I thought I would point out some things that came to me whilst reading this thread. First it was obvious that this individual more than likely was from this general area. I am from the south and am familiar only with areas around me. For him to know that this was a nice secluded spot in which to commit suicide tells me that he either visited this area in the past or lived near enough to be familiar with it. Also the fact that he took pains to conceal his identity leads me to believe that any articles found in association with him probably were picked for the sole purpose of anonymity. This means that the belt that was located could very well have been purchased second hand to further perpetuate his unknown identity. All things about this man were 'average'. Even the earlobes which I assume by no earlobes it is meant attached earlobes (recessive trait) versus free lobes (dominant). I thought it would be prudent to point out that Asians tend to have the highest frequency of attached earlobes.
Another thought concerning the suspected weight loss. This man took a great deal of time researching and planning this suicide. He took pains to cover his tracks and to be unknown. Could this have included weight loss? One way to dramatically alter your appearance is to lose weight. If this man was known to others to have been on the heavy side he would appear to be significantly different in appearance having lost 30-40 lbs. Men especially tend to lose a good deal of weight quickly. This weight loss would not result in saggy skin based on his age, especially if he was combining the weight loss with exercise.
Lastly, the name that he used could easily been just a name that he picked up because it was the last book that he was reading. He would have been familiar with the character's name and thus used it because it was temporarily familiar. He may have shared the same name, or had someone in his life that did. Of course he could have just used it knowing that it was another way to stay unknown. The choice of book is interesting of course. Oates is a very popular author; however, upon speaking to a good friend of mine who works for a national bookselling company, she said that Oates' audience is normally women. That doesnt mean that men dont read them of course but that is the general audience. Perhaps this means that he was a married man or at least had a women whom he would feel comfortable enough to share literature with.
It is possible that this man recently lost a loved one. This has been discussed in previous postings. If the loved one was the only person this man had in his life it could explain the apparent inability to identify him. The sole person who could give him a name could be gone. If this man was an immigrant, than the rest of his family could be too far removed to do much about his lack of contact. In my personal opinion this gentleman looks Eastern European.
