The current theory I'm working on is that his trip was unsuccessful. He was going home without having made headway with other scientists, publishers, etc. He was tired, perhaps to the point of exhaustion, and couldn't get home. It was the middle of the night at Carl's Jr. He may have felt at the end of his rope, away from his family, in a strange city with nowhere to sleep. We don't know his financial situation (at least I don't think?), and maybe (in a state of stress and exhaustion) he decided to end his life ... OR ... had a mental break, abandoned the car somewhere, and walked away.
This was the feeling I kept getting while searching over the weekend. He was at the Carl's Jr. in the middle of the night. There were hotels all around, but he didn't check in to any of them. The airport is less than a mile up the street, but he didn't seek free shelter there. The LAPD hasn't said whether they have him on camera, and it doesn't sound like the family knows anything.
Again, this is just my latest theory. I vacillate between this and a car accident, as it would have been dark and he didn't know his way around. It's just odd that it seems he had no contact with his family after speaking with them about being on a waiting list.
Did we ever find out where he said he was when he had that conversation with his family? Did he say he was in the airport, or was he speaking with the airline off site?
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BBM. There seems to be some discrepencies in both the timeline and the reporting of where he said he was during the conversation with his family on Oct. 5.
In the first post of the thread, LisaWL7TR links to
ABC7 with this account (does not specify that he stated he was at the airport):
Ruiz left Melrose Hostel in the 600 block of N. Western Avenue on Oct. 3 and spoke with his family on Oct. 5, saying he was on a waiting list for a flight. They said they noticed a charge on his card on Oct. 4 at Avis Rent a Car and at a Carl's Jr. restaurant on Oct. 6.
A few posts later, tarabull linked to a Nov. 7, 2017,
Google Translate page of a Univision-LA report (with video) -- that states he said he was at the airport in the 'waiting room:'
The same thing he planned to do in California, where he arrived on September 25 and after staying 10 days in Los Angeles, on October 5 Dr. Garibay telephoned his wife to tell her that he was at the airport in the waiting room to board a car. plane and return to Hungary.
Since this is auto-translated, it's difficult to ascertain whether the nuance of being on a waiting list vs. being at the airport waiting was lost. Here's the link to the original Univision report and the relevant paragraph is below. I'm not fluent in Spanish, but it looks like it specifies he was at the airport. Any Spanish-fluent websleuthers care to weigh in?
Lo mismo planeaba hacer en California, a donde arribó el 25 de septiembre y tras permanecer 10 días en Los Ángeles, el 5 de octubre el doctor Garibay llamó por teléfono a su esposa para decirle que estaba en el aeropuerto en sala de espera para abordar un avión y regresar a Hungría.
Finally, the
Univision article (translated version) also states:
The family filed a disappearance report with the Los Angeles Police (LAPD) and it was confirmed that Garibay did not board any plane and that the Toyota RAV4 truck is still not returned to the rental company.
There are also several timeline discrepancies. Question for knowledgeable websleuthers: His family in Hungary seems to have access to his credit card charges. Would the timestamp on the charges show up in Local Time for Los Angeles or Local Time for Hungary? What's the usual practice? There's a nine-hour time difference.
Was Enrique at Carl's Jr. at 3:21 AM, Oct. 6, in LA Time (Pacific Time Zone) or in Hungary Time (Central European Time Zone)?
3:21 AM, Oct. 6, in the Central European Time Zone would be 12:26 PM Oct. 5 in Los Angeles.
