Benjaman Kyle

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Benjaman Kyle is the pseudonym adopted by a man who suffers from retrograde amnesia. He was discovered unconscious on August 31, 2004 in Richmond Hill, Georgia^[1][2] and is believed to be about 60 years old.^[3] He is unable to obtain employment without a social security number, and as of June 2009, continues to search for his identity.^[4]

Contents 1 Discovery 2 Appearance 3 Memories 4 Search for identity 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Discovery

Around 6 am on August 31, 2004, a man now living under the name Benjaman Kyle was discovered behind a Burger King located at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Hwy 17 in Richmond Hill, Georgia. He was found by the managers of the restaurant lying on the ground inside the brick wall enclosing the Burger King dumpsters, in a space between the dumpsters that is accessed by a walk-though used for trash disposal. The dumpster enclosure was located behind the Burger King in an area that was hidden from view from all directions except from the restaurant parking lot. Kyle was badly beaten, unconscious, naked, and covered with red ant bites. Prolonged exposure to the sun had left him sunburned. He was assumed homeless and taken to a hospital for treatment. Officers who searched the scene found no clothes or wallet to identify the man. According to the manager of the Burger King, there were no weapons found at the scene and there was no sign of a struggle. Paramedics reported that there were three depressions in his head, that may indicate blows by a blunt object. When found he had no memory of who he was, and did not even recognize his own face.^[1][2][5] He was legally blind with cataracts, indicating he may have been without medical care for some time before he was assaulted. Initially, he was known as BK because he was discovered on the premises of a Burger King. Since then, he has chosen to live under the name Benjaman Kyle and insists that his real first name is Benjaman.^[6]

[edit] Appearance

Kyle is Caucasian and appears to be in his 50s or 60s.^[3] Benjaman is of above average intelligence.^[3] He is 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 m) tall and weighs 240 pounds (110 kg).^[2] He has graying hair with a receding hairline, and blue-green eyes.^[3]

[edit] Memories

Kyle has memories of Indianapolis as a child, including the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, the Woolworth's on the Circle, and the Indiana Theater showing movies in Cinerama. He remembers Crown Hill Cemetery, though not its name; the Scottish Rite Cathedral; and the White River when "it was mostly just a dumping ground." He also remembers grilled cheese sandwiches for a quarter and glasses of milk for a nickel at the Indiana State Fair.

Kyle also has memories of the area around University of Colorado at Boulder, CO. He has detailed memories of the subscription the library has to Restaurants & Institutions; research has shown that the library has had a subscription since the 1920s. He also remembers the Round the Corner Restaurant on the Hill near the Boulder campus. It is believed that Kyle could have lived in Boulder as early as the 1970s.^[6]

During an October 16, 2008 interview on the television show of Dr. Phil McGraw, he recollected some minor memories he has, such as having brothers, being 10 years older than Michael Jackson (giving him a possible birth date of August 29, 1948), being around restaurant equipment, and that he attended a Catholic School.^[5]

Benjaman Kyle has an unusually detailed knowledge of restaurant operation and food preparation equipment, leading to the belief that he may have once worked in these industries.

[edit] Search for identity

There have been major efforts to identify Kyle, but as of June 2009, none of them have been successful. These efforts have included:

1. Fingerprint comparison to the FBI's NCIC database of offenders
2. Fingerprint comparison to databases of military personnel
3. A Y-DNA test through the Center for Human Identification at North Texas State University, Denton, TX
4. A Y-DNA test for genetic genealogy through Family Tree DNA in Houston, TX
5. A mtDNA test through the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory
6. Searches on Y-DNA online databases such as Ybase.org [3], Ysearch.org [4], usystrdatabase.org [5], smgf.org [6], and DNAAncestry.com[7]
7. Searches on mtDNA online databases such as mitosearch.org [8], EMPOP.org [9], and smgf.org [10]
8. Appearance on the Dr. Phil television program 16 October 2008
9. Feature articles in the Augusta Chronicle (25 Sep 2007) and the Indianapolis Indy Star newspapers (27 April 2009)
10. Facial recognition comparison by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles with individuals who have obtained an Indiana driver's license since 1998
11. Hypnosis
12. Postings with missing person's networks ^[3]
13. Leads from individuals who seem to recognize Kyle from newspaper articles or online postings

As of June 2009, a search is being made by the Veterans Administration for Kyle's Vietnam draft registration, based on his birth date and his physical characteristics. When the draft was first exercised on December 1, 1969, Kyle's possible birth date of August 29, 1948 gave him a priority number of 61.^[7] Because the highest draft number used that year was 195, he was very likely called, though interviews with military investigators indicate that he almost certainly he never served. A search through lists of men who had draft exemptions is now underway.

A newspaper article was published by the Boulder Daily Camera, Boulder, CO on July 5, 2009.^[6] Based on Kyle's memories of the University of Colorado at Boulder campus, it is hoped that as a result of the article, someone may come forward who recognizes him.

A geographical comparison between Kyle's DNA results and the YHRD.org [11] Y Users Group database shows a somewhat close match in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. A newspaper article in the County Chronicle covering Montgomery County KS is forthcoming. Articles in the Tulsa, OK and Wichita, KS newspapers are planned for the future.

Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD, a forensic genealogist who has consulted on high profile identification cases ^[8], is assisting in the search for Kyle's identity.

A major challenge exists in discovering who Kyle is because most records are keyed on an individual's name and social security number, which at this time in Kyle's case are unknown. Many records that are searchable in theory are kept in hard copy format, so that they are not searchable in practice. Many others that could be searched electronically on his birthdate are protected by privacy laws. The hope of identifying him rests on finding a DNA match, or on attracting the attention of someone who recognizes him by his photograph.

As of June 2009, Kyle remains unidentified.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• "Man With No Memory" | Augusta Chronicle | 09/25/07
• Benjaman Kyle Case Forum at Websleuths.com
• "Amnesia Victim Needs Help With His Identity" | WSAV.com | 10/19/08
• "Amnesia Victim Looking For Identity" | truveo
• "Help Identify This Amnesia Victim"
• "Amnesia Victim Has Ties to Boulder"