By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
It’s been more than a year since 22-year-old Dylan Weiser was killed in a hit-and-run accident south of Hays, and officials are hoping the public can provide a break in the case.
According to authorities Weiser, Thornton, Colo., was struck and killed by a vehicle in the late-night hours of Sunday, May 15, 2016, in the 700 block of 240th Avenue, 5 miles south of Hays.
Weiser was last seen walking southbound in that area, according to the sheriff’s office, between 8:45 and 9:45 p.m. Officials believe the fatal hit-and-run accident happened sometime after that. Weiser’s body was found at about 10:15 p.m.
“Law enforcement followed up every lead they had at the time,” Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees said. “It did not lead to information that identified the driver of the vehicle that struck Dylan Weiser.”
During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officials searched the area where Weiser’s body was found and they were unable to find any physical evidence linking a vehicle to the accident.
The sheriff’s office said it believes a vehicle traveling southbound struck and killed Weiser.
Drees said they suspect there was damage to the vehicle involved in the incident but, unlike other cases, including one in Ellis County, so far they have not been able to gather anything relating to the accident.
While this is still an open investigation, law enforcement officials are unable to dedicate their full attention to the investigation, so they are once again asking the public’s help in identifying any information that may lead to answers in the case.
“You hope that somebody will say something or you hope the driver will, at some point, tell somebody what they did,” Drees said. “And that person will notify law enforcement.”
Officials are urging anything one with information, even rumors they have heard around town, to come forward and talk with law enforcement.
“It’s imperative that the public be active with law enforcement,” Drees said. “The public’s eyes and ears; seeing anything that’s unusual, seeing anything that’s out of the norm, (and) reporting that to law enforcement.”
Drees said it’s also important to not assume that a rumor or information heard in the public has been reported to law enforcement.
“If you hear rumor, if you’ve heard rumor, if somebody’s mentioned an accident, even if it sounds outlandish, go ahead and report that information to the sheriff’s office. Let them follow up on it,” Drees said. “Because we’re going to need a break from the public if this is going to get solved.”
“This remains an open case, it remains an open investigation,” he added. “Obviously, you hope that the person that did this, finally their conscience gets to them enough that they come forward and let the family have some closure.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office at (785) 625-1040, or the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-KS-CRIME (1-800-572-7463).