CA CA - John Beck, 73, Alameda, 9 Feb 2016 #1

[neesaki]

I'm beginning to wonder whether the search for public transportation to Sutro Baths/Baker Beach had any intentional significance at all. Before the Instagram photo was found, I figured John could have ridden that train to SFO or transferred to a different BART train and gone to the Oakland Airport. Without that photo showing up, his search of a route to Lands End was just as "random" as the street views that were uncovered later. We only know he ended up at Lands End because we have a photo.

If I were planning to disappear, there is no way that I would do significant searches on my computer. Isn't everything you search traceable if someone knows how? I'm going to assume that whatever was found on his computer means next to nothing and wasn't meant either as a clue to his family or a diversion.

I don't think he went there to die. Others have laid out valid reasons to discount suicide. I think he paid a last visit to a place he had spent his youth, knowing he might never return.

From there, with help, I believe he left the country...by auto, plane or boat. Has anyone seen Gravink and Hewitt lately? Only half joking.

All JMO, subject to change without notice.

Wow, the reality just hit home with me when you stated it here, Lillibet. Though I had already been thinking it, it wasn't real to me until you came out and said it. But I think you're probably right, I think he left the country. How sad for his family though.

On one hand, it's so hard for me to imagine anyone doing this, totally walking away from their families.... but then again, I've had moments in my life as I've gotten older, even recently, that I've gotten so tired, of conflicts, of things concerning others in my life, and I have thought how nice it might be to just leave, to escape, to just walk away. I've actually had visions of myself getting in my car with my dog, and just driving away. But after that, then what? LOL :thinking:

Is anyone else here in that same boat?

 

[Lilibet]

Wow, the reality just hit home with me when you stated it here, Lillibet. Though I had already been thinking it, it wasn't real to me until you came out and said it. But I think you're probably right, I think he left the country. How sad for his family though.

On one hand, it's so hard for me to imagine anyone doing this, totally walking away from their families.... but then again, I've had moments in my life as I've gotten older, even recently, that I've gotten so tired, of conflicts, of things concerning others in my life, and I have thought how nice it might be to just leave, to escape, to just walk away. I've actually had visions of myself getting in my car with my dog, and just driving away. But after that, then what? LOL :thinking:

Is anyone else here in that same boat?

BBM

Oh sure. Yup. The never-ending road trip escape fantasy. Whose car do you want to take...yours or mine? Shall we rent a villa in Italy as in "Enchanted April"? And really, I don't have anything particularly stressful to walk away from except responsibilities, commitments...nothing earth-shaking. Yet there are times it's too much and escape sounds lovely.

But I have a hard time imagining leaving my beloved family not knowing if I was alive or dead. That's why I think John was somehow caught between a rock and a hard place. I'm not sure why, but he must have felt that disappearing was his best option. I just don't know what else to think.

 

[Paligal]

I've had moments in my life as I've gotten older, even recently, that I've gotten so tired, of conflicts, of things concerning others in my life, and I have thought how nice it might be to just leave, to escape, to just walk away. I've actually had visions of myself getting in my car with my dog, and just driving away. But after that, then what? LOL :thinking:

Is anyone else here in that same boat?

Oh, definitely. Whenever I have a bout of depression or get overwhelmed, I have that fantasy. If I had a huge amount of money I may have even tried it in my darkest days. I suspect in John's case, with the specter of massive financial damages, the public humiliation and hurt of his family, his desire to escape would probably be exponentially greater than anything I've ever experienced.

I wish we knew more clues. For example, did he take his passport with him? How would he get out of the country? Without a major plot involving an alias and new passport, as well as an accomplice who had clearance to fly out of the country, then the most likely scenario (if he is in hiding) is that he is holed up somewhere in the U.S. It's a big country. That could be anywhere. I could imagine someone picking him up in Marin and bringing him to a cabin somewhere, setting him up with new clothes, a new name, etc. One thing that still bothers me, though, is that he left no goodbye note. That in itself wouldn't be jeopardizing his family or letting them in on anything, so why not do that for your loved ones? I waffle back and forth in my logic between possibilities.

 

[Tssiemer]

Sooooo John Beck is Schrödinger's cat?


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[Timekeeper65]

Welcome to sealeggs and destlin! Good thoughts and thanks for joining Websleuths.

Starry Night, I used to watch American Greed. I would get so upset that I couldn't continue watching. The LOVE of MONEY is the root of all evil, my dad used to say, and quite often.

I have been waffling back and forth, as to where JB is. My first thought was suicide, after talking to a family member who lives locally. But the folder with the papers, no body, as mentioned above, I am waffling toward voluntary missing. JB could have easily made all his plans, using computers at any local library. I just wish he had figured out another way. I can't begin to imagine how his family and friends are coping. If JB is voluntarily missing, I wouldn't expect him to come home voluntarily.

All just my very humble opinion.

:candle:

 

[Deleted member 165632]

Hi, everyone, I've been lurking here so far but wanted to chime in on this point. I think that you're correct about the instagram user's (Hollyweirdfilms) intentions. He and his friends have set up a separate website, findingjohnbeck.com, a youtube channel, and have tweeted a bit with #findingjohnbeck (vs the official #findjohnbeck). The youtube movie they've put up is beautifully shot, but seems to be more about the guy who took the picture. It's labelled as "part 1," and you're supposed to sign up at their website to be alerted when they release part 2.

They seem pretty excited to have stumbled upon this story, and it's a little gauche in my opinion. One of them has indicated that they plan on making a documentary. I don't know if they're doing all of this with the family's blessing. As the person who took the photo, Hollyweirdfilms does have a copyright on it and may be exploiting that for an opportunity to make his film. So if the instagram aspect of this case seems strange, I don't think it's the Becks who are to blame.

Hi Sealeggs! Welcome to the thread & thank you for the great post.
I'm catching up again on posts and have come to realize that maybe I should check in daily b/c there is so much happening in the discussions!
When I mentioned that the filmmaker might be using the story to shop or develop it, I was making an off-the-cuff remark based on my experiences in film... I didn't do any research. Thank you for your post!

I think they may have gotten permission to develop the short video on Youtube b/c they are featuring news footage as well as the voicemail he got about the insta photo.... I don't know, but using a vm like that requires a release from the individual. I get the feeling they likely did it with permission from the family... and went thru legal channels to develop and use footage for the short film. that is just my speculation and opinion.

About them using the experience to develop/shop the idea for a bigger project... sadly, that is pure Hollywood. Just saying... not my favorite part of the film/television world.

Thanks again Sealeggs! Now there are 80,000+ views on the first video:
[video=youtube;XpQKbw-Jxcw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpQKbw-Jxcw[/video]

 

[neesaki]

BBM

Oh sure. Yup. The never-ending road trip escape fantasy. Whose car do you want to take...yours or mine? Shall we rent a villa in Italy as in "Enchanted April"? And really, I don't have anything particularly stressful to walk away from except responsibilities, commitments...nothing earth-shaking. Yet there are times it's too much and escape sounds lovely.

But I have a hard time imagining leaving my beloved family not knowing if I was alive or dead. That's why I think John was somehow caught between a rock and a hard place. I'm not sure why, but he must have felt that disappearing was his best option. I just don't know what else to think.

That's me, I'd be consumed by guilt and be calling by the next day, lol.

 

[Lilibet]

Sooooo John Beck is Schrödinger's cat?

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I can't believe I've gotten to be as old as I am without hearing this expression! Thank you for adding to my education.

Once I googled Schrodinger's Cat...well I have to salute the absolute perfection of your comment! You nailed down the dilemma of this terribly sad situation in six words.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IOYyCHGWJq4

 

[Lilibet]

Oh, definitely. Whenever I have a bout of depression or get overwhelmed, I have that fantasy. If I had a huge amount of money I may have even tried it in my darkest days. I suspect in John's case, with the specter of massive financial damages, the public humiliation and hurt of his family, his desire to escape would probably be exponentially greater than anything I've ever experienced.

I wish we knew more clues. For example, did he take his passport with him? How would he get out of the country? Without a major plot involving an alias and new passport, as well as an accomplice who had clearance to fly out of the country, then the most likely scenario (if he is in hiding) is that he is holed up somewhere in the U.S. It's a big country. That could be anywhere. I could imagine someone picking him up in Marin and bringing him to a cabin somewhere, setting him up with new clothes, a new name, etc. One thing that still bothers me, though, is that he left no goodbye note. That in itself wouldn't be jeopardizing his family or letting them in on anything, so why not do that for your loved ones? I waffle back and forth in my logic between possibilities.

No he didn't take his passport. I'm pretty sure you can leave the U.S. without a passport, but not get back in (unless things have changed).

Yes, certainly, hiding in the U.S. would be simpler. I guess I'm thinking that he would need to leave the country to access any money he had previously "parked" in offshore accounts (if he did that). But maybe that wouldn't be necessary.

Perhaps the goodbye note is supposed to be mailed by his accomplice after a certain amount of time has passed. But its absence is certainly a puzzle.

There must be a simpler scenario.

 

[Emi]

No he didn't take his passport. I'm pretty sure you can leave the U.S. without a passport, but not get back in (unless things have changed).

Yes, certainly, hiding in the U.S. would be simpler. I guess I'm thinking that he would need to leave the country to access any money he had previously "parked" in offshore accounts (if he did that). But maybe that wouldn't be necessary.

Perhaps the goodbye note is supposed to be mailed by his accomplice after a certain amount of time has passed. But its absence is certainly a puzzle.

There must be a simpler scenario.

You cannot leave the US without passport even some states

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[destlin]

No he didn't take his passport. I'm pretty sure you can leave the U.S. without a passport, but not get back in (unless things have changed).

Commercial flights out of the country that I've been on in the last decade have required me to show a passport to the check-in agent before they give me my boarding pass. So a commercial flight out of the country might have been difficult, though it might have been easier from a smaller/less cosmopolitan airport than SFO (e.g. he could have flown from SFO to a smaller city and gotten to a less stringent transfer point).

However, a man involved in as high-volume a commercial business as Mr. Beck was would have to have familiarity with the way that very successful businessmen travel: charter planes, charter boats, etc. All it takes is money to get private transport anywhere you want, and private jet passengers don't have to go through the usual channels (TSA, etc) at the airport. Also, I imagine one can get new identification/passports with money as well. The family has said that he did not have access to large sums of money but I can't imagine someone being involved in a successful, questionable moneymaking scheme for that long and not having researched or employed ways of moving money around and storing it, as Beck's partners have done. It would have only been common sense for him as a businessman not to share information about all of that with his family, especially if the activities were of borderline legality. Even businessmen that aren't involved in potentially illegal schemes often don't share the financial specifics with family, since sharing that information can create business and other financial or personal complications. Thus it's possible that many other of his activities were kept from them either for his business' sake or for the safety of the family-- it makes more sense, actually, that they were not apprised than that they had full transparency.

 

[Lilibet]

You cannot leave the US without passport even some states

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Thanks for the heads up. I guess the days of walking into Mexico are over! It's been awhile since we did that. Canada requires enough ID that you might as well have a passport. I'll have to ask you for a link supporting your comment about "some states" unless you mean border states. I've never heard of a passport being required for travel between states.

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/mexico.html

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/canada.html

 

[ninij9]

No he didn't take his passport. I'm pretty sure you can leave the U.S. without a passport, but not get back in (unless things have changed).

Yes, certainly, hiding in the U.S. would be simpler. I guess I'm thinking that he would need to leave the country to access any money he had previously "parked" in offshore accounts (if he did that). But maybe that wouldn't be necessary.

Perhaps the goodbye note is supposed to be mailed by his accomplice after a certain amount of time has passed. But its absence is certainly a puzzle.

There must be a simpler scenario.

Hi Lilibert perhaps if he did stash money and make long term plans, he also had another identity ss# and passport? I struggle with the idea that he would knowingly hurt his family this way unless he: A. Isn't the type of guy everyone thought him to be, or B he really thought he was doing his family a favor. Or C he was do depressed and resigned he took his life. Sad outcome however you slice this pie. I wish his family peace. It hurts so much when a loved one does something do seemingly out of character.


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[sealeggs]

I think they may have gotten permission to develop the short video on Youtube b/c they are featuring news footage as well as the voicemail he got about the insta photo.... I don't know, but using a vm like that requires a release from the individual. I get the feeling they likely did it with permission from the family... and went thru legal channels to develop and use footage for the short film. that is just my speculation and opinion.

Ah, thanks for clearing that up for me. I assumed the worst when I saw the video, it seemed so tacky to me! Here's hoping that Fuentes' intentions are to treat the story right and do his research.

 

[Lilibet]

Commercial flights out of the country that I've been on in the last decade have required me to show a passport to the check-in agent before they give me my boarding pass. So a commercial flight out of the country might have been difficult, though it might have been easier from a smaller/less cosmopolitan airport than SFO (e.g. he could have flown from SFO to a smaller city and gotten to a less stringent transfer point).

However, a man involved in as high-volume a commercial business as Mr. Beck was would have to have familiarity with the way that very successful businessmen travel: charter planes, charter boats, etc. All it takes is money to get private transport anywhere you want, and private jet passengers don't have to go through the usual channels (TSA, etc) at the airport. Also, I imagine one can get new identification/passports with money as well. The family has said that he did not have access to large sums of money but I can't imagine someone being involved in a successful, questionable moneymaking scheme for that long and not having researched or employed ways of moving money around and storing it, as Beck's partners have done. It would have only been common sense for him as a businessman not to share information about all of that with his family, especially if the activities were of borderline legality. Even businessmen that aren't involved in potentially illegal schemes often don't share the financial specifics with family, since sharing that information can create business and other financial or personal complications. Thus it's possible that many other of his activities were kept from them either for his business' sake or for the safety of the family-- it makes more sense, actually, that they were not apprised than that they had full transparency.

BBM

Thanks for the travel info! I'm clearly behind the times. I agree that a private flight with a new passport is more likely than a commercial flight.

I have long believed that it strained credulity for Joy to strongly assert that there was no money and that the government required him to reveal all his assets. I think she believes it, but most would use your logic. Driving a ten year old car, as she said, is not proof that he and his wife are living without much money. We drive a good quality ten year old car that runs well and we happen to love, and we can certainly afford to replace it. It works both ways...If I were hiding money from the government and keeping my family in the dark, I would definitely drive a ten year old car! I'm not saying that John was doing any of those things, but it's entirely possible that he was, without his family's knowledge. In fact, I have a hard time thinking that he would do nothing to protect his assets. JMO

 

[destlin]

Agreed that the 10 year old car is not evidence one way or the other of a lack of assets. The Bay Area is full of wealthy men who purposefully drive average cars and do other things to look middle class. There's a weird kind of status in appearing frugal for a lot of wealthy men, especially when they've been wildly successful. When they know they can enjoy the fruits of their wealth if they ever decide to, many hide the wealth from the public so as to cut down on social friction and demonstrate how disciplined they are (and also to minimize how their wealth affects their family). I'm not saying Mr. Beck did this, but it isn't unheard of for wealthy men to have a very frugal appearance with family and to escape to more extravagant lifestyles in private compounds elsewhere. I do believe that Mr. Beck's disappearance is driven by the legal problems/consequences he was facing, and an attempt to save his family from facing these consequences, instead of an interest in luxury.

 

[Lilibet]

Interesting info explaining that more than a DL is needed if you fly out of certain states. It doesn't apply to John, but it's worth knowing if you live in NY, NH, LA, MN or American Samoa starting this year.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/drivers-licenses-new-york-domestic-flight-real-id

 

[Xara]

Interesting info explaining that more than a DL is needed if you fly out of certain states. It doesn't apply to John, but it's worth knowing if you live in NY, NH, LA, MN or American Samoa starting this year.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/drivers-licenses-new-york-domestic-flight-real-id

Well that is good to know!

I'm originally from California, but moved to the east coast a couple years back. Last year, I moved from Massachusetts, just over the border to NH. So, I had to get a new ID. I had to show proof of residency, I'm sure of it.

 

[Lilibet]

Well that is good to know!

I'm originally from California, but moved to the east coast a couple years back. Last year, I moved from Massachusetts, just over the border to NH. So, I had to get a new ID. I had to show proof of residency, I'm sure of it.

Here is the latest from the DHS. It looks like rumors are flying, including the article I posted above. Oops. :blushing:

 

[Xara]

Here is the latest from the DHS. It looks like rumors are flying, including the article I posted above. Oops. :blushing:

It's so weird that this is the first I've heard of this and I live here! I'm going to be really peeved if I go to get on a plane and am turned away!

Sorry for the OT.