Finding Filippidis - The Search For The Missing Skier (2021) A Toronto firefighter enjoying the last day of his ski trip on a mountain in New York mysteriously disappears without a trace. 6 days later he is found, 4,500km away in California, still in his ski clothes and with no memory. [00:22:19]

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To me it seems like he faked his disappearance to be with a mistress that more than likely was the one that picked him up. They drove away as far as they could to minimize him getting recognized as well as cutting his hair to help with it and changed his clothes.

The stress of it all put a stick in the wheel on the relationship. So he put on his old ski clothes that was still in the car with them, got dropped off somewhere people didn't see. Called his wife and acted confused (oldest trick in the book).

Basically the smug look on his face at the end of this documentary in the interview says it all.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/nittywitty450 Oct 16 '21

Exactly my thought

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u/mysunsnameisalsobort Oct 16 '21

"Fugue state"

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u/ballrus_walsack Oct 17 '21

Forgot to get naked

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u/Snote85 Oct 16 '21

The answer is in the evidence. He only had a credit card, that no one knew he had, that didn't ping as his. I can understand keeping a few dollars and a credit card on you when you're going skiing. Makes sense. A card his wife didn't know he had? Hmmm... Yet, when I see a bank statement from that particular credit card for that particular time, then I'll believe him.

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u/AbsoluteYes Oct 16 '21

Much more plausible then getting teleported. But still, who the fuck travels 4500km do be with his mistress...

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u/EntirelyNotKen Oct 16 '21 edited Oct 16 '21

who the fuck travels 4500km do be with his mistress...

Mark Sanford, former governor of South Carolina, for one.

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u/BoxingHare Oct 16 '21

And he traveled the 8000km from Columbia, SC to Buenos Aires, Argentina, while he was governor.

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u/asianlikerice Oct 16 '21

Mark Sanford

They re-elected his ass to congress too. South Carolinians I swear.

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u/EntirelyNotKen Oct 16 '21

Not only did they re-elect him, they did so after (as a member of Congress) he voted to impeach Clinton.

It's bad enough that all those "good Christians" voted for a guy who cheated on his wife, they voted for a guy who is a flat-out hypocrite about cheating on your wife.

But why wouldn't they do that? They backed Trump by an overwhelming margin in the 2016 primary, choosing him ahead of people who (a) actually knew something about government, and (b) weren't widely-known as cheating on their wives.

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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '21

A) is subjective, because for them this yellow bastard knew what is up. B) is irrelevant.

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u/EntirelyNotKen Oct 17 '21

a) Yeah, the number of people who are convinced that Trump is a vigorous strong man playing 5-dimensional chess bewilders me. He couldn't play regular chess any more than he could do one pull-up.

b) Shows just how bad the hypocrisy is: before the Iowa Caucuses in 2016, Trump talked about overturning the gay marriage ruling by appointing people to the Supreme Court, and defending the sanctity of marriage, and people who supposedly believe in the sanctity of marriage lined up to vote for a guy who cheated on all three of his wives. I guess they figure Biblical marriage is between one man, three women, and assorted porn stars and prostitutes. (Odd they never talked about that before.)

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u/remradroentgen Oct 16 '21

I mean... my dad left his home country, wife of 14 years, and girlfriend for 3 years, came to America (8k miles away, to financially support his wife and children) and met my mom, and then I was born three years after that.

After my dad passed away, my mom gave me this bag of letters and very non-chalantly said, "Here, these were from his girlfriend." I had no idea my mom was the, um, third woman in my dad's life. Still trying to figure out if I should keep the letters or burn them.

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u/RolandSnowdust Oct 16 '21

Keep them. If you get rid of them now and then down the road in 25 years are curious it will all be lost.

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u/hoilst Oct 16 '21

Jesus Christ, are you Ruth Wilson?!

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u/lamp447 Oct 16 '21

"Honey, I'm going to get you in a better financial state, by leaving you and make you marry a richer man."

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u/remradroentgen Oct 17 '21

Funnily enough, they were technically married until the day he died. It actually caused some problems with the funeral home and his eldest child in his home country having disposition to his remains even though he lived here and didn't talk to his wife or children in his home country for decades.

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u/Shadowbannersarelame Oct 16 '21

There are quite a lot of sayings about "love" and it's power.

And then reality hits and it can quickly turn sour.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

No more rhyming, I mean it!

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u/coaxial-flutter Oct 16 '21

Anybody want a peanut?

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

Gaaaah!

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u/IKnowWhoYouAreGuy Oct 16 '21

Laaaaaaa 🎶

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u/muskratboy Oct 16 '21

As that one guy I used to work with says, pussy miles are shorter.

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u/axleflunk Oct 16 '21

People do crazy shit to fuck.

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u/Earthemile Oct 16 '21

Done that

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u/AFewStupidQuestions Oct 16 '21 edited Oct 16 '21

It's plausible, but some of your points were addressed in the video.

The hair cut was more of a trim and wouldn't conceal his identity. Police said his clothing was dirty enough to appear as if he had been wearing it the whole time.

I agree though. If it is true that no credit card purchases or withdrawals were made, that means he had $2000 in cash and a credit card on him when he disappeared. I can't think of any reason to carry that much cash on a skihill.

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u/chevymonza Oct 16 '21

$2k would get you some soup at the cafeteria on top of the mountain.

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u/Mamapalooza Oct 16 '21

The smug look is very similar to "duper's delight."

https://psychopathsinlife.com/psychopaths-and-duping-delight/

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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '21

TIL…thanks for the link. Very interesting

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u/BanyanBors Oct 16 '21

Yep, there are couple micro expressions I saw (granted, I'm no expert). He crossed his arms in front of him - defensive. Also, I'm not 100% on this, but the looking up and to the left I think suggests lying in a right-handed person.

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u/my-other-throwaway90 Oct 16 '21

A lot of those "body language" cues are misunderstood or unreliable. Experts today look for "clusters" of body language, but even that is not foolproof. An introverted person can seem deceptive because they are uncomfortable discussing a subject, for example.

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u/charm-type Oct 16 '21

Yeah, I have ADHD and can’t look people in the eye when I’m talking or I’ll lose my train of thought.

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u/Mamapalooza Oct 16 '21

I think the directional looking has been debunked, but I am ALSO no expert.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21 edited Aug 08 '24

[deleted]

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u/Gusti25 Oct 16 '21

Unless drugs. Benzos could make you do something like this.

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u/dub-fresh Oct 16 '21

not for 6 days straight though. If you were somehow rigged to an IV of benzos, yeah.

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u/imperfectkarma Oct 16 '21

It is quite easy, and not even uncommon, for people to lose a lot more than 6 days of memory due to abusing benzos. That said, people don't magically wake up on the other side of the country due to abusing benzos.

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u/apginge Oct 16 '21

I don’t at all believe that’s what happened here with this guy, however, it is possible. In college I knew a guy who was in the zero-memory but still functional benzo stage for 5 days because he had bought a a bunch of the extended-release aprazolam and just keep eating more of them while he was in this state throughout the five-day period. I always think about how scary that is; when you’re in that bezo state but you’re functional enough to keep taking more because you’re not unconscious.

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u/Gusti25 Oct 17 '21

This same exact thing happened to me but for 4 days. That's how I overdosed. It was my second week taking and started eating them like candy and when the benzos were over I started eating other drugs I had in my place, including benadryl. I was very sick after that and sweating/tasting/smelling chemicals for a week. Couldn't hold anything in my stomach and barely get out of bed and when I got any sleep I had the worst nightmares ever.

I would never had done something this stupid, but that shit just literally takes over. It wasn't fun at all. Not during and specially not after.

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u/apginge Oct 17 '21

My god i’m glad you’re ok. Yeah those things are plain evil

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u/chabotlabs Oct 17 '21

My last head injury was from being rear-ended at high speed. I had memory issues for about 18 months. I would go to class, take pages of notes, get home and not remember a single thing from that day.

Months of random headaches.

Never forgot who I was, but I often forgot my passwords and pin codes. Phone numbers...no chance. Basic math was a problem for a long time. (was studying engineering at the time, but most stuff was programming).

That was my third or forth major head injury. I also was examined. Basically...they really have no idea how bad a head injury is. There is currently no accurate way to measure it, besides measuring the symptoms.

So, imho, totally possible.

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u/Konseq Oct 16 '21

With head injuries it does happen quite often. Also having a sever headache is a sign for head injuries. Many people can't remember the last few minutes before a car accident.

Micheal Schumacher is a good example for head injuries as well. Since he had a ski accident, he can't talk or communicate with anyone. That's a more sever case of cause, but it shows, that head injuries do happen when skiing.

It might be often misrepresented in movies, but it is still exists in real life.

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u/werepat Oct 16 '21

A medical examination he underwent after the police got to him in Sacramento found no evidence of a head injury. It's in the video.

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u/tucker- Oct 16 '21 edited Oct 16 '21

He was examined a week after potential head injury at/around ski hill. Was wearing a helmet too.

Examined how? MRI? CT? Or just doctor going through memory test?

Tell us, Doc, what physical evidence of , say a concussion, would there be left to find? Hard mode: you can't cut into his brain tissue to examine.

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u/DruncanIdaho Oct 16 '21

A head injury severe enough to lead to that kind of memory loss would absolutely result in enough soft tissue trauma to still be visible a week later.

/also not a doc, just a lowly paramedic

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u/tucker- Oct 16 '21 edited Oct 16 '21

The guy was wearing a helmet.

You're assuming every severe injury is visible. Or that every severe brain injury results in massive soft tissue damage.

Mild injury one could have caused this too, a whiplash would leave no evidence, or sudden head deceleration onto a somewhat packed snow could cause a massive concussion with little to no soft-tissue damage. The guy was wearing a helmet too. Look at football players getting knocked out, no soft tissue damage but some never play again.

The poster I replied to thinks that brain injuries are so easy to detect a week later. Not without cutting into the brain tissue.

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u/DudebuD16 Oct 16 '21

Michael Schumacher was wearing a helmet and he's a vegetable now.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21 edited Oct 16 '21

Look in to fNCI, Functional Neurocognitive Imaging. It is quite possible to detect post concussion syndrome without cutting in to brain tissue.

Not a doc either, just another lowly paramedic.

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u/tucker- Oct 16 '21

And was fNCI used in this case? No? So we dont really know if there was brain injury involved or not.

But hey this is reddit mob. And it already jumped to conclusions.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21 edited Oct 16 '21

Huh, that's a weird response to saying that something can be done without surgery.

It sounds like you jumped to a conclusion and are struggling to accept that you did what you're saying others did.

Edit: can't to can

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u/shadamedafas Oct 16 '21

I think you're missing the point here. What's the most likely explanation.

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u/tucker- Oct 16 '21

No idea. Wasn't there. Know nothing about him. Not jumping to conclusions.

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u/shadamedafas Oct 16 '21

We use probability to interpret the world around us fairly successfully literally constantly.

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u/werepat Oct 16 '21

MRIs can reveal evidence of concussions from years ago. And a head injury severe enough to result in a week of memory loss would leave ample evidence, even a week later.

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u/tucker- Oct 17 '21 edited Oct 17 '21

MRIs

Cool.

Was MRI conducted in this case?

Bonus info: MRI and other imaging techniques work best if there is a baseline available (as in pre-concussion image) to compare to.

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u/werepat Oct 17 '21

I'm comfortable assuming that any competent medical professional in the Sacramento area, three years ago, when tasked with running a series of tests to determine if a patient suffered a head injury, would have ordered an MRI and/or a CT scan.

Why does a common and routine test given to people suspected of head injuries seem outside the realm of possibility for you?

If you're going to ask me again for proof of this dude's medical history, then please don't and please don't respond at all.

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u/tucker- Oct 17 '21

I'm comfortable assuming

Ok got it. Guessing. Your source is your arsehole.

please don't respond at all.

Take your own advice

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u/werepat Oct 17 '21

Perfectly reasonable assumptions are fine. You, however, are also assuming that without definitive proof, something can not be.

Since you don't seem to be able to respect others wishes, and you continue to fight over this, I'm going to assume you're a narcissistic dick.

And you know what? I'm right.

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u/FiascoFinn Oct 16 '21

I haven’t watched, but from the title alone this is what I envision when I hear stories of people who disappear and show up with memory loss. It’s often too much of a convenience for them.

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u/SnooRobots5509 Oct 16 '21

The thing is, people trying to pull off things like that are not exactly the smartest bunch, and I really mean it. They're always super-sloppy and investigators have no problem at all cracking them open.

This didn't happen here, which is a solid argument in his favor.

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u/Reitsariesforevaries Oct 17 '21

Right in the beginning of his interview... when he was talking I kept hearing the phrase "dupers delight" in looking at his expression.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

Found the Brit

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/pielad Oct 16 '21

I thought they meant more your language - blag - than a comment on travel distances! (Might be wrong though.)

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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '21

Yes this is what I meant. Just taking the piss a bit as my brit friend would say.

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u/Astrospud3 Oct 16 '21

Why is no one pointing out that making a documentary takes time and involves rewatching and reediting many parts repeatedly.

... But somehow he spells 'amnesia' as 'amensia'. It sits on the screen for so long. I'm sorry, I just couldn't get past it.

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u/BenQuixote Oct 16 '21

He also said the dude was traveled east to California

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u/DurdyGurdy Oct 16 '21

Twice.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

You know, the long way around!

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u/Gulanga Oct 16 '21

Speaking from experience, you get blind to stuff like that.

You as the editor know what it is supposed to say so you don't actually look at the letters, you look at the font, the colour, effects. This is why it is a good practice to have someone else watch it and give feedback. It's the same reason writers have people read their work and give feedback, before finalizing. You become blind to your own work.

Not that this excuses it of course.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

This is exactly why copy of any kind should ideally be edited by three people. Shocking how much a third pass finds that is super obvious.

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u/OGPunkr Oct 16 '21

I didn't even make it 2 min in. I really don't like when a 3 min story turns into 20 min of filler with the same few pictures shown over and over. Found several news articles about it.

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u/flanneIover Oct 16 '21

AND that red line map graphic completely circumvents Utah right as the narrator says that his only memory is being in Utah.

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u/apginge Oct 16 '21

Eh, it’s really all the same in the middle US there.

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u/Reitsariesforevaries Oct 17 '21

This feels like an amateur 'true crime' youtube video to me, rather than a documentary.

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u/DruncanIdaho Oct 16 '21

The only plausible idea I can think of other than "he's lying," is that he had some sort of mental break that he either cannot access, or is too embarrassed to talk about. This is something a schizophrenic or bipolar person might do... but my money is still on "he tried to run away from his life, but failed miserably at doing so and came up with a dumbass story to try to cover his dumbassery."

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/DruncanIdaho Oct 16 '21

Yeah, again, concussions just don't work like they do in the movies. I have seen a LOT of people with concussions, and if they're bad off enough to lose memory, then they're bad off enough to not end up in California after a multi day road trip.

This is possibly mental illness, but much more likely a douche trying to lie his way out of some BS he tried to pull.

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u/HtownTexans Oct 16 '21

I saw footage of a dude who had been shot through the fucking eye. Lived for 2 days without any medical intervention. Cops show up because his gf is missing and she is dead on the couch. They bring him in and interrogate him for 6 hours and even this motherfucker remembered some details. He kept saying he was shot in the eye and the cop was like "ok buddy" then finally is like let me look at that eye. Instant he got a close look he was like "uhh let me go get someone". A concussion definitely isn't erasing your memory for a week.

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u/DruncanIdaho Oct 16 '21

It honestly could, but if it did that kind of damage, that person isn't gonna navigate himself across the country immediately after the injury.

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u/HtownTexans Oct 16 '21

I agree with this. I shouldn't have been so definitive. A concussion that bad and you aren't going to just suddenly "wake up from it" and be a-ok like this dude seems to have.

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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '21

Do you have a link? Im fascinated and want to know what happened after that

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u/HtownTexans Oct 17 '21

Such a good watch and I'm sad because how it's portrayed I spoiled it for you.

Sorry you are about to get addicted to this YouTube channel

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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '21

Thank you!!

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u/zen_nudist Oct 17 '21

Skyler, I was in a fugue state.

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u/cking777 Oct 16 '21

Looking at a map, I can't see how any commercial truck would be passing through Wilmington, NY on the way to California from anywhere. And if it originated in Wilmington, somebody must know who the truck driver was and isn't talking. Cool documentary.

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u/SignalCore Oct 16 '21 edited Oct 16 '21

It wouldn't be unusual to see 18 Wheelers using Routes 9N, 86 (which Whiteface ski resort is right on) or Route 3, anywhere between I87 and I81. But this whole story just stinks.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/fdsftw Oct 16 '21 edited Oct 18 '21

you think a trucker who picked him up 60 miles from the canadian border heard ontario and thought “oh he must mean the ontario that’s 2800 miles away in california obvi”?

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u/ZeePirate Oct 16 '21

The other option is a trucker drugged him for those days while transporting him across country

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

Honestly, this is the only situation that I’ll believe if he isn’t just straight up lying.

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u/niknik888 Oct 16 '21

He’ll be gone again soon….

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u/-re-da-ct-ed- Oct 16 '21

How is nobody speculating a manic episode? Sounds far more plausible than anything the video or comments are suggesting. The most upvoted comment is suggesting an affair? Really? Who would go through all the effort of heading to an annual trip and in the final hour pull some sort of Houdini to spark a manhunt for a missing person's? Forget all ID and other belongings most people wouldn't dare leave behind in another country. Totally ridiculous.

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u/DruncanIdaho Oct 16 '21

I suggested it.... :D

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u/RicksterA2 Oct 16 '21

The picture is NOT from 'a mountain in New York'. I know the Adirondacks and that ain't them OR anwhere in NYS.

BS alert.

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u/Createdtopostthisnow Oct 16 '21

He concussed himself more than likely, really easy to do skiing. I have seen some just horrifying accidents, one where a girl somersaulted hand over feet down the side of a mountain, and passed us sitting smoke a joint along the way. We were like dude what the fuck. Somehow she was ok though, shook up but uninjured.

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u/DruncanIdaho Oct 16 '21

Concussion can result in memory loss, but not trekking across the country in an intelligent-enough fashion as to not get noticed by other people with no memory of doing so. That is a cartoon idea of a head injury, not real life.

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u/nursecarmen Oct 16 '21

Concussed is one thing, brain injury from a wipeout while skiing is another. A fugue state brought on by brain injury is entirely plausible. Even the professionals stated he was in a confused state. Fugue states and amnesia aren’t just on Gilligan’s Island, Brain injuries are very real and can present wildly different symptomologies.

Assholes are common also. The dude experienced a very real but rare event, and managed to find a long haul trucker that was an asshole.

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u/DruncanIdaho Oct 16 '21

Yeah, mental illness is totally possible--fugue state brought on by bipolar or schizophrenia could explain this.

I can see a prior tbi resulting in such an issue, but hard to believe it could be an acute effect.

And I can't imagine any way somebody sustains a head injury that severe, and makes it to Cali without getting noticed by somebody and reported to authorities. Homeless people can't even take naps on the ground without helpful citizens calling 911 to have somebody "check to make sure they're ok."

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u/Createdtopostthisnow Oct 16 '21

You are probably right, I didnt watch it, just read the title.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/Nancebythelake Oct 16 '21

If you’re in upstate NY and someone says they want to go to Ontario, wouldn’t it be pretty clear?

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u/powlow88 Oct 16 '21

Alien pussy

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u/son_e_jim Oct 16 '21

Sex and drugs and rock 'n roll.

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u/LOBSI_Pornchai Oct 16 '21

Not to be wierd, but did his butt hurt after waking up a week later?

Feels like that truck driver might have been feeling lonely and slipped something in his orange juice at the truck stop.

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u/Jindabyne1 Oct 17 '21

He probably thought the guy was a lot lizard

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u/drlongtrl Oct 16 '21

That mans name? Heisenberg!

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u/Johndoesmith67 Oct 16 '21

Aliens

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u/TheFrontCrashesFirst Oct 16 '21

Aliens, definitely.

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