ID ID - Kelly Phillips, 75, presumed suicide, truck found w/keys & note, Princeton, 23 Aug 2021

[TootsieFootsie]

Missing man presumed to have ended own life

A month since a Princeton man last contacted friends and disappeared into the Newsome Creek area, investigators have found no sign of the missing 69-year-old, apart from his pickup parked along State Highway 14 with the keys inside and a note inside:

“As far as his son, brother, all the friends we talked with, they’d ask, ‘Why do you need to search for him? You know why he went up there, and he’s in a place where he didn’t want to be found. Do you still have to look?’” Hewson said. ‘My answer is yes. It’s his mom. We haven’t talked to his mom, but I just envision before she ends her days her wanting her son recovered. That breaks my heart, and it’s why we’ve searched as hard as we’ve searched for him.”

 

[KatzEye]

How very sad.

 

[Unsolved]

Hmm I'm not sure I would have come to the conclusion LE did just yet.

JMO, I don't know why but the part of the note that says "This is Kelly Phillips’ vehicle from the Moscow area” doesn't read that Kelly wrote that to me.

All just speculation here but I wonder if someone else saw the vehicle, recognized it and they left that note with "This is Kelly Phillips’ vehicle from the Moscow area” ?

Or maybe someone did stop to offer help while he was there, told him to come with them and said "Here I'll leave a note so they know who this belongs to" - and then something happened? Robbery, etc.? Because the part "Odd was the vehicle had no provisions — food, camping or mining equipment — that friends said Phillips normally had well-stocked within the back under the canopy" makes me think someone took that.

 

[lindamichelle1]

If the note said "“Electrical problems. This is Kelly Phillips’ vehicle from the Moscow area.”"
It sounds more like he had car trouble and then walked off.?
Not really a suicide note.

 

[mlhenn]

Missing Person / NamUs #MP87537

Circumstances of Disappearance
Phillips told some of his acquaintances he would be camping on the South Fork of the Clearwater River in Idaho County. His vehicle was located at 45° 49' 23" N latitude and 115° 38' 05" W longitude. Phillips was known to hike and explore in this general area. After numerous searches no sign of Phillips was found. Phillips has not contacted any family members or any friends or acquaintances since he was reported missing. Phillips was in poor health.

 

[mlhenn]

Officials: Man likely went into woods to end his life

The Idaho County Sheriff’s Office believes that a northern Idaho man who has not been heard from since late August likely went into the backcountry to deliberately end his life.

….

“He had made comments to friends that the sand in his hourglass is running out. He made comments in letters to his family that he was done; he was at the end of his days. I had learned that Kelly had started giving his personal possessions away. Anything that meant anything to Kelly, he was starting to give it to friends.”


He also sent bits of gold that he’d found in Idaho to his grandson living in Pennsylvania as a birthday gift.

Hewson said it seemed clear that Phillips deliberately planned to disappear.

 

[SimplyCass]

The note "This is Kelly Philips's car from the Moscow area" sounded very strange to me. Not only referring to himself in the third person, but also the area he was from. But that was based on assuming a scenario where he got stuck and needed help.

But if he made comments about it being 'the end' and was giving away personal items, that does 'push' the scale more towards self harm IMO.