One night in March 2015, teenager Caleb Diehl was scheduled to return home after spending time with friends. He was never again seen after that, though. Unsettling information was discovered years after the disappearance when the authorities were looking into it and found a man connected to Caleb’s family. Caleb’s case, the circumstances of his disappearance, and the person of interest are the first topics covered in the second season of Paramount+’s “Never Seen Before.” So, if you’re interested in learning more, we can help.
How did Caleb Diehl fare?
Just two weeks prior to going missing, Caleb Diehl turned 18 years old. He was a senior in high school from Nocona, Texas, and had four elder siblings. Caleb’s mother Tami said he loved being with his friends and had an adventurous personality. Caleb was a senior in high school at the time of the incident, residing in Grapevine, Texas, but frequently traveling to Nocona. In March 2015, tragedy struck during one of these visits.
On March 30, 2015, at around 5 o’clock, Caleb left his mother’s home to perform some odd jobs for a friend of the family. Later, his sister informed her that he was going to meet a friend and would return home soon. The 18-year-old didn’t come home, though, and his family started to worry when calls went straight to voicemail. After her kid missed school the previous day, Tami filed a missing persons report for him on April 2, 2015.
Is Caleb Diehl Missing or Found?
For a family friend named Ricky Dale Howard, Caleb had been doing occasional work. Caleb and Ricky’s kids were close friends and spent a lot of time together. Former bank executive Ricky frequently paid Caleb to work on his houses. Driving Ricky’s pickup truck at the time of Caleb’s disappearance. When Tami reported the car missing and Ricky called Tami to let her know that it had turned up again with the keys in their regular location, the authorities discovered this information.
Given his actions, the cops had suspicions about Ricky from the beginning. Their mobile tracking led them to Ricky’s property. The latter then asserted that he had thrown away the shattered phone after discovering it on the car’s floor. Not only that, but Ricky also tore up his own SIM card. He informed the authorities that they had worked together the weekend before Caleb vanished. Later, a search of his properties turned up a burn pit full with burned-out computers. Ricky claimed those were of his deceased parents at the time.
Without any information, the investigation became cold when Ricky insisted that he had nothing to do with Caleb’s disappearance. When Tami discovered a wealth of evidence in a bathroom cabinet in 2017, everything changed. Tami also discovered a tape recorder recording Ricky asking himself the polygraph questions, along with notes (written in Ricky’s handwriting) of the questions for the test.
The investigation was then reopened, and investigators focused their attention on Ricky. He had a criminal record, having previously been found guilty of bank fraud and offences related to weapons. Unsettlingly, five men accused Ricky of sexual assault in 2001, claiming that it occurred when they were minors. When the police investigated Ricky’s computers, they discovered multiple images of child pornography.
According to several pictures, Ricky molested Caleb when he was between the ages of 13 and 15. Despite the fact that neither Caleb nor his remains have yet to be discovered, the police were able to apprehend Ricky, who is still a person of interest in the teen’s abduction. But as the family struggled to comprehend what had happened to Caleb, additional concerns arose in response to the discovery of this new information. Tami initially thought that what she discovered in the cupboard was her son gathering information to use against Ricky.
Right now, where is Ricky Dale Howard?
A juror’s injury led to the federal case against Ricky being declared a mistrial in July 2021. Despite being accused of other sex-related offenses, he opted to take a plea deal and admitted to sexually exploiting a kid. Ricky would pick up Caleb from home to go to work when he was being molested. Ricky, who was 60 years old at the time, received a 30-year prison term in October 2021. According to prison records, he is still detained at the Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma. In 2046, Ricky will become eligible for release, and after that, he will always be under supervision.