posted
The body of a 37 year old Hutchinson KS man was found along the BNSF tracks near Peach Springs AZ Tuesday, 2-18. He was a passenger destined for Kingman AZ which is about 40 miles west from Peach Springs. News reports indicate that #3 was met in Los Angeles by detectives who were interviewing passengers.
Posts: 467 | From: Prescott, AZ USA | Registered: Mar 2002
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YCSO detectives are releasing the name of the deceased man found along the railroad tracks west of Seligman yesterday. He is identified as Randall A. Scott, 37-years-old, from Hutchinson, Kansas. The identification is based on evidence recovered from the scene and verification is pending medical examiner findings.
As of today, investigators determined Scott was a passenger on the west bound Amtrakpassenger train after boarding the train in Hutchinson, Kansas. According to passenger records, Scott was scheduled to depart the train in Kingman, Arizona. It is unknown what caused Scott to exit the apparently moving Amtrak train in the Seligman area sometime around 1:30 AM on Monday. Detectives are currently working with officials from the Amtrak Police Department to trace Scott’s movements and attempt to locate witnesses. Additionally, YCSO detectives have been in contact with Los Angeles County Sheriff Department officials who examined the train at Union Station - the termination point for this line.
The investigation remains ongoing
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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I was sure someone here would have picked up on the news story of the passenger who was raped and then nearly thrown overboard by a crew member on HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam. The story seemed to die after a day.
Frank in sunny and warm SBA -- but they say REAL rain is on the way on Wednesday.
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Wasn't there a case a few years ago where an elderly passenger died (of natural causes) on one of the long-distance trains but his daughter didn't report it, preferring to transport the body in the sleeper to its destination which was his home town anyway?
Also, I remember an elderly passenger went "missing" in the middle of the night - I think on a remote stretch of the CZ route - and despite extensive trackside searches I don't remember that he was ever found.
Posts: 395 | From: england | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
The "missing" passenger on the CZ was Charlie Dowd, a retired fireman and smoker who was beginning to show signs of cognitive difficulty. His body was found in western Nebraska after an extensive search. He evidently opened the exit door in his sleeper while the train was stopped in the middle of the night and walked out. The assumption was that he was confused and thought it was a smoke stop, As a fireman, he would have been experienced at opening doors.
I was on the #5 that passed Charlie's #6 that night. I was also on the #4 that passed the #3 just before the incident that is the topic of this thread. I am beginning to feel like Amtrak's "Angel of Death".
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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Hmmmmm, OK Twin Star -- I hope you're not on the eastbound Empire Builder on June 12 -- hee hee!! Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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Or just went to go to the bathroom and opened the wrong door. It's not hard to open an external door - done it myself when the attendant was otherwise engaged (smoking when he should have been loading/unloading passengers).
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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Where this happened is a remote area. My brother lives a few miles from the location where this occurred. It is a sparsely populated area located a long distance from the county seat. Little police presence. I would say it is safe to say that 1. body was returned to family, 2. What little info was collected was placed in a folder that is sitting on some desk. Said folder will eventually be placed in a file cabinet. End of Story. (Unless a family member tries to sue Amtrak.)
Twin Star .... please keep us advised of your travel plans .... lol
Dee
Posts: 460 | From: North Central CT | Registered: May 2004
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Yes, Twin Star, so I can be sure to be elsewhere. Not that I am superstitious, however. . .
I worked with a guy several years back who was: 1. Looking out a window at Kai Tak (Hong Kong's airport) when a plane did a bad landing and slid down the runway upside down catching fire. 2. Was on the beach at Phuket, Thailand when the tsunami came in 3. Was on the street within 1/2 block when a relative minor earthquake shook a tower crane down which landed on a taxi.
No one wanted to travel with him or have travel plans that matched up with his. OK maybe we were being a little superstitious.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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Rich, I have no current plans to ride the Empire Builder, but I do live 2 blocks from where it passes through St. Paul. If it makes you feel better, the two people who died on the eastbound Builder recently (drugs?) expired long before passing my house.
Hopefully by June the Builder will be using the newly restored St. Paul Union Depot, and you will have time to run up the escalator and see it.
Concerning Charlie Dowd, for those of you on Facebook there is an interesting page on him. The search started out along the entire route of the Zephyr, so a Facebook page was created for people to contribute information on the search. His family was grateful for the help and support and decided to publish the photos from Charlie's camera of his last trip a year after it began.
If you read this page from the bottom up, it is like following a real time mystery and drama.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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Thanks for the link and the memories of landing at Kai Tak -- three times on United 747-SPs (Ex-Pan Am) and once on a CAAC 737 with a loose watermelon for a foot rest.
Speaking of cruises, we are headed to FLL on Wednesday on Smitty's favorite airline to board Celebrity Century on Thursday for a 15 night Panama Canal cruise. This is part of the Farewell to Century celebration that will end next April when she leaves the fleet. We're also booked on the last two cruises -- SIN-DXB and DXB-FCO -- Singapore to Dubai and Dubai to Rome through the Suez Canal.
Frank in WET SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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Thanks Twin Star -- I had forgotten that the new SPUD will be open by this summer. I'm looking forward to seeing the new station, but will have to modify my route maps yet again!!!
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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