I'm giving the idea of CIA involvement a second look after doing some research. Beginning around the late 1940's, the CIA began looking to recruit on college campuses so the possibility does exist. Professors and administrators at certain colleges often referred names of students whom they felt had "possibilities" to the intelligence agency. Recruits had to complete detailed personal histories and submit to lie detector tests, as well as physical, psychological and psychiatric tests. In addition, they had to undergo a background clearance test of AT LEAST 4 MONTHS duration. That fits in with the blood test Tammen went for 5 months earlier, to a doctor off campus whom he never saw before or would not see again; rather secretive. Maybe he got those tests out of the way, then when his clearance time was up, he "disappeared", much like Richard Colvin Cox. I don't hold too much stock in this theory but I thought it interesting nonetheless.
After spending more time on this case this week, that CIA theory might not be far off as some people think. I used to conclude that Tammen was a victim of foul play or amnesia. But, looking through the evidence this week, looking at the actual police reports and his room in Fisher Hall, I'm starting to believe he left on his own, a decision that had been planned for some time. All his belongings in his pockets and room were left behind as was his car. In the scribbles of the police report, it mentioned the book that he was studying was a psychology book for his class and it was opened to a chapter titled, "HABITS." Perhaps these may have deliberate clues–whether intentional or not, but probably the latter and he didn't realize it at the time.
And now, depending on whether he actually had a dead fish placed in his bed and heard a disturbance outside his room in the hall, is the question of speculation. With the disturbance set aside, let's focus on the dead fish aspect. Receiving a dead fish is not a good thing. If your Italian, receiving a dead fish on your front porch or in your bed is a message to the receiver that they will be killed very soon. The mafia has always used the dead fish tactic as well as the Jewish mafia. And receiving a dead fish doesn't mean that it relates or comes from those two sources mentioned above.
But, what if... what if Tammen was already hired and working on campus for the CIA to spy on other students or a certain professor or administrative personnel? CIA have been known in the past to hire and train students before they even graduate with a degree and the CIA was certainly recruiting many young men during the Cold War era in the 1950's midwest and back east. Perhaps if there was a dead fish found in his bed, it might be possible that it could have been a message to let him know that whoever he was spying on knew about him and what he was doing.
I wonder if there was a telephone somewhere in Fisher Hall and he used it when going to pick up his new sheets? When he went to pick them up later on, he could have stopped to use a phone to tell his CIA contact that he found a dead fish in his bed. Perhaps Tammen did not know its meaning, maybe he did, and his contact told him to act normal, go back to the room because someone was coming to pick him up right away. And when they were to arrive, his previous instructions were to leave everything there because he was leaving immediately and indefinitely. No turning or going back, ever!
This CIA theory seems much more plausible and makes more sense. Look at at the givens of the time and day... it was cold and snowing, he disappears after he makes his bed. The last people to see him ever again were his next door neighbor he had been studying with and the house attendant who gave him new bed sheets. When I studied his room, I could see that his second floor window that overlooked the porch entrance to Fisher Hall was very large. If no one saw Tammen leave Fisher Hall, it is quite possible that he was waiting to be picked up by a contact and he snuck out via the window or a side fire escape on the second floor. Either he was waiting for a ride or he left after making the bed to go and meet his ride at a remote location not far away.
After looking at all of this again, this seems like a very good aspect. It seems so much more likely, than the homosexual/hate crime theory one of the current detectives believes. Not a bad theory, but there isn't much to support a hate crime against a student who was happy, well-respected, talented, and content with his life. As stated above, it's just odd he left without a coat, hat, money, ID, wallet, money, etc., on a night that was freezing and snowing. As for the money–the $11 or $12 he left behind in his wallet and the untouched $200 in his bank account...he had no need for them. Why? Because if he was cajoled by and made it into the CIA, he would have been given large amounts or frequent stipends of cash and they would have provided another bank for him–any bank, anywhere...any of his choosing.
In all, I'm starting to believe this CIA theory. And would explain his request to have his blood typed months before he disappeared. I believe someone on that campus–whether a professor, counselor, or admin, etc., was a working recruiter for the CIA and they set their sights on Tammen and he responded with rapid interest through physical tests, psychological tests, blood typing, and so on... while the CIA was... or had... already done his background investigation (in which the CIA did without the person's consent and knowledge). And it makes even more sense with the way the school officials brushed it off months and years later, especially how they reacted when they became angry and snippy with the Doctor whenever he spoke to the media about Tammen's request for his blood typing. It might also explain why the police investigation was haphazard at the time and throughout the years, and why the FBI never did anything with the case as well. Also, I now doubt that the young man Barbara Spivey talked to was Tammen that night he disappeared.
Perhaps the night of April 19, 1953 was a worst case scenario that happened unexpectedly and the CIA gave Tammen a new life, name, career, social security number, driver's license number, and home–possibly a home in another country. And with that, Ron Tammen, Jr. still might be alive today. Until they find his remains, this theory is my best bet!
Also, check out this article from
Covert Action Information Bulletin, Winter 1989, pp. 25-28:
Students, Scholars, and Spies: The CIA on Campus
by Robert Witanek