NV NV - White Pine Co, WhtMale 40-60, UP7428, note signed 'J', golf shoes, dental work, glasses, Jan'84

[Ambercat]

Great to see some activity here.

Ambercat, I don't think it's him for my own personal reasons but I REALLY want to know what it is that tugging at you and making you think this might be a match.

I know you know from personal conversations that I was really wanting to find Nikole Bakoles and I even suggested she matched a specific UID-- then never followed the lead because nobody came out and agreed with me.

Then I find out two days ago that the UID I suggested WAS in fact Nikole! I should have followed my gut!

So don't second guess yourself... if you think it could be, look into it further and please let me know what happens.

In the meantime I'm going to talk to some military people and find out exactly what "military non-prescription glasses" are.

Its interesting that you say that, because I was thinking about Ms. Bakoles, so I went ahead and asked. The response that I got was non-committal leaning towards no. They have dentals, but no DNA for the man in the Chevrolet and DNA but no dentals for Mr. Kopeczy. Rudy Bein seemed to think that they were probably not a match because John Kopeczy had suffered a skull fracture (from a car accident) and the UID did not show any signs of having ever had a fractured skull.

I'm not saying this to push an improbable case, but I am wondering if that ever heals completely because I had a skull fracture (and had to have some reconstruction done because of some damage), yet later when I had XRays done of my head (because of something else) they never mentioned anything about a previous fracture.

 

[Ambercat]

Apparently anyone can buy military non-prescription glasses from places like this:
http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/migo.html

Apparently they are the sort of thing you would wear over our prescription glasses to protect your eyes from explosions and stuff like that.

So it may provide some insight into his occupation. It would explain why he had prescription glasses as well as military non-prescription glasses.

Additionally, here is the 1968 Bel Air "Vehiche Information Kit:"
http://gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/docs/Chevrolet/1968-Chevrolet.pdf

Someone with a knowledge of cars may be able to make some use out of these ~30 pages. I don't know too much about cars but I did learn that the '68 was manufactured in many colors, including "silver green." (Code PP). I believe that must have been his car's color, as Washoe County reports the vehicle was "faded grey/green in color."

That sounds like something Jay Burns would have used to cover his prescription glasses in his work at J&L Steel Mill. I really wonder if the date of his disappearance is incorrect and possibly the date that the report was taken.

 

[crissianni]

I spoke to someone about this case and I'll type more later about who they were and what they said, but they did give me a few comments that apply to identifying possible matches that I want to mention now:

They pointed out to me that this man probably used tape to attach the rubber hose to the exhaust pipe, and even if he had not than even more likely would be that there must have been fingerprints of his in the car. Do you think they are on file or that evidence containing fingerprints might still be preserved?

Their second question to me was whether or not anyone got under the car to see how it was weathered. For example, was it rusted from salt put on iced roads? This gives a clue to where the car was from.

 

[Ambercat]

:bump: I was thinking about this case, especially with regard to Jay Burns possibly being the man in the Chevrolet, since Heidi Balch was recently identified as the previously unidentified victim of Joel Rifkin known as "Susie" found on a NJ golf course. Ms. Balch was mistakenly thought to have been last seen in 1995, even though in actuality she had been deceased since 1989.

Also, I realized that I had never posted the only article I have about this UID before. It is from the Ely Daily Times and, unfortunately, there isn't very much information at all.

 

[marycarney]

If I can backtrack a bit to the tags being cut out of the clothing....... I do this to all my clothes because the danged tags REALLY bug me.

Seems, though, like this guy did NOT ever want to be identified. Sad really.

 

[Donjeta]

If he did not want to be identified there's a chance that he did not sign the letter with his real initial.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I can't imagine there were too many '68 Chevys on the road by 1984. Wonder if someone tried to report him missing but because he was an adult, the police were not too proactive. It does seem that he must have had people who cared about him, and whose opinions/feelings he cared about, otherwise why go through all the trouble not to be ID'd?

The one clue he gave us to his life is interesting. He tried so hard to be a complete mystery, but there was one thing that was too important to him - he wanted a Mormon funeral.

I wonder if he grew up in Nevada, even though I don't think he was necessarily from there. Just a few years after he passed, this road would be dubbed the "Loneliest Road in America." It may be well known by that name today, but back then, I'd think only someone who lived in the Nevada/Utah area would have chosen this spot. The article says he was found on the east side of Sacramento Pass. This seems to be east of Ely, and runs along the southern face of Mt. Moriah. Mt. Moriah is very significant in the Old Testament, and I would thus assume it to be significant in Mormonism as well. I'm not sold on the fact that he attached significance to Mt. Moriah, but I entertain the possibility.

 

[carbuff]

That sounds like something Jay Burns would have used to cover his prescription glasses in his work at J&L Steel Mill. I really wonder if the date of his disappearance is incorrect and possibly the date that the report was taken.

Did you ever submit Jay Burns? He sounds to me like a very likely candidate, and the ambiguity about the date would be enough to have kept it from being considered as a match. I think it's too close to sit on.

 

[crissianni]

My parents and I both think he was an itinerant worker.

This is another long shot, but don't some people collect license plates? He obviously dithed his somewhere, and they eventually may or may not have been found. If I lived in the area I might ask around about old license plates collections in the area.

 

[EmiLove832]

Interesting case!

Someone referred a quote from Carolyn Jessop's book Escaped, regarding the removal of license plates from their vehicles. Carolyn was raised FLDS - Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I copied this from Wiki instead of trying to word it myself.

"The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church, known to some as Mormon Fundamentalists) is one of the largest fundamentalist denominations[3][4] and one of the largest organizations in the United States whose members practice polygamy.[5] The FLDS Church emerged in the early twentieth century when its founding members left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The split occurred largely because of the LDS Church's suspension of the practice of polygamy and its decision to excommunicate its members who would continue the practice."

"The FLDS Church is estimated to have 6,000 - 10,000 members residing in the sister cities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona; Eldorado, Texas; Westcliffe, Colorado; Mancos, Colorado; Creston and Bountiful, British Columbia; and Pringle, South Dakota.[6] There are also developing communities near Benjamín Hill, Sonora (south of Nogales in the state of Sonora) and Ensenada, Baja California (south of Tijuana)."

I believe he was LDS or FLDS due to request to donate his money to the Mormon church. Most likely he was excommunicated for something he had done and felt enough shame to take his own life. He probably did not want to be identified to avoid causing more shame for his family.

Excommunication - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The link above has a lot of info regarding excommunication from the LDS church.

Here is a Wiki page about "Lost Boys" Excommunication from the FDLS church.

It's very possible he won't be identified because his family will never come forward.

Not researching the VIN on the vehicle is awfully strange to me. I would think by now past records would be automated?

 

[Ambercat]

I was thinking about this UID and looked again at the maps of the area where he and the Chevy were found. There appears to be a small lake or pond in the middle of the Willow Patch Rest Stop http://binged.it/1welHLr. I didn't notice it when I looked before, so I guess it could be seasonal and in one satellite photo but not the other. I can't help but wonder if he threw the license plate in the pond before killing himself.

 

[dogperson]

Do we know whether LE checked the river to see if maybe Jay Burns jumped from the bridge?

Just a couple of thoughts, probably not very helpful but I have to remove all the labels from my clothing or else they give me a rash. Something to do with what they are made of maybe? This could be why his clothing had no labels.

Leaving the money to the Mormon Church: I have known folks who left money in their wills to churches they did not attend in life. This was for various reasons. Sometimes because it was a denomination they attended as children, or it was because they had family members who belonged to a particular church, or because a church had sent members with food or other help during their illness. At my own church, a homeowner nearby left his house and property to the church simply because he said they had always been "good neighbors".

 

[bcf]

There's this new piece of information on his DoeNetwork page:

The suicide note appeared to have been written as a prayer, stating "Please forgive then all, dear Lord, for any hurt they cause this humble servant whom they never knew -- who got aweful tired on the journey, and could go no further."

Investigators contacted all 50 states in 1984 trying to match the car's VIN with no success. It appeared the victim had been living out of his vehicle. The backseat - both the back support and seat - were missing. In the glove box was an electric componet box, possibly homemade, with switches and three colored lights which had five leads going from the device to the celonoid on the starter and possible to a power source. It was thought this was a timing device designed to turn off the vehicle after a set time.

http://doenetwork.org/cases/2038umnv.html

 

[ezio_mctavish]

Do we know whether LE checked the river to see if maybe Jay Burns jumped from the bridge?

Just a couple of thoughts, probably not very helpful but I have to remove all the labels from my clothing or else they give me a rash. Something to do with what they are made of maybe? This could be why his clothing had no labels.

Leaving the money to the Mormon Church: I have known folks who left money in their wills to churches they did not attend in life. This was for various reasons. Sometimes because it was a denomination they attended as children, or it was because they had family members who belonged to a particular church, or because a church had sent members with food or other help during their illness. At my own church, a homeowner nearby left his house and property to the church simply because he said they had always been "good neighbors".

You also have to think, Utah is about 70%+ Mormon, in some areas almost 100%. Like many churches, they also do a lot of charity work for the homeless. Even if someone is not a member or isn't active in the LDS church, they would feel the influence of the church--whether good or bad. It's kind of like living some place that is heavily Catholic. Even if you weren't Catholic or were a lapsed Catholic--the church would probably still have some influence in your life. Especially, if you were needy.

 

[jjohnston0827]

Lloyd Edward Howell Was recently added to NamUs. He is younger than the age estimate, but everything else matches.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/26122/162/

 

[Ambercat]

Since it sounds like they checked the car out domestically, I wonder if there is a chance that the missing person and the Chevrolet crossed the border from either Canada or Mexico? Every so often, I see old US made cars on the road with Baja California (both upper and lower (?)) plates. The misspelling of awful is interesting, I'm not really sure what to make of it.

 

[Ambercat]

I was thinking about how [currently] when a car is advertised for sale they usually include vin number and sometimes the license plate in the advertisement. Even though it was really a long shot I searched the newspaper archives for the vin (and didn't come up with anything). I broadened the search somewhat and noticed that the 4-door and V-8 Chevrolet Bel Airs seemed to be offered more for sale in 1983. Also quite a few people listed the car for sale without details about the number of doors or color. I did locate a 1968 Chevrolet Bel Air (no further description) for sale in New Castle, PA in October 1983. The address listed in the ad (not sure if I can include it here) was about 29 miles north from where Jay Walter Burns went missing from.

Unfortunately, I know that Newspaper Archive only has some of the newspapers from the US and per Classic Car database, 152,200 two door V-6 1968 Chevrolet Bel Airs were made, so it is a huge long shot. http://www.classiccardatabase.com/specs.php?series=6557&year=1968&model=30620

 

[amputate]

The clothing the man had with him struck me as odd. I lived in Elko, NV for many years which is near Ely and in January it would have been bitterly cold. Too cold to wear just a windbreaker or a hoodie.

 

[Ambercat]

The clothing the man had with him struck me as odd. I lived in Elko, NV for many years which is near Ely and in January it would have been bitterly cold. Too cold to wear just a windbreaker or a hoodie.

You're right. I never gave it a lot of thought until you mentioned it but every time that I have been to Northern Nevada, it has seemed cold (keep in mind I'm from Southern California and get cold when the temperature drops below 67 degrees), even into spring and fall. January 25, 1984, in the area that the man and his car were found, the average temperature was 31.8°F with a low of 19.9°F and a high of 46.9°F, there was two inches of snow on the ground. http://farmersalmanac.com/weather-history/89301/1984/01/25/

Going back about a week (NamUs now estimates the postmortem interval to be about 1 Week), the temperatures were even colder. On January 17, 1984 in the same area, the average temperature was 15.1°F, with a low of -7.1°F and a high of 36°F and 2 inches of snow on the ground. http://farmersalmanac.com/weather-history/89301/1984/01/17/ Going towards the beginning of the month, there a few days where the high gets to be about 50, yet the average never really gets above freezing. http://farmersalmanac.com/weather-history/89301/1984/01/08/, http://farmersalmanac.com/weather-history/89301/1984/01/07/,

 

[amputate]

WAY too cold for a hoodie, he must have been driving through from somewhere where it's much warmer in the winter.