to a Nevada test site to be stored with other radioactive materials. How Dave died and why remains a mystery. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season six with Robert Stack and in season five with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. SUBMIT A TIP |
54 Comments
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teddy
Dave was a bright guy and knew the plant inside and out he wouldn’t risk falling into this heated lava and or tying himself in wire. Going over some comments & theories maybe he was hit by a crane or fork truck and they didn’t want to pay insurance or deal with the Osha death accident so those responsible lowered him in and kept quiet. Horrible however it went down.
Anonymous
This was an insurance case. They didn’t want to pay out for an accident. Because that would have been thousands of dollars. So they bring up the homicide possibility. Dave was a good person. The plant wouldn’t have stayed operating without his good services. In fact it completely shutdown shortly after his death. But they had him working in an area he was unfamiliar with. And his equipment was not sufficient. The circles found are consistent with what they used for harnesses back then.
Hector
Did they ever talk to the supervisor? He seems to be a perfect suspect in this case.
Anonymous
That reenactment with the crane didn’t happen. Just to fit that in the room would have been a challenge. And you can’t just fist fight someone on top of the boiler.
Scott Shrout
This is another one of the more bizarre stories featured on the show (Dale Kerstetter is another that comes to mind and interestingly it seems some in the discussions mix up the facts about the cases).
The Dave Bocks case sadly will probably never be solved as there is no physical evidence that remains aside from the bone fragments that were put into storage. I actually visited the Fernald site a number of years after it closed (around 2006 I believe) and even then there was little to suggest a plant every existed there.
It’s a very tragic and strange case indeed; I suspect Dave was indeed murdered, but absent a deathbed confession it’s unlikely we will ever know the truth.
Tony Bocks
I have given up on believing that an end would ever come in my dad’s case. I guess it was already over in 1984. I love my dad and have prayed that justice will be served. But God hold a special place in hell for the people that a respo sible for destroying my dad and really make life terrible for my sister brother and I. Please. If someone knows anything I beg you to go to the authorities.
Cheryl McWhorter
Updated:
I’m soooo sorry. I worked there for a year and a few months, one year in the print shop which was and ancient building that had zero exhaust only old crank open windows, no masks, and I’m inhaling all of the binding glue for eight hours…That’s just in the print shop, so I finally realized what was making me deathly I’ll So I complained, then they put me in the mail room delivering mail to different buildings for a month. While delivering mail I was told the one side of a chain link fence was the hot side and the other side was the cold side??? What the??? Ok, so then became a secretary for a couple months, but the glue had done its damage to my lungs and they still do not acknowledge that I even worked there, their excuse is they can’t find my paperwork and I even had a great job letter from my supervisor…This is our Government we are talking about…it’s a sad country… I hope you happiness and healing, GOD BLESS YOU
Kevin Gibbs
Mr. Bocks, you need to contact an attorney to force DNA testing on the wire wrapped in 3 interlocking circles, seems like it could be plausible that the 2 circles side by side were used as a restraint & the left over ring was probably used as a handle to control the movements of your father prior to his death. Also, the FBI has a department or division that handles corruption. NLO was owned by the DOE, have your attorney go after them & the direct supervisor of your father, seems plausible that anyone who had reason to fear your father’s (possible) whistleblowing has reason to be considered a suspect. If the DNA on the wire comes back to someone with a record, you would at least have someone with knowledge of events of the day or night your father died.
Always remember, your father is with the Lord. You have my condolences. May he rest in peace. God bless.
Kaye
It’s not rocket science… he was murdered and hopefully those involved are suffering or have suffered for what they’ve done to David Bock and his family.
It’s very sad and it’s disturbing that they may have gotten away with murder.
Don
Anyone who had seen the salt furnace while under heat would immediately know suicide would have been impossible. The large rectangular furnace’s lid covered the complete top and was opened on the ends with a few steps going in. The lid required the overhead crane to lift so was a major event to remove and put back (requiring a crane operator). It was not possible to crawl into the furnace ends as the heat was so intense it would drive you back. I worked as a production engineer in Plant 6 from 1986-1989. Though I was not there in 1984 I was told by a fellow, well respected, engineer that his death may have been an accident, maybe getting hit by a fork truck and his body disposed of in the furnace (panic reaction by the driver). The other theory was maybe he witnessed a drug deal going down, was murdered, and the body disposed of in the furnace. Bottom line he was dead before his body was put into the furnace.
Anonymous
I used to live across the street from Fernald starting in 1990. Even then, there were areas where the liquid chemicals leaked into the water system. We believe that my mother developed cancer 7 times from our 6 years there. She has survived each bout with cancer, but I am now an environmental researcher. There is credible evidence that they have not stopped the pollution even though the plant closed in 1989. Something is still being kept quiet…
Anon
The lack of a suicide note is automatically suspicious.
Scott Shrout
Not necessarily. Studies have found that around 70% of suicides don’t involve a note left behind.
Bill Blaski
Just listened to the accused podcast about David. I can’t help but to side with the homicide theory. Either the supervisor or the guy Dave told on who was sleeping in the plant. Per the podcast the sheriff’s dept is opening this case again. There is no way Dave Cannon balled or dove into that furnace! I also had no idea that DC Cole was such a loon. So sad all these people are dying that worked at Fernald.
Eddie
The keys did not melt because they were thrown in there at a later time. They were in his toolbox for a while before being taken by the supervisor. With the information we’ve been given about the character of that plant and the powers that be who run it, there’s a good chance that same supervisor threw the keys in the furnace. I have never studied law and I don’t know a whole lot about all the ends and outs of it, so I don’t know if polygraph tests can be forced on someone or not. But there are some individuals who definitely need to take them, that’s for sure!
Bill Blaski
Just downloaded Pluto TV app. It has its own unsolved mysteries channel 334. Just got done watching this story about Dave Bocks. Was it sucide or murder? This needs looked at!
Jason
I was gonna say, don’t mess with the DOE. They have snipers and high security. The camera shot of this poor gentleman being lured into the vat stuck with me for yrs.
This is obviously murder and covered up. I belive he was gonna go public with the venting of toxic gases and he was probably warned and was eventually killed so he wouldn’t expose the corruption that we, as Americans, are so sick of. God bless you Dave and your family
Oliver
Wow…all that toxic waste released into the atmosphere is a tragedy in it’s own…I sure hope they find the people responsible for Dave’s demise!
Mark
Very high chance he was murdered then tied up with the wire found and attached to a machine where he was hoisted into the furnace. How he died is unknown but since no bullets were found it probably was strangulation. Motive could be he found out something and needed to be kept quiet. if the supervisors and managers had been given a lie detector test they could of used that to develop a suspect and go from there to get proof needed to convict. You have to put enough effort to solve a case like this like when Osama bin laden was eliminated it took what ten years but we never stopped until the job was finished.
Tony Bocks
I am Tony Bocks. I am the oldest son of David Bocks. I have dead the posts on this site, I want to thank all the kind posts on behalf of my dad. I want to thank you all for your prayers, we still need them. If ANYONE has ANY I formation about this PLEASE come forward. Our family has NEVER been the same since . And I will say unequivocally that my dad DID NOT commit suicide. There has been TOO MANY COINCIDENCES for that ro be true
MARCELA DE SANTOS
Blessings to your family, be certain that God has granted your dad peace in his Glory.
doug thompson
No lie detector test given to that supervisor ??????????
Plain as day (Supervisor and certain investigators) were involved and clearly
got away with MURDER !!!!!!!
Bill Blaski
Again I nominate this case to be on the new unsolved mysteries. So baffling
Raoul Kopecknie
Ok, Nowhere do I find a decent fact filled version of this man’s death. Everyone assumes it was murder, but there are ZERO pictures of the furnace, the area around it, or the Flue. More importantly, IS THERE ANY possibility he could have fallen in? How did the furnace exhaust?
As for the keys, has it occurred to anyone that he had two sets of keys? One for his home and auto, that could have been left on his toolbox, and a second set of keys to the plant? The article never addresses this, nor what happened to the set of keys with his tool box.
As for getting ready to expose the plant, Karen Silkwood style, this was a DOE facility. The man had worked there for several years and was not the sort to make waves. Being a federal facility, the Federal government would have had many avenues of recourse other than a nefarious murder to keep him quite, for example non disclosure and National Security laws which would have left him in the slammer for life.
Additionally, how much production was lost as the furnace had to be shut down for several days due to the remains being found. DOE sites also have really nasty acids that would dissolve a body, and contaminated drums that will NOT be touched for hundreds or thousands of years. And you think they would dispose of a body in a furnace?
The man worked the night shift. No doubt he was comfortable, likely too comfortable with acting alone when problems presented themselves. This happened in 1984, when I don’t think lock out /tag out precautions were exactly in widespread use. . .
Occam’s razor. . The simplest explanation is probably the truth. A major conspiracy it not.
Tom
What you say makes a lot of sense. I lean towards saying it was an accident.
Hal Rogers
Raoul Kopecknie, if the is you real name, are you a rich man north of richmond, or just an unpaid co-conspirator. The government has enough apologists without your help.
Ginger M Wilson
the supervisor did and God will burn u in the lake of fire for it
loser
Patrick
Re-interview every single person in that plant the night he went missing.
Anonymous
..it was Murder, when a person commits suicide, it is done quick and with the least amount of pain possible. I hope to God they find the killer, they not only murdered him but emitted radiation to many innocent lives.
Anonymous
I believe he was murdered, quite brutally, for being a whistleblower. What an agonizingly gruesome death this poor man endured. RIP Dave.
Tony T
The Department of Energy has been falsifying cancer risk reports at the Fernald site since the mid ’90’s, with no end in sight. This is criminal…
Leigh
It seems to me that the keys being seen at a different site after the victim is suspected to have died, and then showing up in the furnace, would be all the evidence needed to call this a homicide. I’m no genius, but obviously someone other than the victim threw the keys into the furnace. This is a terrible story.
Blue bird
Ok… um I am totally Confused! How Come His Keys Did Not Melt? And I Think He Was Murdered! Or He Accidentally Slipped And Fell Or He Could Have Jumped In And Committed Suicide Or Was It A Conspiracy? Perhaps He Was Being Threatened By His Employers!
oonai
I think it’s pretty obvious that it was suicide.
Junior
I believe this man was murdered for attempting to blow the whistle to set things straight. Poor guy. My heart goes out to the family. R.I.P. Mr. Bocks.
Kenneth McDonald
Check up on anyone in the plant reading H. G. Wells – The Cone
steve
“stainless steel wire that was looped together in three oddly connecting circles”
Sounds like something to tie hands and feet together. 2 circles for legs and 1 for hands
Johnny
I was a teenager when I watched this episode. Poor Mr. Bocks! It looked like a sprawling plant with many winding steps and levels. It definitely appeared to be murder. Not many people on the nightshift. Somebody with an accomplice probably killed Mr. Bocks. I feel sorry for his grown kids now.
Alan
Wouldn’t the keys dissolve in that heat, the looped wres are the most suspicious I believe.were they big enough to loop around his legs and hold weight.?
RavenMadd
No. Metals melt at different temps
Aluminum:1220°F
Brass: 1710°F
Copper: 1983°F
Gold: 1945°F
Cast Iron: 2200°F
Nickel: 2647°F
Platinum: 3218°F
Silver: 1762°F
Carbon Steel: 2597-2800°F
Stainless Steel: 2500-2785°F
Titanium: 3038°F
The vats were kept at 1350°F so there are several metals that would have survived…for example, the looped wire.
Mike
I believe the police did a very poor job at this investigation. I say this because of the “Keys Evidence”. His keys were seen in the toolbox after he known to be missing. Then a supervisor took them out and took the keys. The next place they were found was in the furnace where his body was… HELLO?! Who ever was involved with the murder threw those keys in there and gave themselves away! The police might want to throw some muscle into interviewing the supervisor that took the keys!
The fact that they would even consider this a sucicide is suspicious on behalf of the police. It looks like they might be involved in the coverup to ignore obvious evidence like that.
Jason
I’m pretty sure the Dept of Energy (Federal) owns the police (state). You don’t mess with the federal gov and get away with it.
Tory
I want to say that I am sorry for your loss my heart goes out to you.
R.I.P DAVID YOU ARE MISSED BY YOUR LOVE ONES
Anonymous
It was a short dude about 5 ft 2 in his fifty
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W
Who was? David bocks or his killer?
ALBANY TOO
Few realize NLO had a sister plant in Albany NY, NL Industries. The plant had to be razed costing over 200 million due to from DU and U contamination, as well as a long list of carcinogens. Many are dead and still dying or sick; including myself – 21ft of Earth under the plant, rooftops, yards all removed. The Uranium was detected over 20 miles away and rained down over neighborhoods from incinerators for decades – all to make DU munitions; the very reason we leave our military equipment in the Gulf. It’s all radioactive. The only difference, although FERNALD settled, NO LAWYER HAS EVER COME TO OUR RESCUE. 2015
Gen
This is a story I never forgot about from the 1st time I saw it when this show was on air. And yes I believe it was murder. I feel terribly still for Mr Bocks& his family. The greedy & powerful always get away w evil deeds like this.
paul
first I want to offer my deepest sympathies to the Bock family. I worked for a nuclear contracter in Nevada my years ago. My employer I came to find were well connected organization. Later I learn the hard way how serious these people. In the NRC (nuclear regulatory commission) Many of then shareholdes are very rich and people and they want to keep it that way
Ryan Britt
So this episode on Unsolved Mysteries. What a very bizarre story. Seems like something u would see in a movie. R.I.P
Brett
I know I already posted on here once already but I would just like to add I feel so sorry for dave bocks and his two son’s and his daughter I hope one day you find out what really happened and I hope who ever did this to your dad pay’s for what they did
Brett
i to belive he was killed the fact is if you know something wrong is happing and you try to report it somebody who is doing the wrong is about to be found out they will shut you up I feel sorry for him but you cant trust very many people in life most of all you cant trust the government or the police
Scott
RIP David
Scott
An awful story. I pray for the family of David. RIP David Bocks