Person doing a backbend or hanging upside down in dense foliage

[carbuff]

I'll repeat, in the late sixties and early seventies it was VERY COMMON for girls in the hippie/bohemian/arty lifestyle to not shave their underarms.

It was very common for boys and men to have long straight hair the same as the girls -- Alcala's hair is perfectly normal for the time (in fact, by the standards I had at 19 -- he was a hottie. But I digress.)

 

[rosierider]

Is this maybe Helmet Girl? Some of her photos are in a woods too.

 

[rosierider]

If Helmet Girl can do that ballet pose, she could do a back bend.

 

[OnlineInstructor]

I'll repeat, in the late sixties and early seventies it was VERY COMMON for girls in the hippie/bohemian/arty lifestyle to not shave their underarms.

It was very common for boys and men to have long straight hair the same as the girls -- Alcala's hair is perfectly normal for the time (in fact, by the standards I had at 19 -- he was a hottie. But I digress.)

I think it may be Alcala.

 

[brandi]

I think it may be Alcala.

M H O is that it is not Alcala or Helmet girl because of the texture of the hair--they both had curly/wiry hair much darker than this person's...IDK, I really think UID has an Adams Apple and they just cropped it the way they did because it was just too lurid. Backbend, exposed areas, ect, get my drift...?

 

[Redbird]

Another detail: Although not shaving underarms was common, not plucking eyebrows was not. This person does not seem to have plucked eyebrows.

 

[carbuff]

I think it may be Alcala.

I don't think so. The head hair is very straight and in every photo I've seen of Alcala, his is curly.

 

[OnlineInstructor]

I don't think so. The head hair is very straight and in every photo I've seen of Alcala, his is curly.

He could have straightened his hair. As a matter of fact, he did. "At one point, Alcala explained he could use hair gel and a towel to straighten his long, curly hair ....."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/09/rodney-james-alcala-on-da_n_456074.html

 

[jessunlil]

I think Alcala has a darker complexion than the person in this photo.

 

[TripleA]

I trhink this is a man doing a backbend. The bend and positions of the legs/knees in the full photo makes me believe he was alive in this photo.

 

[cj1132]

I'm going to preface this by saying that if I look at a photo long enough, I can see things to fit the person I'm trying to match a person to. That being said, these are my observations of this person.

First off, the position with him in the backbend position appears to be the correct direction. Although turning it the other way is much more dramatic, I don't believe that is the case. I base this on the foliage. From doing some research, the plants on the ground and growing up appear to be what is called akebia or chocolate vine. The direction of the leaves make me believe this photo is in the correct direction. The abekia can grow in many places but is very prevelent in the eastern United States.

Secondly, I used to be able to do backbends in the 70's and in my opinion, you need a lot of strength in both your arms and legs because you are supporting your entire body. I do not see that strength in either the arms or legs on this person. There appears to be too much limpness. I'm thinking that something is holding him up around the center of his body and that's not showing on the picture.

Also, I can't rule out Filly's first post where she questioned if this could be the man in the red shirt holding the boy. I think there is a lot of similarity in the skin tones, eye color and shape of the eyebrows. I also think the black hair is either a wig or another person beneath him. The hairline doesn't appear natural to me. It seems like it's receding, which coincidentally, is the same as the man in the red shirt.

A thought that has crossed my mind is that Alcala used the adults to get to the kids.

As I said, I can convince myself of things when looking at pictures and maybe I'm doing it again.

 

[Donjeta]

Just my general impression that might not be worth anything but I don't think it's the same man as in the photo of the redhaired guy holding the child up. His hair seems shorter and his hairline looks to me like it might be receding farther back and I see no facial hair in the foliage photo. It's hard to say for sure but the red haired guy has definite male type balding that has been going on a while and yet many were wondering if the backbend person was a girl.

I see more body hair on the the redhaired man's chest and arms than the backbend person, but it might be just the lighting conditions.

 

[jessunlil]

First off, the position with him in the backbend position appears to be the correct direction. Although turning it the other way is much more dramatic, I don't believe that is the case. I base this on the foliage. From doing some research, the plants on the ground and growing up appear to be what is called akebia or chocolate vine. The direction of the leaves make me believe this photo is in the correct direction. The abekia can grow in many places but is very prevelent in the eastern United States.

I also believe the backbend position is the correct direction.
My goal in flipping the image was to make it easier to process what we could see of this person. Our brains expect people to be upright so I hoped that flipping him around would make looking for clues easier.

Thank you for taking the time to research the foliage and for sharing that info with us!

 

[Pink Panther]

My two cents. To me, this is obviously a man doing a "bridge". Why they (LE) cropped the pic this way? Maybe the man's member was exposed or maybe other people were in the shot. Either way...What might they be looking for by realeasing the pic? Perhaps they have reason to believe that the man is alive and might have info. regarding Alcala that could help them. Certainly, they couldn't have been expecting someone to recognize who he is - his face is completely obscured by foliage!

 

[Herding Cats]

I was thinking about this photo last night, for a few reasons.

1. If it were a man, the abdomen would not have been cropped like it was. Yes, the possibility that some rope was around the belly, or that, if a man, his "member" might've been out. But still, the chest would've been shown. Because of that, I'm thinking this is a woman, and the shot was cropped that way to remove breasts, which would've made it difficult to publish. KWIM? And as one poster put it, the upper chest is "fleshy", which could be explained if it were a small breasted lady. Lastly, I think that the musculature is far more feminine than masculine, espcially in the pectoral/bicep area.

2. The foliage is really dense. Because of that, I tend to think NW area - like Oregon, Washington states. In searching a bit for missing/murdered women in those states, the names Pat Weider and Beverly Mae Johnson came up. They were murdered in east WA state, a place called Chelan. The timeline fits, I think (if I have it right), and Pat was a brunette and was wearing jeans and hiking boots.

Jeans and hiking boots are in the photo, and the person in the photo is also a brunette (although rather reddish brunette).

I have been unsuccessful in finding a photo of Pat Weider (or Beverly Johnson) for comparison, but...well...it's worth a thought, especially if you consider the photo may have been cropped was to prevent naked breasts being published (which they would do).

Just a thought here for a Saturday morning...

Best-
Herding Cats

 

[carbuff]

It could be chocolate vine, but I think it looks more like pachysandra (http://www.peekskillnurseries.com/pachysandra.html), a common ground cover in the northeast. It grows in shady areas under pine trees or other trees, and is often planted in gardens and parks. Either way, common in the northeast and grows in the same kinds of places.

The small shrub in the foreground is sumac (http://www.carrborocitizen.com/main/2007/08/30/appreciating-sumac-from-carolina-to-maine/ for a nice picture and some information).

These are both plants I would expect to find under pine trees in wooded areas anywhere in New England. I would guess the time as May or early June -- the leaves of both plants will be a darker green later on, and there seems to be a white flower in the very foreground (extreme lower left). If those leaves are just starting to turn, then it could be September.

It doesn't take that much strength to do a back bend. Most teenagers can get into this position.

I wonder if it's this woman (http://cnnnancygrace.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/01661.jpg)? She has a very high forehead with hairline well back on top of her head.

 

[Billylee]

I think that is a woman. JMHO

I know this is stretching things, but this gal Patricia Tan http://www.thezodiacmansonconnection.com/autop_tan.html

was found hanging on Mt Tamalpais in 1970, and they are not sure whether it was murder or suicide. Some think it may have been a Zodiac Killer murder. What's interesting to me is they found much leaves and debris in her hair and it looked like she may have been dragged, which somehow reminded me of this picture. When I read further in her autopsy report, I found her address was listed as only 2-3 miles from where Alcala's L.A. apartment was in 1968. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q...code_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ8gEwAA She also attended UCLA in 1962 and later LA City college in 1963. Another interesting similarity is she was interested in film. Could they have known one another? They found a little address book she had, I wonder if anyone ever checked it for Alcala's phone number. Does anyone else wonder how he ran away so quickly and was not spotted after Tali's abduction? Could this have been a friend of Alcala's? She went back to Illinois to school, but was back in LA in 1970, staying with a friend not far from where she had originally lived down there. No one knows why she was in Marin County, but she told her mother she was going to Berkeley to visit a friend. Probably all just coincidence, but I do wish there was a picture of this person.

 

[bluestarzz]

i only see the so small upper body, no jeans. i think this guy is hung up....
but it do think is a guy.
bluestarz

 

[nomad]

Hi everyone- Picture #3 - It's blurry, but it looks like the same person and surroundings..which -imo- also resembles the long haired auburn person with red necklace whom I (erroneously) thought was a young male. Here, again, I think this is a male too, even though the pic is cropped

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...ial_killer_persuaded_her_to_pose_for_him.html

eta: another pose with the "hands bound" look.

 

[Redbird]

We all are entitled to our opinions, and I am certain this is a male. My eyes see an adams apple. I keep thinking about this picture because he looks dead to me and one of those detectives said there were 2 pictures of dead people. The way his eyes just stare vacantly. Very eerie.