I am watching Season 4 now. I was watching the case about the guy who was found walking in the desert with amnesia. Come to find out that he was wanted for stealing a truckload of frozen food. I laughed my butt off with the Law Enforcement officers. One Officer--"Amnesia is easy all you have to do is say I don't know and this guys is convincing"!! When they were arresting him he told the officers that he had amnesia and one of the officers asked him how long has be had amnesia and he said for 9 months. Then the other officer told him that if he has amnesia how did he know he had it for 9 months. They slapped the cuffs on him and took him to jail. They were waiting for him to cause problems so they could serve him up an ass whipping. How funny was it that the UM cameras were there?

It is surprising to me that this segment is now available in its entirety. For YEARS whenever Lifetime showed it, it was very creatively edited in a manner to show that Beal found out who he was, yet any mention of the criminal charges was completed omitted. I think the Farina reboot actually included this information, however and now apparently Amazon Prime does as well.

It is mentioned on another thread, but in 2007 APB had a heart attack which caused brain damage and he now lives in a health care facility, unable to take care of himself.

It is surprising to me that this segment is now available in its entirety. For YEARS whenever Lifetime showed it, it was very creatively edited in a manner to show that Beal found out who he was, yet any mention of the criminal charges was completed omitted. I think the Farina reboot actually included this information, however and now apparently Amazon Prime does as well.

I wonder why they didn't include it up until the Farina version. Were they trying to paint the case as another "lost love reunited thanks to UM" type of deal? I wonder why UM even decided to re-air this one after it was updated.

I wonder why they didn't include it up until the Farina version. Were they trying to paint the case as another "lost love reunited thanks to UM" type of deal? I wonder why UM even decided to re-air this one after it was updated.

I think they probably omitted mention of the criminal charges because they'd been resolved. In the update on Amazon, it says he returned to Idaho and served 90 days for petty theft, and the case is now closed. The "guy re-united with his mother" angle is more heart-warming than the other and since the case was closed there was no real reason to mention it and drag his name through the mud. Could be he even objected to it being aired in its entirety at the time. As to why it returned in the Farina re-boot and beyond, I don't know.

This NEVER DIES... I was having dinner with my oldest son and this was brought up AGAIN. I wasted a lot of time private messaging people to keep this off of the public boards so the kids wouldn't discover that their father is an idiot that faked amnesia on national tv. It didn't work, the kids are smarter than I gave them credit for and they have always known that the amnesia thing was a sham and they were also aware of his drug problems. Hey cars1986 you are one of the people I messaged years ago and I believe I was called "bitter" on a few of the boards. For those of you that don't know I am his ex wife and the only thing that I am bitter about is the fact that Paul was a terrible parent towards his 2 oldest children. For the record... YES, HE FAKED AMNESIA!

This NEVER DIES... I was having dinner with my oldest son and this was brought up AGAIN. I wasted a lot of time private messaging people to keep this off of the public boards so the kids wouldn't discover that their father is an idiot that faked amnesia on national tv. It didn't work, the kids are smarter than I gave them credit for and they have always known that the amnesia thing was a sham and they were also aware of his drug problems. Hey cars1986 you are one of the people I messaged years ago and I believe I was called "bitter" on a few of the boards. For those of you that don't know I am his ex wife and the only thing that I am bitter about is the fact that Paul was a terrible parent towards his 2 oldest children. For the record... YES, HE FAKED AMNESIA!

I think the reason this came up again is because Unsolved Mysteries is now on Amazon Prime streaming and they included this episode in the latest release.

Yep, just like Trump's twitter rants, Paul's stupidity shall never fade away. Almost 30 years later and people are still laughing at that episode. It is pretty funny, "If you have amnesia then how do you know how long you've had it?".

As far as any updates he fried his brain in 2007 and he is living in a nursing home outside of San Francisco. One of his side girlfriends used to email me on the regular but I think she got bored and moved on. Her main motivation was to annoy his main girlfriend who had the 2 younger kids. At the time of his heart attack he was stringing along at least 3 women that I know of and convinced one of his side girls that he would leave his main girlfriend and move the kids to some tiny town in Montana. That heart attack ruined all of his big plans.

I just thought of this because for the first time ever I am not trying to protect children but... I just got to thinking about it and it is rather suspicious that he supposedly had plans to grab the children, leave their mother (the live in girlfriend) behind and move to Montana but had a heart attack before he could enact his plan. Also the mother of those children is currently living with a fellow that there were rumors of her sleeping with before Paul had his heart attack. This has the makings of a Lifetime movie. I want Jodie Foster to play me.

Did you have any interactions with him that lead you to believe that he was faking or did you just know it because you knew him?

None of this matters anymore. The guy has been stuck in a wheelchair for almost 10 years. But let me count the ways...

1. I was contacted by USM the night that it aired and I gave them all of my contact information including the fact that he had 2 small children. He never inquired about the children.

2. He had 3 phone numbers given to him. One was for his father in Idaho that originally identified him, mine and his mother. Instead of calling the guy that identified him or the woman with his children he chose to call his mother who would be the most likely to believe his story.

3. Replay the "reunion" scene when he gets bailed out of jail and you can see by his body language that he recognizes his mother but holds himself stiff to act like he doesn't.

4. When he went back to Boise to clear up the theft charges he repeatedly made mistakes when interacting with his father.

5. People that he previously knew showed up at his court hearing and he initially made eye contact and started to wave but stopped himself and quickly looked away. He then refused to look in their direction again.

6. He chose to stay west instead of returning to his family in the midwest. His sisters, mother and stepfather lived in Iowa. His children were also in Iowa. A normal person that had lost their memory would have chosen to be around people that might spark their memory.

7. He always swore that he didn't get his memory back but on the one visit that he made to see the children he became excited about Taco John's still being in business because that was his favorite place to eat when he was in high school.

8. He also made numerous mistakes every time that I spoke to him.

None of this matters anymore. The guy has been stuck in a wheelchair for almost 10 years. But let me count the ways...

1. I was contacted by USM the night that it aired and I gave them all of my contact information including the fact that he had 2 small children. He never inquired about the children.

2. He had 3 phone numbers given to him. One was for his father in Idaho that originally identified him, mine and his mother. Instead of calling the guy that identified him or the woman with his children he chose to call his mother who would be the most likely to believe his story.

3. Replay the "reunion" scene when he gets bailed out of jail and you can see by his body language that he recognizes his mother but holds himself stiff to act like he doesn't.

4. When he went back to Boise to clear up the theft charges he repeatedly made mistakes when interacting with his father.

5. People that he previously knew showed up at his court hearing and he initially made eye contact and started to wave but stopped himself and quickly looked away. He then refused to look in their direction again.

6. He chose to stay west instead of returning to his family in the midwest. His sisters, mother and stepfather lived in Iowa. His children were also in Iowa. A normal person that had lost their memory would have chosen to be around people that might spark their memory.

7. He always swore that he didn't get his memory back but on the one visit that he made to see the children he became excited about Taco John's still being in business because that was his favorite place to eat when he was in high school.

8. He also made numerous mistakes every time that I spoke to him.

A couple of questions... So was APB actually in the Navy or something of that sort? Had his flown before and rebuilt engines from scratch? Also, did he actually spend time in San Diego, or was that a fabrication as well?

None of this matters anymore. The guy has been stuck in a wheelchair for almost 10 years. But let me count the ways...

1. I was contacted by USM the night that it aired and I gave them all of my contact information including the fact that he had 2 small children. He never inquired about the children.

2. He had 3 phone numbers given to him. One was for his father in Idaho that originally identified him, mine and his mother. Instead of calling the guy that identified him or the woman with his children he chose to call his mother who would be the most likely to believe his story.

3. Replay the "reunion" scene when he gets bailed out of jail and you can see by his body language that he recognizes his mother but holds himself stiff to act like he doesn't.

4. When he went back to Boise to clear up the theft charges he repeatedly made mistakes when interacting with his father.

5. People that he previously knew showed up at his court hearing and he initially made eye contact and started to wave but stopped himself and quickly looked away. He then refused to look in their direction again.

6. He chose to stay west instead of returning to his family in the midwest. His sisters, mother and stepfather lived in Iowa. His children were also in Iowa. A normal person that had lost their memory would have chosen to be around people that might spark their memory.

7. He always swore that he didn't get his memory back but on the one visit that he made to see the children he became excited about Taco John's still being in business because that was his favorite place to eat when he was in high school.

8. He also made numerous mistakes every time that I spoke to him.

Interesting...thanks for the information!

He graduated high school in 1986 and his entry into the Navy was delayed because he contracted mono spring/summer 1986. He was a sonar tech (STG3) in the Navy. He was stationed in San Diego from 1986 to 1987 and from there he went to Long Beach where he was from 1988 to 1990. He broke his ankle playing softball spring of 1987 and spent most of his time in the military on limited duty. He did not have any sort of flight training. I met him in San Diego early 1987 and we were only talking when he broke his ankle and we actually started dating after he returned from his recuperation. We got married in September right before I was due to be transferred to Great Lakes Naval Base. Those were the days before cell phones and internet and the reason to get married was because otherwise we would never see each other again. I was 19 and stupid. He didn't bother to tell his mother until after we were married and that was when I found out he had a fiancee back home. I was going to get an annulment but then I discovered I was pregnant. He received a medical discharge from the Navy and enrolled at Boise State January of 1990. I became annoyed with his multiple girlfriends and left him and moved home to Iowa February of 1990. His mother is an idiot and her great advice was that a woman always assumes more responsibility in a relationship than a man and I might as well accept that fact and go back to him.

As you can see by the timeline there was no chance that he would have had the time for any type of special ops or flight training. Being able to build an engine is not a remarkable skill and I know plenty of teenaged boys that work on their own vehicles. He was coddled and raised by a woman that excused his lies and never made him be accountable for any of his actions.

As you can see by the timeline there was no chance that he would have had the time for any type of special ops or flight training. Being able to build an engine is not a remarkable skill and I know plenty of teenaged boys that work on their own vehicles. He was coddled and raised by a woman that excused his lies and never made him be accountable for any of his actions.

I appreciate the information. I think the reason we are all so curious about Paul is because we did not have ANY of this information previously. I agree with the above poster who mentioned that his case is getting resurrected because of the Amazon Prime streaming of his UM segment...

Thanks for the additional insight into his mother. I always felt really bad for her because I sensed she truly loved Paul and wanted to take care of him. Obviously I didn't have all the information at hand...

Thank you for posting. Unfortunately it's difficult to hide things, especially with the internet. And even if his name was squashed on this site, someone else would begin posting about it on Reddit or Websleuth. I guess the important lesson to learn is that people sometimes make stupid mistakes, but that doesn't define them as a person in their entirety.

Also, from the segment, I didn't care for his mother. She seemed so gullible. His acting was obnoxious, and I would really like to see the entire phone "first" phone call between him and his mom, not just the thirty seconds that was aired on UM.

We appreciate the info Steph.

"I don't remember you" :lol:

I appreciate the information. I think the reason we are all so curious about Paul is because we did not have ANY of this information previously. I agree with the above poster who mentioned that his case is getting resurrected because of the Amazon Prime streaming of his UM segment...

Thanks for the additional insight into his mother. I always felt really bad for her because I sensed she truly loved Paul and wanted to take care of him. Obviously I didn't have all the information at hand...
If nothing else she loved her boy and she felt a lot of guilt because for the first time ever she called his bluff and didn't report him as a missing person. I think that his original plan was to fake amnesia and within the week his family would come get him. He wasn't counting on the fact that he had made fools of everyone that had ever supported him and they didn't want to be tricked again.

Thank you for posting. Unfortunately it's difficult to hide things, especially with the internet. And even if his name was squashed on this site, someone else would begin posting about it on Reddit or Websleuth. I guess the important lesson to learn is that people sometimes make stupid mistakes, but that doesn't define them as a person in their entirety.

Also, from the segment, I didn't care for his mother. She seemed so gullible. His acting was obnoxious, and I would really like to see the entire phone "first" phone call between him and his mom, not just the thirty seconds that was aired on UM.
This all happened in 1991 before the internet was a "thing" and who could predict the impact of Netflix and Amazon? At the time I assumed this would fade away and I was only reminded occasionally because people would call me when it was rebroadcast. Then the story got old and stale, everyone knew the backstory and people kinda forgot. I was remarried for several years before my husband knew about the amnesia in the desert act. He thought my sisters were joking and kept waiting for the punchline.

Hopefully the second generation watching those episodes will realize that he is faking.

Thanks a lot for posting, Steph (and thank you for your service).

As someone who was also once married to a mama-coddled ding dong, you have my sympathy. I always thought his mom kind of halfway knew he was full of it with that amnesia story, but wasn't going to admit it to herself--especially now that everyone had ended up on national TV.

Ridiculous case-can remember watching it as a teenager & thinking it was legit. As an adult watching it back it is so obvious he is lying through his teeth. Feel really sorry for his kids that he ran out on just to escape a pissant charge & the other family members he put through not knowing what had happened to him.

His mother is an idiot and

Wow, the ex-wife sure is salty and unpleasant. Looking at your post history, I don't know but maybe... move on?
It's been over 25 years.

None of this matters anymore. The guy has been stuck in a wheelchair for almost 10 years. But let me count the ways...

1. I was contacted by USM the night that it aired and I gave them all of my contact information including the fact that he had 2 small children. He never inquired about the children.

2. He had 3 phone numbers given to him. One was for his father in Idaho that originally identified him, mine and his mother. Instead of calling the guy that identified him or the woman with his children he chose to call his mother who would be the most likely to believe his story.

3. Replay the "reunion" scene when he gets bailed out of jail and you can see by his body language that he recognizes his mother but holds himself stiff to act like he doesn't.

4. When he went back to Boise to clear up the theft charges he repeatedly made mistakes when interacting with his father.

5. People that he previously knew showed up at his court hearing and he initially made eye contact and started to wave but stopped himself and quickly looked away. He then refused to look in their direction again.

6. He chose to stay west instead of returning to his family in the midwest. His sisters, mother and stepfather lived in Iowa. His children were also in Iowa. A normal person that had lost their memory would have chosen to be around people that might spark their memory.

7. He always swore that he didn't get his memory back but on the one visit that he made to see the children he became excited about Taco John's still being in business because that was his favorite place to eat when he was in high school.

8. He also made numerous mistakes every time that I spoke to him.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~*

i totally bought this story always and i just recently watched it while i was making my way through season four. i was always convinced he was telling the truth because of how genuinely emotional he was when interacting with the mom. this time around i was like wait...why would you sob to a stranger if he really didn’t recognize/trust her? he clearly did. i think he was so sad because he felt guilty. also, like the comment above, the body language in the reunion scene was really forced when he first walked in but then it let up. i certainly don’t feel confortable hugging someone like that if i don’t feel close to them. in fact, at one point i swear i saw him mouth “mom”.

i sort of feel for everyone...he just seemed immature and unaware of the consequences his story would bring at the time. unfortunately, the family seems to have really paid the price. hopefully they have all found peace with each other :(

I like Steph’s style... cracked me up reading this just now :lol:

in fact, at one point i swear i saw him mouth “mom”.

i sort of feel for everyone...he just seemed immature and unaware of the consequences his story would bring at the time. unfortunately, the family seems to have really paid the price. hopefully they have all found peace with each other :(

Obviously he was already made well aware of that fact so I don't see what could be seen as unusual about that. If I ever had amnesia I am going to hug my "mom" and "wife" no matter how awkward it felt just to see if I made a connection.

APB reminds me of a former childhood neighbour. The guy I know is about 40 and is still as immature and unaware of consequences of things as he was at 10. For example, he was once falsely accused of assault by a crazy person (it could have easily been disproven as it was in a public area with cameras) and he just plead guilty to "get it over with" without considering the negative employment reprecussions. He was such an immature father his parents even took legal custody of his son and he acts like an (absent) older brother. I don't even need to post a picture as he looks almost identical to APB.

I honestly don't know what to think of this guy: he doesn't seem bright enough to fool anyone, let alone the UM producers yet we are still debating it all these years later.

hahaha, no no—i know he was made aware that it was his mother, i’m just saying he seemed too comfortable with her as she was supposed to be like a stranger to him. that seemed off to me. also, i wouldn’t refer to my mother as “mom” the first time i ever saw her.

but who knows, i guess i can’t say that for sure—i don’t know how i would act in that situation, whether it was real or if i was faking. i’d love to see myself try to do it as well as APB though lol. he’s obviously legendary

if it was real, i would feel very bad for making assumptions. with all this insight into his background though, it all seems kind of fishy (stolen seafood..get it?)

Ridiculous case-can remember watching it as a teenager & thinking it was legit. As an adult watching it back it is so obvious he is lying through his teeth. Feel really sorry for his kids that he ran out on just to escape a pissant charge & the other family members he put through not knowing what had happened to him.

I was gonna respond, but this sums up exactly my experience/feelings on the case

I like Steph’s style... cracked me up reading this just now :lol:

I agree! I just watched this on youtube and totally believe the ex wife and she is not bitter, just telling what she knows! And she should know!

If nothing else she loved her boy and she felt a lot of guilt because for the first time ever she called his bluff and didn't report him as a missing person. I think that his original plan was to fake amnesia and within the week his family would come get him. He wasn't counting on the fact that he had made fools of everyone that had ever supported him and they didn't want to be tricked again.

Thanks for your input, Steph. I'm sorry a few folks are giving you a hard time and calling you "bitter" and "salty." If my husband put my kids and me through everything you've said Paul put you through, I'd be bitter AF. When I watched the segment, I was probably in my early teens and I hadn't seen jack sh*t yet, you know? So I initially believed him (because who would make up something like that, right? :rolleyes2 ), but when the show noted that he was arrested for stealing from his employer, I figured the whole thing was a sham. The theft itself and then conning a bunch of people, including his own mother, is pretty damn despicable, but that by itself I think a person could come back from if they seemed truly remorseful and resolved to straighten themselves out. With everything else you've said, though (because who would make up something like that? Kidding.), he'd had a lifelong history of pulling these kinds of stunts and didn't care who he hurt in the process. It's probably very uncharitable of me to say, but it sounds like karma came for him in the end. In the meantime, I hope the ensuing years have been kinder to you and your children. Again, thank you for sharing your history with us, which you of course are under no obligation to do.

I just saw this one over lunch on Pluto. Oh he just happens to get amnesia and disappear right around the same time he’s wanted for a crime. Something about this guy felt fake the entire time he was on tv. What a shame UM made it out to be real even after it was discovered he was wanted for a crime. They should have shown a bit more skepticism towards him in the update. Well, it was good for a laugh. What a clown this guy was and what a shame he couldn’t be a real man and father for his family. I don’t think he deserved to be in a wheel chair forever but I’m not sad about it.

The detective who was interviewed in the update was exactly right. He wasn't going for any of Arthur's bull****.

Serious question: why does this board use censoring? There's no kids here. We're talking about a tv show that ran in the 80s & 90s.

Yep, just like Trump's twitter rants, Paul's stupidity shall never fade away. Almost 30 years later and people are still laughing at that episode. It is pretty funny, "If you have amnesia then how do you know how long you've had it?".



I am not defending the guy because honestly I believe he was faking the whole thing.

But the cop's comment was deeply stupid. A person with amnesia can easily remember how long they have had amnesia. The only people who cannot do this are people with anterograde amnesia, who cannot form new memories. If you have seen the movie "Memento" or are familiar with the case of Clive Wearing, this would be that form of amnesia.

Every single person with retrograde amnesia can tell you how long they have had amnesia. It is from the moment they first become aware without their memory.

So, the cop's comment was pretty dumb. But other than that, I won't defend the guy. I'm a cognitive psychologist and even the editing of Unsolved Mysteries didn't do a good job at making him look convincing.

Wow, the ex-wife sure is salty and unpleasant. Looking at your post history, I don't know but maybe... move on?
It's been over 25 years.

Yeah. When I first read her other responses, she just sounded like an ex-wife. Reading her responses here, I would fake amnesia to get away from her too. He likely couldn't deal with her. Two narcissists at war for attention.

I agree! I just watched this on youtube and totally believe the ex wife and she is not bitter, just telling what she knows! And she should know!

I agree.. If there is bitterness it's simply because of the fact that it keeps being brought up to her. Which.. I'd certainly understand.

Seems to me, as she said.. Again. Assuming, because this *IS* the internet, she is legit.. Which, it certainly sounds like she is - though, again.. This is the internet - she didn't want her kids to know about it.. Which.. Yeah, sorry, but there was no real chance of that.

Serious question: why does this board use censoring? There's no kids here. We're talking about a tv show that ran in the 80s & 90s.

See above. The part about 'this *IS* the internet'. It's an effort to keep things civil and help remind people to keep things clean and try to maintain some level of respect for each others opinions. Not everyone likes reading things from who drop an F bomb every other word.

Doesn't always work, but..

I always say I'm not the Picasso of swearing.. I'm the Bob Ross of swearing. Just put a happy little **** in the corner here and there.

I agree, she seems bitter. I hope she has been able to put all this behind her. I know it will keep coming up because the episodes repeat over and over.

7. He always swore that he didn't get his memory back but on the one visit that he made to see the children he became excited about Taco John's still being in business because that was his favorite place to eat when he was in high school.


He's literally me. Taco John's is a highlight of any road trip out west.