MA MA - Neo Babson Maximus, aka Charles Allen, 22, Dartmouth, 12 Oct 2007

[chinacat67]

I am troubled by one detail: the investigation of his computer. It seems unlikely to me that this man spent so much of his time on the computer and yet nothing of use was found. That said however, I must consider the possibility that LE did indeed find useful information that they simply weren't at liberty to make public.

I totally agree with your post, Jane....except the computer part makes total sense to me. My two teenagers tend to be naturally paranoid about people looking at their computers. They seem to put their lives on Facebook---but they really only do to the extent they want to (they just don't care, yet, that potential bosses, grandparents, and parents can see their party pics and dramas). Anything else they DO NOT want anyone to see. Young people are naturally paranoid and secretive. Knowing the depth of Neo's understanding of the internet, computers etc, based on his gaming expertise etc, I absolutely believe that, particularly in a clinically paranoid state, he would have cleared out everything of any use on his computer himself. I am sure LE know when the drive was wiped, logs cleared etc and I feel it was probably at a time during which he was still there. If people were after him, in his mind or for real, then his most precious information--which I have no doubt would be on the computer--would have needed to have been wiped/erased to make sure "they" didn't get it.

With his clear level of expertise (pretty much any teen's/college kid's level of technology sophistication), I would have been surprised if there WAS anything of use on the computer.

JMHO!

 

[PaulR]

He reminds me a bit of Christopher McCandless - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia from "Into the Wild" fame, especially with the name change. (Chris started going to "Alexander Supertramp.") McCandless also basically vanished from his family, though after he graduated, and only turned up when they found his body two years later.

The film adaptation of "Into the Wild" was released on September 21, 2007. Allen disappeared on October 12, 2007.

So, could Allen taken a romantic view of "ItW" and decided to do the same thing? It wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Scott123]

"it wouldn't surprise me if he started to mix up his own identity, with his old gaming identity, and reference the game half life with the table of elements, and even, legally change his name to neo, his gaming name. "

While working in the video gaming industry I have seen this before, mother giving up their kids, and husbands for something that is not even real, calling up and threating you because something is wrong with their on-line character. These were "normal" people before they played. For someone that has other problems I would think mixing up "worlds" would be real easy.

 

[firedancer37]

I just watched a repeat of the Disappeared episode, and I HAVE to ask...Did LE ever check for his cell phone pings? Charlie's Dad made a point to say that he continued to pay the cell phone bill, and his friend (Anthony?) said he called Charlie's cell phone for days after he disappeared, leaving messages until the Voice Mailbox was full. If any one of his family or friends or any one who follows the case has this information, I would like to know. It seems like that would be useful information since they never found his cell phone. Also, I believe a forensic computer specialist MAY be able to determine when his facebook account and emails were deleted. Did LE ever have a forensice computer analyst check Charlie's computer? Did they take it into evidence? If not, could the family have a computer expert look at it? Just curious....and also, so sad for his family. He seemed like such a bright and wonderful young man, as well as a great son, brother and friend! I hate for his family to suffer with never knowing what happend.

 

[ELEEOZ]

He was the right age for a psychotic break, although the name changing and the lucidity before that day....
I cannot get this out of my mind. Since that guy saw him two years later, I hope the PI keeps checking out any areas with homeless people.....

 

[ELEEOZ]

He reminds me a bit of Christopher McCandless - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia from "Into the Wild" fame, especially with the name change. (Chris started going to "Alexander Supertramp.") McCandless also basically vanished from his family, though after he graduated, and only turned up when they found his body two years later.

The film adaptation of "Into the Wild" was released on September 21, 2007. Allen disappeared on October 12, 2007.

So, could Allen taken a romantic view of "ItW" and decided to do the same thing? It wouldn't surprise me.

Just like Lee Cutler, Maura Murray, and Leah Roberts, (in regards to the book)
This blogger here:http://www.truecrimediary.com/index.cfm?page=cases&id=110
has great write ups, and she throws in her own theories. She does not copy and paste any news reports at all, and is short an sweet, and right to the point. Even people with ADD or who scan posts just for the "good parts" would be quite pleased with her posts. Check it out!
Although Lee Cutler is not featured to that post I linked you too, he too loved the book 'Into the Wild'
That is where he has similarities with Murray and Roberts.
For some reason I think Charlie Allen/ Maximus may have had some sort of psychotic break, even though he was quite lucid right up to the day he disappeared. The comment Mason made about the pizza is quite strange, and it did not sit well with me for some reason. I do not know why.
The fact he changed his name, especially to his online persona where he WAS 'number 1' and perfect, well, that is not something that can be shrugged off. Legally changing your name to something fantasy like is rather disturbing, and this show ALWAYS leaves more questions than answers....That is why even though it bothers me, I still watch it, (because you NEVER know when YOU can be that person who helps someone find their way home) it makes me trail off to several different scenarios. Like the fact his hard drive was wiped clean. It adds to the theory that maybe those important people he emailed may have wiped his hard drive clean, but he may have done it himself, which suggests paranoia, and he had a lot of his life online. No one wants to wipe their computers clean! I would be devastated if all my files disappeared. A lot of us rely too much on computers....
I wonder if there has been a recent forensic scan of his computer, you never know, it is worth a shot.
One thing that does bring some criminal element (to me) is the part where he went up to the trucker. That may be due to that horrible stigma about truck drivers lately though, due to the public announcement of the FBI's 'Highway Serial Killings Initiative' a new 'task force' if you will.
I do try to read into everything (maybe too much) and my heart sank a little when I saw that about the trucker.....but again, that is the stigma again.
For some reason I keep thinking he is living on the streets. I do not know why, but at the end of the episode and the man who claimed it was Allen/ Maximus at his door late at night two years later, it makes me feel that he is very well alive.

 

[Chili Fries]

I just watched Charlie's Disappeared episode and was struck by how many times his family members said stuff like...Charlie would never disappear without telling us or just talk about how they couldn't imagine him having a serious break with reality. I really feel for what they are going through and have great compassion for them but it seems obvious that they are in denial about the depth of his mental illness. Just the fact of him changing his name to something so crazy and climbing into the second story window of a strange house...that's very indicative of a severe bipolar episode.

Also, I think there is a very good chance he deleted his computer stuff, and that means he was not in touch with reality when he talked to his sister and denied deleting his FB and said people were after him.

I don't know what all the PI has done but the info given on the show makes me think that their denial could really hurt their chances of finding Charlie. His flyer needs to be up in as many homeless shelters all over the country as possible. I wish his family the best but I think it's probably a good idea to keep an open mind about the depths of his mental issues. Hopefully they will be reunited soon.

 

[q64ceo]

Does anyone know if they attempted to locate his cellphone tower via pings?

 

[Snarky247]

Currently showing on Disappeared (on Discovery ID)....

 

[txsvicki]

Just saw this on Disappeared. What a shame. Unless the family is downplaying the illness in case he's watching, they really do seem to be in denial about mental illness, how it can get worse, change, and even have some new onset around Charlie's age. He didn't look well in hardly any of the pics and the videos showed him acting manic. He could have gotten harmed or hurt while out roaming around, but surely it's very unlikely that anyone was ever after him. All the evidence points to severe mania with psychosis, if not worse. If he couldn't find homes and his school then he was was terrible shape, and the homeowners knew it was him. I'm wondering if mental hospitals and treatment centers will give out any information at all to private detectives who try to track Charlie down. If not, maybe that's why he can't be found. They didn't mention anything about him ever having severe depression at times or possibly harming himself as a result.

 

[Penny_Lane]

I just seen this episode today as well. I heard mention of his climbing in a second story building and having a conversation with the woman that lived there. Could she contribute any of the conversation? Did he maybe mention who he was where he was going etc?

 

[arielilane]

Charlie Allen's story aired again a week ago on the Discovery Channel/Disappeared. I set my DVR and watched this morning. Incredibly sad that Charlie has not been located after all this time. My prayers go out to Charlie and to Charlie's loving family. They are a strong family. During the reenactment, Charlie made a statement to his sister (they were close) that was eye opening for me. He stated that he was jealous because she could feel her own emotions, and he could not experience his own. That was heartbreaking.
http://www.findcharlieallen.com/latest_news.html

 

[stoner311]

One of the last things Neo said to his sister was that all the answers could be found in the periodic table. I would be interested in knowing if he was taking a chemistry class in college. If so what had they been studying over the last few months more specifically what experiments had he been working on? This kid was extremely intelligent who knows what he may have been making or experimenting with.

Another idea that crossed my mind is the chemical Lithium, which is on the periodic table. Lithium is commonly given to people with Bipolar disorder. Maybe he believed he had stumbled upon something about the chemical in his studies and that is why he stopped taking his medication. <modsnip>

Obviously, Neo was a fan of the film The Matrix. So much in fact, that Charlie changed his name to that of the main character. In the film, Morpheus offers Neo the chance to take a blue or red pill. One pill would return Neo to his humdrum life while the other would release him from the shackles of this false reality. In addition, he would see the world through new eyes and experience the real life. Could it be that Charlie really bought into this scenario and became delusional believing that he was actually in the Matrix and had to run.

Was he doing drugs other than drinking? Alcohol can bring on a manic disorder as can marijuana. However, acid, hallucinogens, and mushrooms can also trigger mania, extreme manic episodes, paranoia, delusions and what is worse is that these episodes can last for long periods. People with Bipolar disorder that use LSD or hallucinogens can actually make their disorders worse. <modsnip> It sounds to me like Neo was doing hallucinogens probably shrooms or acid and had an extremely bad trip that caused paranoia, delusions, and sent him spiraling down a path of confusion and incoherency. I believe he really believed someone was out to kill him.

Could he have been involved with or knew people that were drug dealers? He said he sent some emails to some powerful people in the weeks before his disappearance. Could these people possibly be drug dealers? Maybe he was sleeping in his car in fear that these people might show up to his apartment.

<modsnip>
In my opinion, there are only two possibilities.

1. He was so convinced that someone was after him that he was able to convince a truck driver or a passerby to drive him out of town, or out of state. The good Samaritan probably stopped at a store and bought him some clothes to help him. Neo has a very likable persona and could easily have convinced a complete stranger to help him. Considering he was running around in track sweats with no shirt and shoes would probably help his cause and make it more believable that he was being chased. Since he has managed to stay off the radar this long, it leads me to believe that he has had help. Probably friends from his online gaming days or possibly someone he has formed a close relationship may be hiding him out. If he was just randomly traveling across the country hopping from town to town he would have resurfaced at some point and possibly gotten picked up by the police. I think he is laying low in Florida, Texas, or California. He wanted to become famous and that was part of the reason why he changed his name. Maybe all of this is a stunt.

2. He was the victim of foul play. Maybe he said some things via email to the wrong people, or was involved with drugs. I think a thorough investigation of whom and what he was involved with at school during his last year would be appropriate. Talk to ex girlfriends, teachers and classmates. They said that he was just completely focused on tennis but I am sure that there were other things going on.

<modsnip>

 

[necco]

One thing to remember about paranoia and delusions is that they can be very logical progressions based on an illogical construct. That is to say, if you can determine the one thing illogical about the person's ideas, the rest will be explained. The actions stemming from the initial delusion are logical and consistent. If they could figure out what the initial delusion was, it might be possible to logically follow Charles/Neo's trail.

 

[Opacity]

Just saw this case on Disappeared today. It's such a strange case...

I tried looking at the periodic table of elements for any clues despite knowing he may have simply been suffering from a severe manic episode. I tried spelling out "Half Life" using the table and realized there was only one way to spell it out using the table. Of course now I thought I might be onto something and started combining the group period numbers for each element in the order that spells out "Half Life" but didn't come up with anything, just something that almost looked like a phone number.

Needless to say I didn't come up with anything but I'd just hate to not know what happened to this guy and I'd love to see him brought back home.

If they're still calling him and the phone is ringing wouldn't that mean that the phone is still on? If so wouldn't that also mean that the phone is being charged? If it wasn't being charged it would just go straight to voicemail... :\

I'm no expert on any of this but this case and many others bother me...

 

[EdinburghLass]

Just saw this case on Disappeared today. It's such a strange case...

I tried looking at the periodic table of elements for any clues despite knowing he may have simply been suffering from a severe manic episode. I tried spelling out "Half Life" using the table and realized there was only one way to spell it out using the table. Of course now I thought I might be onto something and started combining the group period numbers for each element in the order that spells out "Half Life" but didn't come up with anything, just something that almost looked like a phone number.

Needless to say I didn't come up with anything but I'd just hate to not know what happened to this guy and I'd love to see him brought back home.

If they're still calling him and the phone is ringing wouldn't that mean that the phone is still on? If so wouldn't that also mean that the phone is being charged? If it wasn't being charged it would just go straight to voicemail... :\

I'm no expert on any of this but this case and many others bother me...

I watched this recently too and actually saved it on the tv so I can watch it again. I don't recall the bit about the phone still ringing? I would think that it definitely means it's still turned on if it doesn't go straight to voicemail. I wonder if the cell phone company could track it? I have baby brain and can't remember if they already tried that?

 

[Opacity]

I watched this recently too and actually saved it on the tv so I can watch it again. I don't recall the bit about the phone still ringing? I would think that it definitely means it's still turned on if it doesn't go straight to voicemail. I wonder if the cell phone company could track it? I have baby brain and can't remember if they already tried that?

They didn't mention anything about trying to track his cell phone so I don't think they did and I remember them saying that sometimes it rang several times and other times it rang only a few times as if someone ignored the call. Oh and on a Myspace one of his friends set up for him he says that he calls him almost every day and I'm sure that his parents do too.

If it weren't ringing there wouldn't be any reason to call that often.

There's just so little to go on here... It's maddening. I can only imagine how his family feels...

I wonder how thorough the investigation was? Did they try checking his computer thoroughly or anything like that?

 

[EdinburghLass]

They didn't mention anything about trying to track his cell phone so I don't think they did and I remember them saying that sometimes it rang several times and other times it rang only a few times as if someone ignored the call. Oh and on a Myspace one of his friends set up for him he says that he calls him almost every day and I'm sure that his parents do too.

If it weren't ringing there wouldn't be any reason to call that often.

There's just so little to go on here... It's maddening. I can only imagine how his family feels...

I wonder how thorough the investigation was? Did they try checking his computer thoroughly or anything like that?

It could be that they just try calling everyday to see if the phone is turned on? I will see what I can find.

My other thought was that it seemed to me that his sister was a bit 'spaced' out. Did you get that feeling?

 

[McSpy]

One of the last things Neo said to his sister was that all the answers could be found in the periodic table. I would be interested in knowing if he was taking a chemistry class in college. If so what had they been studying over the last few months more specifically what experiments had he been working on? This kid was extremely intelligent who knows what he may have been making or experimenting with.

Another idea that crossed my mind is the chemical Lithium, which is on the periodic table. Lithium is commonly given to people with Bipolar disorder. Maybe he believed he had stumbled upon something about the chemical in his studies and that is why he stopped taking his medication. There is controversy with the drug as the government may or may not be putting Lithium in water supplies to help reduce the suicide rate. They already do this in Japan and in other countries. Some conspiracies are out there stating that Lithium is actually a mind control substance to numb the masses minds. I have personally taken Lithium and it left me feeling emotionless and zombie-like. I started having severe anxiety attacks and could not even drive down the street because I felt like the rear tail lights of the cars in front of me were coming at me. The first day I took Lithium I sat on my apartment floor Indian style and crumbled pieces of paper into balls and then opened them and crumbled them again. I did this for hours, completely emotionless just a drone. I stopped taking Lithium immediately.

Obviously, Neo was a fan of the film The Matrix. So much in fact, that Charlie changed his name to that of the main character. In the film, Morpheus offers Neo the chance to take a blue or red pill. One pill would return Neo to his humdrum life while the other would release him from the shackles of this false reality. In addition, he would see the world through new eyes and experience the real life. Could it be that Charlie really bought into this scenario and became delusional believing that he was actually in the Matrix and had to run.

Was he doing drugs other than drinking? Alcohol can bring on a manic disorder as can marijuana. However, acid, hallucinogens, and mushrooms can also trigger mania, extreme manic episodes, paranoia, delusions and what is worse is that these episodes can last for long periods. People with Bipolar disorder that use LSD or hallucinogens can actually make their disorders worse. I have Bipolar disorder and I have gone through several incidents of mania. In my early twenties before I was diagnosed I self medicated and abused alcohol. One night I drank almost an entire fifth of Wild Turkey and I began hallucinating and having delusions. I accused my friends of being to blame for killing off the Native Americans and being white elitists. In my mind, they were the enemy. I ran from the apartment and fled down the street until the police were called and I was picked up. I was completely out of my mind. However, this episode only lasted until the alcohol wore off. It sounds to me like Neo was doing hallucinogens probably shrooms or acid and had an extremely bad trip that caused paranoia, delusions, and sent him spiraling down a path of confusion and incoherency. I believe he really believed someone was out to kill him.

Could he have been involved with or knew people that were drug dealers? He said he sent some emails to some powerful people in the weeks before his disappearance. Could these people possibly be drug dealers? Maybe he was sleeping in his car in fear that these people might show up to his apartment.

I have read on other web boards that there have been sightings of Neo all across the country. One in Texas was very interesting, as Neo had searched the Texas University website prior to disappearing. However, many of these sightings may just be people who think they see him and I do not think any of them have been validated.

In my opinion, there are only two possibilities.

1. He was so convinced that someone was after him that he was able to convince a truck driver or a passerby to drive him out of town, or out of state. The good Samaritan probably stopped at a store and bought him some clothes to help him. Neo has a very likable persona and could easily have convinced a complete stranger to help him. Considering he was running around in track sweats with no shirt and shoes would probably help his cause and make it more believable that he was being chased. Since he has managed to stay off the radar this long, it leads me to believe that he has had help. Probably friends from his online gaming days or possibly someone he has formed a close relationship may be hiding him out. If he was just randomly traveling across the country hopping from town to town he would have resurfaced at some point and possibly gotten picked up by the police. I think he is laying low in Florida, Texas, or California. He wanted to become famous and that was part of the reason why he changed his name. Maybe all of this is a stunt.

2. He was the victim of foul play. Maybe he said some things via email to the wrong people, or was involved with drugs. I think a thorough investigation of whom and what he was involved with at school during his last year would be appropriate. Talk to ex girlfriends, teachers and classmates. They said that he was just completely focused on tennis but I am sure that there were other things going on.

I have posted his picture on my Facebook and would love to investigate this disappearance firsthand and help find him.

I find your thoughts interesting about Lithium as a possibly of what Neo was alluding to on his periodic table discussion with his sister. It makes sense.

Here is a question I hope you can answer: I knew a couple of people, who had psychotic breaks. One of the preludes to their mental breakdowns was lack of sleep. They didn't have any sleep for days. Do you recall not sleeping for days before your episodes? I'm thinking Neo may have developed some very bad habits. If I recall correctly, he played video games for hours and hours when he was young. I suspect he played well into the night or all night. I know when I am very excited about something, I tend to get extremely focused. The feeling is sometimes like having a shot of adrenalin, but I manage to tear myself away in order to get some sleep. It appears Neo may have been still burning the candle at both ends while in college. Do you think it was possible he wasn't sleeping before his breakdown? In my opinion, I do not think there was anyone chasing him. My gut feeling is that he was having a classic breakdown. TIA

 

[q64ceo]

Watching some Disappeared from Season 4 and I am bumping this to bring it back to everyone's front mind.

I think that there is a good chance he is living. To me his case screams walk out. He probably thought that by leaving he could get his family out of the danger that he thought he was in.