VA - Grateful Dead Fan - Unidentified male, 26 June 1995 - #2

[KAE]

Not sure how long this will be available on youtube, but the bulletin from Unsolved Mysteries featuring Jason is there for viewing. In it, they show the actual note, though the phone number is blurred out.




I have it saved to my computer, as well.

Was this the first time the note had been shown? It's been a while since I've read any of the threads here.

The little drawing of the face is intriguing. It looks like there's stubble or a beard on the face... Jerry Garcia perhaps?

 

[Shecky]

Was this the first time the note had been shown? It's been a while since I've read any of the threads here.

The little drawing of the face is intriguing. It looks like there's stubble or a beard on the face... Jerry Garcia perhaps?

It's the only time I have seen the note, and I've been following the threads here for about four years.

The little smiley face intrigues me, too. According to Salem who posted in another thread, the cops believed the girls gave Jason a wrong number on purpose. But that note looks awfully friendly, and like it was left for him when he wasn't around. If one of the Carolines was trying to get out of giving Jason her contact info, she could have just split without ever leaving a note. I think the only time that girls purposefully give a guy the wrong number is when he is standing there pestering them for it. You know what I mean?

 

[theforgotten]

It's the only time I have seen the note, and I've been following the threads here for about four years.

The little smiley face intrigues me, too. According to Salem who posted in another thread, the cops believed the girls gave Jason a wrong number on purpose. But that note looks awfully friendly, and like it was left for him when he wasn't around.

I agree with you. Why draw a picture on it if your just going to give him the wrong number on purpose? I wonder if maybe these two woman were staying with someone and that is what they thought the number was at the place. Unfortunately, it wasn't. This leads me to wonder if maybe they were just a couple digits off. I just can't believe that they showed the note on Unsolved Mysteries over and over again and no one called in any info on it. This case just baffles me.

 

[NCSleuth]

No way they wrote that cute little note and gave the wrong number on purpose. I am glad we finally got to see the actual note. Changed my thinking completely. Originally I assumed that Caroline T. and Caroline O. were roommates and had the same number. The arrow points to Caroline T, she wrote the note. Still wish we could actually see the number.

Shecky, I have followed this case for years too and have never seen the note before. Great post!

 

[NCSleuth]

Ticket stubs. Looks like 2 different nights. Was the 2nd (bottome) ticket not used?

 

[indicajane]

This case has always broken my heart as well. I too was a grateful dead burnout I never followed them far, loved showers too well for all of that..But I went to about 11 shows throughout the southwest.

I also stopped going in '93, so I would not have run into Jason unfortunately...but I met and knew so many people like Jason, the only thing shocking to me is that there are not more UID like him. People who dropped out of society, and whose parents just wrote them off when he didn't come home. There were so many fringe people in the parking lots making veggie burritos.

I bet Jason had a backpack that is missing-which would explain the lack of id and wallet. Alot of the shows you would be required to show ID to enter..enough of them that you would def bring it with you as to not miss the show. All the boys I knew carried backpacks, so they had somewhere to stash all their clothing/wallet/copy of "on the road"/dope.

I do believe that Caroline(s) met Jason at the show, either that one, or an earlier one. I believe they either gave him a wrong number and a "happy" note, because they were supposed to hook up with him, and didn't want too. They wrote the note because they were too nice/well brought up to just leave him (perhaps waiting for them, if they were supposed to meet up), and wanted to leave some sort of contact on the chance that they run into him at the next show.

Sorry, no new info from me..just personal recollections of a fuzzy time in my past.

 

[Salem]

Ticket stubs. Looks like 2 different nights. Was the 2nd (bottome) ticket not used?

Yes, yes, yes. Ticket stubs are dated 6/24/1995 (Sat.) and 6/25/1995 (Sun.)

Looks like seat rows are 333 for Sat. and possibly 511 for Sun.?

This explains why there was no "date" and no one ever came forward to say they attended the concert with him.

I can't believe after 2 years - I am just now getting this info. LE certainly never said anything about it

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting that video!

Salem

 

[theforgotten]

Yes, yes, yes. Ticket stubs are dated 6/24/1995 (Sat.) and 6/25/1995 (Sun.)
Looks like seat rows are 333 for Sat. and possibly 511 for Sun.?
This explains why there was no "date" and no one ever came forward to say they attended the concert with him.
Salem

Wow, I can't believe it either. I always wondered if he went by himself. So it seems like he did. But, I wonder would a teenager, I mean someone 16-17 yrs old, go to a concert by themselves? If he were still a teenager, I wonder were he stayed those two days and what happened to his belongings. If he stayed with a friend wouldn't they have tried to find him. I would think that "Jason" would of had a backpack with him. Just thinking out loud!

 

[Brassband]

Wow, I can't believe it either. I always wondered if he went by himself. So it seems like he did. But, I wonder would a teenager, I mean someone 16-17 yrs old, go to a concert by themselves? If he were still a teenager, I wonder were he stayed those two days and what happened to his belongings. If he stayed with a friend wouldn't they have tried to find him. I would think that "Jason" would of had a backpack with him. Just thinking out loud!

Okay, I'll think out loud too.
Those Dead tickets have me really scratching my head. That concert wasn’t sold out per internet rumbles and photo ( http://digitalbootlegs.com/img/rfk95_after.jpg ), so why did he buy the tickets from a scalper and not at the door?
I did a google search to find another image of a similar ticket from the same concert date and time:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellebrecher/3221965688/
Although this isn’t our fan’s ticket, it is much clearer.
Just for fun, here’s the seating chart for RFK stadium: http://tickettransaction.com/VenueInformation.aspx?VenueID=510&eventID=undefined

What bothers me is if he had a wallet, why would he put the Caroline note in his pocket? Men save phone numbers in their wallets don’t they? So I don’t think he had a wallet, but, he spends money for 2 tickets and a t-shirt. That’s maybe $100. So he carried cash in his pocket? That doesn’t make sense either.

 

[theforgotten]

Brassband~ You bring up some really good points. If I remember correctly didn't the scalper in question not remember selling them to "Jason"? So maybe "Jason" was given those tickets. Maybe as a gift? I would think it would be cheaper buy from the box office then a scalper.

I agree he must have had a wallet. I wonder if maybe the wallet was stollen at some point after the accident by a passerby or someone else. I just can't imagine traveling to a concert out of town with no belongings.

 

[carbuff]

I wonder if his wallet was stolen earlier, maybe with his bus ticket or some other transportation home, and that was why he was bumming a ride?

 

[Brassband]

I wonder if his wallet was stolen earlier, maybe with his bus ticket or some other transportation home, and that was why he was bumming a ride?

That would make sense. Maybe it got lifted during the crush of dead crowd - after he bought tickets and t-shirt.

 

[mae]

Brassband~ You bring up some really good points. If I remember correctly didn't the scalper in question not remember selling them to "Jason"? So maybe "Jason" was given those tickets. Maybe as a gift? I would think it would be cheaper buy from the box office then a scalper.

It's very possible someone gave him a ticket. In the lot, you can hold up a single finger, and that indicates you are looking for a ticket. It's someone looking for a miracle. Like "I need a miracle [everyday]." And it means you are looking for a free ticket to the show.

But I am not sure it was be all that usual for someone to give him 2 tickets. I am used to it happening the night of--before the show in the lot. He might have had one ticket and got miracled the other? Did the scalper sell both the tickets?

I agree he must have had a wallet. I wonder if maybe the wallet was stollen at some point after the accident by a passerby or someone else. I just can't imagine traveling to a concert out of town with no belongings.

Either a wallet or a wallet in a backpack or bag of some sort. I thought it might have gotten thrown or stolen as well.

It's possible if he was just in town for those shows that he was traveling where the bare minimum. If he was traveling on the cheap, he might have gone in with the clothes on his back. I don't that it's that far fetched. Also,he could have lived in the area and just not had the belongings on him. If he was touring with the band, his stuff might have been at a campsite or in an RV or bus somewhere.

 

[mae]

That would make sense. Maybe it got lifted during the crush of dead crowd - after he bought tickets and t-shirt.

Or maybe he lost it dancing and having a good time. It's quite the atmosphere. It's very possible he lost it. Or was carrying as little info on him as possible. I know when I go to shows, I don't carry a lot of stuff, esp important stuff, with me. Especially if I am going to dance, dance, dance.

I carry cash and my ID and my ticket to a concert. (And my phone. But it's 2010.) I just bring the basics so I don't have to keep track of stuff. It makes sense that he might just carry the basics as well. Not traveling but to a show. I think it's possible he had left a campsite or something somewhere as well.

IIRC his system was clean right?

 

[Shecky]

I'm glad seeing the video has sparked new discussions!

Just as a note, Unsolved Mysteries segments are sometimes removed from Youtube due to copyright issues. If you want to save a copy of this video to your own computer for future reference, you can use one of these websites to download it. That's what I did.

http://keepvid.com/

http://www.savetube.com/

 

[Helper]

Some thoughts on Grateful Doe getting his tickets at the door: Even if the concert was not sold out (I'm not sure if it was or not), there was a huge problem particularly on the summer '95 tour of people showing up at the shows without tickets. They would beg for free "miracle" tickets, try to get in using counterfeit tickets, crash the gate or even just come to hang out in the parking lot to get drunk or sell t-shirts, sandwiches, etc. So it was very commonplace for people to show up without a ticket. As far as why he'd buy from a scalper, if the show isn't sold out and people are getting in on counterfeit tickets, etc., once it's showtime, the scalper would rather get whatever he can get, even a few dollars, than to go home with a worthless unused ticket.
Here is a link to the open letter to fans written by the Grateful Dead in early July 1995, threatening to stop performing concerts, and telling people not to show up if they hadn't bought a ticket: http://hake.com/gordon/deadletter.html

 

[carbuff]

Another thought: before 9/11, lots of people didn't normally carry ID unless they were going to do something that required it, like drive a car or cash a check. If GD was in high school or early college and didn't have his license, he might not even have had an ID to carry.

Credit cards weren't as common for kids his age, either. Cash cards were just coming into use.

So it doesn't surprise me that he might have gone off to a concert with nothing but enough cash for the trip.

 

[buffetoflies]

I got to thinking about this again and about how there was that person who called in about Jason asking questions about things that weren't released to the media, so maybe one of these people are him?

http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi

Seems it doesn't link right to the results so go under ADVANCED put FIRST NAME: jason, DEATH YEAR: 1995 June

Specifically:
Jason C Clarke
8-1-73 / 6-30-95
Cameron, Moore, NC

Thoughts?

 

[Helper]

Very interesting! The date of death is off by a few days, but the first name is right, and age is in the ballpark. Cameron is only a little more than an hour south of Durham, which would be on the direct path between Emporia, Va. and Inman, SC. I don't know why the death would be reported to Social Security and not to the Virginia authorities, but this seems worth looking into, if you can find an old death notice or obit for Clarke.
Cameron is a town of about 150 people, and home to three professional wrestlers!

 

[Helper]

I can't seem to find a Jason Clarke in the death records maintained by the Register of Deeds for Moore County. http://rod.moorecountync.gov/DEATH/SearchEntry.aspx

Ancestry.com has records of Jason Cecil Clarke, dying in 1995, but dying in Lee County, NC.