WY WY - Donald Kemp, 35, Cheyenne, 16 November 1982

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Tricia

Tricia

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It is a case off of "Unsolved Mysteries", Sitcoms Online has a message board that still researches cold cases from that show. The crazier aspects of this story come from his sister's online postings there and elsewhere. The original broadcast did not touch on the paranormal, just the missing person.
 
I think the so-called "crazier aspects" of this story, while definitely garnering attention, in the end sadly skewer honest attempts to find out what happened. Even a conspiracy buff like me has to chuckle at the notion that his research on Lincoln somehow is to blame. And this is not even to touch upon the paranormal "possibilities." The truth is almost always mundane. Shave with Occam's Razor whenever possible -- and that is to say, always.
 
I find his interest in Lincoln - well of interest, lol. Maybe because my childhood and my town's economy are so dependant upon Lincoln related items, points of interest, etc.

I think it much more likely that the unusual homesteader who moved on shortly after being questioned about the phone call is the best lead to follow on this one though.

I may have to try to do some poking on this one.

If there was a strong physical resemblance between Don and MD, it would stand to reason that perhaps MD was seen by those reporting having seen someone who may have bee Don in Wyoming. They could have seen either man if they looked so similar and mistaken MD for the missing person, Don. But that does not explain the phone call from MD's trailer to the Don friend.
 
Or the guy in the trailer planned to "become" him or pass himself off as such but the plan was ditched for whatever reason.
 
Roughly putting some of the pieces together, it could have went like this. He abandoned the car, took a duffel bag with different clothes, ( bag was found) changed his clothes (socks found in a placed that was suitable for changing without being seen) broke down and called his friend. When he regained his senses denied the call. How long was this guy renting the trailer? What was in Wyoming? What arrangement were made in Wyoming for him to live? What was his financial situation, took all of his money in cash and left? Bank accounts and credit cards? What was his last purchase and location? There is a lot of information missing but a lot of "fluff"
 
I'm curious how Kemp's body was identified as Kemp? Was a dna test done?

As far as police questioning MD, Le has at times questioned a POI, then released that person only to discover their error later.
Even the newspaper article said the LE investigation was inconclusive. What the heck is a documented high school photo? Somebody said it was him, and a notary placed his seal on it?

There's certainly more than meets the eye on this story, but it also has something of a rotten fish smell to it.
 
justthinkin said:
I'm curious how Kemp's body was identified as Kemp? Was a dna test done?

As far as police questioning MD, Le has at times questioned a POI, then released that person only to discover their error later.
Even the newspaper article said the LE investigation was inconclusive. What the heck is a documented high school photo? Somebody said it was him, and a notary placed his seal on it?
There's certainly more than meets the eye on this story, but it also has something of a rotten fish smell to it.
Click to expand...

I don't put any weight on the police and the high school pic. The police may have been just going through the motions so they could go home.
 
Kemp's sister replied to my article elsewhere:
You are right about some of this as there are elements of possible government conspiracy, ghosts, psychics, robbery, UFO's, seances, unexplained deaths of anyone we gave Don's things to,and many other things. Stonewalling, refusals of government officials to search and cooperate with my mother or I, and missing records, the list goes on and on. We were 25 years ahead of Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures etc., I always hesitated, or just never told anyone about a lot of this, but with proof now of "something" being there as seen on these programs ( whatever the heck it is I have no idea), I guess all of this won't sound as crazy as it would had 30 years ago, who would believe what I saw and experienced. This wasn't a large part at all, because Don had done years of research before we ever had the seance, planning his book on the Lincoln assassination and really the seance was mostly my fault, I thought it would be a kick just to see what would happen. It was also my fault that we ever went to the Surratt house in Clinton Maryland. I'm sorry I ever suggested it. The UFO thing was only suggested by a UFO group who were camped out the night my brother went missing very close to his vehicle, they were researching some cattle mutilations. They called me a couple years later telling me things, I dismissed them as a little off the wall and forgot about it until Dr. Angel told me his findings. Also a little weird, not too long before Don left on his trip, he gave me a book on the universe, he turned to a page that said The Pleiades, and said, "I don't know why, but I feel this may be of some importance, or interest". I put the book on my book shelf and forgot about it. The UFO group said they felt whatever the heck they were looking for came from a place called "The Pleiades". I'm just telling the story exactly it it happened, just the facts that really happened. People can believe of disbelieve what I say, it's of no importance to me. I never mentioned the Pleiades thing before, it was just too weird, and I don't know what all of this means. I never said UFO stuff, it was a group that were staying out there at the time who contacted me. It's hard enough to swallow paranormal stuff, but then they threw this in and it was all too much. It's an unbelievable story, and may all have been a vast coincidence from beginning to end, but I know what I lived through and experienced, and it's all the truth.

Read more: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=233928&page=6#ixzz3K6yNqzeB
Click to expand...
 
The resemblance between Mark Dennis and Kemp actually makes me think there is less reason to believe Dennis was Kemp, because if Kemp wanted to disappear and assume a different identity, he would have try to make him look very different from his old self, in hair and other features. But the resemblance does make me ask, is it possible that the reported sightings of Kemp were actually sightings of Dennis?

I wonder if the LE has continued to keep track of Mark Dennis?

Now re the possibility of being murdered because he discovered something relating to Lincoln's assassination: What could that be? I mean, it was 100+ years ago, not like the JFK assassination where some people involved or their close kin are still living. Who would fear the disclosure of something about Lincoln's death? A descendant of the assassin? Not so likely to be motivated enough to commit murder, would it?

Another thing: the hole on Kemp's head: could it be from a gunshot, or definitely not gunshot?
 
I would really like to see the high school photos of both Mark Dennis and Kemp, who are said by his own mother and sister to look like doppelgangers, and which high schools they each went to. Why don't the LE release the photos and more info?
 
Ok so I just realized the article I linked is the same as in the OP Unsolved Mysteries and Scary Stuff: Donald Kemp’s Strange Death

Anyway, since no one quoted the interesting info:

"The autopsy did find a small hole drilled in Don’s skull and the doctors on hand couldn’t conclude what created it. Attempts to duplicate the puncture couldn’t accomplish that goal. The family was curious how the Institute had heard of Kemp’s case, as it hadn’t been widely spread."

"Don’s sister remains convinced that her brother uncovered something huge during the endless hours he had spent studying archived information on Lincoln’s death. He had indicated as much, without diving into details into what he actually uncovered. She found out that the family of Dr. Samuel Mudd, the doctor infamous for helping John Wilkes Booth after he broke his leg leaping from the President’s theater balcony, had contacted Don and received paperwork that they had hoped would help exonerate their long dead relative."

Maybe someone was motivated enough by the desire to protect their dead ancestor's reputation to commit murders? We are talking about 3 murders. If that's true, though, I'd believe the murder(s) had committed other murders unrelated to the Lincoln/Kemp case.
 
^That's me (rejoined) :) . Today's article caught my eye:

John Wilkes Booth 'got away with killing Abraham Lincoln by evading capture, living under aliases' | Daily Mail Online

"But an investigator with the Discovery Channel series Mummies Unwrapped says that modern-day face recognition technology shows that Booth’s face matched with that of two other men - John St. Helen and David E. George.

The researchers ran the images of St. Helen, George, and Booth through a computer and found that there was a strong possibility that these three individuals were the same man.

12810068-6968307-image-m-66_1556428700124.jpg

+6
12810064-6968307-image-a-67_1556428705666.jpg


Facial recognition technology used on photos of Booth and two other men - David E. George (right) and John St. Helen - indicate that they are likely the same person

Just before St. Helen is purported to have died in 1877, he told Finis L. Bates, an acquaintance of his in Granbury, Texas: ‘I am dying. My name is John Wilkes Booth, and I am the assassin of President Lincoln.’

Bates, the grandfather of Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates, said that St. Helen told him that Lincoln’s assassination was masterminded by Vice President Andrew Johnson.

Johnson then allegedly gave him a password allowing him to escape the manhunt that ensued, according to the History Channel.


Finis L. Bates, a Texas lawyer, says John St. Helen confessed to him that he was John Wilkes Booth in 1877

St. Helen said that the man who was killed in the Virginia barn was passed off as the assassin so that the soldiers who tracked him down could claim the reward.

The man who was buried in the Booth family plot in Baltimore is innocent, while the real John Wilkes Booth used aliases to live another 38 years."

So, it's possible the murder of Don Kemp was masterminded by Andrew Johnson's descendants or Booth's descendants. I would think Andrew Johnson's would have more likely to have a motive.

Thoughts?
 
To add: Wonder if Don Kemp, in his research, found evidence of Andrew Johnson's involvement in the assassination.
 
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