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.'

 

[Master834]

Hey, I don't know how many people are on this case still, but I have a good idea of what this might be.

At this point, one thing I noticed is everyone assuming that it was in English, which is what he spoke, when also alluding to the fact that he had involvement with drugs and other gang like activity.

Doing some digging on bob Hamdallah, the guy suspected of killing him, led me to juma Hamdallah, his mother, a PALISTINIAN immigrant, which there speaks Arabic. There are ways to write Arabic using the English alphabet, so it might be likely they disguised Arabic in the English language, with some possible other cyphers.

For further info, the place juma was from was - "Al-Bireh, al-Birah, or el-Bira (Arabic: البيرة; also known historically as Castrum Mahomeria, Magna Mahomeria, Mahomeria Major, Birra, or Beirothah"

using this method, "PRSE" transcribed to "حقسث" which translated to "I will"

 

[Master834]

Doing some further digging, it is unlikely the notes are Arabic, but knowing that the assialent may have spoken Arabic does help. Arabic often encodes meaning through classification, condition, and state, not through linear sentence flow. This could provide structure to bus routes, written by the assailant.

Then why leave a note? They haven't done this before, or 2 and 2 would be put together.
Ricky was on edge. He was in the drug trade. He tried to stay in the hospital as an excuse to get help for his life. He knew he was going to die, so he distanced himself. The assailant used a close weapon to cut his neck, so he tried to preserve evidence by grabbing a random piece of paper and hiding it in his pockets.

It explains the language flow better, and a personal notation of shorthand, NOT meant to be a cipher, which is why it has not been decoded.
There are almost no explicit action words, almost no tense markers, and almost no subject–verb–object structure. Meaning is carried by nouns and modifiers, not actions.

Long chains like:

WLDNCBE
NCVTCTRS
NTSRCRSNE


These behave like packed noun phrases, not words meant to be spoken.

Parentheses are used not as asides, but as state qualifiers.


Example:

(TENE TFRNE NCBRTSENCBE INC)


This behaves like:

“When [state TENE + TFRNE] applies, [NCBRTSENCBE] increases”. That’s conditional logic, not commentary.




Lists like:

36MLSE 74SPRKSE 29KENOSOLE 173RTRSE


No “and,” no explanation, no hierarchy marker — just equivalence under evaluation, and standalone numbers like:

35
651
1/2


These appear as decision points, not quantities to be described. These are things not meant to be deciphered, but shorthand of an Arabic structured string of English names and words







Example:
WLDRCBRNSE NT SGNENTXSE-CRSLE-CLTRSE WLDNCBE


What’s happening structurally:

Core noun: WLDNCBE

Preceded by multiple qualifiers:

WLDRCBRNSE

SGNENTXSE

CRSLE

CLTRSE

This is a noun-last construction:

[modifier][modifier][modifier] → CORE STATE

In English shorthand, people usually write:

CORE → details

In Arabic-influenced structure, it’s very common to:

stack descriptors → resolve at the end

This mirrors Arabic iḍāfa-like chaining (possessive/qualifying chains), even though the language is not Arabic.


Example2:
ALWLD NCBE TSME LRSE RLSE VRGLSNE AS N WLD NCBE


Notice:

Repetition of the same core token (WLD NCBE), surrounded by contextual modifiers, with no verb indicating change or action

This reads structurally as:

“In state A, under conditions X Y Z, [same core state] applies”

Arabic technical notes often:

Restate the core condition rather than referring back with pronouns or verbs

English writers usually avoid repetition; Arabic structure tolerates and even prefers it for clarity.



Why is this important?

English-native operational notes typically show at least one of:

verbs (“go,” “wait,” “check”)

arrows (→)

time markers (“am,” “pm”)

explicit cause/effect words

crossed-out revisions

explanatory redundancy

Your text has none of these.

Instead, it relies on:

implicit relationships

shared understanding

state-based logic

That is much more common in Arabic (and some Semitic) note traditions, especially among bilingual speakers writing for themselves.




This distinction explains why decades of effort failed:

The FBI searched for words, substitutions, and messages

But the text is closer to:

a rulebook with no legend
a flowchart without labels
a checklist without verbs



Saying “Arabic structure” does not mean the killer was Arab, the notes are Arabic, or the solution is Arabic (Although it doesn't not rule it out). It means the thinking pattern behind the notation aligns more closely with Arabic-style conditional, nominal, state-driven organization than with English linear sentence construction, furthering my idea that this is NOT a cypher, but a handwritten note that does not have any intention to be deciphered

 

[lonewanderer]

I think the WLD NCBE is the key to this note.

Those words are always together, and one on occasion the WLD takes a possessive property with WLD’S NCBE

 

[mooncake☆]

Thanks for posting a new article, funny was thinking about Ricky just the other day and meant to bump his thread, glad you did!
from link..

''On June 15, 1999, McCormick boarded a Greyhound bus from St. Louis to Orlando. He would stay two days at the Econo Lodge.

On June 22, McCormick walked into the emergency room at Barnes-Jewish Hospital complaining of chest pain. He was admitted, and discharged on June 24.

On June 25, McCormick walked into the emergency room at Forest Park Hospital, complaining of shortness of breath. He was not admitted.

On June 26, McCormick talked with his girlfriend, Sandra Jones, on the phone for the last time.

On June 27, McCormick was seen at his place of work, the Amoco station at 1401 Chouteau. Medical examiners determined that was his day of death.

On June 30, McCormick's body was found in a field just outside West Alton in St. Charles County.''

''More than 20 years later, the question remains. Was it McCormick himself? Could it have been a killer? Somebody else?

The FBI emphasized the characters in the codes were not random, but instead patterns and sequences. The notes contained numerous letter E's, references to the numbers 71, 74 and 75, and a focus on the repetition of the letters "NCBE."
''Breaking any code involves four basic steps:

1. Determining the language used.
   
   
2. Determining the system used.
   
   
3. Reconstructing the key.
   
   
4. Reconstructing the plaintext.''

Do we have any sources of written items that we know for sure Ricky wrote? We could compare those of his to the unsolved code

 

[dotr]

Do we have any sources of written items that we know for sure Ricky wrote? We could compare those of his to the unsolved code

Welcome to Ws @mooncake☆!
Cannot find at the moment if the notes were compared or not to his writing as a child, but this below suggests that it is not known if he wrote them for sure or not, imo, speculation.
rbbm.

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

''Olson, however, told the Riverfront Times he was certain McCormick wrote the notes himself. He believed they looked more like a personal to-do list than a message meant for someone else. In another statement reported by ABC News, Olson added: “Even if we found out he was writing a grocery list or a love letter, we would still want to see how the code is solved. This is a cipher system we know nothing about.”

Not all experts agree. Elonka Dunin, a St. Louis cryptographer who has studied some of the world’s most famous unsolved codes, told the Riverfront Times: “I don’t think McCormick wrote these notes. Perhaps he was a courier.”

 

[littlemissslueth]

Some notes I’ve found while researching this case. I used some AI to try to decode some of the sentences, some may be repeated as other commenters.


(ACSM): Interpreted as medical shorthand, potentially standing for "Acute Coronary Syndrome" (heart issues)
(mNDMKNEA RSE-N-S-M-KNARE): Interpreted as a shorthand for location and mapping data, likely representing "Mound Marker North East, Range / Section / East".

Line: 26 mLSE 74 SPRKSE 29KENOSOLE 173R 7 RSE

Could possibly be Nizoral (Ketoconazole) 1% Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. Not really sure why this would be on the list, but AI matched it.

Here is the breakdown of the decoded components:

• 26 mLSE
• 200 mL Size (Common bottle size for Nizoral is 7 fl oz / 200 mL)
• 74 SPRKSE → 7 fl oz / 200 mL
• 29KENOSOLE → Ketoconazole (The active ingredient)
• 173R 7 RSE → 1% Strength (Ketoconazole 1%)
  Context: Ketoconazole is an antifungal medication used to treat dandruff, scaly skin, and seborrhoeic dermatitis. Note: as many others commented that his mother’s maiden name was ‘Sparks’ that could also be a possibility
  
  LINE: 35 GLE CLGSE ouwuTXEBKRSE PSESHLE
  → Based on a standard Caesar cipher (rotational shift), here is the decoding:
• 35 GLE (No change)
• CLGSE → COLLEGE (Assuming shifted, but matches context)
• ouwuTXEBKRSE -> OUTLOOKSE (Shifted letters)
• PSESHLE → POSSESSE (Shifted letters)
  
  Decoded Message: 35 GLE COLLEGE OUTLOOKSE POSSESSE

Note: The resulting phrase appears to be "35 GLE College Outlookse Possesse," which might be a slightly misspelled or specific, jumbled phrase, likely representing "35 GLE College Outlook Possess" or similar, with extra letters at the end of the words. The fact that Ricky dropped out of high school might cause this finding to be false.

LINE: 651 mTCSEHTLSEN CUTCTRS NmRE 99.84.5 2uNEPLSEUCRSEAOLTSEwSKSENBSE

→ Possibilities for this code:

• Medical Shorthand: Some analysts believe the strings like mTCSE and NCBE are variations of medical shorthand used in hospitals, potentially related to McCormick's health issues. (As many people note)
• Geographic Coordinates: Amateur sleuths have pointed out that the numbers 99.84.5 bear a striking resemblance to the longitude coordinates (99.845W) where his body was discovered. (As many people note)
• Bus Routes: Another theory posits the notes are a record of bus routes and schedules between states, which would explain the repeating letter clusters.

LINE: NSREONSE PUTSEWLDNCBE (3XaRL)

→ Because McCormick was known to be semi-literate, some experts suggest he developed his own "squiggle language" to keep track of medication or daily chores.

• NSREONSE →RESPONSE: May literally mean a response or action required for a specific event.
  
  
• 3XaRL: Could represent a dosage (3 times a day) or a specific person's initials.

Another option:

• NCBE: Likely stands for Northbound or a specific regional code.
• 3XaRL: Commonly viewed as a count (3x) followed by a destination or person code (ARL).

Sorry if some of these notes are repeated, just reporting my findings.

 

[dotr]

Some notes I’ve found while researching this case. I used some AI to try to decode some of the sentences, some may be repeated as other commenters.


(ACSM): Interpreted as medical shorthand, potentially standing for "Acute Coronary Syndrome" (heart issues)
(mNDMKNEA RSE-N-S-M-KNARE): Interpreted as a shorthand for location and mapping data, likely representing "Mound Marker North East, Range / Section / East".

Line: 26 mLSE 74 SPRKSE 29KENOSOLE 173R 7 RSE

Could possibly be Nizoral (Ketoconazole) 1% Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. Not really sure why this would be on the list, but AI matched it.

Here is the breakdown of the decoded components:

• 26 mLSE
• 200 mL Size (Common bottle size for Nizoral is 7 fl oz / 200 mL)
• 74 SPRKSE → 7 fl oz / 200 mL
• 29KENOSOLE → Ketoconazole (The active ingredient)
• 173R 7 RSE → 1% Strength (Ketoconazole 1%)
  Context: Ketoconazole is an antifungal medication used to treat dandruff, scaly skin, and seborrhoeic dermatitis. Note: as many others commented that his mother’s maiden name was ‘Sparks’ that could also be a possibility
  
  LINE: 35 GLE CLGSE ouwuTXEBKRSE PSESHLE
  → Based on a standard Caesar cipher (rotational shift), here is the decoding:
• 35 GLE (No change)
• CLGSE → COLLEGE (Assuming shifted, but matches context)
• ouwuTXEBKRSE -> OUTLOOKSE (Shifted letters)
• PSESHLE → POSSESSE (Shifted letters)
  
  Decoded Message: 35 GLE COLLEGE OUTLOOKSE POSSESSE

Note: The resulting phrase appears to be "35 GLE College Outlookse Possesse," which might be a slightly misspelled or specific, jumbled phrase, likely representing "35 GLE College Outlook Possess" or similar, with extra letters at the end of the words. The fact that Ricky dropped out of high school might cause this finding to be false.

LINE: 651 mTCSEHTLSEN CUTCTRS NmRE 99.84.5 2uNEPLSEUCRSEAOLTSEwSKSENBSE

→ Possibilities for this code:

• Medical Shorthand: Some analysts believe the strings like mTCSE and NCBE are variations of medical shorthand used in hospitals, potentially related to McCormick's health issues. (As many people note)
• Geographic Coordinates: Amateur sleuths have pointed out that the numbers 99.84.5 bear a striking resemblance to the longitude coordinates (99.845W) where his body was discovered. (As many people note)
• Bus Routes: Another theory posits the notes are a record of bus routes and schedules between states, which would explain the repeating letter clusters.

LINE: NSREONSE PUTSEWLDNCBE (3XaRL)

→ Because McCormick was known to be semi-literate, some experts suggest he developed his own "squiggle language" to keep track of medication or daily chores.

• NSREONSE →RESPONSE: May literally mean a response or action required for a specific event.
  
  
• 3XaRL: Could represent a dosage (3 times a day) or a specific person's initials.

Another option:

• NCBE: Likely stands for Northbound or a specific regional code.
• 3XaRL: Commonly viewed as a count (3x) followed by a destination or person code (ARL).

Sorry if some of these notes are repeated, just reporting my findings.

Welcome to Ws @littlemissslueth, thanks for chiming in!