“Someone doesn’t vaporize,” Robert Bokslag said. “Someone doesn’t—poof— gone.”
His 29-year-old son, Cornelis Bokslag, who goes by Casey, has been missing for over a month.
He was last seen on security footage on June 6, 2022, at a Wells Fargo ATM in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“Casey was born in the city of Tilburg in the Netherlands,” Robert told Dateline. In 2001 the family moved to the United States. By 2007, he, his wife and their three children had settled in Sandy, Utah, and have been living there ever since.
“It’s a beautiful country,” Robert said, referring to the Netherlands. According to Robert, Utah is as well. “We live in ski areas,” Robert said. “That is pretty much what Casey likes.” Casey, the eldest of Robert’s children, loves the outdoors and goes skiing often. “He’s very, very active,” Robert said.
“After high school, he was looking for adventure,” Robert told Dateline. “He joined the Marine Corps.” He added that Casey was in the Marines for four years before he left with an honorable discharge.
After he left the Marines, Casey secured a job working at the Watershed for Salt Lake City Public Utilities. “They provided drinking water,” Robert told Dateline. “That’s what he did as a profession.”
Robert said he last saw his son on Saturday, June 4, 2022, and everything seemed normal. “He came over for dinner at our place,” Robert recalled. “He talks about the warm weather… He had to a training on Monday and Tuesday, virtual training on his computer for work.”
Robert told Dateline that the next day, Sunday, June 5, his youngest son was playing a game online with Casey. “They were talking to each other for a bit,” Robert said. He added that when Casey hung up he said, ‘I gotta go, my rice is done.’
That same day, according to a warrant conducted by police, Casey purchased a SIG 9-millimeter pistol. Robert told Dateline he doesn’t think this is unusual because his son had previously expressed an interest in owning a gun. Robert says Casey wanted to have his own gun for “when he went with my other son to the shooting range.”
Robert told Dateline that at about 11:40 a.m. on Monday, June 6, a security camera captured Casey leaving his apartment in South Salt Lake. “He was by himself, had his black backpack and a little bread bag with him,” Robert said. “It looked like he was going to work to do his training, which started at noon.” Robert added that since Casey’s training was virtual, he technically didn’t have to go into the office.
Casey never made it to work.
At about 11:50 a.m., cameras captured Casey withdrawing $100 from a Wells Fargo ATM in Salt Lake City, just a few minutes away from his job. That was the last time Casey was seen. According to Robert, that’s also right around the last time that cell phone records show Casey’s phone as active.
Robert said he was immediately alarmed when he received a call from Casey’s boss at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8. “He’s a very reliable person,” Robert told Dateline. “That’s why his boss immediately called me.” Robert also told Dateline that his son is the “kind of person that would call if he’s five minutes late to dinner.”
Robert told Dateline he instantly headed over to Casey’s apartment and noticed Casey’s car, a silver Suzuki SX4, was not in the parking lot. Since he didn’t have a key to his son’s apartment, Robert says he had to ask for assistance from the management company. “The rental office said, ‘You can call the police and we can give them a key,’” Robert said.
At 10 a.m., Robert called the South Lake Police Department and reported his son and the car missing. Officers met him at the apartment complex to conduct a wellness check. Robert told Dateline that the police “entered the apartment and said, ‘He’s not here.’”
Later that day, at about 4:00 p.m., Robert said someone spotted Casey’s car. It was found abandoned at a parking lot in Summit County, Utah, which is about an hour away from Casey’s apartment. Robert told Dateline in a text it was extremely unusual for Casey to have been in that area.
“As far as we know he’s never been there,” Robert said. None of Casey’s belongings were inside his vehicle. Robert added that Casey’s license plate with number E68FE was missing. “It almost looked like the car was wiped clean.”
At this point, not much else is known. “We have no clues whatsoever,” Robert said. “There’s nothing.”
The South Lake Police Department is investigating Casey’s disappearance. Dateline spoke with Executive Officer Danielle Croyle who said that Casey “left his residence in South Salt Lake and then he went to his bank and took out $100.” On July 5, the South Lake Police posted on their Facebook page that “Casey’s car was located abandoned off of I-80 by the Castle Rock exit near the Wyoming border,” and “an extensive search of the area was conducted by Summit County Sheriff’s office with Search & Rescue, Mounted Horse Patrol, Drone Team and Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau.” They also noted that “nothing of significance was located” during that search. Officer Croyle told Dateline that investigators “swabbed the interior of the car” for “possible DNA,” but found nothing. Croyle also confirmed that a search warrant conducted at the gun store revealed that the SIG 9-millimeter pistol was purchased by Casey on June 5.
According to Officer Croyle, authorities are “not sure if it’s foul play” at this time. “We don’t have anything to determine that behavior,” Croyle said.
Robert told Dateline that he appreciates all of the help his family has received in the search for his son. “It was searched by helicopter. It was searched by drone,” Robert said, referring to the area where his son’s car had been found. “A bunch of people from the Marine Corps go up there every weekend.”
But they still haven’t found any trace of Casey.
“It’s very unlike his character to disappear and not say anything,” Robert told Dateline. “We absolutely don’t know what happened or where he is.” Robert said he did not think Casey was dating anyone. He also noted that Casey did not have any prior mental health issues.
Robert set up a website dedicated to finding Casey and spreading awareness about his disappearance. On July 5, The South Salt Lake Police Department announced an anonymous donor offered a $50,000 reward to anyone who provides useful information about Casey’s disappearance.
“I hope that we find him,” Robert told Dateline. “We ask anyone to keep an eye out.”
Casey is 6’2” tall, weighs 140 lbs., has blond hair and gray eyes, with a goatee. He typically wears long green Wrangler cargo pants, a T-shirt, military boots or sneakers, and a cap.
According to the website run by Casey’s family, they are also still looking for his belongings. The site states that he always carries his Google Pixel 3 phone with a black rugged case and his Gerber brand multitool with him. They are also looking for his key chain that would have a Suzuki key, 2 house keys, as well as numerous keys pertaining to his job. He also has a “memorial hanger with 2 pictures, a dark green paracord dongle and an Alta bottle opener” attached to the key chain. His Black Mountain Smith backpack, which he was last seen wearing in the security footage, is also missing.
Anyone with information about Casey’s whereabouts is asked to contact the South Salt Lake Police Department at (801) 940-6179 or contact Valley Emergency Communication’s Center at (801) 840-4000 and reference case number LK2022-18693.