Name: David Robert Hursell
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: January 12, 1987
Location Last Seen: Sacramento, El Dorado County, California
Date of Birth: April 7, 1962
Age: 24 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Crushed right index fingertip
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
A convicted murderer on death row in Arizona, has been the prime suspect in Hursell's disappearance for many years. The suspect confessed to Hursell's murder in 1999 while imprisoned. He claimed that he forced Hursell from his truck at gunpoint and placed Hursell in handcuffs. The suspect stated that he tied Hursell's shoelaces together and forced him to walk away from him on a dirt road in Georgetown, California. The suspect said that he killed Hursell with a gunshot shortly thereafter.
The suspect was apprehended by authorities in Arizona shortly after Hursell's January 1987 disappearance. He was driving Hursell's truck at the time of his arrest. The suspect was convicted of an Arizona murder and sentenced to death. He offered to divulge details regarding Hursell's case to his presumed victim's mother in the 1980s. The suspect demanded that Hursell's mother donate $6000 to his legal defense fund or supply him with various appliances. She refused.
The suspect confessed to Hursell's murder while imprisoned in 1999, twelve years after Hursell disappeared. The suspect drew a map of the location where he claimed to have disposed of Hursell's remains in 1987. Authorities located the area, but an extensive search in 2001 produced no clues as to Hursell's whereabouts.
Agency Name: El Dorado County Sheriff's Department
Agency Contact Person: Detective Kenneth Barber
Agency Phone Number: 530-621-6600
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: P873512
NamUs Case Number: 23007
NCIC Case Number: M-595592007
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 05-18-2022 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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