Won’t need any clothes
I can't find any other information concerning what became of Matthew Wilson. But I assume he ended up at that great nudist colony in the sky.
However, a search of Alaska papers pulled up this item from earlier the same year (1952), about a Matthew Wilson also in Juneau. So I assume it must be the same guy. Sounds like his circumstances had been difficult before he disappeared naked.
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (Fairbanks, Alaska) - Dec 19, 1952
However, a search of Alaska papers pulled up this item from earlier the same year (1952), about a Matthew Wilson also in Juneau. So I assume it must be the same guy. Sounds like his circumstances had been difficult before he disappeared naked.
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Feb 18, 1952
Comments
Maybe one of Starbucks throat-cut polar bears ate him.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 12/15/15 at 10:38 AM
I can't guarantee the accuracy of this -- it's just something I read ages ago: Seattle, Washington was considered a cushy assignment for US Army recruiters in the 1950s because there was a steady influx of men from Alaska who just couldn't take it anymore and wanted to leave everything behind. If they signed up in Alaska, it'd be on public record, and law enforcement/the courts could trace them easily. Jump on the boat to Seattle, live in a flop house for three days to establish residency, and you could join the Army as a new man.
If this guy married when he was 16 (common for the era up there), he'd still meet the under-30-years-of-age limit for signing up. If his plan was to join the Army, he wouldn't need civilian clothes for four years.
This (supposedly) came to an end in the late 1950s as Social Security numbers came into the fore as a method of identification. Previously, name and hometown were the main method of keeping track of people, but computers being introduced preferred sorting by fields of fixed length (3 digits, 2 digits, 4 digits).
If this guy married when he was 16 (common for the era up there), he'd still meet the under-30-years-of-age limit for signing up. If his plan was to join the Army, he wouldn't need civilian clothes for four years.
This (supposedly) came to an end in the late 1950s as Social Security numbers came into the fore as a method of identification. Previously, name and hometown were the main method of keeping track of people, but computers being introduced preferred sorting by fields of fixed length (3 digits, 2 digits, 4 digits).
Posted by Phideaux on 12/15/15 at 11:27 AM
Interesting theory, Phideaux. That would explain why there's no report (that I can find) of his body being found. Though I still wonder how long he could have survived after walking outside naked in the middle of an Alaska winter.
Posted by Alex on 12/15/15 at 03:35 PM
@Alex -- If he planned the whole thing: He might have wanted one last confrontation to see if his wife would come around to his way of thinking. If she didn't . . .
The crucial bit is he can't control if she calls the police. If he left fully clothed, the police would instantly alert the bus and ship terminals to watch for him. By leaving naked, the police probably wouldn't bother with that, thinking that if a naked man shows up in a public place, he'd be arrested no matter who he is. They'd concentrate their search around bridges, cliffs, and anywhere else people commonly committed suicide.
If he'd bought some clothes and stashed them near his home, he could go there, get dressed, and walk to a ship terminal. There are December days in Juneau when it's in the 40s, so it might not have been unbearably cold.
Consider also what the police use/give out for descriptions: name, height, weight, hair and eye color, and what they were last seen wearing. A good hat, cowboy boots, reading glasses, and a high-quality overcoat stuffed with some extra clothes (to make him look heftier than he is) is enough to make most police not give him a second look.
The crucial bit is he can't control if she calls the police. If he left fully clothed, the police would instantly alert the bus and ship terminals to watch for him. By leaving naked, the police probably wouldn't bother with that, thinking that if a naked man shows up in a public place, he'd be arrested no matter who he is. They'd concentrate their search around bridges, cliffs, and anywhere else people commonly committed suicide.
If he'd bought some clothes and stashed them near his home, he could go there, get dressed, and walk to a ship terminal. There are December days in Juneau when it's in the 40s, so it might not have been unbearably cold.
Consider also what the police use/give out for descriptions: name, height, weight, hair and eye color, and what they were last seen wearing. A good hat, cowboy boots, reading glasses, and a high-quality overcoat stuffed with some extra clothes (to make him look heftier than he is) is enough to make most police not give him a second look.
Posted by Phideaux on 12/15/15 at 04:12 PM
Sounds like a legend in the making.
Posted by KDP on 12/15/15 at 05:43 PM
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Category: 1950s