Cryptic Clues | Unsolved Murder
The Unsolved Case of Ricky McCormick
Who wrote the coded messages found in the pocket of a dead man?
Almost 22 years ago to the day, on June 30, 1999, the body of a male murder victim was discovered near a cornfield west of West Alton, Missouri. Even more mysterious than the identity of his killer, is the equally baffling two handwritten pages of coded message found in the deceased man’s pocket. Could these ciphers be the key to leading investigators to the killer?
The Investigation
Given the state in which his body was found, while McCormick’s cause of death was listed as undetermined, authorities came to believe that the manner was a homicide. As investigators soon learned, McCormick was not known to drive or own a car. Not only that, but the area in which he was discovered was over 20 miles from his then-current address and was not serviced by any public transportation. So, that begs two questions already: What was McCormick doing in this specific area, and how did he get there?
Furthermore, no one had reported him missing, despite being last seen five days earlier getting a checkup at St. Louis’s now-defunct Forest Park Hospital.
The Victim
