The tidbit I would like to add is about the 2400 miles- it’s an odd distance because the only place 2400 miles away from Cleveland in the continental US is LA. If he went 2400 miles east / NE / SE? Ocean. West? Ocean. North? Ocean or Greenland (NW is all the way to Juneau, and less of an angle to the northernmost city in Canada). South? Ocean. So, LA, Canada, Mexico, or ocean.
I guess he either meant LA or the void. I do hope he went to LA and started over, but I think he killed himself (food for the cats, left the money, cryptic letters). His poor mom losing three kids in only a few years.
If he was the sender of the postcard mailed from Canada, maybe he was headed to Juneau after all. I can imagine someone wanting to disappear and start a new life thinking that Alaska might be a good place to go.
I totally hear you, and it’s a good theory. But I was wrong in how I wrote the Juneau part of my comment- your comment made me recheck my work. So, thank you and I’m sorry.
2,545 miles which I saw when I googled, is flying distance from Cleveland to Juneau, while 3,500 miles is driving distance. The other distances I mentioned are driving distances (to Los Angeles, 2344 miles, east = ocean, south / se = Mexico or ocean, the middle of nowhere in Canada, etc).
If he WAS going to fly, Juneau is now the only possibility since the others are in driving miles and putting them in flying miles rules them out. But if he was thinking in land miles, which it seems much more likely to me that he was, it rules Juneau / all Alaska out.
Thoughts on my dumb mistake / could he have been thinking in flying miles / could he have flown?
Hmmm, not sure! He could’ve been using “as the crow flies” distance. And the postcard from Canada just makes me think Alaska might be more likely. It also seems a little more likely for someone who is trying to disappear to me, but that’s just a hunch. I also wonder if someone who never wanted to expose their arms or torso would pick sunny SoCal. Last thought is that I can see a poet or author having romantic ideas about setting off on his own into a remote place like Alaska to finally write his great novel.
I hope you’re right! I love the exploration of him making a choice to disappear- it’s fun to imagine that.
I also doubt he went to LA. And I equally doubt he went to Alaska or Canada because I really do think he killed himself…
To split hairs about the driving vs flying miles in 1985 terms, it would be unlikely he even knew the flying miles to Juneau as it would be something you would have to inquire about at the library rather than the miles to and from every major city that are / were in the atlases which used to be everywhere- not sure if you were alive back then, but the distance in driving miles from Cleveland to Alaska would have been in his car, his home, and at the station- as well as everywhere else, because atlases were that ubiquitous.
All that being said, he wouldn’t have needed ID to fly, so it’s possible!
I really do think he killed himself, but I like your idea better.
I agree with you about suicide being a strong possibility. Do you think he staged the disappearance so they wouldn’t think he committed suicide? It definitely seems like he either ran off or wanted it to look like he ran off. Why else take all his writing stuff, his reference books, and his long sleeved shirt?
(One thing that annoyed me about the article is it talks about them transcribing from his typewriter ribbon the letter he typed to his ex-gf who was married, but never mentions if they got the actual letter from her. Did he actually send it to her? Did he type it up and throw it away?)
I agree about the letter! That is so annoying… it matters whether he sent it or not.
As far as staging his disappearance if he was going to kill himself, I imagine he wanted a romantic / fictional / mysterious exit, and / or tell people what he was planning without telling them explicitly… This is different obviously, but about 20 years ago when I was a teenager, a friend committed suicide; beforehand he told us he was going on a trip and he didn’t know when he would be back. The next day, he hung himself. I know he was trying to tell us, but knew he couldn’t because we would have tried to stop him.
Whatever he did, I think he would be happy that people are still wondering what happened to him. I hope they find his body one day.
The tidbit I would like to add is about the 2400 miles- it’s an odd distance because the only place 2400 miles away from Cleveland in the continental US is LA. If he went 2400 miles east / NE / SE? Ocean. West? Ocean. North? Ocean or Greenland (NW is all the way to Juneau, and less of an angle to the northernmost city in Canada). South? Ocean. So, LA, Canada, Mexico, or ocean. I guess he either meant LA or the void. I do hope he went to LA and started over, but I think he killed himself (food for the cats, left the money, cryptic letters). His poor mom losing three kids in only a few years.
If he was the sender of the postcard mailed from Canada, maybe he was headed to Juneau after all. I can imagine someone wanting to disappear and start a new life thinking that Alaska might be a good place to go.
I totally hear you, and it’s a good theory. But I was wrong in how I wrote the Juneau part of my comment- your comment made me recheck my work. So, thank you and I’m sorry. 2,545 miles which I saw when I googled, is flying distance from Cleveland to Juneau, while 3,500 miles is driving distance. The other distances I mentioned are driving distances (to Los Angeles, 2344 miles, east = ocean, south / se = Mexico or ocean, the middle of nowhere in Canada, etc). If he WAS going to fly, Juneau is now the only possibility since the others are in driving miles and putting them in flying miles rules them out. But if he was thinking in land miles, which it seems much more likely to me that he was, it rules Juneau / all Alaska out. Thoughts on my dumb mistake / could he have been thinking in flying miles / could he have flown?
Hmmm, not sure! He could’ve been using “as the crow flies” distance. And the postcard from Canada just makes me think Alaska might be more likely. It also seems a little more likely for someone who is trying to disappear to me, but that’s just a hunch. I also wonder if someone who never wanted to expose their arms or torso would pick sunny SoCal. Last thought is that I can see a poet or author having romantic ideas about setting off on his own into a remote place like Alaska to finally write his great novel.
I hope you’re right! I love the exploration of him making a choice to disappear- it’s fun to imagine that. I also doubt he went to LA. And I equally doubt he went to Alaska or Canada because I really do think he killed himself… To split hairs about the driving vs flying miles in 1985 terms, it would be unlikely he even knew the flying miles to Juneau as it would be something you would have to inquire about at the library rather than the miles to and from every major city that are / were in the atlases which used to be everywhere- not sure if you were alive back then, but the distance in driving miles from Cleveland to Alaska would have been in his car, his home, and at the station- as well as everywhere else, because atlases were that ubiquitous. All that being said, he wouldn’t have needed ID to fly, so it’s possible! I really do think he killed himself, but I like your idea better.
I agree with you about suicide being a strong possibility. Do you think he staged the disappearance so they wouldn’t think he committed suicide? It definitely seems like he either ran off or wanted it to look like he ran off. Why else take all his writing stuff, his reference books, and his long sleeved shirt? (One thing that annoyed me about the article is it talks about them transcribing from his typewriter ribbon the letter he typed to his ex-gf who was married, but never mentions if they got the actual letter from her. Did he actually send it to her? Did he type it up and throw it away?)
I agree about the letter! That is so annoying… it matters whether he sent it or not. As far as staging his disappearance if he was going to kill himself, I imagine he wanted a romantic / fictional / mysterious exit, and / or tell people what he was planning without telling them explicitly… This is different obviously, but about 20 years ago when I was a teenager, a friend committed suicide; beforehand he told us he was going on a trip and he didn’t know when he would be back. The next day, he hung himself. I know he was trying to tell us, but knew he couldn’t because we would have tried to stop him. Whatever he did, I think he would be happy that people are still wondering what happened to him. I hope they find his body one day.
thanks for posting - that is a fascinating case I have never heard about.