WA - Unidentified Male: "Lyle Stevik", Grays Harbor, 17 Sept 2001 - #5

[DayLea]

If it's privacy one craves, killing oneself at a motel seems illogical. There are many remote areas one could go and never be found. If he gave it any consideration at all, he must have had some inkling that his death would be investigated. Just a thought.

 

[marble]

A tangential thought I just had (which won't help solve this, but tips the probability of this poor man's death being a suicide -as has been ruled-rather than foul play) is that poor Lyle had been trying to starve himself to death over a long period of time, and when that failed to happen he finally mustered up the courage to hang himself.
His thinness appears anorectic and bulimics (if he'd been purging) often have injuries to their knuckles as well as bloated faces. I feel very sorry for this person, and am sad he was tormented enough to take his own life.

 

[dotr]

Lengthy article..

http://lodgingmagazine.com/taking-steps-to-help-prevent-suicides-in-hotels/
rbbm.


"What, then, can a hotel really do to prevent the tragedy of suicide?

“Plenty,” Patt says. “I’m talking about early detection of potentially problematic guests. They might come without a reservation, without luggage, and pay in cash; that’s a clear red flag of someone who might have an immediate agenda—it could be suicide. Watch for guests displaying signs of agitation or extreme nervousness. If something seems amiss with how guests interact, try to communicate with them and draw out more information—something important might surface.”


snip>


"While most large hotel chains have protocols in place for handling suicides, smaller hotels often do not. They would be wise to take a lesson from their larger counterparts, Smither says. “Hotels where I worked had a system in place: We recorded the event, called the police, called the coroner, removed the body, contracted for cleanup, and inventoried the person’s personal effects and turned them over to police. Employees were trained to simply back out of the room and call for security if they found a body. After all, it could be suicide, but it could also be homicide, a natural death, or someone just unconscious.”

 

[outofthedark]

A short timeline that I put together:

September 14, 2001

• Checks in as "Lyle Stevik" with an address of 1019 S. Progress Ave. from Meridian, ID. Does not have identification, but B allowed him in since he appeared harmless. Two buses came in at the same time, but B does not see him get off of either bus, and does not know how he arrived.

• B gives him the key to his initial room, but returns an hour later complaining of noise from the nearby trailer park. He is asked if he had a shower, but denies it. Staff later finds out that he did. He is transferred to a different room

• B stated that in her interaction with him later in the day, he gave off "bad vibes" and made her nervous. She reports that he seemed "spaced", but did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

September 15, 2001

• B states that she saw him pacing by the highway, during an unstated time of the day. She is overall unsure why he was doing it.

• Interacted with maid M. He did not respond to her initial attempt to answer the door. He did not want room service, but wanted clean towels.

• Afternoon hours: Was seen standing on the porch outside of his room by several people

September 16th, 2001

• According to M's recollection to her daughter V (posted to FB in 2014), his interaction was described as "rude". Unverified if this took place on Sunday.

• No confirmed interaction with B.

 

[Babyslims]

I know, huh?

I feel very sad for this man and my heart goes out to him. But I can't help but feel that he may not appreciate/want every thing we are doing to try to identify him. He obviously used a fake name bc he didn't want people to know who he was. And yet we (the public) have access to images of his most private moment. We are pointing every possible mark or hair on his body. We are speculating every aspect of his last few days. I wonder how he would feel about that. I dont really know how to say what im feeling. Maybe guilt? Invasion of privacy? Am I making any sense?

He may very well have wanted to never be identified but what if he did not check into the motel with the intention of suicide? Maybe he was on the run for some reason and didn't want to get caught and used a false name. Maybe he felt cornered and the only way was suicide? Its kinda weird he didn't do that soon after checking in......

and I don't know what it is exactly but since all this new information has been released, something seems fishy..

 

[SeriouslySearching]

If it's privacy one craves, killing oneself at a motel seems illogical. There are many remote areas one could go and never be found. If he gave it any consideration at all, he must have had some inkling that his death would be investigated. Just a thought.

Exactly! He was within a hike's distance of remote wilderness if he wanted to go out anonymously. He knew he would be found quickly in a motel...within a day and that police would have to be involved. Lyle chose to be a known mystery. Daylea, you are right. There was nothing private about his death.

 

[Sluether87]

He may very well have wanted to never be identified but what if he did not check into the motel with the intention of suicide? Maybe he was on the run for some reason and didn't want to get caught and used a false name. Maybe he felt cornered and the only way was suicide? Its kinda weird he didn't do that soon after checking in......

and I don't know what it is exactly but since all this new information has been released, something seems fishy..

I think maybe you are right about him being on the run, I have thought about that also. But it is one of those things that you can speculate endlessly about with no concrete answer. Did he have mental health issues? Depression? Money troubles? Relationship woes? A death in the family? Problems at work etc.? We may never know. All that we do know is that he had a life he felt like he could not or did not want to return to.

With regard to your other point, I think it is very likely that he at least thought about, or took some steps towards attempting suicide in the first room once he had checked in. As has been mentioned before, when asked about his activities in the first room he stated that the pillows were messed up, but that he had not showered. I agree with those who believe he probably used the same method with the pillows, and found for whatever reason that it would not work e.g. the pillows would not fit, the rail was unstable etc. so he made up an excuse about the noise in order to try again in a different room.

My feelings based on what I have read are that he had been to this place before and was somewhat familiar with the location. There are probably a number of very simple explanations about how he arrived at the Inn, where he came from and whether he had/or disposed of his belongings, but things have been complicated by people not paying much attention to him or just not noticing him.

 

[Dylgem22]

Maybe "Lyle" was running from something, such as a crime? Maybe he committed something or had been involved with something illegal, either in that location (maybe he got a newspaper to see if there was anything being reported on the crime??) or even in Idaho, he had to have known that Best Western address somehow. Maybe the crisp money didn't come from "Lyle" but was given to him in exchange for something? Hush money? or for a favor? Were his entire actions accounted for while pacing the highway? Did someone see him the entire time and see him walk back to the motel? Maybe he felt guilty for doing what he did and that is why he hung himself? I just find it weird to have fresh, clean bills if you were planning on killing yourself, unless you needed them for something else that didn't pan out as expected, and he felt his only escape from whatever was to hang himself ...

 

[dotr]

Thinking about the newspaper Lyle bought and the kind of news Lyle might have been affected by..


"Sept. 17, 2001 684.81 (-7.13%) 8,920.70 The market plunged on the first day of trading after the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks against the U.S."

Read more: The Biggest One-Day Declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average http://www.infoplease.com/business/economy/declines-dow-jones-industrial-average.html#ixzz3bMIpzAb5

 

[emeraldine]

If it's privacy one craves, killing oneself at a motel seems illogical. There are many remote areas one could go and never be found. If he gave it any consideration at all, he must have had some inkling that his death would be investigated. Just a thought.

Hmm. To me, it means that he wanted to be buried with dignity, and not leave his body to lie out in the elements(and, possibly, that he wanted to be sure nobody investigated his death as a murder...notes that say, "Suicide," don't last very long in the woods).

Only he could ever know why he did what he did in the way he did, though.

 

[emeraldine]

I do not think they meant to release the pics & I'll be surprised if anything else gets released

I agree.

 

[emeraldine]

A short timeline that I put together:

September 14, 2001

• Checks in as "Lyle Stevik" with an address of 1019 S. Progress Ave. from Meridian, ID. Does not have identification, but B allowed him in since he appeared harmless. Two buses came in at the same time, but B does not see him get off of either bus, and does not know how he arrived.

• B gives him the key to his initial room, but returns an hour later complaining of noise from the nearby trailer park. He is asked if he had a shower, but denies it. Staff later finds out that he did. He is transferred to a different room

• B stated that in her interaction with him later in the day, he gave off "bad vibes" and made her nervous. She reports that he seemed "spaced", but did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

September 15, 2001

• B states that she saw him pacing by the highway, during an unstated time of the day. She is overall unsure why he was doing it.

• Interacted with maid M. He did not respond to her initial attempt to answer the door. He did not want room service, but wanted clean towels.

• Afternoon hours: Was seen standing on the porch outside of his room by several people

September 16th, 2001

• According to M's recollection to her daughter V (posted to FB in 2014), his interaction was described as "rude". Unverified if this took place on Sunday.

• No confirmed interaction with B.

Thank you very much for taking the time to write all this out. It's very helpful.

I wonder if the thing that made him seem "rude" was the fact that he didn't open the door for the maid on the first try, but came out on the second try(well, I'm assuming it was the second try) asking for towels. Maybe the combination of those two things rubbed her the wrong way.

 

[DayLea]

Hmm. To me, it means that he wanted to be buried with dignity, and not leave his body to lie out in the elements(and, possibly, that he wanted to be sure nobody investigated his death as a murder...notes that say, "Suicide," don't last very long in the woods).

Only he could ever know why he did what he did in the way he did, though.

BBM
If they're in a jar they do: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?32202-LA-Belle-Chasse-WhtMale-16-17-Hanging-Using-Bedsheet-Feb-75
Just food for thought!

 

[emeraldine]

Unless the torrential rain and soft ground bury the jar.

 

[emeraldine]

To all the people who believe he was murdered due to the manner in which he hanged himself(or due to other reasons not mentioned): what is it that looks suspicious? The scene was so meticulous, he did what he could to ensure his comfort, and he behaved strangely in the days leading up to his death.

I'm not saying that a death that's ruled a suicide can never be murder(see: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...alen-Norway-WhtFem-503UFNOR-Soviet-Spy-Nov-70)...but, the idea that Lyle was murdered just strikes me as so unlikely.

 

[Deleted member 152168]

I do not think they meant to release the pics & I'll be surprised if anything else gets released

Incorrect. I'm sick of defending myself against people who don't know anything about Washington's Public Records Laws and accuse me of acting improperly or unlawfully when I released the documents. For your information, here's the law: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56. Take a look specifically at RCW 42.56.240, as it governs law enforcement records. You can also take a look here: http://www.seattle.gov/police/contact/PublicRequestUnit.htm for an example of exceptional compliance with WA records laws.

 

[dotr]

Incorrect. I'm sick of defending myself against people who don't know anything about Washington's Public Records Laws and accuse me of acting improperly or unlawfully when I released the documents. For your information, here's the law: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56. Take a look specifically at RCW 42.56.240, as it governs law enforcement records. You can also take a look here: http://www.seattle.gov/police/contact/PublicRequestUnit.htm for an example of exceptional compliance with WA records laws.

Thanks for all you have done, especially for providing us with very helpful information!

 

[Babyslims]

Incorrect. I'm sick of defending myself against people who don't know anything about Washington's Public Records Laws and accuse me of acting improperly or unlawfully when I released the documents. For your information, here's the law: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56. Take a look specifically at RCW 42.56.240, as it governs law enforcement records. You can also take a look here: http://www.seattle.gov/police/contact/PublicRequestUnit.htm for an example of exceptional compliance with WA records laws.

The pics are kinda saddening but this new information/pics have seemed to produce a little more attention to his case and I'm all for that.

There are some other cases where photos were released so I don't see this much different than those cases except most of those are homicide cases.

Thanks for sharing though, and educating us on the legal aspect of it :hug:

 

[mountainash]

A tangential thought I just had (which won't help solve this, but tips the probability of this poor man's death being a suicide -as has been ruled-rather than foul play) is that poor Lyle had been trying to starve himself to death over a long period of time, and when that failed to happen he finally mustered up the courage to hang himself.
His thinness appears anorectic and bulimics (if he'd been purging) often have injuries to their knuckles as well as bloated faces. I feel very sorry for this person, and am sad he was tormented enough to take his own life.

I think you're spot on with this theory. It might also explain why all he had in his possession besides the clothes he was wearing was a toothbrush.

 

[outofthedark]

I think that if Lyle didn't want to be found he would have gone into the woods, or to be harder to find, a cave. The fact that he checked into a hotel says that he did want to be found, but probably didn't want to be sent home for reasons only known to him.