Identified! NC - Asheville, WhtMale, 5'5", critical condition later died, Unusual Tattoos, May'21 - n/a

[Unsolved]

More photos and info from Asheville, NC PD in articles below:

White Male
5' 5" tall
142 pounds
Brown Hair/ Blue Eyes

POLICE STILL WORKING TO IDENTIFY MAN CURRENTLY IN CRITICAL CONDITION; NEW DETAILS RELEASED

The unidentified individual is described as a white male, approximately 5'5", and 142 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes.



On May 20, APD released a photo of one of the tattoos on the man’s body. The tattoo, which is on his lower abdomen, is a cassette tape with the letter “A” on one side and the number “2” on the other side. A few days later, police said the man also has a DaVinci "flying machine" tattoo on his left side, and the "Man's Response to Vibrations" tattooed on his left chest area.



Asheville police release photo of unidentified man in critical condition at hospital

Police still working to identify man currently in critical condition; new details released

 

[coffeeandacig]

I certainly hope he responds to treatment, and makes a successful recovery.

In the meantime, the cassette with A2 probably reflects a like for heavy metal. The A2 group in the periodic table lists heavier alkali molecules.

 

[rntorithom]

Asheville police department has shared this a couple times. I just want to see if we can help with finding any information.

 

[KatzEye]

MSM article about this gentleman :

Asheville police release photo of unidentified man in critical condition at hospital

 

[Curious_in_NC]

I couldn't find any updates on this person. Notably another UID, unfortunately deceased, was recently identified by their tattoo(s): SC - SC - Norway, Body found in freezer at abandoned "haunted" house - 03 January 2021

@coffeeandacig, your suggestion that A2 is linked to heavy metal was a great idea. I'm not well versed in metal, so have never seen that symbolism. But as a chemist, the idea piqued my curiosity. The second group is more commonly known as IIA. There's not consensus among chemists on what elements are heavy metals, but it often includes denser transition metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, etc. and not so much the alkalai metals, except maybe radium. See Heavy Metal Means Something Different in Chemistry
But there's no reason music fans must conform to chemist's thoughts.

I looked at a couple of old pre-recorded cassettes for other ideas. One of the first I grabbed was the Kink's "Lola vs Powerman and the Moneygoround". It's got a "2" on it like the tattoo (plus other stuff, but no "A") but more interesting is the album cover features an adaptation of da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. Maybe he's a Kinks fan. It links to the other tattoos, but that's a lot of connecting faint dots to make sense of it.

Other possibilities for A 2:
It suggests a "Z' is on the cassette's other side
The English heavy metal band A II Z (they're actually named after a Street Atlas)
Slang : A2 for amazing, Ann Arbor, or Apple II
Urban Dictionary: A2
A2 - What does A2 Stand For?
There's no meaning to the A 2. The tattoo artist might have just liked the look.

 

[fred&edna]

Back in the old days, IIRC... cassettes were usually marked side A and B OR side 1 and 2. So, a choice of A and 2 is interesting. Maybe he was just an audiophile of sorts or maybe...

A2 is an abbreviation for "Production Audio Technician", Audio Assistant, Second Audio Assistant, or Second Assistant Audio Engineer. Any of these three terms, or any similar term such as Mic Wrangler, may be used to describe the same set of duties.

A2 (theater) - Wikipedia

And, the audio aspect combined with the Man's Response to Vibrations tatt... well, sound is vibration.

I'll just include some bits of a rabbit hole regarding Vera Stanley Alder - Finding of the Third Eye

Man's Response to Vibrations | Ancient Amnesia

https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Third-Vera-Stanley-Alder/dp/0877280568

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Back in the old days, IIRC... cassettes were usually marked side A and B OR side 1 and 2. So, a choice of A and 2 is interesting. Maybe he was just an audiophile of sorts or maybe...

A2 is an abbreviation for "Production Audio Technician", Audio Assistant, Second Audio Assistant, or Second Assistant Audio Engineer. Any of these three terms, or any similar term such as Mic Wrangler, may be used to describe the same set of duties.

A2 (theater) - Wikipedia

And, the audio aspect combined with the Man's Response to Vibrations tatt... well, sound is vibration.

I'll just include some bits of a rabbit hole regarding Vera Stanley Alder - Finding of the Third Eye

Man's Response to Vibrations | Ancient Amnesia

https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Third-Vera-Stanley-Alder/dp/0877280568

Thanks @fred&edna. Second Audio Engineer makes more sense than anything I came up with.

 

[fred&edna]

Thanks @fred&edna. Second Audio Engineer makes more sense than anything I came up with.

Well, it could be too far outside the box but I thought I'd offer it up.

The Da Vinci flying machine tatt also had me wondering if he could be a fan of hanging gliding from Grandfather Mountain (or other NC mountain).

I'm sure there are schools with theatre depts (for audio training) in the area... maybe Appalachian State (or is that too far away?) Or maybe a traveling non-pro theatre group? I can't remember, do they have a possible age-range for him??

 

[Curious_in_NC]

He now has a NamUs profile so it looks like there's still an active search for his identity. No further details beyond what is already shared on this thread.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Well, it could be too far outside the box but I thought I'd offer it up.

The Da Vinci flying machine tatt also had me wondering if he could be a fan of hanging gliding from Grandfather Mountain (or other NC mountain).

I'm sure there are schools with theatre depts (for audio training) in the area... maybe Appalachian State (or is that too far away?) Or maybe a traveling non-pro theatre group? I can't remember, do they have a possible age-range for him??

App State is in Boone, but UNC Asheville has a drama department. The best known and largest program in the area is at UNC Greensboro, with their College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Given the nature of the tattoos, maybe this person had some interest in, or connection to Moog Synthesizers? They relocated from NY to Asheville several years ago. MoogFest was held in Asheville until a few years ago when it moved to Durham NC.

No age range was suggested in MSM or NamUs.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

I guess cassette tape tattoos are more popular than I suspected. None of these had "A 2" or closely resembled the UID's. My favorite was the cassette with inserted pencil.
50 Cassette Tape Tattoo Designs For Men - Retro Ink Ideas

Edit: even more here:
104 Cool Cassette Tattoos

 

[Deleted member 122964]

There is a large homeless population in Asheville...lots of transient folks, street performers, drug addicts, and more. There is also a commune there. Hopefully, LE is asking around in these communities that might not have constant access to the internet.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

There is a large homeless population in Asheville...lots of transient folks, street performers, drug addicts, and more. There is also a commune there. Hopefully, LE is asking around in these communities that might not have constant access to the internet.

Good points. I think it's not very likely he is originally from the Asheville area, given the widespread SM and MSM coverage.

 

[fred&edna]

There is a large homeless population in Asheville...lots of transient folks, street performers, drug addicts, and more. There is also a commune there. Hopefully, LE is asking around in these communities that might not have constant access to the internet.

Good thoughts! It appears the Asheville Buskers Collective has a FB page but I'm not an active FB-er if someone else would want to post there.

*I always think of the Spoon Lady (can't remember her name)

 

[fred&edna]

App State is in Boone, but UNC Asheville has a drama department. The best known and largest program in the area is at UNC Greensboro, with their College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Given the nature of the tattoos, maybe this person had some interest in, or connection to Moog Synthesizers? They relocated from NY to Asheville several years ago. MoogFest was held in Asheville until a few years ago when it moved to Durham NC.

No age range was suggested in MSM or NamUs.

MoogFest... could be a good lead!

 

[PrivateInspector007]

Probably an obvious question/statement but check his finger prints or dna to figure it out? Understandable that the police won't give details until next of kin is notified but they should let folks know if a crime has happened. I checked the arrest records and on 5/21 someone was arrested for assault with deadly weapon and on 5/25 someone else was arrested for homicide. Not sure if the cases have anything to do with why this fellow was harmed.

 

[GatorFL]

Probably an obvious question/statement but check his finger prints or dna to figure it out? Understandable that the police won't give details until next of kin is notified but they should let folks know if a crime has happened. I checked the arrest records and on 5/21 someone was arrested for assault with deadly weapon and on 5/25 someone else was arrested for homicide. Not sure if the cases have anything to do with why this fellow was harmed.

Pretty sure the authorities would not be asking for help from the public if the fingerprints matched something.

I noticed on the NamUs profile he's listed as deceased.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Pretty sure the authorities would not be asking for help from the public if the fingerprints matched something.

I noticed on the NamUs profile he's listed as deceased.

I missed that. It's sad he wasn't identified before he passed. Surprising too, that there were no updates from APD announcing that. It looks like some NamUs info was being entered today as they also have now added an age range, 20-32 Years.

Edit - I flagged this post so someone can revise the title of the thread.

 

[fred&edna]

I missed that. It's sad he wasn't identified before he passed. Surprising too, that there were no updates from APD announcing that. It looks like some NamUs info was being entered today as they also have now added an age range, 20-32 Years.

Edit - I flagged this post so someone can revise the title of the thread.

'Strange there is no additional information as to circumstances... was he found without clothing or was it removed and disposed of at the medical facility? However, it does say he was discovered 5/15/21.

NamUs #UP82031

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[branmuffin]

'Strange there is no additional information as to circumstances... was he found without clothing or was it removed and disposed of at the medical facility? However, it does say he was discovered 5/15/21.

NamUs #UP82031

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

So are we to assume that the UID was deceased June 8/21 and the Namus file entered July 8? It's odd the Asheville PD haven't put out a news update. Everything I've pulled up is dated June 25 and before; no new updates regarding the change to deceased.

ETA: I'm wondering if the injuries were related to an assault rather than an accident and LE decided not to update to a homicide since they were hoping someone would come forward thinking the UID was still alive