Have you ever been so deep in debt that you’ve wondered what on earth you could possibly do to find a resolution?
I know from personal experience that panic can easily set in, but in the end I’ve usually concluded that eventually things would hopefully sort themselves out and up until now, that seems to have proved to be the case.
But I know that some people have resorted to desperate measures to solve their situations; borrowing from loved ones, gambling, loan sharks (which can lead to further debt), or taking more drastic action.
Anyway it seems that one man, by the name of DONALD E MILLER Jnr, from Ohio who was married with daughters, had been drowning in debt back in 1986.
By 1994, his debt had gone up to $25,000 (£18,617).
Unable to see any way out of his problem, he decided to simply walk out on his family and disappear!
Eight years later and without any spousal support, his wife went to court to have her husband declared legally dead, which if successful would finally rid her of the financial burden resulting from his debts.
Her application proved successful in addition to which the court awarding her death benefits of $30,000.
But then in 2005, as if by magic, Mr Miller suddenly re-appeared when he wanted to apply for a driving licence.
As you can imagine his sudden re-appearance somewhat complicated things.
If his now ex-wife were to confirm his resurrection, she would immediately be liable to re-pay the benefits she had received – with interest, and having re-married, she would also potentially be open to a charge of bigamy.
Since once someone is declared dead, that individual has just 3 years to challenge the declaration, a timeframe that had clearly long since expired.
However our hero was still keen to get his hands on that driving licence so he petitioned the US Social Security Administration for a new National Insurance number.
Incredibly a new number was granted, only for the Administration to then pursue his ex-wife to return the death benefits that had been paid out to her.
Although mercifully that claim was eventually dropped, even though granted a new National Insurance number, Mr Miller still remains legally dead to this day!
Moving on from the man who discovered that if you’re dead, you can’t successfully apply for a driving licence, in the second hour we reported on the strange story of the “man who never was”!
Let’s start by turning the clock back to Friday 12th June 2009 when a man carrying an apparently well worn looking bag, checked into the Sligo Hotel in Ireland under the name of Peter Bergmann and providing a home address in Vienna, Austria.
The following day he purchased 8 international stamps and airmail stickers from the local post office.
Whilst staying at the hotel he was recorded on CCTV repeatedly leaving the hotel carrying a purple plastic bag, seemingly crammed full of items, but each time he returned, the bag appeared to be empty.
On Sunday 14th June he asked a taxi driver to recommend a quiet beach from which he might swim.
After confirming that the suggested beach was fine, the man used the same taxi to take him to the bus station.
Paying by cash, he checked out of the hotel at around 1pm the next day, Monday 15th June, carrying an array of luggage – a black shoulder bag, a purple plastic bag and another black bag, but mysteriously of the worn bag with which he had arrived, there was no sign.
From the hotel he walked to the bus station, stopping off on the way, at the local Shopping Centre where consuming a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and a cappuccino. Whilst eating his lunch he was spotted looking at pieces of paper he’d kept in his pocket, before tearing them up and throwing them in a rubbish bin.
He then took a bus to the beach to which he had been taken by the taxi on the previous day, and cheerfully greeted the various passers by as he walked on the beach.
Early the following morning his body was found on the beach.
The official cause of death was said to be acute cardiac arrest, but there was no sign of foul play although the post mortem revealed that he was in such poor health that he would have been insignificant pain without prescriptive medicines, of which there were no trace in his system.
The address in Vienna provided to the hotel did not exist, no matches were ever found in databases for photographic, fingerprint and DNA samples, and it was concluded that his movements around the town indicated that he had purposely disposed of items in areas, he knew to be blind spots.
The labels of every item clothing found had been removed.
As of today in spite of public appeals in Austrian and German newspapers, no relatives, friends or witness have come forward and the man is still unidentified.
Ooer!
Well all being well I very much hope to return tomorrow and look forward to the pleasure of your company once again,
Scott
