Found Alive NY - Constantinos 'Danny' Filippidis, 49, Lake Placid, 7 Feb 2018

[AzPistonsGirl]

THANKS dotr, i had seen that but find it curious it won't come up on google or bing maps....what's up with THAT???

:thinking:

Pea. Que. Lee. Yer.

ETA: it could be that simple, he said I need to get to Toronto, OR Ontario and Mr. Truck Driver said heck ya (as he was headed to CA, but not CANADA) But wondered just how well known is Toronto CA. I suppose truckers know all the nooks and crannies.

That USAToday find is the only reference to a city named Toronto in California. I think it's wrong. http://www.seecalifornia.com/california-cities/cities-list.html

 

[neesaki]

Everything is weird. The new iPhone, the haircut, still in ski boots in CA!

I can barely walk in ski boots! And how does one get an iPhone, and the haircut?!? No one found it suspicious to see a guy walking around in ski boots, ski pants and jacket, helmet and goggles in Sacramento, CA?

Ski boots or terribly uncomfortable to walk in, so my husband is always telling me I should take up snowboarding because the boots are more comfortable. Suspicious for sure! I wonder where he was the whole time and where did he sleep.

And did anyone even grow concerned and ask him if he needed help or anything? Unless of course his story is just a story. I wonder if we'll even find out.

Do you remember the police officer who faked his own disappearance ? I can't remember now how he ended up back home. But, could it be similar situation ?

 

[tarabull]

That USAToday find is the only reference to a city named Toronto in California. I think it's wrong. http://www.seecalifornia.com/california-cities/cities-list.html

I am smelling what you are stepping in :wave:

....me thinks so too!

Could be quite an adventure!!! LOL

 

[Hatfield]

Liam Neeson's wife died from a head injury sustained from skiing as well.

And btw, I know what you mean about getting stuck on the wrong side of the mountain after the lifts close, it is no fun especially when you've been skiing all day and are already exhausted. We also got stuck at the top of the mountain after snow shoeing , and had to snow shoe down through steep, unskiable terrain. Thank goodness only once! So I wonder if he was trying to get back in the snow storm, possibly had to take a more difficult route, and hit his head.

What I do find odd is that he bought an iphone between there and Sacramento, but didn't call his wife until Tuesday. Maybe his memory slowly returned ?

Yeah, for sure. I cant really explain how panicky and upset we got when the lifts closed on us and we could not get back to where we wanted.

It was frightening and we got very upset about it and started to panic because it was getting dark. We finally got a bus shuttle to take us back but it was over 2 hours before we got back and our friends did start to worry about us.

Below is a Trail Map where we got stuck and it is similar to his situation but a larger ski area at Vail.

https://images.ski.com/docs/trail-maps/vail-frontside_trail-map.pdf

And yeah there are some strange parts of this story for sure but I do think most could be explained if he really did have a head injury or illness of some sort.

Im sticking with the theory of a real illness or head injury for now. Just so glad he is back safe no matter what happened.

 

[dotr]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toron...-suffered-head-injury-1.3803311?autoPlay=true

February 14, 2018
American authorities say they suspect a Toronto fire captain who went missing in New York and was found in California may have received a head injury at some point during his journey across the country.
Sgt. Shaun Hampton with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department says Constantinos (Danny) Filippidis was showing signs of serious memory loss when he called police from the city airport on Tuesday morning identifying himself as someone missing from New York.

The route 49-year-old Filippidis took to get there from the ski slope in Lake Placid, N.Y., where he went missing six days earlier, however, remains a mystery.

Hampton says Filippidis showed no signs of impairment, is not facing any charges, and is now in a local hospital.

 

[dotr]

fwiw.
A woman i know in her 40`s started to get lost going to places she was familiar with, she was told ( or she told the family ) that it was a symptom ( forgetfulness) of menopause.
Turned out it was early-onset Alzheimer`s, cannot imagine where she could have ended up if she was traveling, especially as an attractive female who did not look unwell.
speculation.

 

[Trident]

This whole situation is bizarre and i'll throw one other idea out there - head injury while skiing. My husband broke his arm at a ski resort and while we were awaiting treatment at the onsite medical facility, there was a guy waiting next to us, not being given any extra attention and seemed fine. The odd thing was, he was warned to stop using his cell phone. And we were getting annoyed as over and over again he was calling people and saying he had fallen, but was fine. I thought he must have called his entire phone book and every time he was admonished he politely apologized and then minutes later started calling again. Finally a few friends showed up and said "Dude, you've called me 50 times!" and the hospital realized he had a head injury and was experiencing short term memory loss and he was rushed into an available bed.

So rather than a mental health crisis - maybe he had a bad fall or tree collision and truly was in a confused state.

In any event, very glad to see a happy ending!

Head injuries can be a bit__h. I lived through that and it caused total chaos. That very well could have been the case with this man - that, or he saw a way out and tried to take it.

Guess we'll have to wait and hope we find out.

 

[neesaki]

fwiw.
A woman i know in her 40`s started to get lost going to places she was familiar with, she was told ( or she told the family ) that it was a symptom ( forgetfulness) of menopause.
Turned out it was early-onset Alzheimer`s, cannot imagine where she could have ended up if she was traveling, especially as an attractive female who did not look unwell.
speculation.

Oh gosh, early onset Alzheimer's hadn't even occurred to me, but you are so right. I sure hope that's not what it is.

 

[dotr]

Wondering if he ever volunteered to help with all the fires happening in California, did he or the `driver`` think he was heading there.
speculation, imo.

 

[neesaki]

It says here there will be a live update at 2:30 ET. That's in about twenty minutes.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?playlistId=1.3802056

 

[Redux]

Presser started.

 

[pickless]

i think this was a planned publicity stunt / hoax that has now got out of control, they probably never thought it would get this big,

and if my thinking is correct i hope he is severely charged, as this has wasted a lot of LE time and money,

one of his friends probably drove him out there, and they were probably laughing and partying along the way

 

[neesaki]

This is an updated article:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toron...-suffered-head-injury-1.3803311?autoPlay=true

Officers found Filippidis wearing snow pants, a ski jacket and winter boots, as well as carrying a ski helmet. Hampton said the sight of the man clad in winter attire was nearly as striking as the "odd" story he told officers.
"It's a bit chilly here, but it's not that cold," he said.

Filippidis next recalled being dropped off in Sacramento carrying a credit card, but no formal identification, Hampton said.
Filippidis told police he used the card to withdraw some cash, got a haircut, purchased an iPhone and somehow got a ride out to the Sacramento airport, Hampton said, adding that he had just under $1,000 in cash on him when he was found. He noted that Filippidis did not remember details of the vehicle or driver that took him on the last leg of his journey.

 

[j_in_c]

i think this was a planned publicity stunt / hoax that has now got out of control, they probably never thought it would get this big,

and if my thinking is correct i hope he is severely charged, as this has wasted a lot of LE time and money,

one of his friends probably drove him out there, and they were probably laughing and partying along the way

That seems highly unlikely to me as firefighters are also first responders and aware of what is entailed in search and rescue. Also can't sort out what they would be getting publicity for? In areas where I have lived firefighters running a hoax for fun would be grounds for losing your job.

 

[ttcRider]

Is he an active firefighter or was a firefighter?

 

[musicaljoke]

That USAToday find is the only reference to a city named Toronto in California. I think it's wrong. http://www.seecalifornia.com/california-cities/cities-list.html

If you ask a person from Toronto, ON what city they are from they'll tell you they are from Trona. There is a Trona, San Bernardino, CA, USA.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trona,_San_Bernardino_County,_California

 

[Hatfield]

Is he an active firefighter or was a firefighter?

Yes according to this article.

"Crews started searching for Constantinos "Danny" Filippidis, 49, a firefighter from Toronto"

http://www.wcax.com/content/news/Missing-skier-found-alive-in-California-473916753.html

 

[Hatfield]

If you ask a person from Toronto, ON what city they are from they'll tell you they are from Trona. There is a Trona, San Bernardino, CA, USA.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trona,_San_Bernardino_County,_California

I wonder if he primarily spoke French too which could have added to the confusion on directions where he was headed.

When I visited Montreal almost everyone spoke French. Not sure about Toronto.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I'd like to know how he was able to obtain an iPhone without any identification.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

I'd like to know how he was able to obtain an iPhone without any identification.

Forgive my ignorance... but couldn't I sell you the old one in my junk drawer without knowing who you are? Seriously, no snark, idk.