EP 8: An Empty Saddle: The Ben Tyner Story

[00:00:00] - [Nina]
Picture a hunter on a logging road in cowboy country. He's just out doing his thing, and then he comes across a fully saddled horse. It's riderless. It's an eerie sight. He knows right away in his gut that something is not right here.

[00:00:19] - [Nina]
This is episode eight, an empty saddle, the Ben Tyner story. Welcome to mishaps and mysteries. I'm your host, Nina.

[00:00:29] - [Cassie]
And I'm your host, Cassie. Our podcast explores stories of misadventures in the wild landscapes of British Columbia, Canada. Thanks for being here with us today. This week, we're in the Nicola Valley. The area is named after the Nicola Athapaskans people or Stuwicks who inhabited the area.

[00:00:52] - [Cassie]
Though the name itself is a misnomer or an incorrect name, as really they were named after the Okanagan chief who ruled the area at one time. Those of the original people in the area assimilated with other groups long ago and continue to live in the area. Check out our show notes for a link for more information. Nestled in the Thompson Plateau, the Nicola Valley is largely an open rangeland that sits in a rain shadow. This is ranch country.

[00:01:23] - [Cassie]
It's arid grasslands and sagebrush landscapes in lower elevations and coniferous forest as elevations climb. Summers are hot and winters are colder than some surrounding areas. I remember driving through these areas as a kid, and always being fascinated by how different the landscape and lifestyle was to the Lower Mainland. I love staring out at these vast fields. The largest community in the area is Merritt, with a population of about 7,000.

[00:01:54] - [Cassie]
Otherwise, the area is dotted with small communities. The valley is ideal for raising cattle because of the grasslands for feeding and lots of water sources. There are ranches that date back to the eighteen hundreds when there was a boom for ranches to feed the Goldrush era. Here among the famous ranches lies the Nikola Ranch. Nikola Ranch is one of the most historic in the area.

[00:02:20] - [Cassie]
Established in 1919, it's a long standing ranch of the valley. It's known for award winning cattle like their black Angus, and it is also a tourist attraction with heritage buildings still standing today. It's massive at about a 121,000 hectares or 300,000 acres.

[00:02:42] - [Nina]
It was here at Nicolo Ranch that 32 year old Ben Tyner started his position as a ranch manager in November 2018. Ben was considered to be a real cowboy by those who knew him, described as, quote, just a pure soul by his brother. He was adored by his family. He was the give you the shirt off his back kinda guy by all accounts. He was very polite.

[00:03:09] - [Nina]
He stood six foot three and weighed two hundred and thirty pounds. He had brown hair and facial hair. He was born in Florida, but his family moved when he was young to Laramie, Wyoming, and that is still where they live today. They are ranchers. He loved to read.

[00:03:25] - [Nina]
In his spare time, he liked to make custom horse riding materials like chaps. Ranching was his passion, and he was very good with horses. He studied livestock production and was cowboy as a career, having worked in many states in America and having been as far abroad as Australia and Russia to work ranches. So he was very excited by the new opportunity in Canada, managing the Nikola ranch. So he brought his dog Sue and his horse Gunny and arrived at his new job here in British Columbia.

[00:03:58] - [Cassie]
Fast forward a couple months later to Saturday, 01/26/2019. Ben is seen leaving the ranch compound on horseback. It's believed he might have been looking for some cattle, though he hadn't actually told anyone where he was going. Supposedly, though, it was also his days off, which would explain why no one was looking for him any sooner. See, two days later, on Monday, January 28 at about 12:30PM, a hunter named Kim Robinson came across Ben's horse with a full saddle setup about seven kilometers up a logging road in the backcountry near Highway 97 C, quite a ways away from the Nikola Ranch.

[00:04:44] - [Cassie]
Kim knew something was wrong by the side of the horse saddled with the rein hanging, partially broken. He said that the horse was spooked and it took a while to catch him. Kim looked around for the horse's person, but couldn't find anyone or any clues as to where the rider might be. Things really weren't sitting right with him. He was able to get help from other ranchers to eventually identify the horse as Gunny, belonging to the new ranch manager at Nicola Ranch, Ben Tyner.

[00:05:19] - [Nina]
After Gunning was found without him, Ben was reported missing, and the search began. Over a dozen search teams and the RCMP searched. This included helicopters, police dogs. Interestingly, they asked the public to not join in with the searching so as to not have any tracks messed with further because they couldn't tell Ghani's direction very well due to wildlife and wild horse herds in the area also leaving tracks. It made following his tracks very challenging.

[00:05:48] - [Nina]
The search was stood down after a week because extreme weather rendered searching unsafe for those involved. Weather temperatures could get as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. Was Ben prepared for the ongoing cold? It was thought that he may have been riding in an area called Squawcum Ridge. Squawcum Mountain area between the ranch near Highway 5 A and Highway 97 C, which was the closest highway to where his horse was found.

[00:06:15] - [Nina]
Kim said he had been in the area hunting for about a month and hadn't seen any tracks in this time where he was between the logging road and where he found Gunny And Nicola Ranch.

[00:06:27] - [Cassie]
His parents, Richard and Jennifer, and his brother Jack came to BC in search of Ben. In looking for answers to what happened to Ben, it was noted that he didn't take his wallet or cell phone with him. And most importantly, he didn't bring his dog Sue. Sue was a gorgeous collie and his loyal companion. She went everywhere with him.

[00:06:51] - [Cassie]
So the fact that he hadn't taken her with him when he rode away from the ranch that day, really concerned his family. The Tyner family stayed for nearly three weeks searching for Ben every day. But they had to return home to Laramie, Wyoming in the middle of February to attend to their own ranch. This must have absolutely destroyed them, leaving without any answers.

[00:07:17] - [Cassie]
On February 6, shortly after the search and rescue efforts were stood down, the RCMP major crimes unit out of Kelowna joined the investigation. To the community, this indicated there was potentially something nefarious here. While the public felt it was all very suspicious, the RCMP dismissed that saying they had no reason to believe it was. But the major crimes unit now being involved make this very capable ranch manager's disappearance even more mysterious and eerie in local residents' eyes. Investigators asked for dashcam footage from the public and surveillance videos where they were able.

[00:07:58] - [Nina]
Then in March that year, the messaging on the disappearance changed. RCMP officially labeled Ben's case as a suspicious disappearance, stating they felt now with review of the information they did have that there was foul play involved. Constable Jesse O'Donahuey said that the RCMP had reason to believe he was the victim of homicide. There's something creepy about the image of Gunny out there on that logging road. It was actually said by investigators early on that they thought that Gunny might have been driven by horse trailer to the Swachomridge area, unsettling.

[00:08:38] - [Cassie]
However, none of the trailers were missing from Nicola Ranch, and no one else ever came forward to say that they had given Ben and Gunny a ride into the area between the ranch and Highway 97 C. But it is still believed that that's how Gunny got where he was found. Definitely an unsettling piece of this case. Was Ben even with Gunny from the start then, Or was Gunny out in the hills alone as a red herring? Some believed Gunny was purposely dropped somewhere that he would be found.

[00:09:13] - [Cassie]
The search was picked back up in April 2019 with the spring weather arriving, which meant snow melt and the hope that some piece of evidence would be then found. It seems this time the RCMP focused on searching the ranch for any clues. Still nothing came to light, at least nothing that was ever shared with the public.

[00:09:34] - [Nina]
In January 2020, on the one year anniversary of Ben's disappearance, the RCMP made a statement that quote, several investigational avenues have been explored. However, in order to protect the ongoing investigation, police are unable to share those findings publicly at this time, end quote. Still at this time, the Turner family was being updated weekly on Ben's case. We can assume that this is less frequent now. They even said that the Wyoming senator had been very helpful in getting the FBI and Wyoming State Department involved in assisting the RCMP with the investigation into Ben's disappearance.

[00:10:15] - [Nina]
Sharing the fact that they think Ben was the victim of homicide says a lot. You know, in a lot of disappearances, it's tough for the RCMP to say for sure what happened. Just like in the case of Brenda Byman from last episode, it always remained classified simply as a disappearance. We are all left to wonder how they got to that conclusion. There is obviously some pretty solid reasoning that we, as a public, aren't privy to.

[00:10:42] - [Nina]
As of 2021, there was a $30,000 reward for any information leading to a conviction. So the language there also indicates a very strong belief that this was criminal.

[00:10:54] - [Cassie]
So let's discuss the questions around Ben's disappearance. Was he just out doing his own thing on his days off and had an accident? Even if this was the case though, he should have been found. He should have been near Gunny. And Ben was resilient and hearty.

[00:11:12] - [Cassie]
He would have known what he was doing and how to survive out there. It had only been a couple of days. Did he leave without his things on purpose? His family insisted he wouldn't have gone anywhere without Sue. No one believed that he was suicidal.

[00:11:28] - [Cassie]
He was excited about the new opportunity at the Nikola Ranch and seemed to be happy. Did he actually even leave the ranch? Was Gunny dropped off, and somewhere that he would be found too? Did he stumble across something that he wasn't supposed to? Accidentally anger the wrong person or group of people?

[00:11:47] - [Cassie]
Descriptions of him were consistent that he was the type that stayed out of trouble. He was just a respectable, quiet rancher. So it seems like if homicide was his fate, we're left to wonder what possible motive somebody would have had to kill him. What do you guys think? Do you have any theories?

[00:12:07] - [Cassie]
Share in the comments.

[00:12:09] - [Nina]
There have been articles in recent years discussing the trend of men in the Southern Interior Region going missing under suspicious circumstances. Some later found dead but without any answers. Many of these cases we plan to cover in the future, including Marshall Iwasa and Ryan Proventure. It certainly makes the public question what is going on in the area and what kind of shady criminal activity there may possibly be, or is it all just coincidence? Anyone with even what might seem like a small piece of information is urged to call the Southeast District Major Crime Unit tip line at +1 (877) 987-8477 or Crime Stoppers at 180222 TIPS.

[00:12:58] - [Nina]
That's 1802228477. In a Facebook page named missing Ben Tyner, mishaps and mysteries is a member. We encourage you to join too. You can learn more about Ben and stay up to date.

[00:13:15] - [Cassie]
Ben Tyner was a man who was in a really great time in his career. He sounds like he was a wonderful person and someone with integrity. And even if in an alternate reality, he wasn't those things, he had barely been in the area for any amount of time to get in with the wrong crowd, so to speak. It's the fact too that Ben was so experienced that makes his disappearance really chilling. He had all those kinds of life skills for being out, being in dangerous situations, and being able to improvise.

[00:13:47] - [Cassie]
And basically, I mean, he was a cowboy. He was resilient. It's been nearly eight years since he disappeared. Our hearts go out to the Tyner family and all who knew and loved Ben. It has been so challenging for them to have no answers and to be missing him.

[00:14:07] - [Cassie]
I do want to let our listeners know that Sue and Gunny went home to live in Wyoming with Ben's family. Given where the RCMP has gone with calling this a suspicious disappearance and saying they think that he was the victim of homicide, we hope that answers and a conviction come in the future. Ben leaves behind a legacy of what it means to be a true cowboy.

[00:14:31] - [Nina]
We still wanna just give a quick safety lesson for this story specifically for horseback riding. Which should you do if you fall off your horse? Ben absolutely would have known what to do. First, let go of the reins. Otherwise, you may get dragged or hurt in some other way.

[00:14:49] - [Nina]
Next, free your feet. Then do a tuck and roll maneuver, tucking your chin in and covering your head with your arms. Roll away from the horse, then check your injuries. Find your horse and always get a new helmet after as this helmet has done its job and could now be compromised. Thank you for joining us for this episode.

[00:15:11] - [Nina]
New episodes are out every Tuesday. Join us next week for a story of adventure and mishaps on the high seas. You can reach out to us at info@mishapsandmysteries.ca. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe and leave us a rating and a review. It really helps new people find us.

[00:15:30] - [Nina]
Also, share with your friends. Be safe and never stop exploring.