Long time lurker, first time poster. I've always been fascinated by this particular case, and I think I found a possible match: Jondalar Washington. My first thought upon seeing Washington was that someone surely must have already brought him up as a potential candidate for 'Lyle,' but after extensive searching I could not find any instance where Jondalar Washington was even suggested as a potential match for 'Lyle', let alone ruled out. And while it's certainly possible that he's already been discussed, I figured I would bring it up just to make sure.
Jondalar Washington was a native male that disappeared from Alaska in 1998. He was 17. I think his photograph definitely resembles a young 'Lyle.' The circumstances of his disappearance are not at all clear. The thing that caught my attention is that there seems to be very little information available on Washington's case. I could only find one low quality photograph and very basic details. He doesn't appear to have an NCIC number. I doubt his DNA/dentals are in any national database. This could explain why no match has been made as of yet.
Now, he's not an absolutely perfect match, but he's as close as any I've seen. He's described as being shorter than Lyle, but that could certainly be explained by the fact that he was only 17 when he disappeared, and that was more than three years before 'Lyle' died. Jondolar's eye color is listed as 'brown' by some sources, while Lyle's is listed as hazel, but I've seen much more serious inaccuracies than that listed on other cases. His teeth seem a little unruly in his photo, but I'm convinced the photo had to have been taken years before he disappeared as he looks to be quite a bit younger than 17 in it.
Thoughts?
Jondalar Washington on the Doe Network
http://doenetwork.org/cases/3273dmak.html