This looks like an interesting case. Good find Beamie!
So, with the maps, tour magazines, pocket knife etc., are we presuming a tourist of some kind with a possible German connection? Was he hiking? Hitch-hiking? Though, for the latter, you'd expect ID to be in his backpack and there wasn't it - unless his cards/wallet were swiped.
Here's the 'cup' that was found, with LE writing on the document.
What do LE mean exactly? An EconoLodge cup like below with an
advert on the back for the "Elektronic-Zentrum-Lubbecke" company?
Presumably, the cup was taken from an EconoLodge motel in the Lubbecke area, then? The "Quality Hotel Bielefeld" owned by Choice Hotels is the closest to Lubbecke (Choice Hotels own EcoLodge). Here's their
website. "Elektronic-Zentrum-Lubbecke" is 50 km to the hotel, so they probably advertised across a large area and were trying to attract tourists/business people who stayed at the motel. I think
where the cup is from is the clue here, not the business advertised on it.
Also, on his NAMUS, it says he was wearing a purple and green jacket, green shirt, purple belt, blue jeans, and grey shoes. What a colorful sight he must have been! Anyone would have seen him coming a mile off.
There must have been a newspaper article from the time - I'll have a look and see if I can find anything, hopefully with more details.
He was found dead at West Mesa of Four Hills. Presuming he wasn't local (the map, international tour magazines etc.), what would have attracted him to this area? Does anyone know? Particular natural landscapes/mountains/hiking trails etc.? It looks like a beautiful - if dry and barren - landscape to me. Google suggests it's a popular cycling route. Can a local shed some light? Here's a photo of the area from Wikipedia:
Just one more thing: if he had his shaving cream and hand mirror with him, it sounds like he was carrying
all his belongings in his backpack (if I was taking a day excursion to the mountains, for example, I'd leave the shaving foam in the hotel room). This suggests his ID/wallet/passport (?) were all swiped.