HI HI - Hauula, 'Barnacle Bill' UP6909, 19-25, SCUBA suit bought In Tacoma, Nov'82

[Laughing]

I worked this case quite a bit a few years ago. No ID, no DNA, no prints. The only thing we have is the serial number of the suit. I tried to contact the successor to the manufacturing company and no one would return my calls. We felt, based on currents and the suit, that he was from a vessel in the Pacific northwest. That type of suit is intended to a) keep you afloat, b) keep you from getting hypothermia, and c) make you visible to rescuers. You will bob like a cork in it. It would be so unusual in a warm water area that the authorities in Hawaii did not even know what it was and called it a SCUBA suit. I went around and around with people on this forum about what it was and what it was for. I’ve been a diver for 42 years and have actually donned an exposure suit of that type. It is not easy. He did not come to grief while diving in Hawaii, that’s for sure.
I invite you guys to have another go at the serial number of the suit. It’s all we got. I wish you better luck than I had.

Yes, you did valuable work. I typed cheesy poems.

the decedent's identity
remains a mystery
the results of our scrutiny
are unsatisfactory

Oh, bother, looks like I still do?

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[carbuff]

Yes, you did valuable work. I typed cheesy poems.

the decedent's identity
remains a mystery
the results of our scrutiny
are unsatisfactory

Oh, bother, looks like I still do?

jmho ymmv lrr

I always appreciated your verse. It lightened an otherwise grim subject, in a positive way.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

You did amazing work. I still think there must be some way to match his suit to his name, somewhere out there.

Thanks. Yes, it eats at me that somewhere in a cardboard box in a basement or storage shed could be the piece of paper that could link us to the party who purchased the suit. The record was kept for warranty purposes. I just don’t see any other way.

 

[Laughing]

The Bayley survival suit is used primarily in shipwrecks from northern climates to prevent hypothermia. Life preservers are are jokingly called "body finders" by northern fishermen because they do nothing to preserve life in cold water. It takes about two years for surface drift materials to reach Hawaii from Alaskan waters. The late 1970's were the peak of the crabbing boom and we were losing about 30 boats a year. Many of those left port and were never seen again. I worked the area from 1972 to 1992 from the Prince William Sound area through the Kodiak area as well as the Aleutian Islands and the entire Bering Sea. I do not recall any commercial fishermen with missing limbs other than fingers and toes. I never saw a commercial fisherman wearing blue jean shorts while out fishing either. In my experience, Bayleys immersion/survival suits were much less common at that time than other brands because they were more expensive and a little harder to get in and out of. Most shipwrecks involving casualties happen when the vessels are traveling to and from ports, not while they are engaged in fishing. In Alaskan waters, one third of all shipwrecks involving loss of life are from vessels that disappear or are lost with all hands. If this was one from the north, which is likely because southern vessels did not usually carry immersion/survival suits, it was likely a vessel that was traveling from the fishing grounds to port, from a southern port to a northern one or visa versa. This is my first post so I am going to take a moment and see if it works....

@Magnum P.E. 's work brought us into contact with @Captain Warren Good . Might not be a member now?

 

[Laughing]

Here is the new link to the KOMO Seattle news article that was posted from the OP that was a dead link:

'We don't know who he is, but we can know'
BY LINDSAY COHEN FRIDAY, MARCH 8TH 2013

'We don't know who he is, but we can know'


In the article, it states: "Anybody who was associated with this case is now gone from our office," Cadiente said. The body was cremated in 1982, she added, after multiple attempts were made to identify it through dental records."

Also, I don't understand the last paragraph:

"Despite a lack of more information, Ebbesmeyer remains undeterred.

"When he bought (the suit) in 1979, it had no serial number on it," Ebbesmeyer said. "We have no paper trail, because he paid cash. We have no serial number, because it was too early for that."

If that was the case, then how did the Medical Examiner in Hawaii get the serial number from the suit? I'm confused!

Just bringing this, with the active link, forward.

 

[JaneGaGa]

Guys, I think I have a good potential match here.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

I’m thinking the researchers may have worn these suits. Perhaps he wanted to stay dry and warm over his shorts?

 

[Laughing]

Guys, I think I have a good potential match here.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

I’m thinking the researchers may have worn these suits. Perhaps he wanted to stay dry and warm over his shorts?

The research vessel would likely carry a number of these suits -- wonder if one was missing at the time of the lifeboat drill??

Certainly possible. I say submit!

 

[lonewanderer]

Guys, I think I have a good potential match here.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

I’m thinking the researchers may have worn these suits. Perhaps he wanted to stay dry and warm over his shorts?

The research vessel would likely carry a number of these suits -- wonder is one was missing at the time of the lifeboat dril??

Certainly possible. I say submit!

"Fifteen minutes later and thousands of miles away, the crew of a research ship en route from Honolulu to Tahiti discovered her son, Richard, was missing. They concluded that he had been swept overboard a few minutes earlier while setting up an experiment on deck."

A tad bit more info: MEMORIAL AWARD MAY EASE PAIN OF GRIEVING PARENTS

 

[annpats]

Well, if that's not him, I'll eat my hat.
The year and location and circumstances all tie in.....

 

[wary]

Well, if that's not him, I'll eat my hat.
The year and location and circumstances all tie in.....

It sounds perfect. Do we know if the ocean currents from where he was lost would bring him to where he was found?

Evidently, DNA is a lost cause.
I hope there’s still the possibility of matching dental records.
The dry suit might be traced, working back from the memories of the other people on the boat, or even records that might still exist?
Any other possibilities?

 

[annpats]

It sounds perfect. Do we know if the ocean currents from where he was lost would bring him to where he was found?

Yes, if you scroll back someone posted an ocean currents map, and there is one that goes up past Oregon, Washington and Alaska and then sweep down to Hawaii and right to where the the area he was found.

 

[annpats]

I found a pretty simple current map. There is a current that runs right past the beach he was found on - it loops down from the North Pacific Current. Maybe he was on a Canadian boat, but Washington or Alaskan boats are certainly possible.

View attachment 90999

@wary

Here is the post about the ocean currents.

 

[branmuffin]

I'm just wondering if we could tighten the timeline a bit more. The survival suit was manufactured in California in April 1979. It ended up in a retail store in Tacoma, WA. It was found on a UID in Hawaii in November 1982.

How are these survival suits purchased? Are they made to order or do they regularly send them out to specific areas where there would be an actual market for them. I presume the market is fairly limited,

First market could be military members involved in search and rescue and members who actively work in the water to maintain vessels. I presume the government would be responsible for purchasing survival suits in bulk and would keep records of such.

The next obvious purchaser could possibly be large organized fishing fleets that provide the suits for their employees. I'm thinking along the lines of big commercial fishing vessels that also process the fish that has been caught. These could be multi national vessels.

Another employer that may require purchase of survival suits are off shore drilling companies. There were several during that era. Some companies, like Shell have abandoned their attempts.

The last group would be individuals who are required to provide their own equipment while on smaller individually owned fishing fleets or single vessels.

So if the retail outlet bought some of these suits from the manufacturer would they buy them in bulk or order them on an individual basis?

Based on the time the suit was manufactured and the time it ended up in the retail store, could it take a month to get there, so somewhere around mid May? What if the suit was in the retail store for several months before it was purchased? Seems like an expensive item to keep around. There doesn't seem to be a fishing season per se in Alaska considering the types of catch, it's an ongoing basis.
Alaska Commercial Fishing Seasons | City of Unalaska - International Port of Dutch Harbor

So basically anyone lost at sea from a variety of situations up to 18 months could be included in the parameters.

Also, in my opinion, someone who has an upper extremity amputation would probably only be hired by a family member or is someone who is part owner of a fishing vessel since they would be too much of a liability working in any of the areas I suggested above.

 

[annemc2]

The Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport (affiliated with OSU) would have been around back then and probably used tons of wetsuits. Here's a link to the current dive program that has some links on the right lower side of the page. Kind of interesting to think about all the stuff that's going on out there. https://research.oregonstate.edu/diving/scientific-diving-requirements-osu

 

[Laughing]

Has anyone submitted the suggested match yet?

 

[JaneGaGa]

Laughing, I nominate you to submit

 

[Laughing]

Laughing, I nominate you to submit

Well alrighty then:

[email protected]

Good afternoon.

I participate in the on-line forum, Websleuths, dedicated to missing persons & crime cases.

I have long followed the case of "Barnacle Bill," found deceased in Hawaii November 19, 1982,

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

HI - HI - Hauula, 'Barnacle Bill' UP6909, 19-25, SCUBA suit bought In Tacoma, Nov'82

This is the anniversary of the discovery of the remains.

Recently, another poster noticed Mr. Cobler's NAMUS, and we would like to know if the unidentified remains have been compared with Mr Cobler's information.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Looking forward to hearing from you, Laughing

 

[MadMcGoo]

Good find @JaneGaGa !! Thanks for submitting @Laughing

 

[JaneGaGa]

Well alrighty then:

[email protected]

Good afternoon.

I participate in the on-line forum, Websleuths, dedicated to missing persons & crime cases.

I have long followed the case of "Barnacle Bill," found deceased in Hawaii November 19, 1982,

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

HI - HI - Hauula, 'Barnacle Bill' UP6909, 19-25, SCUBA suit bought In Tacoma, Nov'82

This is the anniversary of the discovery of the remains.

Recently, another poster noticed Mr. Cobler's NAMUS, and we would like to know if the unidentified remains have been compared with Mr Cobler's information.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Looking forward to hearing from you, Laughing

Thanks so much for submitting!! Fingers crossed that this may be a match.

 

[Laughing]

Thanks so much for submitting!! Fingers crossed that this may be a match.

You're certainly welcome!

Both cases have the same case manager at NAMUS -- so we may be quite behind the process.

But -- we'll await a response from Mr. Driscoll!