I am going to answer to both of your posts in one, been pretty busy lately and I'm sorry to get back at you so late. I like the potential scenarios because they make sense regarding area/social backgrounds/etc
I am pretty sure his pouch never was found because his shirts and jacket were XL sized and would hide his waist and be long enough so it's not something you'd suspect.
The wallet could indeed be attached to the golden chain (it was golden metal but not actual gold), he could also have had an old school watch.. you mentionned a fanny pack and it could be a lead for where his passport must have been, as well as maybe some other valuables. Maybe he had some kind of small bag with wallet/camera/passport and this got robbed from him.
I also have another potential lead :
Been doing a bit of research on several subreddits and it appears that "Larri Jeans" which is a lame copy of "Lois Jeans" started their business in early 84 and were only licensed to export at the end of the same year. They stopped producing the jeans in 97 but it is possible that the export didn't have time to reach switzerland in 85. Therefore, the gentleman could be of spanish descent which could match his physique, the spanish/portuguese made clothes, and the biased investigation around potential swiss missing citizens in California. Also, it's easier to travel to California when you speak spanish. (Not everyone in Switzerland learns in english at school, there's a weird elitist system that wouldn't allow everyone to attend the same classes, depending on a some grades average).This could indicate a working class background especially if he came from a spanish family who were working class people in their majority here. He could be from a second generation of spanish migrants, for example.
But there's something that is bothering me. I have come accross 2 different cases of missing persons in or from Switzerland in the 80's.
One was Jean Python, and despite the rule out on namus, it seems his family never was contacted by the US authorities to verify if this Doe was Jean. Important : Jean Python has probably committed suicide in an artificial lake located near a hydroelectric dam with active turbines, which is probably the reason his body was never found.
The second and most disturbing case is the one of a swiss citizen of italian descent who vanished from New York in late 83. He was almost a matching profile. He was last seen in Los Angeles in may 1985 and his mother went to seek the LAPD's help. His mother searched for him until the day she died. I met with the man's sister and she told me the family never got contacted about that (which could mean he was ruled out without any need of the family's identification) But it wasn't in the folder at the archives anyways.
There is no trace of communication related to John Doe in the consular affairs folders at the swiss federal archives. If a connection had been made it would have to be there somewhere and I haven't found it.
I wonder how this whole investigation took place and what kind of international cooperation was put in motion, if there ever has been any.
NB : will check out the Lost Hills podcast ! Thanx !
