Gabriel Vincent

• Missing Since 11/15/1979
• Missing From Las Vegas, Nevada
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Age 55 years old
• Height and Weight Unknown
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Black hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Vincent was last seen in Las Vegas, Nevada. He rented property from David Dale Morgan, a prominent and wealthy local landowner, at the time of his disappearance. A photograph of David is posted with  this case summary.

Vincent rented a storage facility from David in the 3200 block of west Teco Avenue, off of Sunset Road. David lived at the storage facility, Abacus Mini-Storage, with his family. Two of his employees, Fred and Avis Hackett, also lived there.

Vincent disappeared on November 15, 1979 and has never been heard from again. He was last seen driving a 1970 Dodge van. He never picked up his last paycheck.

Vincent was apparently having an affair with David's second wife, Marie Morgan, in 1979. He took photographs of her performing sex acts and attempted to blackmail David with them. David was enraged by Vincent's actions.

The Hacketts reported hearing shots fired while they were at home around the time Vincent disappeared. Fred also admitted David came to him and asked for help in disposing Vincent's body. The two men allegedly loaded Vincent's corpse into his own van and buried it in the desert off U.S. 95 at the Mount Charleston exit.

David later confessed Vincent's murder to Marie's sister, Kim Smith. He said he ambushed Vincent at the storage facility, shot him in the groin and tortured him before shooting him to death. He told Smith he buried the remains and covered the grave with quicklime to hasten decomposition. Authorities believe he may have moved the body sometime later.

Vincent is originally from California. He was arrested fourteen times prior to his disappearance and served time in prison for robbery and car theft. When he went missing in 1979, no one reported it to police because he was a drifter and they assumed he had left of his own accord.

Marie disappeared in 1980, seven months after Vincent did. She was reported missing by an employee of the Women's Crisis Center, a women's shelter Marie had sought assistance from when she wanted to escape David's abuse.

Marie has never been heard from again. Her photograph and vital statistics are unavailable. When police questioned David about her, he said Marie had left town with Vincent.

Donald Cowan, a former business associate of Morgan's disappeared in 1982. His photograph and vital statistics are unavailable. Authorities now believe David was involved in Cowan's disappearance, but little information is available in his case.

In 1985, David's sister, Deloris Morgan, came forward and said David had confessed to murdering both Vincent and Marie. She said David had forced her at gunpoint to help him move Marie's remains in the Nevada desert in 1980. They buried the body along Highway 95 past Indian Springs, Nevada, near mile marker 124.

Deloris says her brother forced her to move the body again several months later. He covered Marie's gravesite with cement. Deloris attempted to lead investigators to the location, but she was unable to identify the site. She died of natural causes in 1987.

David's girlfriend, Diana Leone, disappeared in 2000, leaving behind all her belongings. David had been arrested several times for abusing her, but Leone refused to cooperate with authorities and the charges were dropped in each incident. Leone has never been heard from again.

David has not been charged in connection with Cowan, Marie and Leone's cases, but he is considered to be the prime suspect in both disappearances. In 2007, David was arrested and charged with Vincent's murder.

The case was dropped in December 2012, however, as Fred Hackett, one of the key witnesses, had died of natural causes and without his testimony there was insufficient evidence to bring David to trial.

Vincent's remains have never been found, but foul play is suspected in his case due to the circumstances involved.