Note to Warren Leno

On your travels, watch out for the chance meetings - they will come to you... You've just got to recognise them when they approach you. I have myself just been approached by an archaeologist researching an ancient site in the lowlands, keen to acquire antler, for comparisons with ancient samples found on the dig. This was while I was investigating thermafleece wool-based building products online (for my own non-case use - building things out of wool...). The archaeologist did not give me anything obvious towards the case, except for some kind of primitive spiritual non-verbal encouragement. But she was a soft sweet thing. Her name was unusual... began in a V, as pronounced, but spelt with a gaelic Mh. Vandeloo... Vermott.. You could very well be digging in the right place. Watch out for 'M's desguised as 'V's and vice versa. I feel it could be a lead.

Further thoughts on the case so far

Many of the links between Searly and the Michigan group seems to involve de Leon, Vandeloo, Vermott and James/Robert Long.

Were these people Searly's go-betweens? His trusted messengers? I am increasingly leaning toward the theory that Jack Vermott and James/Robert Long are psedonyms for Jack Vandeloo and Jose de Leon. The only traces of Long and Vermott are entirely connected to appearances of de Leon and Vandeloo - it seems they are aither a tightly-knit group (excuse the pun), or two people with aliases. The similarity between the names Vermott/Vandello and de Leon/Long incline me toward the latter explanation, something which I believe we should take into consideration when viewing the wider picture.

Also, while trying to indentify the mid-point between Costa and Regan during Black Cat, it struck me that the only known link between the two individuals is Paul Kozyra. Kozyra is their go-between, the middle-man, and most likely was found at the mid-point between the two during the experiment in question. It occurs to me that in all likelihood Black Cat was Kozyra's gig and Regan and Costa were possible collaborators but more likely pawns in his game. Perhaps by looking more closely at Kozyra we will reveal the required knowledge of Costa/Regan and more importantly, the details of Black Cat.

I must hurry now as I am due to fly to Boston in a couple of hours to pick up the scent of Searly, starting at the library.

The Stitcher

Note to 'The Stitcher':

It is believed that Jose de Leon was involved in the research wing of Project 31; his reason for attending the Michigan boating trade fair being investigations into principles of buoyancy and large-scale cargo transportation. A sales rep who was present at the fair spoke to one of our investigators under condition of anonymity. He recalled a man of short stature with an out of town accent inquiring about large-scale inflation methods who referred to something possibly called the 'Michigan Flotilla'. The short man apparently displayed a physical nervousness which betrayed his calm eyes and wanted to know how to 'float something the size of a city'.

Whether he was an active member of the project or the suspected inside man working for the feds is as yet undetermined but the theory has been raised that he may have been the link between Pinsk, James Long and/or Vermott. The current leading theory is that 'Vermott' may be a codename for de Leon, who was assigned the task of silencing Pinsk by executing a staged crash in Maine for which James Long was made to look responsible. However, it could be that this theory is flawed and de Leon and Vermott are separate entities, either of which could have been an insider or an outsider with regard to Project 31.

Note from 'The Stitcher':

On 15 June 05 (before the disappearance of the soft Michigan core group), a mysterious letter was sent to a part-time Maryland woodland ranger by the name of Phipps. This letter was passed to a friend of Phipps, who herself was acquainted with the sister of a Baltimore man. This Baltimore man heard of our investigations after researching the subject of the letter online, and obtained a transcript of the letter for our researchers. It contains anonymous allegations claiming to be from a military source, that pertain to an alleged conversation between a military man and an Englishman known only as ‘Ike’. The military man, in some excitation, suggested that a city on a lake could be bettered by putting a city under a lake. He outlined a plan of individual vats which he called suspension chambers. The other man (‘Ike’) declared: ‘It is happening again…’ The military man, it is claimed, had a map on his wall of the US, with rings around 4 of the Great Lakes. A photocopied photographic image of this map accompanied the letter.

In Reply

Good sleuthing from ms Kingsbury P.I. BA Phil.
The big fish is indeed in the water.

I note the mention of a certain Jack Vandeloo of Ottawa, and a Jose de Leon, both also ketch ‘enthusiasts’ who many investigators considered likely to be involved in the notorious quota fraud around the Halifax, Novia Scotia bay area in the early 1990’s. The same faces came up again several years later in the Baton Rouge area, after an interim period without any trace as to their whereabouts or activities. In Florida, they were suspected (but later released without charge) in the case of the poaching of young crocodiles to supply private zoos in Mexico. A certain Mr ‘Vermott’ was later to be charged and then convicted of a lesser charge associated with this same crime.

It is unknown whether Vermott was an associate of the other two, or if he was framed by them or others, or whether Vandeloo and de Leon were wholly innocent of the Florida accusations. Vermott was released early and subsequently has been untraced. An ex-work colleague from the Manatee Boat Supplies Company claim he had ‘always talked of visiting Mexico’. Vermott has no known associations with R Searley/Surley/Searly, however a Pasadena phone directory belonging to a James Long was found close to the wreckage of a Buick stationwagon in Maine. In this directory, the name of an R Searle is circled in blue ink with the word Vermouth under it followed by a question mark. Theories have been made that Vermott was an alias, however my contacts feel a more likely explanation is that Vermott used Searle as an alias, intending to pose as Searly, but based on incomplete or incorrect personal information. This supports the theory that both existed and did not know each other directly. Whether foul play can be suspected in the Buick incident, and whether this was conducted by Vermott to silence Long, is unknown.