MI MI - Perry Corlew, 18, Grayling, 15 March 1974

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Another thing about the prints: if somebody stopped to pick him up, or pulled over to the side of the road, I would expect tire prints in the snow too. Something is just so odd about fresh snow with no prints.

I agree with you Satch that probably lots of their friends knew about the cartoon voices. The only thing that makes me lean toward it being Perry is that it happened years later, which is a long time to wait to pull a cruel prank, like maybe he got to thinking about his family and just wanted them to know he was alive??? On the other hand, if somebody just pulled a prank, maybe it was the person who did something to Perry. I don't know; this whole story confuses me. Either LE is keeping some details private or there is a lot of things missing.
 
dogperson said:
Another thing about the prints: if somebody stopped to pick him up, or pulled over to the side of the road, I would expect tire prints in the snow too. Something is just so odd about fresh snow with no prints.

I agree with you Satch that probably lots of their friends knew about the cartoon voices. The only thing that makes me lean toward it being Perry is that it happened years later, which is a long time to wait to pull a cruel prank, like maybe he got to thinking about his family and just wanted them to know he was alive??? On the other hand, if somebody just pulled a prank, maybe it was the person who did something to Perry. I don't know; this whole story confuses me. Either LE is keeping some details private or there is a lot of things missing.
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Does anyone have any theories of how Perry could have gotten out of the car but have left no prints? I only have two off the top of my head:

1.) It was a light snow, maybe more icy and sleety, and Perry was able to walk in an area that didn't have enough snow to make prints?

2.) Perry waked along side of an era or strip that had no snow?

3.) It was storming very hard, and Perry did leave prints in the snow, but by the time LE arrived, fresh snow was on the ground and it covered Perry's prints.

If DNA had existed back than, could they have been able to take samples of Perry's shoes or boots and try to match them with the snow prints, if there had been snow-prints that LE overlooked?

I wonder if dogs could have been used to pick up Perry's sent from the boots or shows that he was wearing? If the Corlew's had a dog that has close to Perry could the dog have followed his scent and know where he went?

As I recall it was only about ninety minutes later from the time that Perry took off in his car to where the car was found, with the door open and running. That doesn't seem like a lot of time for Perry to get someplace to never be found again. Why take off voluntarily and leave the car running if Perry did this? As such evidence could be traced back to him. (If he wanted to start a new life and not be found anymore.)

If Perry was abducted, could anybody envision a scenario were he and his abductor would both get out of the car and not leave footprints? Even if Perry ran off into the woods or some isolated area to tragically commit suicide ,or even start a new life that way, there would be prints to follow. Someone would have seen him.

Satch
 
Satch said:
Does anyone have any theories of how Perry could have gotten out of the car but have left no prints? I only have two off the top of my head:

1.) It was a light snow, maybe more icy and sleety, and Perry was able to walk in an area that didn't have enough snow to make prints?

2.) Perry waked along side of an era or strip that had no snow?

3.) It was storming very hard, and Perry did leave prints in the snow, but by the time LE arrived, fresh snow was on the ground and it covered Perry's prints.

If DNA had existed back than, could they have been able to take samples of Perry's shoes or boots and try to match them with the snow prints, if there had been snow-prints that LE overlooked?

I wonder if dogs could have been used to pick up Perry's sent from the boots or shows that he was wearing? If the Corlew's had a dog that has close to Perry could the dog have followed his scent and know where he went?

As I recall it was only about ninety minutes later from the time that Perry took off in his car to where the car was found, with the door open and running. That doesn't seem like a lot of time for Perry to get someplace to never be found again. Why take off voluntarily and leave the car running if Perry did this? As such evidence could be traced back to him. (If he wanted to start a new life and not be found anymore.)

If Perry was abducted, could anybody envision a scenario were he and his abductor would both get out of the car and not leave footprints? Even if Perry ran off into the woods or some isolated area to tragically commit suicide ,or even start a new life that way, there would be prints to follow. Someone would have seen him.

Satch
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Mistyped, I meant to say, "Three things off the top of my head," which are listed above, not two. Additionally "era" should read, "area."

Satch
 
There was a similar accident near me a couple of years ago. A guy I know slightly was driving a bit fast on a slick winter road skidded into the side of a bridge. He was wandering, dazed, and the cops got there just in time to keep him from plunging into the water. He was trying to climb the snowbank beside the rail and if he had made it to the top, he would have been in the Charles River. He had a head injury from the accident and spent several days in the hospital--and has no memory of the accident.
 
Satch said:
The new information was excellent! It will help spread the word on this cold case. My interest still remains with Perry's break-in incidents. Is there any record of those and the details of that? Was Perry drinking at the time of the accident? What kind of student was he at school?

It seems that the break-in's would be connected to reason that he had some trouble with the law and misdemeanor offenses on his record, so in that regard, probably wasn't a "good kid." Not enough issues to be a really "bad kid." However, the fact that he had a couple of break-ins and a poor driving record I think would raise some red flags for him and his family.

Perry might have been warned about these issues if his parents were strict. Little things I am thinking about such as, did he have auto insurance? Was his license and registration with him and current?

I still have those theories in my above post as to what happened to Perry. I think more information about his break-in cases, and relationships with his family would give us additional insight into his case. We also don't know how many other accidents Perry may have gotten into leading up this accident.

Maybe he was read the "Riot Act" from his parents about the break-ins and his previous issues with the law and they told him, "next time, there will be serious consequences, watch it!"

Perry gets into this fender bender, is terrified of these new consequences that his parents set forth, and just takes off for good. Not so much afraid to come home because of this one accident incident, but the cumulative effect of other problems and issues in his past. It was a compilation of negative things in his life, which forced Perry to flee.

Satch
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I just re-read my above post and still believe this today.

Satch
 
JL Cauling said:
I just covered Perry's story in my podcast Already Gone. You can also listen on iTunes. Episode 14.

Couple of points worth mentioning from the comments above.

The Rialto Theatre in Grayling doesn't have a "parking lot". Perry's accident took place on Michigan Avenue on the street in front of the theatre. The street looks the same today as it did in '74, with angled on street parking.

He disappeared in March. The daytime high was in the 40's, if he fled the accident on Michigan avenue and drove directly to where his car was found, (about 15 minutes) it's possible that any prints were covered up in the time between leaving the car (say 8:45/9) and when the car was accessed by the Sheriff (10p) the pavement may have been warm enough at 8:45/9 to keep snow from sticking.
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Greetings,

I don't have ITunes installed, but would like to know your view on a major point,

Do you believe that the phone call his brother Mike got in 1992 really was Perry, or not?

Satch
 
JL Cauling said:
You can stream live from my webpage if you'd like to hear my take.

No, I think the phone call was a sad coincidence. UNLESS the call came on Mike's birthday, or Perry's birthday, but that wasn't noted in any of the stories I read about the case.
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Thanks!

Everybody, here is the website scroll down to Episode 14. Perry is featured here:

http://www.alreadygonepodcast.com/

Satch
 
Satch said:
Why I think Perry could still be alive, or at least was alive in 1992, Eighteen years after his disappearance:

"Also in 1992, his brother Michael received a telephone call from someone mimicking cartoon character voices, which Michael and Perry used to do. The caller asked Michael what he thought of the voices, but hung up without identifying himself."

Taken From:

http://archives.record-eagle.com/1999/mar/21teeno.htm

Could Perry have been abducted? The ability to do cartoon characters voices is a very unique ability. To me at least, this is not something that an average person would call up and do that, unless they knew Perry had that ability. And than to hang up like that? Was the call a cruel joke from a former friend of Perry's? If so, what a terrible thing to do to this poor family!

I have five theories of what happened to Perry:

1.) He panicked after the accident and drove away, perhaps terrified of going to jail and upsetting his parents. He choose to leave on his own. If suffering from depression or other personal or emotional issues, could he have committed suicide?

2.) He injured his head badly in the accident, drove away, disoriented, got lost, and died of exposure.

3.) The driver of the other car chased Perry down and harmed him or killed him.

4.) In a panicked state, Perry drove away, choose on his own accord to "dump" the car, in this scenario is not injured or mildly injured. Hitches a ride with the wrong person, and is abducted or killed

5.) Perry flees the accident scene, leaves the car running, goes into hiding unharmed from the accident. Somehow, he gets a ride with a good person, goes to a friends' house. Tells this friend what he did, swears the friend to secrecy, and the friend agrees. Perry than chooses to begin a new life by traveling to one or more of the places LE talked about in the case. (This would be a likely situation, IF the 1992 phone call was Perry.)

Pondering Thoughts?

A.) Why were their no witnesses who observed what happened to Perry or the car he had purchased? The interaction, if any with the driver, of the other car Perry damaged?

B.) What type of environment did Perry drive through in fleeing the accident? If the Google Map location is the same above as in 1974, we are talking about a fairly busy urban or suburban area, not some road or roads in the middle of nowhere.

C.) I think that phone call is very haunting and it likely that someone knows what happend to him.

D.) If Perry is still alive I think he was terrified to come home at the time. However, to stay away for all these years for a seemingly minor fender-bender, doesn't make sense.

E.) What details exist in Perry's breaking and entering case? This could be critical as to Perry's disappearance! Assuming there is no connection between that and his minor fender-bender. If Perry is still alive, the breaking and entering aspects of his other case, could be the real reason why he left, more so than a broken head light.

Satch
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BBM
There's nothing busy or urban about Grayling. The scene of the accident is basically in the downtown area of a small town. In 1974 in the winter, you probably could have fired a cannon down the main drag without hitting anybody. Today there are quite a few gas stations, etc., that cater to travelers on their way to summer cottages further north, but even now they don't get many customers in March. Those types of businesses clog the mile or so of M-72 that leads to I-75. If he drove 15 miles south on I-75, he would have been in the middle of nowhere.
He could have hitched a ride with a long-haul trucker--maybe he was sitting in his car with the heater running and jumped out to flag someone down. Even on the freeway there wouldn't have been much traffic. On the other hand, he could have wandered into the woods to kill himself.
 
Does anyone know why Perry’s case was taken off Charley Project? Doesn’t that usually mean the case is resolved?
 
Flonite said:
Does anyone know why Perry’s case was taken off Charley Project? Doesn’t that usually mean the case is resolved?
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He's still there:
http://charleyproject.org/case/perry-otto-corlew
None of the old Charley Project links work. You have to search the site. He's listed as "Perry Otto Corlew." When I searched for "Perry Corlew," I didn't get any hits, but I found him by searching for "Corlew."
 
The theory of someone helping Perry and swearing to secrecy is the most logical. Someone could have followed Perry that night to a spot where there was no snow on the road and no cars in sight. The car running and door open, parked on side of the road would indicate he hopped out of his car and into someone else's within seconds. The weather was reported as high 41 with rain that day and if it was snowing at the time, it takes a while to stick to the pavement, thus no footprints. March 15, 1974 was a Friday, the start of a weekend. Who were Perry's closest friends? Who could have picked him up and dropped him off somewhere without anybody knowing or missing an accomplice or accomplices? Theoretically you could drive to Florida and back in a weekend. Perry was buying a car, how much cash could he have had? Someone could have taken him to Detroit and be back to Grayling by the morning of the 16th. He could have bought a bus ticket from Detroit to anywhere and been several states away within 24 hours. How easy would it have been to get a Social Security card and number in 1974, and assume a new identity? An hour and a half elapsed from the time of the fender bender and the time the car was found. Plenty of time to plot a disappearance. Someone most likely helped him and knows what happened that night. Again, who were Perry's closest friends?
 
imasleuth2 said:
The theory of someone helping Perry and swearing to secrecy is the most logical. Someone could have followed Perry that night to a spot where there was no snow on the road and no cars in sight. The car running and door open, parked on side of the road would indicate he hopped out of his car and into someone else's within seconds. The weather was reported as high 41 with rain that day and if it was snowing at the time, it takes a while to stick to the pavement, thus no footprints. March 15, 1974 was a Friday, the start of a weekend. Who were Perry's closest friends? Who could have picked him up and dropped him off somewhere without anybody knowing or missing an accomplice or accomplices? Theoretically you could drive to Florida and back in a weekend. Perry was buying a car, how much cash could he have had? Someone could have taken him to Detroit and be back to Grayling by the morning of the 16th. He could have bought a bus ticket from Detroit to anywhere and been several states away within 24 hours. How easy would it have been to get a Social Security card and number in 1974, and assume a new identity? An hour and a half elapsed from the time of the fender bender and the time the car was found. Plenty of time to plot a disappearance. Someone most likely helped him and knows what happened that night. Again, who were Perry's closest friends?
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Do you really believe that an hour and a half is enough time to plot a successful, permanent disappearance? I don't. I also don't believe that he would have remained incommunicado for so long were he still alive. There are multiple scenarios that work for me, but a voluntary disappearance is way down the list.
 
Ozoner said:
Do you really believe that an hour and a half is enough time to plot a successful, permanent disappearance? I don't. I also don't believe that he would have remained incommunicado for so long were he still alive. There are multiple scenarios that work for me, but a voluntary disappearance is way down the list.
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Do I think 90 minutes was enough time? Yes. A previous post indicated he was considering going to Florida or California, so leaving was already being thought of and on his mind. If a close friend took him to a bus station in Detroit or other larger city in Southern Michigan, then there was even more time to plan. He was on probation and maybe thought he might to go prison. A person can do many things in desperation.
 
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