Body of missing Amtrak passenger found in Nevada

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Three years after he went missing.

Hat tip, Trainorders: Body of missing Amtrak passenger found in Nevada

Body of missing Colorado man found near Wells

August 30, 2015 4:00 am • FALLON GODWIN-BUTLER
[e-mail]

ELKO – Local authorities found the body of a missing Colorado man three years after his disappearance from a Chicago-bound train. ... Undersheriff Clair Morris said deputies found the body of Robin Putnam, who was 25 years old when he disappeared, Tuesday.

After a railroad worker doing maintenance reported seeing a skull, Putnam’s body was discovered next to the railroad tracks by Tobar south of Wells. ... Before the body was identified, Morris said Putnam’s debit card was found nearby. Local authorities were able to send out his DNA and dental records for a positive identification.

Putnam got on a train in Oakland, California, in July 2012 and never made it to his Colorado destination. It was believed he got off the train at Salt Lake City.

Previous reports stated the artist was suffering from mental issues, according to his family, who had been looking relentlessly for him. Their search included hiring private investigators and creating a Facebook group called “Robert Putnam, find Home.”

[left-of-center2012]

2. Wow

Joking over a post about dead guy?

[jberryhill]

4. I don't think it should be possible for a passenger to do that

Why a passenger should be able to open a door of a moving train and leave, is something of an odd one to me.

First, you don't know that this passenger was not the victim of a crime.

Secondly, ALL people - even perfectly mentally healthy people - are subject to lapses in thought or psychological disturbances which cause them to do unusual things.

Systems which are designed for use by the general public need to take into account that relying on human behavior as a primary safety mechanism is a deeply flawed approach.

But since you know all of the relevant circumstances, would you care to detail precisely how this passenger happened to "fall" off of the train, and did not meet with an ill-intended person who caused it to happen?

[Sheldon Cooper]

6. Well, if it was previously just jim dandy to make fun of the tragic death of a mentally ill person,

then count me as one person who is happy to see things have changed.

[jberryhill]

8. I didn't have a problem with the Silver Streak reference

I just don't see why it should be possible for a passenger to open a door on an Amtrak train in motion. I would expect there to be an interlock of some kind. People can get confused in all sorts of circumstances, and to be able to push a button and walk out of the train is kind of surprising. I could easily see a sleeping parent traveling with a curious child who wanders off to the restroom and then decides to have a look at the buttons in the vestibule between the cars.

The fact that this happened at all is surprising to me.

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. The last time I was on an Amtrak train was in 2000....(Edited)

and it was the Acela, which is a very different trainset than the cross country units.

But it seems to me that once the loading steps are folded up and the doors closed, it takes a key or wrench, if you will, to open them back up and those are carried by the conductors.

So, given my limited knowledge in this area, I would agree with you that it should be very difficult for a passenger to open a door and get out while the train is under way.

If the man was mentally ill, he may have been determined to exit for whatever reason, perhaps suicide or claustrophobia or whatever.

But a determined individual would not have too much trouble getting out, in my opinion. They don't lock those doors with a padlock, as far as I know.

BTW, and FWIW, there was an incident in Australia a few years back where a passenger held on to the outside of the train for quite a distance. (Edit here to add link to the story) The train had stopped at a station and he got off but was late getting back. The train started to pull away and he somehow grabbed on and rode on the outside for some distance - like 100 miles or more - clinging to metal hand holds and access ladders before they finally stopped the train and got him back inside. It was the famous "Ghan" train that runs from Adelaide to Alice Springs and up to Darwin. It travels though the outback, about as remote a place as it gets and not dissimilar to some sections of Nevada.

[left-of-center2012]

14. I was on Amtrak in May, overnight Albuquerque to L.A.

Windows can be opened for emergency exit by pulling a lever and stripping away a rubber gasket.
I don't know how this man exited the train, but I'm guessing where there's a will there's a way.

[LanternWaste]

10. I imagine many people pretend a personal litmus test

"It happened 3 bleedin' years ago..."

I imagine many people pretend a personal litmus test on when their character is no longer illustrative of who they really are.

No doubt, their frustration at being called on their particular lack of character, while not receiving the guffaws they'd hoped for, may often compel them to question the message board itself rather than their own behavior.

[DavidDvorkin]

12. It's an old and disgusting DU tradition.

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. OK...fine.

I'll remove it.

[Eleanors38]

15. This sounds right out of a Tony Hillerman novel. At least he found home.

[Omaha Steve]

16. We had one of these in Nebraska 2 years ago

Elderly man was found deceased a couple days later.

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. did he fall from the train?

[Omaha Steve]

18. They were never sure if he fell or stepped off in confusion

He had dementia. I don't remember why he was traveling alone.

[HeiressofBickworth]

19. I'll be on Amtrak (Seattle to Sacramento) on Thursday

I'll remember to take a look at the doors and see what the security is like.