MO MO - Ricky McCormick, 41, St Louis, 30 June 1999

[Dilepted]

First time trying out this kind of investigation, i made some notes based on context clues. This is probably the most facinating case i have ever seen

(mnDnvwEAesE-w[or n]-s-TA-v-w[or n]-v w[or n] A R E) (ACSm)
TFR N[or w] E N i t N[or w] S E N[or w] P &[or R] S E R c B R n[or w] S E p[u, or v] P R S E I N[or w] C
PRSE N m RSE BPREHLD wLDN[w] CBE(TFXLC[E] TCXLw cBE)
AL-PRPPIT XYPPIYwcBEmGKSEWcDRcBRwSGPRSEWLDRCBRwSEwT56NE10TXSE-CRSLE-CLTRSEWLDwCBE
ALWcPwCBETSmELRSERLSEvRGLSw-EASNW-DNcBE
(NoPFSENLSRENCBE) NTEGDDmNSENCURERCBRwE
(TEwE TFRNE NCBRTSENCBE ING)
(FLRSE PQSEONDE71 NCBE)
(CDwSEPQsEDNS0E 74 NCBE)
(PRtSEPRSEONREDE 75 NCBE)
(TF NGcmSPsoLEmRDELUSE TOTE WLD NCBE)
(194 WLD's NCBE) (TRFXL)

ALPNTE GLSE-SE ERTE VLSE m7's E-CTSE-WSE-FRTSE
PURTRSEONPRSEWLD NCBE
NWLDXLRcmsP NE WLD STS me XL
DULmT 6 TuNSE NCBEXC

(muNSA 1 STENmu NARSE)
KLSE-LKSTE-TR SE-TRSE-mKSEp-mRSE
(SAE 6 NSE SE NmRSE)
pmN RCBRNSE PTE 2pTEwsREBKe 3 E
26 mLSE 74 SPRKSE 29KENOSOLE 173R 7 RSE
35 GLE CLGSE ouwuTXEBKRSE PSESHLE
651 mTCSEHTLSEN CUTCTRS NmRE 99.84.5 2uNEPLSEUCRSEAOLTSEwSKSENBSE
NSREONSE PUTSEWLDNCBE (3XaRL)
BNmSE NTSE INR NTRLERCBRNSE NTSRCRbNELSPNSENG-SPSE mLSERBESGweBEAVXL'R
HmCRENmREpCBE 1/2 muwPPLSE
D-w-m/4 HPL XDRLX

notes:
NCBE seems to be used as an object or something simmilar that can be counted

"WRLD's" is probably also a object that can be counted and probably bought

strangely "m7's " is also plural based on what i can tell from the actual writing. Its quite hard to tell though as the writing is quite messy

I could be wrong and probably are but hopefully one day someone cracks this

 

[lonewanderer]

First time trying out this kind of investigation, i made some notes based on context clues. This is probably the most facinating case i have ever seen

(mnDnvwEAesE-w[or n]-s-TA-v-w[or n]-v w[or n] A R E) (ACSm)
TFR N[or w] E N i t N[or w] S E N[or w] P &[or R] S E R c B R n[or w] S E p[u, or v] P R S E I N[or w] C
PRSE N m RSE BPREHLD wLDN[w] CBE(TFXLC[E] TCXLw cBE)
AL-PRPPIT XYPPIYwcBEmGKSEWcDRcBRwSGPRSEWLDRCBRwSEwT56NE10TXSE-CRSLE-CLTRSEWLDwCBE
ALWcPwCBETSmELRSERLSEvRGLSw-EASNW-DNcBE
(NoPFSENLSRENCBE) NTEGDDmNSENCURERCBRwE
(TEwE TFRNE NCBRTSENCBE ING)
(FLRSE PQSEONDE71 NCBE)
(CDwSEPQsEDNS0E 74 NCBE)
(PRtSEPRSEONREDE 75 NCBE)
(TF NGcmSPsoLEmRDELUSE TOTE WLD NCBE)
(194 WLD's NCBE) (TRFXL)

ALPNTE GLSE-SE ERTE VLSE m7's E-CTSE-WSE-FRTSE
PURTRSEONPRSEWLD NCBE
NWLDXLRcmsP NE WLD STS me XL
DULmT 6 TuNSE NCBEXC

(muNSA 1 STENmu NARSE)
KLSE-LKSTE-TR SE-TRSE-mKSEp-mRSE
(SAE 6 NSE SE NmRSE)
pmN RCBRNSE PTE 2pTEwsREBKe 3 E
26 mLSE 74 SPRKSE 29KENOSOLE 173R 7 RSE
35 GLE CLGSE ouwuTXEBKRSE PSESHLE
651 mTCSEHTLSEN CUTCTRS NmRE 99.84.5 2uNEPLSEUCRSEAOLTSEwSKSENBSE
NSREONSE PUTSEWLDNCBE (3XaRL)
BNmSE NTSE INR NTRLERCBRNSE NTSRCRbNELSPNSENG-SPSE mLSERBESGweBEAVXL'R
HmCRENmREpCBE 1/2 muwPPLSE
D-w-m/4 HPL XDRLX

notes:
NCBE seems to be used as an object or something simmilar that can be counted

"WRLD's" is probably also a object that can be counted and probably bought

strangely "m7's " is also plural based on what i can tell from the actual writing. Its quite hard to tell though as the writing is quite messy

I could be wrong and probably are but hopefully one day someone cracks this

I think “WLD” is the key here. It is used repeatedly as WLD with NCBE almost always after it. It only once appears as a possessive with “194 WLD’S NCBE” at the end of the notes

 

[LuteAndLyre]

I'm studying speech pathology and not much of a investigator, sleuth, whatever you want to call it... but I figured I should put my thoughts down just in case someone else can make anything of it, even if I can't. I'm sorry if this ends up being a whole lot of nothing or a whole lot of repeated information.

I suspect if the note is written by Ricky, it is written in a form of AAVE native to St. Louis. The biggest pointer is the comment cited in news articles by his mother: "The only thing he could write was his name. He didn't write in no code." It is also possible that he was dyslexic, which could complicate things a lot further.

I find the use of dashes and brackets extremely interesting. They seem to be the only grammatical clues available outside of the potential of E being used as a word/sentence break.

The incidence of "SPRKS" on the Notes page might be a red herring, but I noticed Ricky's mother's maiden name is Sparks.

I'll also add to a few previous comments here in that WLD and NCBE are extremely interesting, but the occurrence of X - and generally XL together - has my interest especially piqued, given X's relatively uncommon nature generally. It might be an important contextual clue.

Good luck with this one y'all, I really hope some sort of resolution is reached eventually, even if it's something as simple as directions or a shopping list.

 

[dotr]

I'm studying speech pathology and not much of a investigator, sleuth, whatever you want to call it... but I figured I should put my thoughts down just in case someone else can make anything of it, even if I can't. I'm sorry if this ends up being a whole lot of nothing or a whole lot of repeated information.

I suspect if the note is written by Ricky, it is written in a form of AAVE native to St. Louis. The biggest pointer is the comment cited in news articles by his mother: "The only thing he could write was his name. He didn't write in no code." It is also possible that he was dyslexic, which could complicate things a lot further.

I find the use of dashes and brackets extremely interesting. They seem to be the only grammatical clues available outside of the potential of E being used as a word/sentence break.

The incidence of "SPRKS" on the Notes page might be a red herring, but I noticed Ricky's mother's maiden name is Sparks.

I'll also add to a few previous comments here in that WLD and NCBE are extremely interesting, but the occurrence of X - and generally XL together - has my interest especially piqued, given X's relatively uncommon nature generally. It might be an important contextual clue.

Good luck with this one y'all, I really hope some sort of resolution is reached eventually, even if it's something as simple as directions or a shopping list.

Welcome to Ws @LuteAndLyre, thank you for the very interesting interpretation of the note!

 

[busrday]

It's directions from Delmont, Ohio to Ft Lauderdale - check out my video explaining the route:

 

[dotr]

By Christina Coulter September 27, 2025

Coded Notes Found in Ricky McCormick’s Pocket Still Baffle FBI More Than 25 Years After His Body Was Found in Missouri Cornfield

Ricky McCormick was discovered dead in a Missouri cornfield in 1999. The only clues were two coded notes in his pocket — pages that have stumped the FBI’s codebreakers and remain unsolved more than two decades later.

people.com

''According to ABC News, analysts tried every tool they had and even consulted outside experts, but no one could solve the system.
“We are really good at what we do,” Dan Olson, chief of the unit, told ABC News. “But we could use a little help on this one. Breaking the code could reveal the victim’s whereabouts before his death and could lead to the solution of a homicide. Not every cipher we get arrives at our door under those circumstances.”
In March 2011, the FBI released the notes to the public, calling them one of its top unsolved codes — by then, McCormick had been dead for more than a decade.''

“Now, twelve years later, they come back with this chicken-scratch s---,” she said. “The only thing he could write was his name. He didn’t write in no code.” His cousin Charles agreed: “He couldn’t spell anything, just scribble.”
But according to CBS News, investigators believed McCormick had been using coded notes since he was a child, though family members said they never knew how to read them.''

''Today, the FBI still lists McCormick’s cipher as one of its top unsolved cases.'