Psychic Prediction from 1990 Seems to Correctly Point to Location of Missing Utah College Student in a 52-Year-Old Cold Case

University of Utah student Douglas Brick disappeared more than 50 years ago

After more than five decades, the mystery of a missing University of Utah student has been solved—thanks to a combination of forensic science and an eerie psychic prediction made over 30 years ago.

Douglas Brick, a 23-year-old senior at the University of Utah, vanished on October 12, 1973. A promising student involved in several academic organizations, Brick disappeared without a trace from his dormitory, sparking an intense search. Despite extensive efforts by police and rescue workers that fall, the case quickly went cold.

The University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, Utah

The breakthrough came in the fall of 2023 when a hunter discovered human skull fragments in the rugged foothills above the university. DNA testing later confirmed a 99.9% genetic match to one of Brick’s living relatives. In May 2024, authorities officially identified the remains as those of the long-missing student.

“We never stopped hoping for answers about Doug’s disappearance,” Brick’s family said in a statement. “We are relieved to finally have some answers. After 52 years, this result, while sad, is nothing short of a miracle.”

A breakthrough occurred last fall when a hunter discovered skull fragments in the foothills above the university and alerted authorities

Major Heather Sturzenegger and Detective John Dial, who took over the case in 2022, said they began their investigation with conflicting theories and little concrete evidence. Some believed Brick had chosen to abandon his life and hitchhike to a new beginning; others speculated he had fled the country. None of these theories led to any resolution.

It wasn’t just science that reopened the case. Investigators revealed that a psychic encounter in 1990—documented in the journal of Brick’s mother, Donna—had uncannily predicted what would eventually be discovered.

While shopping in a Salt Lake City department store, Donna met a store clerk who claimed to be a psychic. When Donna asked if she could sense what happened to her son, the woman responded, “He really wants you to find him.”

According to the journal, the psychic described details that were unknown at the time. She said Douglas had gone to the foothills above campus, contemplated taking his life, became frightened in the darkness, and ultimately fell. The psychic’s account matched strikingly with the location and steep terrain where the remains were found.

When Major Heather Sturzenegger took over the case in 2022 all they had was a pile of contradictory leads that went nowhere, the release said

“These details stuck out to me,” Det. Dial said. “Where the skull was located, the terrain I was traversing as part of the search—it is extremely steep and loose on both sides. I was having a hard time in the daylight keeping my footing.”

While the exact cause of death remains undetermined, the discovery brings long-awaited closure to a case that haunted investigators and family members for decades.

Dial, who personally delivered the news to Brick’s relatives in California, shared the emotional weight of the case. “There was a push and a connection that I felt was from Douglas,” he said. “I have felt very strongly that I will always have Douglas in the back of my mind.”

Sturzenegger added, “For me, I just wanted to try to bring closure to the family and solve the case so they can have some peace.”