WA - Unidentified Male: "Lyle Stevik", Grays Harbor, 17 Sept 2001 - #4

[Roselvr]

I was wondering if maybe the clothes he was wearing were from a deceased (possibly?) family member... that's the only thing, IMO, that would explain the belt notches and baggy pants, but no saggy skin (from rapid weight loss).

But he has stretch marks

 

[jeweliew]

Stretch marks are usually a sign of rapid weight gain...that's why pregnant women get them...

 

[jeweliew]

Maybe he had been traveling for and time with little money, as only enough for the room was left...and was unable to eat properly during his travel, explaining the weight loss...his clothes may have fit him when he left wherever he left....there are so many variables in Lyles life and death...

 

[carbuff]

Stretch marks are usually a sign of rapid weight gain...that's why pregnant women get them...

Weight loss, even fairly gradual weight loss, can cause stretch marks as well.

The gradual tightening of the belt, with each hole having been worn long enough to leave a mark, would seem to indicate that the loss was at least somewhat gradual. Probably months, not days.

 

[Roselvr]

Weight loss, even fairly gradual weight loss, can cause stretch marks as well.

The gradual tightening of the belt, with each hole having been worn long enough to leave a mark, would seem to indicate that the loss was at least somewhat gradual. Probably months, not days.

I have a friend that lost 40lbs in 4 months

 

[rosesfromangels]

This is kind of OT, but related. I'm excited to be walking in an Out of the Darkness walk on 9/28 in my city and I'll be thinking of Lyle and of the Annandale Jane Doe (aka Christmas Tree Lady) as I go.

Hi Astridxx! So good to "see" you here on another thread. Ah yes, our beloved Christmas Tree Lady. Do you suppose she is having a chat with Lyle wondering why us Websleuthers are so persistent?!

 

[astridxx]

Hi Astridxx! So good to "see" you here on another thread. Ah yes, our beloved Christmas Tree Lady. Do you suppose she is having a chat with Lyle wondering why us Websleuthers are so persistent?!

I often do wonder if I should just give it up - they went to the greatest lengths to remain anonymous... but I just can't let it go! I'd like to put a name and a life story to their faces to try and understand them a little better. I'm going to try and summon psychic dreams (don't laugh LOL) and see if I can't figure out who these people are.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I often do wonder if I should just give it up - they went to the greatest lengths to remain anonymous... but I just can't let it go! I'd like to put a name and a life story to their faces to try and understand them a little better. I'm going to try and summon psychic dreams (don't laugh LOL) and see if I can't figure out who these people are.

O.K. play the twilight zone music. I was on the thread just before bed last night, and then had a dream about Lyle being from Quebec.

 

[carbuff]

Sometimes a dream can be the inner workings of your brain telling you what you can't quite see consciously. I haven't had any dreams about Lyle but sometimes I've had them on other cases.

 

[astridxx]

Hey has anyone read the Joyce Carol Oates book that he may have taken "Lyle Stevik" from?


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[dotr]

Hey has anyone read the Joyce Carol Oates book that he may have taken "Lyle Stevik" from?


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Not yet, keep meaning to, maybe now I will get down to it!

 

[Roselvr]

An update: I never received any FB responses from anyone named Amanda Park, not surprisingly.
My opinions are pure conjecture.
I think that the significance of the name Lyle Stevik cannot be underestimated.
I also believe that this man suicided because after Sept 11, it was obvious to anyone who had no official documentation that they would inevitably be examined and come under a governmental scrutiny which would lead to them being exposed as an illegal immigrant.
Illegal immigrant status would certainly contribute to the lack of easy identification of Lyle. I therefore believe that he was possibly an illegal immigrant.
The thought of this future scrutiny leading to the prospect of deportation to a country outside of the US, for example a place such as Bosnia-Herzegovina from which many had run in horror at the 'ethnic cleansing' that occurred there after the NATO bombings, could easily have contributed to the factors that would make one who had witnessed these atrocities want to 'end it all'.
A lot of Eastern European names contain an ending like 'ic', 'ivic' and etc so it's possible that Stevik was close to Lyle's real surname.
I also think that the name 'Lyle' is similar in may ways to 'Ille' which is also a common Eastern European first name.
I also believe that this wasn't the only false name Lyle had used, and that he had used numerous others.
This name 'Lyle' was the one that he specifically chose for the purpose of leaving behind after his suicide and he had never used it before.
I also believe that he walked a very long way which was the method by which he lost the weight that it is speculated he had lost, hence the wear on his belt.
In case there's another direct link of some type to the actual book, 'You Must remember This', I have added a comment in regards to this case on the book review site, 'Goodreads' under the topic, 'You Must Remember This', in the hope that the more people who are made aware of the case might turn up something.
No matter how alone one might feel there's always someone who thinks of them with fondness and who wonders about them with longing. I refuse to agree with Lyle that there would be no one longing for him today.
I get the feeling that a connection might be found in Eastern Europe, especially the aforementioned B.H. or some other country which had a bloody civil war in the nineties.

You Must Remember This on Goodreads
Link for the post

 

[masootz]

Hey has anyone read the Joyce Carol Oates book that he may have taken "Lyle Stevik" from?


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a couple of things about the book:

1) it's called "you must remember this"
2) it was published in 1987, so our lyle is probably too old to have read it in high school, and also the subject matter and depth of the book (imo it's a book for people who like reading snobby books) is such that i'd have a hard time believing any high school teacher would teach it.
3) joyce carol oates published a LOT of books and this one is not considered one of her essential books so either you'd have to stumble across it or really be into her books (which are not light reading material)
4) the character lyle stevick isn't the main character of the book. his daughter enid is the main focus. she has an affair with his brother (who is much older and a boxer) and she attempts suicide. lyle's father also committed suicide. lyle hangs a rope and contemplates using it to kill himself but ultimately doesn't.
5) the character of lyle is written as painfully mundane and average. he is interrogated as a communist sympathizer and has a tough time getting over the accusation until he starts building a bomb shelter which seems to spice up his life.

i still think there's less to the name than some others attribute, but who knows.

 

[Roselvr]

I just sent Jacie a PM to see what she thinks of Lyle with Carl's Recon. She thought he was Native American - Lakota/Nakota/Dakota or Arikara.

Do we have any specific info on his dentals such as shovel shaped teeth? Jacie still thinks possible American Indian; she gave me the link below which I'm still reading

Thick Hair, Small , Shovel Shaped Teeth and More

Just a few thoughts; I checked out the FB page, Google searched LS and read about half this thread tonight.

When I saw his postmortem picture, my immediate impression was Arikara, from Montana/North Dakota area. He looks like several young guys who were in University classes with me who were from Ft Peck, MT or Mandaree, ND.

His height would be comparable to some Lakota/Nakota/Dakota or Arikara.

I would check United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota.

I wonder if this story was ever covered by Indian Country Today Media Network.

I went to 3 FB pages last night, just to compare the picture of LS to the guys. I can think of several people I know who have similar features to him.

I never looked at this thread before because I didn't know the connection to AI/NA. Where he was found is an AI area, the motel address he gave is AI, as well. Does anyone know if coldcaseman still reads/posts here?

 

[astridxx]

@mas - there are a 1000 reasons why he chose LS. And sadly, we may never know. IMHO LS is too exact or precise of a name for him to have come up with on the fly. But, who knows! I like snobby books so I'm going to pick it up LOL just mad they don't have it for kindle NOR did they have it at the used bookstore :/


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[annemc2]

Sheesh, I finally found this post! Here ya go:

Well, I finally purchased and read "You Must Remember This" by Joyce Carol Oates, hoping to find some glimpse of why our Lyle might have associated with this book's character of the same name.

A brief summary of the book can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/04/02/specials/oates-remember.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I'll quote here a brief section of the aforementined article that specifically mentions Lyle:

Lyle is different. Though he has none of Felix's adrenaline or Enid's single-mindedness, he is memorable. For in Lyle, Ms. Oates has given failure a habitation and a name. We feel the punishing sameness of his routines; we sit with him through the beers and shots that blur them for a few hours. His decline begins when a McCarthyite zealot denounces him as a Communist sympathizer because he keeps books in his shop and knows where the Soviet Union is. Lyle's morale never fully recovers from the police interrogation. And later, when a pretty client rejects his attentions, he all but collapses.

Of note, the character Lyle is not the one involved in an incestuous relationship (in fact he has no knowledge of it), nor does he actually kill himself in the book. However, he does contemplate hanging himself with a rope at least twice during the course of the novel.

Lyle takes solace in the fact that he has a basement in his store where he stores a length of rope behind a packing case. It's his "refuge" and his "sanctuary." He thinks of how people that know him see him as "a vigorous tireless ebuillient soul, a go-getter" but laments that "Lyle Stevick was otherwise, phony and tattered..." His desperate prayer, like that of Lear, was "O let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven!," and he was extremely worried about thermonuclear war, even going into debt in order to build a bomb shelter in the backyard for his family.

It's difficult to speculate upon why our Lyle might have associated himself with the literary Lyle, especially because Lyle Stevick was one of the more minor characters in the book. In fact he was a middle aged man and father of four. If our Lyle had identified with literary Lyle's half-brother Felix, we would have all kinds of titillating scenarios to wonder about. The only thing that really stood out to me is the underlying current of death throughout the novel. Other characters deal with an attempted suicide, an abortion, a presumed mafia-related murder, serious illness, and deadly and near-deadly accidents and beatings.

I have to wonder if our Lyle really identified with the book's Lyle Stevick, or if he had simply read the book recently and liked the name. :waitasec:

(from post #4, thread #4)

 

[Kandi372s]

My husband has been watching Alaska reality shows all day and i am wondering if anyone has ever checked missing people from there. I thought he had resembling features to some of the men on the shows today and some had accents. Sorry if this has been asked already, i may have missed the post if so.

 

[jeweliew]

Kandi, i have actually checked missing persons from 1999 - 2002 in EVERY US State and came up with nothing...i am now trying some European countries. Also guys, he had no ID, but he also had no other clothing, or personal items...there is actually a chance that his name really was Lyle Stevik, the connection with the book could be just coincidental. I actually have found alot of people with the last name Stevik, so the possibility of that being his name is very legit. He may have had no ID because he might have thought after death he would not look himself, leaving him more difficult to identify them if they had an actual picture of him alive. Just one train of thought.

 

[dotr]

The hotel guest info. was written by "Lyle" after all.

http://doenetwork.org/cases/233umwa.html

"Registration name & address filled out by "Lyle"

 

[astridxx]

I wonder if lyle stevik sounds like his real name - you know like maybe it was Michael Steven or Kyle leaven etc etc


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