Personal problems cited in the reports of his suicide attempt and disappearance include depression, loneliness, parental pressure, drug addiction, and (according to the private detective who would later search for him) difficulty in coming to terms with his homosexuality.
[4] Egbert left his dormitory room at Case Hall on August 15, 1979, after writing a suicide note,[5] and entered the university's steam tunnels.
[6] Gen Con XII, a convention dedicated to table-top role playing, began that day in Wisconsin, and some attendees reported that they had seen him there.
On August 24, Michael Stuart, a journalist for the university's newspaper, The State News, published details of the case, including the assertion by an anonymous friend of Egbert's that the missing student was "known to leave campus before for destinations unknown".
He then moved on to Morgan City, Louisiana, where he found employment as "a laborer at an oil field", according to a 2014 online article by Jason Louv.
"[13] On August 11, 1980, almost a year after his story garnered national attention, Egbert, age 17, was admitted to Grandview Hospital in Dayton with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"[13] In a book authored by Dear years later, he recalls visiting Egbert's bedside during the five days of hospitalization, and feeling horrified that a juvenile with so much intelligence was brain dead and connected to life support.
[4] Regarding the period in the previous year when Egbert's whereabouts were unknown, The New York Times added, "The circumstances of the disappearance have never been explained, and Mr. Dear and the parents have refused to give details.
In 1984, he authored the book The Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III, published in hardback by Houghton Mifflin and in paperback by Random House in 1985.
The idea of Dungeons & Dragons players acting out real-life sessions in dangerous locations like the steam tunnels and losing touch with reality became ingrained into the cultural consciousness, inspiring books and movies such as Mazes and Monsters.