Update: Arthur Paul Beal

[Todd Mueller]

Here is an update on Arthur Paul Beal. He was the guy who turned up with amnesia and thought his name was "Tyler." Through UM, his family was located. Later, an update said he was wanted for stealing a truckload of food, but nothing beyond that. I found it curious that they blurred his picture on the update when he appeared in his own story earlier. (I thought that was odd.)

Recently, I received information from someone who was close to Paul. It was sobering to read and his life has taken a turn for the bad. You can read the rest below.

As a quick aside, I had made a post some months ago about this case and all I thought was weird with it (the lack of info, what the crime was, why his face was blurred, etc.). It was kind of a good life lesson for me when I got this update. Sometimes I get so caught up with these 15-20 minute UM stories that I forget these are REAL people, with families and their own private lives. When I read the update I could never have guessed all that went into it. It just got me thinking that even though I want more info to satisfy my own curiousity, I need to be respectful and never forget these are more than stories for my (and our) entertainment. [Todd climbs off soapbox.]

Here is the update:

You were wondering how things turned out for Arthur Paul Beal. It is not a pretty tale.

Bond was posted by his father at the request of his sister. His father also made restitution to the company for the missing frozen seafood and damages to their vehicle. All charges were dropped.

Paul disowned his father because he did not believe the amnesia story and has not seen or spoken to him since 1992. He created a new life and identity and goes by Tyler Beal to this day. He had 2 children and was going through a divorce at the time of his disappearance and he never bothered to enforce the joint custody that he was granted and only paid child support when it was garnished.

He moved to Northern California and became a bartender in Danville. He had two more children with his live-in girlfriend. In November, 2007 he had a heart attack at age 39. He sustained severe brain damage from the heart attack and is permanently disabled. He now lives in a facility and spends most of his days in a wheelchair [unable to do anything]. Some people have nothing but bad luck. His face was not blurred in the original episode. Perhaps it was done after the fact as a gesture of respect.

On a side note... he was "missing" for so long because no one cared enough report him as being a missing person. Everyone assumed that he was trying to dodge arrest and did not want to be found.

Paul was kind of bitter about how he was portrayed on the show and the only people that believed the amnesia story were his mother, step-father and two sisters. He became a sort of joke and did not like it one bit. Whether or not he ever did have amnesia remains in question.

There was a newspaper article about his heart attack and recovery. The full article (with picture) can be found here.

[Necco]

Originally Posted by Todd Mueller

Here is an update on Arthur Paul Beal. He was the guy who turned up with amnesia and thought his name was "Tyler." Through UM, his family was located. Later, an update said he was wanted for stealing a truckload of food, but nothing beyond that. I found it curious that they blurred his picture on the update when he appeared in his own story earlier. (I thought that was odd.)

Recently, I received information from someone who was close to Paul. It was sobering to read and his life has taken a turn for the bad. You can read the rest below.

As a quick aside, I had made a post some months ago about this case and all I thought was weird with it (the lack of info, what the crime was, why his face was blurred, etc.). It was kind of a good life lesson for me when I got this update. Sometimes I get so caught up with these 15-20 minute UM stories that I forget these are REAL people, with families and their own private lives. When I read the update I could never have guessed all that went into it. It just got me thinking that even though I want more info to satisfy my own curiousity, I need to be respectful and never forget these are more than stories for my (and our) entertainment. [Todd climbs off soapbox.]

Here is the update:

You were wondering how things turned out for Arthur Paul Beal. It is not a pretty tale.

Bond was posted by his father at the request of his sister. His father also made restitution to the company for the missing frozen seafood and damages to their vehicle. All charges were dropped.

Paul disowned his father because he did not believe the amnesia story and has not seen or spoken to him since 1992. He created a new life and identity and goes by Tyler Beal to this day. He had 2 children and was going through a divorce at the time of his disappearance and he never bothered to enforce the joint custody that he was granted and only paid child support when it was garnished.

He moved to Northern California and became a bartender in Danville. He had two more children with his live-in girlfriend. In November, 2007 he had a heart attack at age 39. He sustained severe brain damage from the heart attack and is permanently disabled. He now lives in a facility and spends most of his days in a wheelchair [unable to do anything]. Some people have nothing but bad luck. His face was not blurred in the original episode. Perhaps it was done after the fact as a gesture of respect.

On a side note... he was "missing" for so long because no one cared enough report him as being a missing person. Everyone assumed that he was trying to dodge arrest and did not want to be found.

Paul was kind of bitter about how he was portrayed on the show and the only people that believed the amnesia story were his mother, step-father and two sisters. He became a sort of joke and did not like it one bit. Whether or not he ever did have amnesia remains in question.

There was a newspaper article about his heart attack and recovery. The full article (with picture) can be found here.

I wonder if the vascular/cardiac issues that led to his heart attack could have been a contributing factor to a case of amnesia.

[justins5256]

Wow, that was a sobering read. Thanks so much for posting that.

[Fletch]

Was he the one who knew about plane maintenance and knew how to fly planes as well?

[UMfan77]

Oh my goodness! It's sad to hear what that poor guy went through and that he's now confined to a wheelchair. I've always realized that these are REAL PEOPLE being portrayed in UM. I've never took it as "entertainment".

[crystaldawn]

Very sad. I hope he can make a full recovery. Thanks for posting TM!

Todd did the person who knew Tyler mention anything about his memory? When and if it came back?

[Todd Mueller]

Originally Posted by UMfan77

I've always realized that these are REAL PEOPLE being portrayed in UM. I've never took it as "entertainment".

Hey, UMfan -

I wasn't trying to sound like I was ripping on anyone. In fact, I was only cutting down myself. I know they are real people, but what I was trying to say was that I forget sometimes there is a lot more going on than what we see in the show. Many times we get a limited or slanted view of the facts and then sometimes I (or perhaps, "we") draw conclusions based on that.

I just wanted to say that I feel bad in this case that my wanting to know the outcome seemed to overshadow the person in the story who was actually suffering quite a bit. That's all.

TM

[Todd Mueller]

Originally Posted by crystaldawn

Todd did the person who knew Tyler mention anything about his memory? When and if it came back?

Didn't say other than most people seemed to think the whole amnesia episode wasn't real. I think after that APB didn't want to discuss it much with anyone. I did find it interesting that he kept the name "Tyler." Almost gives credence to his believing the amnesia was real, otherwise he could have picked a totally new identity that had nothing to do with his original self or the amnesia self.

I will say, when they show him getting the call from his mom on UM during the update, I thought either the amnesia is real or he was a hell of an actor.

But then again, I've been wrong before. . .

[UMfan77]

Originally Posted by Todd Mueller

Hey, UMfan -

I wasn't trying to sound like I was ripping on anyone. In fact, I was only cutting down myself. I know they are real people, but what I was trying to say was that I forget sometimes there is a lot more going on than what we see in the show. Many times we get a limited or slanted view of the facts and then sometimes I (or perhaps, "we") draw conclusions based on that.

I just wanted to say that I feel bad in this case that my wanting to know the outcome seemed to overshadow the person in the story who was actually suffering quite a bit. That's all.

TM

Oh, I knew what you meant, we all understand each other here. Sorry if my comment sounded snarky. Didn't mean it to sound like that.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Dang, dude. That sucks. Poor Tyler. Thanks for posting the update!

[crystaldawn]

Bumping this up to see if anyone knows any update on how Tyler is doing? The article about his medical problems was from 9 years ago so just curious if he was able to make a full recovery.

[TheCars1986]

I got this PM 6 years ago from someone claiming to be Tyler's ex-wife.

Hello,

I am Steph and the ex wife to Mr. Amnesia aka Arthur Paul Beal. There is a very good chance that he faked his amnesia because he made numerous mistakes after he was "found" but just like how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop... the world will never know and I am amazed that anyone even cares. As side note I saw The Cars in concert in the early 80's. The opening act was The Motels.

I figured I'd share it because it really doesn't contain much other than they never really knew with 100% certainty if he was faking it or not.

[crystaldawn]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I got this PM 6 years ago from someone claiming to be Tyler's ex-wife.



I figured I'd share it because it really doesn't contain much other than they never really knew with 100% certainty if he was faking it or not.

Thanks for sharing. She seems a bit bitter and quite impressed with your screen name.

[juststeph]

Why does everyone think that I sound bitter? I had the misfortune of marrying a con man then I tried to keep the children from realizing that their father was a fraud. I now know that the kids always knew the truth about their father and they assumed that I believed his stupid stories. He faked amnesia.

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.

[asmitty]

Originally Posted by juststeph

Why does everyone think that I sound bitter? I had the misfortune of marrying a con man then I tried to keep the children from realizing that their father was a fraud. I now know that the kids always knew the truth about their father and they assumed that I believed his stupid stories. He faked amnesia.

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.

Honestly, I didn't think it sounded bitter. I just think it sounded like someone who didn't particularly believe his story.