Identified! Oh - Eastlake, Whtmale 454umoh, 70, Alias 'jnchandler Iii', Jul'02 - Robert Ivan Nichols

[Gardener1850]

He would leave his job several times telling coworkers "they are getting close" and then come back.
They think he may have gone down to Florida during those times.

Some of the info released in 2002 was not accurate. The gun he used he bought in April 2002 before he killed himself.

 

[Gardener1850]

Discussing NAMUS now. This could have been solved years ago if states were required to upload missing person cases to NAMUS. Even though he had been reported missing, his case was never put into NAMUS.

 

[Piknik]

Who Was The Man Claiming To Be Joseph Newton Chandler III?
"There is a reason he went missing in 1965 and adopted the identity of a dead boy," U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott said at a news conference. That reason remains a mystery and the U.S. Marshals want the public's help piecing the puzzle together.

One of the popular theories is that Nichols may have been the infamous Zodiac killer. Elliott said California law enforcement agencies are working that angle.

Elliott said he cannot rule out the possibility that Nichols was the Zodiac killer, "I can't say that he is and I can't say that he isn't."

"Elliott said he would occasionally go missing for weeks at a time, telling the few people close to him that "they were getting close."
"Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the U.S. Marshals Service at 216-522-4482."

Yes. This and D.B. Cooper have both been mentioned.

 

[Gardener1850]

They have his fingerprints from his military files and they have uploaded them with the DOJ under latent fingerprint identification system to see if there are any matches to crimes.

 

[MarziPanda]

I'm glad he's singing the praises of NAMUS. Hopefully it will help to bring awareness to families of missing people - and law enforcement - that uploading Does and missing people to NAMUS will really help to solve old cases.

 

[Gardener1850]

There is an obituary from his father from 1982 that said Nichols was residing in California but they think his father and family simply assumed his son was in California based on the last letter sent to family.

Presser ended.

 

[Gardener1850]

EASTLAKE, Ohio — A man whose 2002 suicide led to extensive speculation about his true identity has been identified as Robert Ivan, Nichols, a World War II veteran who disappeared in 1965.

But now that authorities know who the man is, they’re asking for the public’s help to learn why he went off the map.

“Someone out there may hold the key as to why,” U.S. Marshal Peter Elliot said during a press conference Thursday. “We need the public’s help as to why.”

Read more: Eastlake mystery man identified as WWII veteran who disappeared in 1965

 

[Piknik]

What did he do in the Navy? Don't tell me Encrypting....

 

[Gardener1850]

More media coverage:
Who Was The Man Claiming To Be Joseph Newton Chandler III?

Joseph Newton Chandler III’s true identity is Robert Ivan Nichols, but authorities still don’t know why

Authorities solve cold case of war hero who hid behind dead boy's identity

 

[Betty P]

There is an obituary from his father from 1982 that said Nichols was residing in California but they think his father and family simply assumed his son was in California based on the last letter sent to family.

Presser ended.

Thanks for following up on the rest of the PC. Our local station cut out early for another (unrelated) press conference. Lots of good follow up questions and answers.

If the feds have already put his military fingerprints into the national system, shouldn't they have matches by now, if there were any? I suppose it depends on how often local and state LE run new inquiries on unsolved cases in their files?

If every law enforcement agency kept their missing person files updated in NAMUS, tested all their backlog of rape kits and entered DNA info into the national databases for convicted criminals - it's amazing how many cases would be resolved and crimes prevented.

 

[Betty P]

<modsnip: snipped quote that was unapproved, and reference to it>

There was someone with the same first and last name who served in the Army during the same time period who passed away in 2002. The person doing the research probably found the VA BIRLS record for the Army vet and assumed it was Robert Ivan Nichols. Common type of mistake. When doing research, you have to be careful with relatives who have common names to make sure you're not adding records of a total stranger to your tree. Usually seek more than 1 verifiable source for something like birth, death and marriage data.

 

[creepedout]

My laptop's video card is laggy and I had trouble keeping up during some of the press conference. Could someone possibly create a "timeline" of events here, to straighten all this out?

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

Anyone else find it interesting the snoopy sticker was from 1965 the year he went missing his family?

 

[creepedout]

Anyone else find it interesting the snoopy sticker was from 1965 the year he went missing his family?

Another somewhat self-revealing reference. This mystery is far from being solved.

 

[Gardener1850]

It was just an error by the person researching the family tree. There was someone with the same first and last name who served in the Army during the same time period who passed away in 2002. The person doing the research probably found the VA BIRLS record for the Army vet and assumed it was Robert Ivan Nichols. Common type of mistake. When doing research, you have to be careful with relatives who have common names to make sure you're not adding records of a total stranger to your tree. Usually seek more than 1 verifiable source for something like birth, death and marriage data.

I agree Betty, and also even if you are familiar with the family you are researching it is extra easy to grab the wrong record on Ancestry and not notice. Ancestry gives "hints" to suggest records that are similar to the info you enter in your tree. If you tell it to accept that hint, it attaches the records and auto fills the form in for you. With a few quick clicks you may accidentally save the wrong info. And it also uses other's family trees to suggest things. So if one person gets the info wrong in their tree, the wrong info may be saved on multiple trees. The hint tools are helpful for quickly building a tree but there can be errors when people have not carefully researched the tree or taken their time looking at the info. JMO.

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Whoop ... Whoop .... !!!!!!

 

[creepedout]

Full press conference has been put on Youtube.

 

[Gardener1850]

Anyone else find it interesting the snoopy sticker was from 1965 the year he went missing his family?

I wonder if this is something from one of his sons. Maybe something he kept to remember them?

 

[Gardener1850]

Pictures of some letters he sent:

James Renner on Twitter

 

[Bohemian Butterfly]

I'm curious about the penny he mailed his son. I wonder if the son kept it? If so, what year was it? I believe the envelope (with no letter, just a penny) was received in 1965.