I just began reading the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer about Christopher mcCandless and I could SWEAR this story aired on UM> Its about this well to do kid (about 24) who after college, mysteriously donated his trust fund of $24,000 and vanished. Turns out he was against materialism and deliberatly set out to live a nomadic life, eventually starving to death in the wild of alaska. So...I know the update/ending if this IS the case but does anyone remeber if this is indeed the case i am referring to? I think I recall on the UM segment them showing him as an avid tennis player??

Hmmm... I don't know if this case appeared on UM but I did read the book about 2 years ago for English class.

-Makoto_4

I remember the case that you are talking about. But I think the guy's name was Alan something..... It was about a young guy (Alan) that was a tennis instructor, and he gave away everything and disappeared into the world of the homeless. They found his car parked on the street soon after he disappeared and his wallet was in it with his ID and several hundred dollars in cash. He also abandoned his apartment, but one day when his mom went over there looking for him, there was a homeless black guy there that Alan had befriended. When Alan's mom asked him where her son was, the black guy said, "I'm your son..." It kinda freaked me out!! Eventually, the homeless guy did tell Alan's family that if they would just be patient, he would tell them what happened to Alan. But as far as I know, they never saw him again and the case was never solved. I wish that I could remember Alan's last name, but I'm sure that someone else does.

Okay, you've jogged my memory. Thanks! I now remember the homeless black guy thing but didnt remember that it was tangled into this tennis guy. Yeah, i guess this isnt the story I thought as mcCandless' car was found in the desert. I wish someone could remember the tennis guy's name so I can do a search to see if it was ever resolved......

http://www.beverlyhills.org/presence/connect/CoBH/Homepage/Local+Government/Departments+and+Offices/Police+Department/LG-PD-Adam_Hecht

His name is Adam Hecht. Isn't it strange, the weird things that you can remember when you are watching UM??? I was just watching it, and his name just popped into my head. Eerie, isn't it????:eek:

Originally posted by #1 Stack Fan
I remember the case that you are talking about. But I think the guy's name was Alan something.....

Actually, his name was Adam Hecht. I recall the segment mentioning that he was the son of a movie producer. Since his brother (who was interviewed for the UM story) was known as Harold Hecht, Jr., I put two and two together that Adam's film- producing father was Harold Hecht, Sr., who died of cancer in 1985.

Great! A name to go with a segment! (smile) What a baffeling case. It seem slike whenever people start "trippin" and go out into the mountains, they never come back. I wonder if he left his car so he could hitch into the mountains to mediate just for the DAY and met foul play or if he abandoned his car, etc. to go off and live a nomadic life like Chris mcCandless? We may never know...

I remember 2 cases that resemble this:

1. A wealthy young man befriends a homeless, and then disappear without a trace. His brother ask the homeless about his whereabouts with no success.

2. Another young guy decide to enter a new age movement to deal with his attitude problems. He makes a trip to the mountains, cops find his car in the middle of nowhere and traces his steps, until they found his watch and another items, but no other signal of him.

I dont know if one of this cases is the one you are refering to

Ive never watched an update of this episodes so i assume both of them are still missing.

Originally posted by FanfromES
I remember 2 cases that resemble this:

1. A wealthy young man befriends a homeless, and then disappear without a trace. His brother ask the homeless about his whereabouts with no success.

That's the case of Adam Hecht.

I remember this one. The homeless guy was called Tony. Adam's brother found him one night on the streets about a year after Adam vanished, and Tony said something like "if you just spend some time with me on the streets, I might be able to provide a few clues." And that was it. This guy was definitely a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

I located a small blip about his story here:

http://www.beverlyhills.org/presence/connect/CoBH/Homepage/Local+Government/Departments+and+Offices/Police+Department/LG-PD-Adam_Hecht

Harold Hecht has some impressive credits to his name, including an Academy Award:

http://www.imdb.com/Name?Hecht,+Harold

I also located this actor:

http://www.imdb.com/Name?Hecht,+Arthur

There doesn't seem to be a connection, but it's odd that Adam's middle name was Arthur and he sort of looks like this guy...but I doubt there's anything to it.

So Adam's dad is the Hollywood bigwig, right? I'm trying not to get confused here...Anyway, you would think that with his money and connections he woud be able to get major exposure of his son out there. It would make sense to me if Adam pulled a McCandless and decided to live on the streets, etc. (which is why the homeless guy told adams brother to live off thwe streets to get some clues, etc.) BUT that dosent really coincide with the meditation thing unless he was staudying some branch of mediation that discourages wealth, etc. I dunno, I dont know much about meditation. It must be hard for the cops when there are 2 clearly different paths pointing to his disapearnace.

I've always found this UM story weird. After Adam went missing, for some strange reason, "Tony" was staying in his apartment and I never understood why. Why would he just turn around and walk away after suggesting that Adam's brother spend some time with him on the streets? I'm just anxious to know what happened to him (Adam), its been about 19 years (my math may be a little off) since he turned up missing.



Did you all know that the man who played "Tony" in that UM story, is a cast member of the television show, "JAG"? He plays "Commander Sturgis Turner".

His real name is Scott Lawrence.

The Christopher McCanless story was on Dateline, I believe and the whole hour was dedicated to his amazing story. Deeply affecting and extraordinary. It was also in PEOPLE magazine around the time the book came out, which I read. It was never on UM.

The story of the man who leaves his car in the middle of nowhere and walks into the mountains was found dead. It took a long time. Boy, I wish I could remember his name.

The story of Adam Hecht was on a few days ago. His family acted in the recreation and his mother was so cute as she tried to get Tony (the homeless fellow) to tell her where her son is. When Tony says, "I am your son" and tries to kiss her, she reacts with a push and slap. I always think how good at playing herself she was.

I think this case was profiled on ABC's 20/20 a few years ago and the guy died in the wilderness in Alaska since he ate some poisonous plants and he couldn't get back to civilization because the river he crossed became huge and flooded so he couldn't cross back over to get back to town to get some help.

Can all of you tell me is this same story you are talking about?

Yes, this is the same case. I believe he ate potato seeds which slowely did him in...from what I recall they do something to your body which prevents you from storing any fat so anything he ate was like eating nothing at all. Someone correct me if I am wrong as I dont have the book on me. An excellant read for anyone...