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There was a bus and train station across the street at the time, called Union Station. It later shut down in 1973, from what I found online, due to less people taking trains (which also had led to the decline of the hotel). That was a common issue in the 1970s with the gradual decline of railroads. Many years later, after a lot of revitalization efforts, Union Station reopened as a train and bus station in 2017.
Anyway, it's certainly very possible that "Bruce Peck" came by bus or train from somewhere to the station across the street and then to the hotel. This is never mentioned in the 2022 article at the top of this thread, nor in fact in any of the old articles I've seen so far on Newspapers.com, although I've just started looking at them. As a side note, the 2022 article at the top is available on Newspapers.com if you have a subscription to that, as well as being available through a $5 day pass from the original news site. It's very worth reading.
Going back to the old newspaper stories of the time..this article mentions the bus traffic across the street. Dec 24, 1971, page 14 - The Morning Union at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com
There was a Holiday Inn, too, according to the above article, yet he was staying at the rundown Hotel Charles. He was seemingly down on his luck. Today, if there is no physical evidence they could get usable DNA from in police files, and according to the 2022 article it is thought there is not, the best chance to I'd him would be to exhume him. Even with that, it would probably take genetic genealogy to identify him. Maybe someday..
In the articles I've read, it was said he wasn't seen since the time he checked in on a friday, until he was found dead on on Sunday. I have not read if it was checked if anyone might have seen him arrive in Springfield on a bus or train at the station across the street, which might have given some indication where he came from, besides the fake Connecticut address.
Anyway, it's certainly very possible that "Bruce Peck" came by bus or train from somewhere to the station across the street and then to the hotel. This is never mentioned in the 2022 article at the top of this thread, nor in fact in any of the old articles I've seen so far on Newspapers.com, although I've just started looking at them. As a side note, the 2022 article at the top is available on Newspapers.com if you have a subscription to that, as well as being available through a $5 day pass from the original news site. It's very worth reading.
Going back to the old newspaper stories of the time..this article mentions the bus traffic across the street. Dec 24, 1971, page 14 - The Morning Union at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com
There was a Holiday Inn, too, according to the above article, yet he was staying at the rundown Hotel Charles. He was seemingly down on his luck. Today, if there is no physical evidence they could get usable DNA from in police files, and according to the 2022 article it is thought there is not, the best chance to I'd him would be to exhume him. Even with that, it would probably take genetic genealogy to identify him. Maybe someday..
In the articles I've read, it was said he wasn't seen since the time he checked in on a friday, until he was found dead on on Sunday. I have not read if it was checked if anyone might have seen him arrive in Springfield on a bus or train at the station across the street, which might have given some indication where he came from, besides the fake Connecticut address.
