CA CA - San Francisco, WhtMale UP5872, 20-30, Grand Hotel, alias 'Eric Winston', Oct'81

Odyssey

Verfied Insider Diane Genice Dye
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Messages
1,147
Reaction score
752
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/5872

The subject was staying at the Grand Hotel. The houseman entered the room and did his routine cleaning. He noted that the wallet and other personal effects of the subject were still in the room and he relayed this information later to his manager. The manager then entered the room and noticed that the window above the trademan's alley way was open. He walked over to the window and looked out and saw the subject lying unresponsive on the concrete below the window. No identification was found, but the room was registered under the name "Eric Winston".

bbm

Age 20-30
5'8"
153 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Probable Year of Death: 1981
No photo
 
Three possible scenarios come to mind.

1) Decedent was Eric Winston
2) Decedent knew Eric Winston
3) Eric Winston was an alias.


Note: I think the hotel was the Grant Hotel and not Grand Hotel. On Google I found Grant Hotel at 735 Bush (the address in NamUs) and 753 Bush, depending on the source.

Does anyone familiar with SF know if this was a vacation/business type hotel or a SRO (low income residential accommodations)?
 
When I saw the name, I immediately thought of Chess Champion Peter Winston, who has been missing since 1978, but is not listed on any of the MP sites.

peterwinstonphoto2.jpeg


Peter Winston - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Does anyone familiar with SF know if this was a vacation/business type hotel or a SRO (low income residential accommodations)?

There is the possibility that there was a "Grand" Hotel in 1981, and it has since been renamed. The Grant Hotel has been a regular hotel for as long as I can remember. It attracts tourists due to the location and affordable cost. I don't think many (if any) business men or women stay there. People who are in SF for business usually stay in the hotels downtown, off of Market Street.
 
There is the possibility that there was a "Grand" Hotel in 1981, and it has since been renamed. The Grant Hotel has been a regular hotel for as long as I can remember. It attracts tourists due to the location and affordable cost. I don't think many (if any) business men or women stay there. People who are in SF for business usually stay in the hotels downtown, off of Market Street.

I haven't heard of the Grant Hotel, so I wasn't sure. Some sites list 735 Bush as the address for Grant Hotel (others list 753 Bush), 735 Bush is the address listed on the UID as Grand Hotel, that is why I suggested they may be one and the same...

IF it was Grant Hotel, do you think it would be more likely that the decedent wasn't a SF local?
 
IF it was Grant Hotel, do you think it would be more likely that the decedent wasn't a SF local?

I would guess that he was from out of town. If he were a local that was living at the hotel instead of an apartment, I don't think he would have checked in under an alias. Also, if a local wanted to commit suicide by jumping, he probably would have picked a location that wouldn't have required him to give a name and pay.
Just my $0.02.
 
Carl,

Do you know if there is any reason why Peter Winston isn't listed anywhere? Should I send the wiki link to the major MP sites?
 
Back in Oct 2011, I sent an e-mail to Meaghan of Charley Project pointing out that Peter Winston (and Richard Colvin Cox) weren't listed, and suggesting that she list those two.

She replied that she'd read a book indicating that Cox had been found. But she didn't comment about Peter Winston, and I never followed up.
 
Back in Oct 2011, I sent an e-mail to Meaghan of Charley Project pointing out that Peter Winston (and Richard Colvin Cox) weren't listed, and suggesting that she list those two.

She replied that she'd read a book indicating that Cox had been found. But she didn't comment about Peter Winston, and I never followed up.

I think I found the answer to that question in this article:

http://observer.com/2012/07/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-peter-winston/

PETER WINSTON ENTERED A VOID more than 34 years ago, a void so total that the NYPD has no record of anyone by his name disappearing from the city. (The Observer filed a revised FOIL request but has not received a response.) :banghead:

I believe most MP sites require a case number and LE contact...
 
I wish we knew what was found in the room - it might provide clues to where he had come from or how long he had been at the hotel...
 
This is a very basic connection but Bryan Lees is quite similiar -

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/891dmca.html


Bryan Lees
Missing since September 15, 1981 from San Francisco, San Francisco County, California.
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: August 28, 1960
Age at Time of Disappearance: 21 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'9"; 160 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; brown eyes.
Dentals: Not available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Lees was last seen September 15, 1981, mid-span of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.
 
Carl, did you ever contact the SFPD about Eric Winston possibly being Peter Winston?
 
Would be nice if they pulled out the old files and released more information about these old cases... One missing person I was looking at was Emery Earl Labouchane. He went missing from Canada in February 1981, and his car was found at the Edmonton International Airport. His credit cards were used over the next month or so in California, but the trail stopped after that...
Canada's Missing | Case details
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
107
Guests online
781
Total visitors
888

Forum statistics

Threads
589,928
Messages
17,927,774
Members
228,002
Latest member
zipperoni
Back
Top