PaulaJedi Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 In 1950, in none other than New York City, a man named Rudolph Fentz mysteriously appears on the street resembling a man that disappeared in 1876 and is then hit by a car and killed. According to the legend, items were found on the body including $70 worth of old money, business cards telling his name and address, a token for a beer worth 5 cents, a bill for the care of a horse and carriage, and a letter sent to him dated 1876. Rather than summarize, I'll post the investigation results here: "Captain Hubert V. Rihm of the Missing Persons Department of NYPD tried using this information to identify the man. He found that the address on Fifth Avenue was part of a business; its current owner did not know Rudolph Fentz. Fentz's name was not listed in the address book, his fingerprints were not recorded anywhere, and no one had reported him missing. Rihm continued the investigation and finally found a Rudolph Fentz Jr. in a telephone book from 1939. Rihm spoke to the residents of the apartment building at the listed address who remembered Fentz and described him as a man about 60 years who had worked nearby. After his retirement, he moved to an unknown location in 1940. Contacting the bank, Rihm was told that Fentz died five years before, but his widow was still alive but lived in Florida. Rihm contacted her and learned that her husband's father had disappeared in 1876, aged 29. He had left the house for an evening walk and never returned. All efforts to locate him were in vain and no trace remained. Captain Rihm checked the missing persons files on Rudolph Fentz in 1876. The description of his appearance, age, and clothing corresponded precisely to the appearance of the unidentified dead man from Times Square. The case was still marked unsolved. Fearing he would be held mentally incompetent, Rihm never noted the results of his investigation in the official files." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_Fentz This case apparently has never been solved. A year later, this story began appearing in books. It seems it inspired authors such as Jack finney. P.S. Please note: Yet another link to Florida. All the strange stuff comes from Florida. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 It's a damn shame the poor guy was hit by a car and killed. Very interesting read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaJedi Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 It's a damn shame the poor guy was hit by a car and killed. Very interesting read! I agree. I wonder, would NYPD be willing to talk about this case at all or verify that it is indeed real? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I agree. I wonder, would NYPD be willing to talk about this case at all or verify that it is indeed real? There's only one way to find out; someone would have to ask them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaJedi Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 There's only one way to find out; someone would have to ask them. I looked them up and they don't have e-mail addresses. They want someone to call. Does anyone want to call NYPD? I hate phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I looked them up and they don't have e-mail addresses. They want someone to call. Does anyone want to call NYPD? I hate phones. Haha, I don't care for talking on phones, either. But I'm curious to find out if NYPD has a record on the incident. Is Rihm available to contact, do you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaJedi Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Haha, I don't care for talking on phones, either. But I'm curious to find out if NYPD has a record on the incident. Is Rihm available to contact, do you know? Assuming Rihm was near middle age in 1950, I'm guessing he's dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Assuming Rihm was near middle age in 1950, I'm guessing he's dead. Hmm, yes, most likely. [ I've just called the main switchboard hotline that was listed on the NYPD website. My call was directed to the general inquiries department, where I left a voice message. I figured it's a long-shot, but what the hell. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaJedi Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Hmm, yes, most likely. I've just called the main switchboard hotline that was listed on the NYPD website. My call was directed to the general inquiries department, where I left a voice message. I figured it's a long-shot, but what the hell. Hey, thank you! It's all for research!!! I was too afraid I'd get woman with a deep voice telling me stearnly that they don't give out that information, causing me to blush and cower in the corner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzie Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 It may have originated in a short story (see link here) by Sci-Fi writer Jack Fenney, as also referenced in the Wikipedia article that Paula provided the link for. It seems that a lot of legends surrounding the paranormal evolve from good science fiction from ages past. I can still remember some short stories by Azimov (I think) from old Sci-Fi periodicals from the 50s and 60s that my Dad still had when I was young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaJedi Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 It may have originated in a short story (see link here) by Sci-Fi writer Jack Fenney, as also referenced in the Wikipedia article that Paula provided the link for. It seems that a lot of legends surrounding the paranormal evolve from good science fiction from ages past. I can still remember some short stories by Azimov (I think) from old Sci-Fi periodicals from the 50s and 60s that my Dad still had when I was young. I saw that, except for the incident happened in 1950 and the story came out in 1951. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Hey, thank you! It's all for research!!! I was too afraid I'd get woman with a deep voice telling me stearnly that they don't give out that information, causing me to blush and cower in the corner. Haha! No problem! Let's just hope they respond back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mylo.X. Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Here is a list of people who have mysteriously disappeared. Maybe one or two have them could have experienced a time-slip? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_disappeared_mysteriously#1800_to_1899 Just returning back to the orginal topic of Rudolph Fentz. "If" he did indeed appear out of "nowhere" and was immediately killed on the streets of Manhattan in 1950, then surely this would have been reported in one of the newspapers at the time. Surely there would have been an article or some notification of the supposed accident? I have not seen any authentic printed newspaper articles about this event. Has anybody else? There are various online sources that contain historical records of newspapers of that era (1950's) such as the Library of Congress etc. A story such as this would be easy to verify through old newspaper sources, or old hospital rccords, coroners reports, death certificates/notification of death etc. A missing persons report by a NYPD officer should not be the only source of information about this event. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaJedi Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Hey Wicked, has the NYPD called you back? I bet they get this once in a while and ignore it. They probably think it's a joke. They may not even be aware of the case anymore, if it exists There is a huge error people on the internet are passing around about this case due to this statement: "Ralph M. Holland had either taken the story about Rudolph Fentz completely from either a 1952 Robert Heinlein science fiction anthology, entitled 'Tomorrow, The Stars' or the Collier's magazine from 15 September 1951." This makes it sound like the case was traced to that story and that it is a hoax, however, the event supposedly happened in 1950. Yes, you could conclude that it was a fictional story about a 1950 event, BUT that would be an assumption. Perhaps the story was written in response to the investigation. This is why I wish to try to find more information. If we can get some real news paper articles about this, it could prove it happened. If not, then it is just science fiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzie Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Here's a newspaper article, but written in retrospect - http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1914&dat=20020815&id=eJk0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=VWoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2729,2392169 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaJedi Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Aw man. Someone did debunk it, it seems. I wonder who the man in the photo is, then? hehehe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzie Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Jack London, maybe? (click) Looks similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Aww, too bad. I probably will never get a response then, huh? lol And I'd get so excited when a number I didn't recogize would call my phone...-sigh- 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaJedi Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Aww, too bad. I probably will never get a response then, huh? lol And I'd get so excited when a number I didn't recogize would call my phone...-sigh- There is still that minute chance that the guy was wrong! Don't give up hope!!! As for Jack London - Yeah, the same Fentz photo shows up in that search! LOL!!! Now I have to change it on my website because I look like an idiot now! LMAO Mom and Dad, I've been had! It was fun while it lasted. I have another case to post when I feel like doing it. hehe. Gotta leave some breathing room between these things, ya know? I really gotta stop putting smilies at the end of all my sentences. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 There is still that minute chance that the guy was wrong! Don't give up hope!!! As for Jack London - Yeah, the same Fentz photo shows up in that search! LOL!!! Now I have to change it on my website because I look like an idiot now! LMAO Mom and Dad, I've been had! [ATTACH=full]97[/ATTACH] Haha Somehow I can't imagine you coming off as an idiot. I won't give up hope, either. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mylo.X. Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Another case closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StargazerNation Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Long after all his living relatives had died, Rudolf Fenz returned. And he returned in the most incredible fashion possible. For Rudolf Fenz suddenly materialized on June 1950 in the middle of a busy Fifth Avenue in downtown Manhattan—74 years after vanishing without a trace. Seconds after appearing in the midst of heavy traffic he was struck down and killed by a car. Time had played a cruel trick on Fenz, it propelled him three-quarters of a century into the future only to toss him in front of a speeding automobile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OprQIKgah54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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