Identified! VA - Giles Co., skeletal remains in Mountain Lake, Sep'08 - Samuel Felder

luckyducky

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A friend who lives in Roanoke emailed me this because she knows that I like mystieries.
Who was the person whose final remains -- and possessions -- finally came to light again on Saturday, amid the muddy clods at the bottom of a dry lake?

//www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/177818
 
Wow, how interesting. Sounds like he has been down there closer to the 1920s than the 1960s from the coins they found. I sure hope they can ID him!
 
In the spring of '21, naturalist and writer Blaize "B L" Harsell arrived in Roanoke. He was planning a hike of the Va-Tn-NC mountains in order to condition himself for an expedition into South America. Harsell's last contact with family was in Roanoke, where he planned to board a train to Bristol. He was never heard from again.
Its unknown for certain if Harsell ever boarded the train. After numerous investigations and allegations, authorities arrested several "mountain men" in NC, who were known to be a "rough bunch" of moonshiners. The evidence against them was purely circumstantial; statements were made back and forth, alleging that one had confessed, another was seen with Harsell's equipment...But it appears that nothing of Harsell himself or his personal items was ever found.

Source: Danville (Va) Bee, 1922-1925
 
In the spring of '21, naturalist and writer Blaize "B L" Harsell arrived in Roanoke. He was planning a hike of the Va-Tn-NC mountains in order to condition himself for an expedition into South America. Harsell's last contact with family was in Roanoke, where he planned to board a train to Bristol. He was never heard from again.
Its unknown for certain if Harsell ever boarded the train. After numerous investigations and allegations, authorities arrested several "mountain men" in NC, who were known to be a "rough bunch" of moonshiners. The evidence against them was purely circumstantial; statements were made back and forth, alleging that one had confessed, another was seen with Harsell's equipment...But it appears that nothing of Harsell himself or his personal items was ever found.

Source: Danville (Va) Bee, 1922-1925


Very interesting mystery.

Shadow, do you think this Harsell could be him? Who's ring did he have on with initials MC and CA? And the cig box and his belt buckle had initials SCF.
 
It's an interesting but remote possibility that it could be Harsell. I had just been reading about Harsell within the past week when luckyducky posted this...
Its hard to say at this point what the connection is between all the items, and whether or not the initials have been interpreted correctly. I'll be eager to hear more from LE about this case.

I am finding more reports of men missing in the area, some fairly prominent and wealthy, from 1920 going forward. I'll post any that seem especially intriguing.
 
Good facts of what was found from article:

Based on what they have found, he said, investigators think the person died between 1920 and 1960. Coins found near the remains dated from 1907 to 1920 and included a wheat penny and a half-dollar.

McCreery shoes

initials "MC" and "CA" on the class ring....also . It bore a date on top that appears to signify that it is from the Class of '04 -- most likely 1904, Giles County

belt buckle and cigarette case with initials that appear to be SCF

a dime from 1910 and a tooth
pocketknife, a wallet
 
I'm hoping that LE may post pics of the items at some point. Occasionally, monograms on items were done in such a fashion that the middle letter was slightly larger than the rest, indicating this was in fact the last intial, not the middle. For example, "James Alan Williams" might appear as JWA.

** **** ** ***** ** *** **** ** ****
Here is an interesting article on the lake and hotel:
http://www.alumni.vt.edu/alumninews/2003-spring/mt-lake.html
 
I believe this community forum is in the area the items were found....haven't had a chance to look at all the posts to see if anyone is searching for someone who could have went missing during that time frame or mentions any names with intials that may match the ones here.

Won't be back online till tonight, :( Can't look right now. Lunch is ova!

http://www.hometownforums.com/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=45
 
I found these pics online of the ring..
 

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This is definately interesting. I've always loved going to remote areas like this and seeing what old stuff can be found. I dont' know why it interests me so much. I guess knowing someone being there decades before myself. I would love to see more pictures of the scene and other items found!
 
I just can't see this not being associated with the hotel, somehow. Those wing-tip shoes look like we'd see Bob Hope wearing on the golf course in one of those 1930's newsreels (and yes, golfing was offered at the hotel, according to a 1928 ad I found).
I'm hoping the hotel has kept all its registry records from years past.
 
I just can't see this not being associated with the hotel, somehow. Those wing-tip shoes look like we'd see Bob Hope wearing on the golf course in one of those 1930's newsreels (and yes, golfing was offered at the hotel, according to a 1928 ad I found).
I'm hoping the hotel has kept all its registry records from years past.

That era seems logical in addition to someone still wearing a class ring from '04 as long as till the 40's or 50's does not seem as likely. The MC/ CA initials also appear to be more the name of the school than a personal monogram. For example, Madison County College of Agriculture, or Maryland Central College of Arts, Mt. Charles Christian Academy etc....(NO, there is no link for these, just making up examples)
 
Am I the only one that sees the initials inside the ring as being "C.D.C."?? The B with the star inside it looks like a school or some other group or club symbol. I dunno about the 'O' at the end, but it looks different than the middle three letters.
 
http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/...le/human_remains_found_at_mountain_lake/17920

This article includes a video which also shows the ring. As stated in the article, the first letter is unclear-To me, it appears more likely to be an "N" than an "M". When I started working with NC CA, I came up with the Northern California Cricket Association. The 1904 Champions? San Franciso County.
(Yeah, well, so its a bit of a stretch... :crazy: )
 
Am I the only one that sees the initials inside the ring as being "C.D.C."?? The B with the star inside it looks like a school or some other group or club symbol. I dunno about the 'O' at the end, but it looks different than the middle three letters.

I am pretty sure that the B the CD then the Co after it most likely stands for company. The B with the star would be some type of company logo.

It might even be B with a star, then a G. then D. then CO
 
Am I the only one that sees the initials inside the ring as being "C.D.C."?? The B with the star inside it looks like a school or some other group or club symbol. I dunno about the 'O' at the end, but it looks different than the middle three letters.

I've gone around on those letters too. I'm seeing either a "B" or an "R" with a star in it, a "C" or a "G" (can't tell if that's part of the letter or just corrosion) "D" then "CO"...Possibly BCD or RCD COmpany. That's just my interpretation, of course.
 
Good thinking. I believe it is a possibility also. The North Carolina College of Agriculture was in Raleigh, North Carolina. Raleigh was the capital of NC. I am thinking that the R with the star on the inside band of the ring could stand for Raleigh.

ETA: or the R with the star could stand for Roanoke.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_North_Carolina_State_University

This school was known as the North Carolina College of Agriculture during the time period of this ring (1904), so this could be a definite possibility.
 
This link has some better pictures, and includes the other items found with the ring.

http://www.wdbj7.com/global/story.asp?s=9048087

I can read those letters on the buckle and case several different ways...

The NC College of Agriculture's yearbook was called The Agromeck. I've found parts of the student catalog for 1904 online, but not the entire thing.
 

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