What are your theories

[DrDMike]

Long time lurker here.
Anyways, I have been fascinated with this case for years. I know there had been discussion on whether he was an American or not. Does anyone know if he was circumcised? IF he was, then he is almost an American.

 

[mjak]

Long time lurker here.
Anyways, I have been fascinated with this case for years. I know there had been discussion on whether he was an American or not. Does anyone know if he was circumcised? IF he was, then he is almost an American.

Or an Israelie or from any where all of this Planet where Jewish People live. Oh and circumsion is not limited to just people in the United States nor Jewish People. Circumsion is definitly more common in the United States but it is by no means exclusive to the USA.

mjak

 

[SouthernSeaSnail]

I'm very far from the USA and circusion is very common. There are health, religion and personal preferance reasons.

 

[DrDMike]

I'm very far from the USA and circusion is very common. There are health, religion and personal preferance reasons.

Which part?
I'm just saying that there was no indication to suggest that Jason Doe wasn't American. If he was cut, then the odds of him being American are more likely.

 

[DrDMike]

If we knew what was in his stomach, it might help to trace his last movements. For example, if he and the driver had the same contents then maybe Jason was at the driver's house.

 

[SouthernSeaSnail]

If we knew what was in his stomach, it might help to trace his last movements. For example, if he and the driver had the same contents then maybe Jason was at the driver's house.

If you read the main thread you'll see that they were at the fathers house (if that was GD that was with the driver) together. I can't remember where the driver lived right now, but if my memory serves me correct, the driver had seen his girlfriend, then stoppedin at the dad before going on to his mom. GD also had no money on him, so either he ate nothing or the driver bought him food?

 

[DrDMike]

If you read the main thread you'll see that they were at the fathers house (if that was GD that was with the driver) together. I can't remember where the driver lived right now, but if my memory serves me correct, the driver had seen his girlfriend, then stoppedin at the dad before going on to his mom. GD also had no money on him, so either he ate nothing or the driver bought him food?

I thought they were not clear when the driver and JD met. For example, if JD had tacos in his stomach, they could search taco shops around a certain radius. Maybe someone remembered him or even had surveillance video. I don't think he was broke. He had money for tickets and did not appear to be a transient. I would also be interested in his nails; were they clean? That would tell that he wasn't hitchhiking for long.

 

[DrDMike]

Based on his teeth and lack of drugs in his system, I believe he was raised by older people. He was probably very sheltered and decided to explore life. This did not last long since he wasn't transient-looking. I suspect he was probably raised by grandparents.

 

[SouthernSeaSnail]

Could be, but the big question is why was he never declared missing? I'm leaning toward the idea that his family knew it was him in the accident and never claimed his body. I also don't think his name was Jason.

 

[DrDMike]

Could be, but the big question is why was he never declared missing? I'm leaning toward the idea that his family knew it was him in the accident and never claimed his body. I also don't think his name was Jason.

He could have been reported missing but never properly investigated. His case maybe on the doenetwork but no one was been able to match him. Maybe his caretakers died shortly after he died.

 

[masootz]

i think he either lost his stuff or had it stolen during the concert. i think he was scheduled to meet up with people after the show and didn't make it to the rendezvous spot until later. i think the note was for him, although i don't think it was from people he knew very well so it's possible they wrote "jason" when his name was justin or james simply due to not knowing him well. i don't think the carolines had any reason to worry about him as i suspect they had probably offered him a ride if he needed it but weren't counting on him being there. a likely scenario would be him mentioning that his stuff was stolen or lost and them saying "well if you can't find it, meet us at our car by x o'clock and we'll give you a ride" or something similar.

i think he started hitchhiking and the driver happened upon him, recognized a fellow hippy, and offered him a ride. it's possible the driver was going past where doe needed to be, but it's a lot more likely he was simply going to drive him to wherever their paths diverged and doe was planning to figure it out on the fly from there. i don't think doe came from a great family but i don't think there are any conspiracies about it - likely simply was unfortunate enough to not have a lot of people who cared that much. he might have a pattern of running away or disappearing. he's likely someone that classmates from high school wonder "what ever happened to that guy?" but not enough close friends for someone to make a connection.

at this point, almost two decades later, i don't think there's a chance of finding either of the carolines or having someone come forward on purpose to find him. i think a dna match is the best hope.

 

[shadowdancer]

I have come to believe that the person who called LE after Jason was killed and seemed to know details about him that were not released, was a member of his family. They know he is dead, but for some reason they have not claimed his body. Perhaps they were poor and worried about the funeral costs or maybe they had disowned him and were not interested in giving him a funeral.

Its a heartbreaking thought that his family are willfully not claiming him, and that we will likely never find out his true identity, but this is by far the most likely scenario given the phone call that was made to LE.

I do still live in hope that I am wrong and that the answer is out there amongst the missing persons reports. I often think of Lee Buckle, who I think looks awfully like Jason, but circumstances are a big stretch and there are differences in their stats too... http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/4828702.Parents__appeal_to_find_son/?ref=rss

 

[DrDMike]

You know how some people have a certain look and you know their ethnicity? Does Jason look ethnic to anyone?

 

[elliha]

1. I don't think his name was Jason. He might either have reinvented himself and chosen
Jason or someone just got his name wrong when writing the note.
2. I think he might have been European and that's why he was never reported missing. His relatives might have decided that he had disappeared volontarily and if looking for him later they might not have even thought of the possibility of him being dead.
3. I think he is older than he looks.
4. I can't completely disregard the Amish angle although I think it is more likely in this case than most others.

 

[zapped]

I dont really have a theory on this but this guy looks an AWFUL lot like a guy wearing a tye died shirt a friend and I picked up on Route 1 from Florida to Va when I was 21....That was 22 years ago so Im not sure the math is right.This guy was a HUGE Grateful Dead fan who told us he was travelling the country following them wherever they played.

I remember him because he actually saved our lives.We were having trouble with our catalytic converter which I fixed before we picked him up at a service station in SC I believe. I had been driving 10 hours straight under very stressful conditions (30mph top speed going across the Savannah bridge in rush hour traffic) until I knocked a hole in the converter with a hammer.

I was falling asleep behind the wheel and my friend didnt have a license. I actually dozed off and ran off the road a number of times before this guy talked me into letting him drive. I asked him if he was going to kill us in our sleep and he laughed and said no so I handed him the keys. I was THAT tired to trust a total stranger to drive.

We dropped him off in Richmond Va about 6 hours from his goal of New York.

 

[carterkatt]

Interesting, Zapped.... do you remember if he told his name or anything about himself? Where was he from, etc??

TIA

 

[zapped]

After 20 years I cant remember much detail at all. I did sit down and try to recall his name and even sent an email to my friend who was a passenger but so far no response.

Im not even sure on the state we picked him up at.It could have been any state between Va and Florida.I do know that I slept for at least 6 hours while he drove us safely back to Richmond Va. That combined with me driving for a number of hours prior to him taking the wheel points to either South Carolina or Georgia.

Have you ever been so tired from driving that you've run off the road a couple of times because you've fallen asleep behind the wheel? My friend and this guy were begging me to stop and let anyone else drive before I killed us all and I was so tired I was fighting them about it.

I think thats part of the reason why my recollection is so fuzzy on this in addition to the time thats passed.

I wonder if law enforcement checked out leads on runaways in the southern states? I'm about 80 percent certain that the hitchhiker told me ran away from home at 16 and had been following the Grateful Dead ever since.

If I can recall any other details or my friend gets back to me Ill post here as soon as time allows.

I want to point out that Im not saying this for attention or any reason other than genuinely wanting to help.I know there have been issues with things like that on this and other crime forums in the past due to mentally ill individuals, people wanting attention, trying to fit in etc. I know I'm new and that makes me automatically a little suspect at least in the eyes of a few so I wanted to clear that up.

I joined the forums to research a possible connection to Robert Hourihan and my fathers best friend whos been missing for 16 years named Waverly Sharpe. In looking through the forums I saw The Grateful Dead Fans pic and he looked familiar.

 

[mae]

I don't think he was broke. He had money for tickets and did not appear to be a transient.

One note—free tickets, called a "miracle," at a GD show were common. While it's less likely because both tickets were traced to a guy who was selling tickets, there is a possibility someone else bought them and passed them along to him. I wish they had gotten more information out of the ticket seller. He seems like he would have more information on how he got rid of them at the very least.

My thought is that he was specifically going to these shows. He purchased tickets, made his way to a show close to his home, and was making his way back home, broke. I don't think he was a transient either. It always sounded like he was hitching a ride home after the show.

Or it's possible he was hitching a ride to the next show. The next 2 shows were at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan on June 27 and 28. It is 564 miles from the DC shows. But where he was found, Greensville, VA, is the opposite direction.

 

[zapped]

It appears from the tattoo listed in John Does photos that he was also a fan of a band called His Infernal Majesty or H.I.M for short. Its been mistaken for a star but is known as a heart a gram and was created by the bands singer.

It looks like that band didnt have their first U.S tour until 2005 BUT that doesnt mean that they didnt open shows for other bands. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable in music could look into that for us?

 

[mae]

From the NAMUS thread:

i also looked into the HIM connection, thinking jason doe might be from finland. but, HIM was a very small band when the accident happened. he would've had to have been a VERY early fan. in fact, the logo would have been first created the year jason died.

But according to another site, it was created for the band in 1996, after Jason's death. And on the singer's 20th birthday, which is 1996.

The heartagram was originally created in 1996 by Ville Valo as the symbol for HIM. The band is self titled as a "love metal" band in which they use heavy metal guitar and base lines to create love songs.

The History of the Heartagram
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5130038_history-heartagram.html#ixzz2UsUloxv3

To me, it always looked like an amateur, home-done tattoo, and the edges are just rounded due to inexperience not because it's the heartagram. Sites indicate it was not a professional tattoo.