• Update, February 18:
  
  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

 

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Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
 
No more news on this one?

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.
 

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Posted by HopefulRailUser (Member # 4513) on :
 
And two dead bodies on the Empire Builder yesterday. Felt to be overdoses.
 

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Posted by mr williams (Member # 1928) on :
 
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.
 

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Posted by TwinStarRocket (Member # 2142) on :
 
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".
 

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Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
 
Hmmmmm, OK Twin Star -- I hope you're not on the eastbound Empire Builder on June 12 -- hee hee!!
 

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Posted by Geoff Mayo (Member # 153) on :
 
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).
 

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Posted by DeeCT (Member # 3241) on :
 
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
 

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Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
 
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.
 

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Posted by Ocala Mike (Member # 4657) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by George Harris:



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.

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