CANADA Canada - Wht Male, 30-49, likely from South Africa or USA, Whistler BC, pre August 1987

[Grungster]

Every face tells a story'

from: 'Every face tells a story' - Pique Newsmagazine


Inside the 33-year effort to identify mystery remains found on Whistler Mountain
Apr 10, 2020 1:00 AM By: Brandon Barrett

Every face tells a story' - Inside the 33-year effort to identify mystery remains found on Whistler Mountain. Story By Brandon Barrett. Illustration by Baz Corolan
IT IS A BALMY DAY in August 1987, all the excuse Dave Williamson and Rod MacLeod need to get out of the office for a while and escape the oppressive heat. Working as planners for what was then the Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation, Williamson and MacLeod are surveying a potential lift line near mid-station, hanging flags and doing some fall-line analysis as they walk through the lush, moss-laden understory of an old hemlock forest.

As they venture downslope, making idle chatter, Williamson spots something in the distance: a gleam of white peeking up from out of the verdant landscape.

"Hey, look, there's a skull," he says to his supervisor, half-jokingly.

"No way, it can't be," MacLeod replies.

They continue on to get a closer look when, some 15 metres away, a realization dawns on Williamson: That really is a skull.

The pair then runs through the most likely scenarios, as we tend to do when confronted with such an improbable reality. It's a rock, MacLeod suggests. Or a bear skull.

"'Well, if it's a bear, it's been to the dentist, because I can see its fillings," says Williamson, now peering intently into the skull's jaw, which sits in vivid contrast to the evergreen bed of moss beneath it.

"This thing has got a bullet hole in the side of it," he observes.

"No, no, that's an ear hole," retorts a still-skeptical MacLeod.

"Well, it has got two ears on the side of its head then," says Williamson, the last shred of doubt evaporating in his mind.

"Holy moly, we just found something here."

Mystery grips a sleepy ski town

<modsnip: Snipped to comply with 10% copyright law>

Photo courtesy of the RCMP
If you have any information on this case, please contact the Whistler RCMP at 604-932-3044 or Sea to Sky Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 to remain anonymous.

'Is there someone out there still hoping he's around?'

 

[Laughing]

So, deceased prior to August, 1987, months/years prior

5'9", thin at about 151 pounds

half-way up a mountain

Left-handed if deceased took his own life with the WWI era pistol

Pistol was stolen in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1983

North American dental work, but teeth in poor condition

Single South African Rand bill

 

[Laughing]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Pavel Kocsis, missing from Las Vegas, Nevada, October 17, 1982?

Height is close, 5'7", slight build, about 140 pounds

Guessing, but if Mr. Kocsis grew up in Eastern Europe & relocated, he may have visited a dentist in the US

Also may have passed through South Africa, or simply met a South African

I do get most of my exercise jumping to conclusions.

 

[Grungster]

Maybe

 

[MadMcGoo]

This is interesting. Am I correct in understanding that this is a bust of this particular UID?

 

[Sillybilly]

Thread title has been edited to include a date.

Also I have found a link and added it to the Opening Post, and have snipped the article down in order to comply with copyright rules.

Important things to remember when starting threads:

◘ all threads require a link in the Opening Post

◘ copyright law prohibits copying more than 10% of any article

 

[MadMcGoo]

Thread title has been edited to include a date.

Also I have found a link and added it to the Opening Post, and have snipped the article down in order to comply with copyright rules.

Important things to remember when starting threads:

◘ all threads require a link in the Opening Post

◘ copyright law prohibits copying more than 10% of any article

Thank you!!

 

[MadMcGoo]

- Found August 1987
- The heavily decomposed remains had been there for at least two years, possibly three.
- Caucasian male
- 30 to 49 years old
- Approximately 5‘9” in height
- Approximately 151 pounds
- Long brown hair
- Wearing a white Daniel Hechter shirt, white Nike court shoes, and a powder-blue K-Way jacket when he was found. The man was also found with a single South African Rand bill in his pocket.
- An examination of the skull indicated the man had poor dental hygiene, and based on the dental work he had undergone, police surmised he had probably visited a North American dentist.

John Doe died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound believed to be a deliberate suicide. With no vehicle found nearby, it's likely the man made the roughly two-hour walk uphill from the village. The gun recovered near the body—a .38 calibre revolver dating back to the First World War—was later traced to a 1983 theft in Las Vegas, Nevada.

(compiled from the original link)

ETA: I found K-Way is an apparel company out of South Africa. Although, I don’t think they’re the only brand by that name. Interesting, considering.

 

[MadMcGoo]

This is going to sound incredibly naive of me, but how or why would one acquire a South African Rand outside of SA? Aside from having recently traveled there and needing the currency. And would it have been different in the 80s?

I’d like to know more about this firearm theft. I’ve browsed some US and Canadian newspapers, but apparently stolen .38s are/were a common occurrence.

ETA: Doubt this is him, but some keyword searches led me to this MP. I guess it answers my question about why someone would have SA currency.

 

[Laughing]

The pistol was apparently reported stolen in Las Vegas, Nevada.

AFAIK, people do come from all over the world to see Las Vegas, and of course to gamble:

Las Vegas Travel Guide | Las Vegas Tourism | Flight Centre South Africa

NO idea if it was hard, or easy, to travel from South Africa in the 80's, but that Rand could be a souvenir of meeting such a person in Las Vegas.

I have a pound note above my desk & was married with a sixpence in my shoe, just kept careful track of souvenirs of a 1976 trip to Great Britain.


The remains were a white skull, indicating the deceased was on the mountain for many months before August of 1987. Wonder if a firearms specialist would tell us how many Canadian winters that pistol had been out in the snow?

Intriguing case. The US/Canada border was more open than today, right?