Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Found 15 years later, alive
Daniel Chafe's mugshot after an assault involving his girlfriend's daughter years prior.
The fishing boat that Chafe allegedly fell off of.
COLTON - On the evening of September 13, 1998, Wawawai Landing was disrupted by a distress call that would unravel a web of intrigue and deception.
Whitman County Sheriff's Deputy Douglas W. Hurlburt responded to a report of a potential drowning at approximately 9:10 p.m.
Reports say that he observed a man, Joseph S. Tanner, 26, of Lewiston, in an upset state. Tanner reportedly relayed a troubling narrative to the deputy as he described a boating excursion with his friend, Gwydyn Stryder Styarfyr, 39, during which Styarfyr inexplicably vanished off the rear of the boat.
"He said he was approximately a half mile up river, traveling down river in the boat with his friend Gwydyn S. Styarfyr. Joseph said he was running at about full throttle. He said Gwydyn went to the back of the boat to get something from the cooler. Joseph said he heard his dog yelp and turned around to see what happened. He said Gwydyn was gone. Joseph said he yelled for Gwydyn but got no response," said Deputy Hurlburt in an official report.
Tanner allegedly also told Deputy Hurlburt that after circling the area where Styarfyr reportedly fell, he took the boat back to the dock and loaded it on the trailer before driving to find a phone to contact authorities.
"I asked Joseph why he pulled the boat out of the water instead of just tying it up and going for help. Joseph told me that the boat had a leak and he was afraid to leave it because he did not have a pump to pump the water out," said Deputy Hurlburt.
Joseph was given a Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) and blew a .000.
"I asked Joseph how much Gwydyn had to drink. He said about five or six beers. I only saw one beer can in the boat," added Deputy Hurlburt.
A search on the water involving jetskis was also unsuccessful in locating Styarfyr.
Detectives interviewed Tanner, and the story started to make less sense. Tanner's account, marked by inconsistencies and peculiar actions like pulling the boat from the water before seeking aid, immediately raised suspicion.
According to Tanner, during an official interview at around 5 p.m., Tanner and Styarfyr put the boat in the water. The pair traveled down towards the dam. They reportedly went downriver fishing along the far side.
"We were running around the middle channel full throttle. He got up to get something out of the cooler. I heard my dog yelp, so I turned around to see what was going on and did not see him," said Tanner. "I shut down the boat, turned off the motor, and yelled for him. I did not get a response. I circled a couple of times. I continued towards the dock, loaded the boat, drove to a rest area, found no phone, went to an RV park, and called 911 at 9:15 p.m."
Witness statements from Charles Upright, 50, of Colton, cast further doubt on Tanner's version of events. Upright's observations of Tanner's demeanor and actions post-incident fueled skepticism about the authenticity of the reported drowning. In addition, the search effort from Wawawai Landing to Granite Point yielded no concrete evidence of Styarfyr's fate.
While looking further into Styarfyr's life, detectives discovered a web of lies spun to avoid police in his home state of Oregon. Gwydyn Stryder Styarfyr was an alias he went by; his real name was Daniel Clement Chafe, and he was facing 18 felony charges in Oregon for Rape and Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree out of Roseburg, Oregon. Detectives also learned that "Styarfyr" had withdrawn about $10,000 two weeks before his disappearance.
Ten days after his disappearance, Chafe was expected to appear in a Douglas County courtroom to face rape, sexual abuse and sodomy charges against 14 to 16 year-old-girls in Roseburg, Oregon. Despite a nationwide manhunt and being featured on America's Most Wanted, Chafe escaped capture.
According to the FBI, Chafe, 39, was recruiting girls between the ages of 14 and 16 to form what he dubbed the "Cobalt Clan." An Irish clan he claimed to be the last surviving member of.
"His reported goal was to have sex with these young girls in order to produce a large number of children over which he could rule," according to the FBI's most-wanted poster.
Fifteen years after state and federal law enforcement officials said he attempted to fake his own death, Chafe was arrested outside Bozeman, Montana.
On Wednesday, January 15, 2014, Chafe was apprehended and taken into custody by the FBI, Gallatin County Sheriff's Office, and Montana Highway Patrol on a federal Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution warrant. He was located after a detective discovered he was using one of his aliases, "Zac Taylor."
Authorities identified several of his victims and were successful in charging him with six counts of third-degree rape, five counts of third-degree sex abuse and seven counts of third-degree sodomy.
He pleaded not guilty in court and later died while incarcerated in October 2016.
To share historic and infamous crime stories, contact Olivia Harnack, reporter, at editor@wcgazette.com.
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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