'Missing' Man Living With Amnesia In Ga.

rockin'robin

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Man Remembers Nothing Of Life Before 2004 Attack

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- A database of missing people known as the Doe Network lists a curious case: unlike most everyone else in the network, this man’s whereabouts are known, but his identity is not.

On Aug. 31, 2004, Benjaman Kyle was found unconscious behind a Burger King in Richmond Hill, naked and beaten. His wallet and all his identification were missing, and when he came to, so was most of his memory of the past 20 years.

Kyle adopted the first name Benjaman, with the unusual spelling, because he believes that is his true first name, and the last name, Kyle, because the initials spell "BK" – the same as Burger King, where he was found.

Moving through life with no memory, Kyle has pieced together a few threads of his past before 2004. Landmarks around Indianapolis and Boulder, Colo., indicate that he might have grown up in Indiana and perhaps went to school at the University of Colorado. Despite not having any memories of friends or family, Kyle still retains extensive knowledge of the restaurant business, but without a Social Security Number, he is unemployable.

Kyle, who is believed to be about 60 years old and now lives in Savannah, hopes his story and his missing persons report on the Doe Network might help him piece together the rest of his life.

'Missing' Man Living With Amnesia In Ga. - Family News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
 
Ouch... that's gotta suck!

Not even a DNA or fingerprint check? See if he's in the system?

Let's hope someone sees his picture on the news and recognizes him.
 
How unusual. I hope he does indeed have family and friends that are looking for him. I'm sure the police have long gone through the missing persons database, checked fingerprints, etc., yearbook photos, etc.
 
Seems like the powers that be could give him a new Social Security number. They do that for people in the Witness Protection Program; why not for this guy?

Maybe with the publicity someone will recognize him. I hope so.
 
Seems like the powers that be could give him a new Social Security number. They do that for people in the Witness Protection Program; why not for this guy?

Maybe with the publicity someone will recognize him. I hope so.

I was wondering the same thing myself. I hope his family can see this vid and contact him. It must be hellish not knowing who you are.
 
I read something about him last year. Colleen Fitzpatrick is the one trying to help him remember who he is. I suggested to Colleen that she have a dentist to take out one of Benjaman's teeth and have the tooth analyzed to find where he grew up.
She did the DNA testing and found that Benjaman is related to Powell family but I was concerned that he (or his father or grandfather) might be adopted. I also was concerned that he could be an army brat hence no one can really identify him. That is why I would like to see that one of his teeth is extracted and analyzed (isotope test).

NERGC 2011 Exploring New Paths to Your Roots: "The Search for the Identity of the Amnesiac Benjaman Kyle" by Colleen Fitzpatrick
 
I read something somewhere about being able to tell by hairstrands, fingernails, etc. if you have been exposed to certain parts of the country. Pretty similar to what you just posted about the teeth.
 
I read something somewhere about being able to tell by hairstrands, fingernails, etc. if you have been exposed to certain parts of the country. Pretty similar to what you just posted about the teeth.

There was a similar case here years ago involving a woman with amnesia. They took her to one of the campus speech pathologists (or something like that, I cannot remember exactly) and they were able to locate her home, and it was two or three states away! It had something to do with her pronunciation of certain words, such as "crick" instead of "creek". Her family were overjoyed and I was amazed at the intricacies of speech. I often wondered if the same people examined me, could they know where I am from? Beats me. :giggle:
 
There was a similar case here years ago involving a woman with amnesia. They took her to one of the campus speech pathologists (or something like that, I cannot remember exactly) and they were able to locate her home, and it was two or three states away! It had something to do with her pronunciation of certain words, such as "crick" instead of "creek". Her family were overjoyed and I was amazed at the intricacies of speech. I often wondered if the same people examined me, could they know where I am from? Beats me. :giggle:

I could so see how that would work. Here in MN we refer to pop as pop, whereas when I lived in NY, it is called soda. So even different choices of words could help.
 
There was a similar case here years ago involving a woman with amnesia. They took her to one of the campus speech pathologists (or something like that, I cannot remember exactly) and they were able to locate her home, and it was two or three states away! It had something to do with her pronunciation of certain words, such as "crick" instead of "creek". Her family were overjoyed and I was amazed at the intricacies of speech. I often wondered if the same people examined me, could they know where I am from? Beats me. :giggle:

Oh, yeah. Dialect tells a lot.

I really feel for this guy. This is unusual to have amnesia so severe, but there are several documented cases like this. Sometimes, with treatment, the memory comes back. Sometimes it will partially return.
 
This reminds me of a case I saw on television where this guy suddenly disappeared (I think right before the wedding) and was found weeks later in a hotel room with no memory of who he was or anyone else. Didn't even know his fiance or family.
 
I worked at a nursing home when living in Missouri. We had a patient that was put into the Alzheimer's ward who was found on the side of the road, in the dead of Winter with no shoes, no coat and no ID. During treatment at the hospital it was found that he was unable to speak. He was stiff as a board and it took 3 people to get him to bend to sit in a chair. He was very muscular and had a wonderful smile. While at the nursing home, he started having trouble sleeping and his roommate was not very helpful. The roommate was a Parkinson's patient who had a very foul mouth. I was working the 2nd shift (3pm-11pm) and I was always assigned to the room for these guys. It wasn't until a year later that I found out exactly why. Seems, that I took the time to sing to the guys and I would sing Amazing Grace to them. The foul mouthed guy would begin to sing along in a very sweet voice. The guy who could not talk, would get the biggest smile on his face and break down in tears. Seems that a year after I left, the family was found for this man. He was a retired Baptist preacher. His cousin was taking him from Texas to St. Louis for a family gathering. On the way, he had a stroke and she didn't want the responsibility, so she left him at a truck stop. He wandered up the I-70 before collapsing. He is now back in Texas with his daughter. The cousin was arrested and charged with Elderly Abuse among other charges. The family asked to meet me since I was the only one who could calm him down. I went to the nursing home to visit on the day he was released and he took one look at me, held out his arms and started bawling like you wouldn't believe. His family was just totally speechless. He passed away within the last year, but we still kept in touch all this time. He was in that nursing home with his family looking for him for 2-3 years.
 
I worked at a nursing home when living in Missouri. We had a patient that was put into the Alzheimer's ward who was found on the side of the road, in the dead of Winter with no shoes, no coat and no ID. During treatment at the hospital it was found that he was unable to speak. He was stiff as a board and it took 3 people to get him to bend to sit in a chair. He was very muscular and had a wonderful smile. While at the nursing home, he started having trouble sleeping and his roommate was not very helpful. The roommate was a Parkinson's patient who had a very foul mouth. I was working the 2nd shift (3pm-11pm) and I was always assigned to the room for these guys. It wasn't until a year later that I found out exactly why. Seems, that I took the time to sing to the guys and I would sing Amazing Grace to them. The foul mouthed guy would begin to sing along in a very sweet voice. The guy who could not talk, would get the biggest smile on his face and break down in tears. Seems that a year after I left, the family was found for this man. He was a retired Baptist preacher. His cousin was taking him from Texas to St. Louis for a family gathering. On the way, he had a stroke and she didn't want the responsibility, so she left him at a truck stop. He wandered up the I-70 before collapsing. He is now back in Texas with his daughter. The cousin was arrested and charged with Elderly Abuse among other charges. The family asked to meet me since I was the only one who could calm him down. I went to the nursing home to visit on the day he was released and he took one look at me, held out his arms and started bawling like you wouldn't believe. His family was just totally speechless. He passed away within the last year, but we still kept in touch all this time. He was in that nursing home with his family looking for him for 2-3 years.

Bless you, Kristina....wish there were more people like you in this world.
 
I worked at a nursing home when living in Missouri. We had a patient that was put into the Alzheimer's ward who was found on the side of the road, in the dead of Winter with no shoes, no coat and no ID. During treatment at the hospital it was found that he was unable to speak. He was stiff as a board and it took 3 people to get him to bend to sit in a chair. He was very muscular and had a wonderful smile. While at the nursing home, he started having trouble sleeping and his roommate was not very helpful. The roommate was a Parkinson's patient who had a very foul mouth. I was working the 2nd shift (3pm-11pm) and I was always assigned to the room for these guys. It wasn't until a year later that I found out exactly why. Seems, that I took the time to sing to the guys and I would sing Amazing Grace to them. The foul mouthed guy would begin to sing along in a very sweet voice. The guy who could not talk, would get the biggest smile on his face and break down in tears. Seems that a year after I left, the family was found for this man. He was a retired Baptist preacher. His cousin was taking him from Texas to St. Louis for a family gathering. On the way, he had a stroke and she didn't want the responsibility, so she left him at a truck stop. He wandered up the I-70 before collapsing. He is now back in Texas with his daughter. The cousin was arrested and charged with Elderly Abuse among other charges. The family asked to meet me since I was the only one who could calm him down. I went to the nursing home to visit on the day he was released and he took one look at me, held out his arms and started bawling like you wouldn't believe. His family was just totally speechless. He passed away within the last year, but we still kept in touch all this time. He was in that nursing home with his family looking for him for 2-3 years.
Wow. I can't believe that preacher's cousin would dump him at a truck stop after he had a stroke. I wonder why she didn't try to get help for him. I would try to get help even if I can't speak on the phone.
 
The near exact same memory loss happened to my Uncle Warren Fanning from Brooklyn, New York. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Navy. His ship was sunk by a suicide kamikaze pilot - his ship was a Landing Ship Tank (LST), everyone on board was killed except my uncle and just one other survivor.

He was put in a VA as a John Doe because he had no identification (no dog tags were found on him) and he did not know who he was .... for 5 years.

My nana (his little sister) and my great grandmother, and the rest of the family, all thought he had been killed. Until he remembered the street he grew up on and where it was ....

It took him years to get total recall but he still does not remember the attack.
 
This type of amnesia, barring any pathology in the brain, typically occurs after the person has experienced some sort of trauma.
 
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