Craig Williamson
Real Name: Craig Williamson
Nicknames: No Known Nicknames
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Date: August 30, 1993
Bio
Occupation: Fisherman, Farmer
Date of Birth: 1944
Height: 5'10
Weight: 190 pounds
Marital Status: Married
Characteristics: Caucasian male. Gray hair, blue eyes.
Case
Details: Craig Williamson was forty-six when he married forty-one-year-old Christine Reinhard at Lake Tahoe on October 7, 1990. The two had known each other for only a month, but they knew from the start that they loved each other. The two hoped to get into the lucrative business of fish-farming. They bought a farm in Christine's home state of Wisconsin. They soon began raising tilapia, planning to sell it across the country. On August 28, 1993, he went out on a trip to Colorado Springs to sell fish. Christine was worried about him driving because he had suffered a concussion a few weeks earlier. After arriving there, he rented a car for business appointments. At 9 pm on August 30, he spoke to his wife on the phone while at a hotel; this was the last time he heard from him.
He was supposed to return home the next day, but he never arrived. That day, his credit cards were discovered at a marked in El Paso, Texas, 675 miles south of Colorado Springs. Two weeks later and just across the border in Juarez, Mexico, his rental car was found abandoned. There were no signs of foul play. Detective Robert Johnson headed the Colorado investigation.
Christine began her own investigation into his disappearance. On September 14, she arrived in Colorado Springs and visited the hotel that Craig stayed in. She learned that he had left his baggage and possessions behind. There was no evidence of a struggle. She believed that he may have been attacked the day he vanished. She believes that, due to his injuries, he wandered off to an unknown location.
Television stations in Colorado and Wisconsin reported about Craig's disappearance and Christine's search. Within days, a retired nurse from Montana, Judy Inman, came forward. Two weeks after Craig vanished, Judy was traveling from Montana to Washington on a train when she saw a disheveled-looking man on-board. She believed the man was Craig and remembered that he was talking about fish tanks. He also said that the fish was from outside of the United States. Being a nurse, she was certain that he had a head injury.
Christine believes that the man was Craig, especially because of his ramblings about fish from out of state. She also believes he was headed to Washington because they had initially met there. She traveled to Washington and continued her search there. For six weeks, she went to various locations along the train route that Judy and the man were on.
On December 26, 1993, she met with Judy and showed her photographs of each of the train stations along the route. Judy believed that the man resembling Craig had gotten off at Wishram, Washington, near the Oregon border. Christine believes that Craig might have mistaken "Wishram" from "Washougal" a town that he had lived in during the 1980s. Craig's son went to Wishram and placed missing persons posters there. However, no trace of him was found.
She believes that he is still alive, and that he will one day be found.
Suspects: Christine believes that Craig was attacked by unknown assailant(s) who stole his car and credit cards. Investigators believe that he was murdered and his killer(s) abandoned his cards and car. They also suspect that he may have staged his disappearance, based on how his credit cards were left in plain sight. They also noted that his rental car had his beard clippings in it, suggesting that he was changing his appearance.
Craig and Christine after their reunion
Extra Notes: This case originally ran on the May 25, 1994 episode.
Results: Solved. Craig had seen a re-airing of the broadcast and recognized himself. He was living in Key West, Florida in July 1995. He claimed that he was mugged in Colorado Springs and developed amnesia, which was worsened due to the concussion that he suffered the month before he disappeared. Craig could not remember much else from the attack, claiming that he woke up in a hospital with the name "Ron". He also claimed that he wandered aimelessly throughout the United States before arriving in Key West, where he found a job as a diver.
He soon contacted Christine, along with his ex-wife. Unfortunately, he did not remember Christine or his family. Nevertheless, Christine and Craig were reunited a few days later. The two later traveled to Colorado Springs, hoping that something would jog his memory. However, the trip was unsuccessful. Craig and Christine decided to divorce, but remain friends. Craig moved to California to stay with friends, while Christine moved to Wyoming to start life anew.
Despite his claims, investigators are still suspicious of Craig's amnesia and believe that he staged his disappearance.
Links:
- Wife Logs Miles, Months In Search For Lost Love
- Man missing for two years says he got amnesia after beating
- Missing man found with lost memory
- Man Missing 2 Years Turns Up in Florida, Claiming Amnesia