Identified! AR - Fort Smith, Male UP2843, entangled in tree in Poteau River, Nov'01 - John Camp

[astridxx]

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-09-04/news/9102030739_1_dress-shirts-jeans


"Among the less expensive, but still popular, are Blue Zone jeans.

``Blue Zone jeans are popular with kids 15 and up,`` said Tracey Ciaccio, manager of Chess King at Coral Square Mall."

From a 1991 article. Chess King was a department store that shut down during the 90s -- sold cheap clothes.

Looks like Chess King was the ONLY place that sold Blue Zone jeans. CK had over 500 locations, so this doesn't really help us too much. I still like the theory he picked them up at SA.

Chess King - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[my_tee_mouse]

Casinos near Ft. Smith:

http://www.yellowpages.com/muldrow-ok/casinos


Casino towns in relation to Ft. Smith:

http://goo.gl/maps/JY5o3


"Muldrow" casino is actually just off I-40. Here's a map with the casino's general location along with the Poteau River in Ft. Smith:

http://goo.gl/maps/pVPHZ


ETA: Per gentlemen at Muldrow Casino: The Muldrow Cherokee Casino has been in business for about 21 years. For at least the last 15-20 of those, a person has to purchase tokens for use in the machines...machines do not take quarters. A winning machine spits out a receipt which is then turned in to the teller, who then gives the winner cash. Cash is not paid out in quarters unless the winner specifically asks for it.

 

[thelocator77]

Value City of Michigan had trademarked Blue Zone Jeans. They were a chain of 113 departments stores covering a large part of the Northeastern and Eastern United States. They are now bankrupt.

http://trademarks.justia.com/owners/value-city-of-michigan-inc-41328/

 

[thelocator77]

Also, Wal-Mart has long sold a "Silver Series" shoe.

 

[astridxx]

ETA: Per gentlemen at Muldrow Casino: The Muldrow Cherokee Casino has been in business for about 21 years. For at least the last 15-20 of those, a person has to purchase tokens for use in the machines...machines do not take quarters. A winning machine spits out a receipt which is then turned in to the teller, who then gives the winner cash. Cash is not paid out in quarters unless the winner specifically asks for it.

Are we thinking he wasn't at a casino? I'd say laundromat is an option, too.

 

[Treelights]

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/2843

"1 hotel key with orange tag that reads (A04), 1 small quartz wristwatch, a key ring with 2 attached keys, 1 yelow metal wedding band, 1 straw, 1 pocket knife, 1 nail clipper, 1 cigarette lighter, 21 quarters, 3 dimes, 2 nickels, 2 pennies, and 1 $1 bill."

I am wondering, is the small quartz wristwatch actually a woman's watch?

 

[Treelights]

When I saw he had a straw on him I immediately thought "cocaine abuser."


Also, has anyone looked into where you can purchase "Blue Zone" clothing? I did a quick google search and the most plausible place would be from the University of Kentucky... they have a "blue zone" label (or at least their team store is called "blue zone").

A search on ebay for Blue Zone turned up numerous pairs of denim jeans, all priced from $10-20. Looks like they are made in California. Another google search turned up that Blue Zone is a somewhat vintage label (perhaps he picked them up from a Salvation Army?) A listing on Craigslist has the purchase year at 1984.

Interesting, as when I saw the straw, I thought immediately an older person, as I have seen older people chew on straws......but your observation is a good one, because who knows it could have been used for drugs.....

 

[my_tee_mouse]

Are we thinking he wasn't at a casino? I'd say laundromat is an option, too.

Well, I would think it's still a possibility that the coins were from a casino...IF any OK casinos paid out in quarters during that time. I should have asked the nice man at the Muldrow casino if their payout process was the exception or the rule during that time, I guess (although I have to say that by the time I quit asking questions, he was really puzzling over WHY I was asking those questions, no doubt! lol) I can remember when the MS casinos first opened, people would come out with their winnings in quarters in a cup, so maybe one of the other casinos paid out like that back then. I called Muldrow because it's a straight line (of sorts) on into Ft. Smith.


Truck drivers have been known to just abandon their rigs and walk off if they get fed up with their bosses. I wonder if a rig had been "abandoned" at a nearby truck stop during this time, and rather than alert authorities to a missing driver, the rig owners assumed the guy had voluntarily left? Quarters could be for tolls.

 

[astridxx]

Truck drivers have been known to just abandon their rigs and walk off if they get fed up with their bosses. I wonder if a rig had been "abandoned" at a nearby truck stop during this time, and rather than alert authorities to a missing driver, the rig owners assumed the guy had voluntarily left? Quarters could be for tolls.

I love this theory!!!!!!

I'm not from anywhere near AR but is that river relatively easy to find? I get the feeling he was kind of local to the area but that's based on my assumption that this river isn't widely known.


Have we looked into him "exploring" the Ouachita National Forest as an option? Like maybe he was driving through, had to pee and then slipped on a rock into the river, knocked his head, drowned and was carried downstream?

 

[killarney rose]

I used to work in an office that handled lots of money. We got shipments from Loomis Fargo. Some of the coins were new and uncirculated. We would get rolls of quarters that would be the newest statehood quarters and they would be all the same ones. This would add some credibility to the victim having bought a roll of quarters for a specific purpose such as laundry, gambling, etc.

 

[Treelights]

I used to work in an office that handled lots of money. We got shipments from Loomis Fargo. Some of the coins were new and uncirculated. We would get rolls of quarters that would be the newest statehood quarters and they would be all the same ones. This would add some credibility to the victim having bought a roll of quarters for a specific purpose such as laundry, gambling, etc.

There are 40 quarters in a roll of quarters, so I wonder if the remaining quarters were loose, or in a partially opened roll, or maybe not even from a roll of quarters.

 

[Treelights]

And to throw this in the mix......depending on the year of the quarters...90 percent silver quarters were minted up until 1964,(1964 being the last year) so if these were 90% quarters (90 percent silver, 10 percent copper) that could mean this UID was a collector of coins. I think it would be unusual though to carry 21 quarters, 90 percent, as they would get scratched, unless it was just "junk" silver.

 

[thelocator77]

I think that the laundry mat is more likely than a casino. The casinos in Oklahoma are owned by the Native American tribes. In Oklahoma, the slots cannot give out money and a voucher is given to cash out at a payout window. It is very rare to have a machine that you insert anything but cash. Being from Oklahoma, another possibility is toll money. Oklahoma is notorious for their toll roads. According to the DOT, in 2001 there were 10 toll roads throughout the state with only 3 being on the Interstate.

 

[Treelights]

I think that the laundry mat is more likely than a casino. The casinos in Oklahoma are owned by the Native American tribes. In Oklahoma, the slots cannot give out money and a voucher is given to cash out at a payout window. It is very rare to have a machine that you insert anything but cash. Being from Oklahoma, another possibility is toll money. Oklahoma is notorious for their toll roads. According to the DOT, in 2001 there were 10 toll roads throughout the state with only 3 being on the Interstate.

Nowadays it is rare to get quarters back in the casinos I have been to, but back in 2001 it was not.( I am unfamiliar with the casinos in Oklahoma though.)

http://www.worldcasinodirectory.com/oklahoma

"Majority of the gaming machines in Oklahoma casinos are not allowed to payout in coins. Thus, all the payouts are done by a printed receipt."

Maybe at one time some gaming machines in Oklahoma paid out in coins, as this article uses the word "Majority"?

 

[carbuff]

Other possibilities for quarters: parking meters, arcade games, vending machines.

Or possibly he robbed a vending machine, pay phone, arcade game, etc.

The straw made me think cocaine user, too. Also the dollar bill. Also the lighter but no cigarettes. And crack smokers often carry nail clippers to tend to the rough spot on their nail from flicking the lighter so many times. Pocket knife to clean the pipe.

No, I don't know this first hand. I'm just well read

 

[my_tee_mouse]

I love this theory!!!!!!

I'm not from anywhere near AR but is that river relatively easy to find? I get the feeling he was kind of local to the area but that's based on my assumption that this river isn't widely known.


Have we looked into him "exploring" the Ouachita National Forest as an option? Like maybe he was driving through, had to pee and then slipped on a rock into the river, knocked his head, drowned and was carried downstream?

Possible, possible.

He was most definitely dressed the way "we" did to go noodling or swimming at our lakes back home.

I'm terrible with maps, but I was looking south of the point where he was found. There is Wister Lake (or Lake Wister...depending on where you're lookin'):

Lake Wister - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Anyone know anything about this lake? Any good noodling spots to be had there? It's an awfully twisty/turny trip to Ft. Smith via river...would it be possible for someone to be noodling/swimming in Wister Lake and wind up in Ft. Smith?


Here are some of the lodging possibilities for people visiting the Lake Wister area:

http://www.ohranger.com/ok/lake-wister/toc/lodging-nearby

 

[astridxx]

Other possibilities for quarters: parking meters, arcade games, vending machines.

Or possibly he robbed a vending machine, pay phone, arcade game, etc.

The straw made me think cocaine user, too. Also the dollar bill. Also the lighter but no cigarettes. And crack smokers often carry nail clippers to tend to the rough spot on their nail from flicking the lighter so many times. Pocket knife to clean the pipe.

No, I don't know this first hand. I'm just well read

I'm not gonna lie... I'm pretty sure he was a drifting drug addict. :/

 

[Treelights]

Other possibilities for quarters: parking meters, arcade games, vending machines.

Or possibly he robbed a vending machine, pay phone, arcade game, etc.

The straw made me think cocaine user, too. Also the dollar bill. Also the lighter but no cigarettes. And crack smokers often carry nail clippers to tend to the rough spot on their nail from flicking the lighter so many times. Pocket knife to clean the pipe.

No, I don't know this first hand. I'm just well read

Oh my! Yes, you must be well read! Thank you Carbuff!
See this is one of the reasons why I love web sleuths! I learn all kinds of stuff I never knew! (not that I want to know, but you know)

 

[Treelights]

Possible, possible.

He was most definitely dressed the way "we" did to go noodling or swimming at our lakes back home.

I'm terrible with maps, but I was looking south of the point where he was found. There is Wister Lake (or Lake Wister...depending on where you're lookin'):

Lake Wister - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Anyone know anything about this lake? Any good noodling spots to be had there? It's an awfully twisty/turny trip to Ft. Smith via river...would it be possible for someone to be noodling/swimming in Wister Lake and wind up in Ft. Smith?


Here are some of the lodging possibilities for people visiting the Lake Wister area:

http://www.ohranger.com/ok/lake-wister/toc/lodging-nearby

That's why I was thinking noodling, because he would be dressed, possibly for noodling. The tennis shoes, versus cowboy boots, (unless he isn't from that area to wear cowboy boots), missing a hand(s), unless that happened afterwards, etc.

 

[thelocator77]

I earlier mentioned a toll road. About an hour an a half west of Poteau is a toll road. The toll road goes near McAlester, where the Oklahoma State Prison is located. I researched online and this toll road cost $4.75 to travel the length of it. They found 21 quarters on him, and a roll has 40. So assuming he had a roll at one point, he was missing 19 quarters, or $4.75.

This a also a very scenic area with a scenic highway running on the Oklahoma side of the mountains. It is very popular with motorcyclists and has a popular State Park nearby.