Dad Wrote Goodbye Letters To His Wife And Sons As He Lay For Days In Crashed Van

Dad Wrote Goodbye Letters To His Wife And Sons As He Lay For Days In Crashed Van
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A dad spent days in his crashed van writing goodbye letters to his family and friends before he died.

David Welch, 54, was injured and unable to get out of his vehicle after crashing down a remote ravine on a stretch of interstate road in Utah, US - leaving him isolated and alone in the wreckage for more than a week. Meanwhile his family had started a nationwide hunt for him, including setting up a Facebook page called Find David Welch.

His body was discovered on October 18 after a hitchhiker spotted the crash site more than 50 miles from any town and almost 900 miles from Welch's home in Manhattan, Kansas.

The salesman disappeared from his home on September 3 and kept a diary of his time in the wreckage, making notes to his wife Kelly and his four sons.

Utah Highway Patrol Lt Scott Robertson said: "It's a pretty lonely stretch out there' adding that the content of the letters was 'a pretty private matter."

Local media reported that Mr Welch's wife wrote on Twitter: "Dave was entrapped in the vehicle down the 80ft ravine, he wrote each of us a love note.

"He knew he was dying and there was no way out." It remains unclear as to why Mr Welch left his home without telling his family, where he was going and why he was driving to Utah.