I mean, I have to ask just why the FBI was even working on this man's death? Was it at the family's request? Why, after all this time, was it determined that his passing needed to be explored again? Whole lot of questions, if you ask me!
Ricky McCormick Notes
On 30 June, 1999, 41 year old Ricky McCormick’s body was discovered in a field in St. Charles County, Missouri. An unemployed high school dropout, McCormick was said to have heart and lung problems, lived on and off with his mother, and was receiving disability at the time of his death. He had served time in jail for multiple offenses. His body was found several miles from where he lived, and there was no indication of foul-play, nor was any cause of death ever established.
Found inside his pockets were two hand written notes that appeared to be encrypted. Were the encrypted notes clues to his death? The FBI’s Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU) and the American Cryptogram Association both tried, and failed, to decipher the meanings of the notes. The notes and the death of Ricky McCormick are listed as one of the CRRU’s top unsolved cases.
Twelve years later, the FBI had changed its mind and now believed McCormick may have been murdered. They also believed whatever was written on the notes might explain his death and lead to the killer, or killers. On 29 March, 2011, the FBI asked the code-breakers of the world to help determine the meaning of the coded messages. Within days of posting the messages on the Internet, the FBI website was inundated with messages from the public offering ideas, suggestions and assistance. According to members of McCormick’s family, McCormick had used encrypted notes since he was a boy, but apparently no one in his family ever knew how to decipher the codes. Now it is up to the public to try to help the FBI decode these notes.
I'm thinking there must be more to this story somewhere. I just do not see what the encrypted notes found on a dead man would suddenly, after 12 years, capture the interest of the FBI and their team of experts. Why is this unexplained death so important after all this time? What do you think?
Coffee outside this morning. Light rain is expected, but the temps are warm!
