Friday, November 15, 2024

Local Man Found Wandering

 




Mystery Solved; Local Man Found Wandering
Millicent Price

        Suwal Tribal police reported yesterday that a shoe-less man in his late forties was found wandering the grounds of the tribal cemetery early in the morning, just at daybreak. A local woman there to decorate her mother’s grave met him there and noticed that he seemed confused. When she spoke to him he didn’t know where he was. He couldn’t explain why he was there or where his shoes were. He didn’t appear to be intoxicated.
        Alice Jones called the tribal police because he “seemed nice” and like he needed help of some kind. Officer Daniel Wilson met with the man in the cemetery. Noting that it was cold and the man must be in distress, Officer Wilson put him in the backseat of his car and warmed him up. Since this man was unknown to the tribe, Officer Wilson called the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Dept.
        While they waiting for the county to arrive Officer Wilson questioned him, but didn’t get anything much from him. The man didn’t know his name or where he lived. He was thin and a little sunburned. His clothing were intact, but looked like he had been wearing the same shirt and pants for many days. Officer Wilson noted an odd odor about him.
        Unknown to the county, Milltown Police had impounded a car a week or so ago at Legion Park’s overlook section. It was unlocked. Many personal effects were found in the Taurus, including a wallet with ID. The driver, named Jim Martin apparently, was missing. 
        He was not located after searching the area, his apartment, or his daughter’s home in Arlington. Police were left with a mystery that they had no way of solving. Mr. Martin’s bank and phone company reported no action in his accounts for over a week. He seemed to have truly vanished. Mr. Martin’s daughter, Sylvia Freese, is looking to hire a detective, since the city made no progress finding her father.
        Officer Jeff Hanson of the Snohomish Sheriff’s Dept. met the mysterious man, who had no memory, and Suwal Tribal Police Officer Daniel Wilson at the cemetery. Officer Hanson took custody of the man and drove him to Milltown General Hospital for a general check-up.
        The man was fully cooperative, wishing to know how he had gotten there and who he was, in fact. He seemed somewhat embarrassed to find himself smelly and lost.
        Doctors pronounced him healthy, if a little hungry and sunburned. As he was resting there, Officer Hanson continued to question him, attempting to instigate any sort of memory in his mind. The only thing the man could summon up was something about a “golden ring of light.” Officer Hanson asked the man to say the first male name that came to his mind. The man said, “maybe Tim, or maybe James.” But that was all.
        Office Hanson remembered hearing about the mysterious abandoned car at Legion park ten days before and wondered if there could be a connection to his amnesia case. He called Milltown Police, and they sent an image of the ID photo to him. It was obvious that the lost man was, in fact, Jim Martin. So both city and county knew who he was, but Mr. Martin had no memory of his previous life when he was informed while resting in Milltown General. He said he “didn’t feel like a Jim,” with a “wistful smile,” according to Officer Hanson.
        Officer Masie Gunderson of the Milltown Police interviewed Mr. Martin on the day of his release from the hospital, today. She drove him to the city impound lot, gave him his wallet and ID and came in with him while he paid the impound fee and took custody of his vehicle.         Before they left the yard he put on his socks and shoes. Officer Gunderson wanted to make sure that Mr. Martin remembered how to drive so that he could go home safely. She followed him to his apartment building and accompanied him inside his unit. She remained with him for some minutes to see that he was situated.
        Officer Gunderson wasn’t sure that he should remain alone, so she called Mrs. Freese, Mr. Martin’s daughter, who was eager to come to see her father and ascertain his state of mind. Before she left him, Officer Gunderson informed him that he had been a taxi driver in Milltown for several years. She suggested that he call his employer. Mr. Martin said he would, although he said he didn’t see how he could drive taxi, as he didn’t remember the town or the area at all.
        So, the mystery man has been found, but will he find himself? Only time will tell.






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