WA - Unidentified Male: "Lyle Stevik", Grays Harbor, 17 Sept 2001 - #5

[Roselvr]

I wonder if Lyle was expecting someone to come and meet him at the motel?

The fact that he stated he was going to stay for the night and possibly longer, (apart from the possibly obvious psychologically loaded inference that the second half of that statement lends itself to if was planning to commit suicide, that is), there is also the possibility that he was expecting to rendezvous with another and that they might be running a few days late.

His pacing beside the highway could have been him being impatient to the point of looking at the traffic in the hope that the vehicle containing the person (or persons) that he was waiting for might appear on the road.

Their non-arrival may well have been the 'straw' which spurned him on to commit his final, dreadful act.

An act which the surrounding circumstances make it all too clear he had had in his mind for quite some time previous.
(I know that is a contentious statement, but earlier in this thread there was talk by a former detective who stated that he had seen numerous attempts to make a murder scene appear as though it were a suicide, and in his opinion this was as clearly a case of suicide as he had seen in the entirety of his professional career.)

I believe 'Lyle' had considered suicide for long enough to have discovered that there existed a character in a book who spends his contemplative moments sitting in his basement under the shadow of the noose he'd prepared some time before.
To have used the name of that character and to have chosen that very same mode of death as that character, to me, seem far too obviously coincidental to be 'random chance' circumstantially coinciding.
(However, stranger things have happened.)

There also exists in the situation in which Lyle was found deceased some profoundly curious absences that lead me to consider whether or not we, (that's the public), will ever know the truth behind both his identity and the circumstances surrounding what brought him to Amanda Park WA.

I state this because it would have been quite simple for him to leave his name and address on the register and to have left a note too, but he chose not to.

Why?

Perhaps it was because he knew that there would be a mystery surrounding his death that would remain and grow, because there are people whom he wanted to know what had become of him, but he didn't want anyone else to know.
A kind of message from beyond the grave from him to them, and to them alone, hence his selection of the name of a character from a book entitled, 'You Must Remember This'.

Perhaps, he even went to the extent of deliberately using a misspelling the character's surname so as to quite clearly differentiate his alias (Stevik) from that of the name of the character, 'Lyle Stevick'.

It's almost as if he is saying through his death,
"You must remember this because there are people who I want to know what has become of me. I cannot use my actual name because this would alert the world to my identity and thereby also link me to them and reveal the identity of those to whom I am sending this 'message'.
By removing my identity I am protecting these people for reasons which must remain secret from the world, but which are well known to us."

If this really is the case, then once they're made aware of the death of 'Lyle' these people, (or just one person), are more than likely not going to admit that they knew him and are not going to provide the authorities with a positive identification of him, ever.

To me, this entire scenario could be the elaborate construct of a very intelligent mind, the possessor of which may well have been, in actuality, very seriously disturbed.

Very sadly, there may also be the possibility that there was absolutely no one to whom this 'message' was sent, other than to us.

I think Lyle Stevik is his real name; the address is fake. I don't think he realized he could get stuck killing himself like that

[Estelle1]

Perhaps, he even went to the extent of deliberately using a misspelling the character's surname so as to quite clearly differentiate his alias (Stevik) from that of the name of the character, 'Lyle Stevick'.

It's almost as if he is saying through his death,
"You must remember this because there are people who I want to know what has become of me. I cannot use my actual name because this would alert the world to my identity and thereby also link me to them and reveal the identity of those to whom I am sending this 'message'.
By removing my identity I am protecting these people for reasons which must remain secret from the world, but which are well known to us."

RSBM.

Great analysis.

Perhaps Lyle wasn't even aware of this, but it seems Joyce Carol Oates was no stranger to using pseudonyms herself. 'Rosamond Smith', 'Rae Jolene Smith', and 'Lauren Kelly' were her aliases of choice when writing some of her mystery novels in the 1990s. I can't find any information as to why she chose those particular names though (can anyone spot any patterns similar to Stevik/Stevick?). In an interview originally published in February 2001 in Writer's Digest, she says she uses pseudonyms so that she could have a "separate identity". She also mentions how she encourages her students to use pseudonyms to improve their writing skills.

I'm still unsure as to whether Lyle even read You Must Remember This to be honest. The dropping of the 'c' in Stevik suggests ambiguity like you said, but the reference is too obscure to have any real effect (if that's what he intended) - especially when the Stevick in Oates' novel doesn't even end his life. Normally a pseudonym based on a fictional character is pretty clear-cut - you know exactly who they are referring to. If Lyle dropped the 'c', the name takes on a whole new meaning - one that doesn't really make much sense - and if he kept the 'c', he wouldn't have been identified anyway. Like Roselvr, I'm more inclined to believe it was his real name, or a deviation thereof.

[Roselvr]

The only PM she has received is from this 'Cryptid Hunter' guy, which is probably for the best as she's communicated with him previously. He's also joined Lyle's Facebook group.

Awesome! Will try to get over there to see what I missed

[DBinMA]

I think we're going to find (and I hope we do eventually find out) that he has some small or obscure thing in his life that parallels either the character Lyle in the book or even something in common with Joyce Carol Oates. Be it nationality or geography, I think we'll find something that will make sense in retrospect. I think a lot of introverted and well read people hang on to tiny details and have a hard time letting go of certain connections. I know because I'm totally that way. This is of course PURE 100% speculation that HE is that way. Just something I'm leaning toward.

[Estelle1]

I emailed the head reference librarian at the University of San Francisco who has a huge knowledge of Joyce Carol Oates' novels and maintains her website. I told him that there was a community here at WebSleuths who wanted to find out Lyle's identity and I asked if Ms Oates was aware of the case. I also asked whether You Must Remember This was on any particular college reading list in 2001. He was very helpful - this is the response I got...

I've heard of this, but I can't make a relevant connection.

I looked at the wikipedia page — "Lyle Stevick" in the JCO novel does not commit suicide, as the wikipedia page suggests. The girl protagonist in the novel attempts suicide by pills, but no major character in the novel dies. The novel is set in the 50s during the McCarthy era, and Lyle Stevick is the father of the family and he is rather obsessed with building a bomb shelter in case of nuclear attack. He does think about suicide.

It's possible You Must Remember This was on a college reading list, but less likely than other more well-known JCO novels.

With so few facts to go on, it's hard not to grasp at any possible connection. I would say, however, that the JCO connection is pretty tenuous. What strikes me, actually, is the proximity of the 9/11 attacks. I'm sure others have commented on that.

[catlike]

I'd like to think that all of our super sleuthing would solve the mystery to his name, but then I sometimes wonder if the name is just a red herring. Perhaps when Lyle was sitting on the bus, the person next to him was reading "You Must Remember This." The person got up to go to the bathroom or go into his or her luggage. Lyle glances over at the book sitting on the seat and sees back of the book, which gives an intriguing summary and includes Lyle Stevick's name (which at least one edition I found did). Maybe it stirred something in him. He gets to the motel and thinks of the name, but doesn't necessarily remember the spelling. It could be as simple as that.

[EugeneBYMCMB]

RSBM

Actually, it looks like there are 2 subreddits, both started 2 months ago: /r/lyle_stevik and /r/lylestevik. They were both started by the same person. But there is no activity and there are no subscribers. I know Lyle has been discussed in various other subreddits, though- most recently in/r/gratefuldoe and /r/UnresolvedMysteries.

I own both of those. Back when I released the photos/files I was planning on using them, but I never got around to it. If anyone is interested in using them for this purpose, I'd be happy to hand them over.

[Lulu14]

I have a Master's in Comparative Literature, and still have to look up some character names and, at times, even the spelling for some authors (for instance, I am used to Dostoevsky being spelled as Dostoievski). I can easily see myself forgetting the "c", in some character's name.

[Sutton]

I'd like to think that all of our super sleuthing would solve the mystery to his name, but then I sometimes wonder if the name is just a red herring. Perhaps when Lyle was sitting on the bus, the person next to him was reading "You Must Remember This." The person got up to go to the bathroom or go into his or her luggage. Lyle glances over at the book sitting on the seat and sees back of the book, which gives an intriguing summary and includes Lyle Stevick's name (which at least one edition I found did). Maybe it stirred something in him. He gets to the motel and thinks of the name, but doesn't necessarily remember the spelling. It could be as simple as that.

I agree that the name Lyle Stevik is probably a dead end. I used the name "Wildhack" as a screen/user/email name for many years. I read Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut and there is a character in the book named Dakota Wildhack.

The book is tragic and odd. I loved the offhand humor and related to the overall theme. So I chose a name from that book. Dakota Wildhack is a pornography actress. I am fairly modest. But I liked her. If she had an oddly spelled name, I could have misspelled it, especially in the spot.

JMO. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from sleuthing the name Stevik.

[Jemska48]

Yes, of course. I think it was posted a few weeks back in this thread. There's a Facebook post from the daughter of the maid that was left in 2014 on a group about ghost stories/supernatural phenomena. The motel name was flagged when I was searching for it on Facebook - that's how I came across the post.

Her comment was shared on a Facebook group with 25,000 followers and is open to public view so I'll post it again here (edited to add paragraphs to make it easier to read):



The rationale was to contact her seeing as she seems happy to talk about the events, and see if we could find out more about Lyle. But she has yet to respond.

Do you have a link to the daughter's story? I've tried searching for it but i'm not having much luck.

[outofthedark]

Do you have a link to the daughter's story? I've tried searching for it but i'm not having much luck.

I'm trying to find the original posting too, it's not showing up for me either. But the screencap from a few pages back should still be there.

[Roselvr]

Do you have a link to the daughter's story? I've tried searching for it but i'm not having much luck.

link still had it open lol

[outofthedark]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned - Lyle's subreddit is /r/lylestevik

[ElsaMaria]

He was a beautiful man. I see his pm pics, and I felt I'd like to knew him, to knew his intentions, hugh him and told him that everything is resolvible..

[amateur_sleuth]

At first I thought this could be Lyle. Then, I saw that he had tattoos, and Lyle didn't. Do you think they could be related somehow?


http://www.nampn.org/cases/lovell_wesley_i.html