This Bizarre Unsolved Missing Persons Case From Georgia Will Leave You Baffled
Marisa Roman
Author
Benjaman Kyle. The name rings a bell for many Georgia residents, and even out-of-towners who heard about the story. It was the same name splashed all over the headlines back in 2004, which led to a country-wide frenzy in search of one question—who is Benjamin Kyle?
On August 31, 2004, a man was found unconscious behind a Burger King in Richmond Hill, Georgia, beside a dumpster. This man was naked, seemingly physically assaulted, and bitten by fire ants. His wallet and ID were missing, along with the majority of his memory. In fact, the gentleman had zero recollection of the past 20 years of his life. He was unaware of his name, where he came from, and when shown a mirror weeks after being found, he didn’t even recognize his own face. There were no reports of stolen vehicles in the area and nobody had encountered any individuals matching Kyle’s description. Kyle was transferred to Memorial Health University Medical Center, two weeks after he was found, where records state he was only semiconscious.
The man ended up adopting the name “Benjaman Kyle” partially because of the initials (where he was found—B.K.) and also because he genuinely believed his first name was “Benjaman”. There was zero evidence to corroborate this, however.
Benjaman Kyle soon became the only American citizen officially listed as missing despite his whereabouts being known. He became a countrywide phenomenon. For many years after his loss of memory, Kyle was homeless and unable to obtain employment because he couldn’t remember his full Social Security number.
Kyle had woken up in the hospital with cataracts in both eyes, which were not fixed until nine months later when a charity raised enough money to pay for his operation. Upon seeing himself in the mirror for the first time, Kyle realized he was around twenty years older than he initially thought he was.
After being released from the hospital, Kyle spent several years between the Grace House men’s shelter and other hospitals. He was diagnosed with dissociative amnesia in 2007. Throughout the last few years, Kyle, along with the help of other doctors and professionals, have pieced together some information about his life before the summer of 2004. He recognized certain landmarks from Indianapolis, Indiana, which others have used to conclude that he lived in the area sometime in the late 1950s to early 1960s. Also, his slightly detailed recollection of areas in the University of Colorado strongly suggested that he attended the university in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The age they confirmed Kyle to be was around 60-years-old.
Many different doctors and professionals sought help for Kyle, free of charge. They were so fascinated by his story that they couldn’t help but offer their services. Even famed T.V. doctor, Dr. Phil invited him to be on his show in order to tell his story.
It wasn’t until September 16, 2015 that Benjaman announced his real identity had been found. With the help of genetic genealogist CeCe Moore, Kyle found out who he was, along with the names of some of his family members. The mystery was finally solved, at last….but was it…..
Except for the fact that Kyle never publicly announced his name, for the sake of his family’s privacy. So we still only know him as Benjaman Kyle.
Do you remember this huge news story? What can you recollect about what you heard from the news?
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