Parallel Universes Are Real — And People Fall Into Them

This episode of The Why Files is brought. to you by PDS Debt. >> [music]. >> Gather around. This happened in Madrid. in July 2008. [music] When Lorena woke. up, the first thing she noticed were the. sheets. They weren't hers. She put new beige sheets on the bed last. night, but these were blue. She didn't. own blue sheets. She was still asleep.

Maybe she got the colors mixed up. She. didn't have time to worry about it. She. had to get to work. Lorena didn't know the sheets were just. the first clue that her entire reality. was about to unravel. >> You're going to need a bigger boat. >> Human, quiet on the set. We are rolling. >> What set? What are you talking about? >> I'm making a major motion picture in. your backyard. It's called Jaws 6. This.

time it's personal. Written, directed, produced, and starring yours truly as. the shark and the hero. It's a dual. role. Very Daniel Day Lewis. >> How can you be the shark and the guy. fighting the shark? >> It's called range, human. Look it up. The Beaver brothers built a great set. They rearranged your deck furniture into. a coastal New England fishing village. Very authentic. Wyatt nailed the. lighthouse. >> That's my patio umbrella. >> No, it's a beacon of hope for a town. under siege. Oh, I even hired a stunt. double. Very experienced. His name's.

Derek. Found him at the grocery store. Sardine. Absolute unit. >> You hired a dead sardine as your stunt. double. >> He's not dead. He's method. He hasn't. moved in two days. Now, that's. commitment. >> No, that's rigor mortis. >> Agree to disagree. And the point is, Derek's SAG-eligible and his $8,000 day. rate is very reasonable. >> What? >> LMAO. Gertie's my fog machine. She. breathes heavy near a humidifier and. chef's kiss instant atmosphere. >> See that? That's Oscar winning fog right.

there. >> That sounds like a camel having an. asthma attack. >> It's ambient, it's human. >> Okay, how much did all this cost? >> Hey, well, craft services alone was 11. grand. Uh, you'd be amazed what Beavis. ate. >> Uh, why did he put away six rotisserie. chickens in a single take? >> And we did 47 takes. Then Morgan had. virtually ate the table. The team says. we're pissed. Uh, but now the caterer's. threatening to sue, Derek Savage wants. residuals, and Katie's up your. neighbor's kitchen window. Uh, now they think the house is haunted. >> Yep, it sounds like you need PDS debt. >> Oh, did you just roll credits into.

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>> Lorena got up and started her morning. routine on autopilot, but small things. kept catching her attention. Her. favorite shirt wasn't in her closet. Her. coffee mug was in the wrong cabinet. The. bathroom towels were folded differently. She found it odd, but didn't give it. much thought. Maybe she put the mug in. the wrong place. Maybe the shirt's still. at the cleaners. Everything else seemed. fine. She finished her coffee, showered,

and headed out for work. In the parking lot, her car wasn't. there. Someone else was in her space. She clicked the car alarm and heard a. beep from the other side of the lot. She. never parked on that side of the [music]. building. So, either someone moved the. car. or she stopped herself from thinking. about it. At work, she saw a couple of new faces, new hires, she figured. But, one of them. said, "Good morning, Lorena." Like, he. knew her. She didn't recognize him, but. she said, "Good morning." anyway.

She got to her office and froze. Her. nameplate was gone. A different name was. on her door. Someone else had moved in. She could see their things through the. window. Now, the panic came fast. Her. first thought was that she was fired, but she worked for this company for 20. years. They wouldn't do that to her. Maybe she got off on the wrong floor. She went back to the lobby. She was on. the right floor. The directory listed. her name, but in a different department, in a different part of the building. She.

walked to her new office and her name. was on the door. Her pictures were on. the desk. Her sister, her parents, her. favorite coffee mug was there. Her. diploma's on the wall, but she didn't. recognize the room. A man walked in like everything was. fine. He asked about the Hernandez. proposal. Apparently that was a project. she'd been working on for months and. this man was her boss. Lorena started to feel sick. She said. she needed air. Her boss looked. concerned and told her to feel better.

She sat in her car trying to calm down. Nothing made sense. She needed an. anchor, someone who knew her and could. help her figure this out. Augustine, her boyfriend. She'd been. with him for months. He helped her get. over a bad breakup with her ex, Miguel. Augustine would know what to do. She. grabbed her phone and scrolled to his. name. It wasn't there. But she knew his number. She dialed and. a man answered. But it wasn't Augustine. He never heard of Augustine and he said. he'd had that number for years. She.

looked online. Augustine's social media. was gone. It was never there. Augustine didn't. exist. Lorena was sure she was going. crazy, so she drove to the hospital and. asked a psychiatrist to prove it. The doctor was patient, but she knew he. didn't believe her. She told him about. the sheets, the office, her boyfriend. She thought she was having a nervous. breakdown or a stroke, but the hospital.

ran a brain scan, toxicology panel, and. a full neurological workup. Nothing was. off. Her brain was healthy [music]. and her blood work was clean. The psychiatrist [music] said it was. probably just stress. He recommended she. take some time off from work. On her way. home, she tried Augustine again. The. same strange man answered. He [music]. was less patient this time. Maybe she got one of Augustine's numbers. wrong, but she didn't think so. >> [music]. >> She knew everything about him. Where he.

lived, where he worked. She knew his. son. She was just at his apartment a few. nights ago for dinner. She wouldn't have. had the strength to leave Miguel without. Augustine. Miguel was possessive, had a. temper, and could even be violent when. he was drinking. >> [music]. >> She was terrified of breaking up with. him, that he might come after her. But. Augustine made her feel safe. Not just. physically, he gave her the confidence. to take her life back. [music]. She called her sister. Her sister never. heard of Augustine either, though she. met him dozens of times.

Lorena knew she sounded crazy. She sat. in her car outside her building. She. pulled out her wallet and checked her. ID, her license, [music] her insurance, her registration. All of it was right. All of it was her. Whatever was. happening, it wasn't happening to her, it was happening to everything around. her. She made one last call, this time to a. private investigator. She told him. everything she knew about Augustine. The. detective said he'd give her an update. in a few days.

Lorena was still in a daze when she got. to her door. She went to put her key in. the lock, and the door pushed open. The. TV was on, and something was cooking. She walked down the hall not sure what. to expect. Then she smelled cologne, a. familiar smell. When she got to her living room, Miguel was sitting on the couch smiling. He looked up and said, "Hey, babe.".

Convincing Miguel everything was okay. wasn't easy. The hospital paperwork did. it. She didn't tell him she wasn't his. girlfriend. She didn't tell him she. remembered leaving him. She had dinner. and slept next to him. She waited for. something to tell her which of these two. lives was real, then she decided to check the rest of. the world. The elections happened when she. remembered them. Sports results matched. News, politics, celebrity scandals, all.

of that lined up with the world she. remembered. The world was the same. Her life was. different. So she started making lists. of everything that was wrong. Her sister had a shoulder operation a. couple of months back. Lorena remembered. driving her to the hospital, visiting. her with Augustine, sitting with her. afterward. Her family had no memory of. any operation. Her sister's shoulder had. never been touched. And then there were. the photographs.

She found a box and went through them. one at a time. She was half looking for. proof and half hoping not to find any. Most of the pictures she knew. Birthdays, holidays, faces she could. name. And then one she couldn't. She was at an. outdoor music festival in August, smiling, standing next to a famous blues. guitarist. But she remembered that. weekend because it was her birthday. She. was with her family in the city, not at. a music festival. She found pictures.

from New Year's Eve. She was with. friends at the beach, but Lorena. remembered that night perfectly. She was. at home in Madrid. She remembered the. meal. She remembered the wine. She. remembered who was with her. Augustine, the man no one else could. remember. >> [music]. >> Not even the private investigator can. find him. He ran every database in the country. No. birth certificate or driver's license. No tax filings. No social media. He. couldn't find a single witness who ever. met the man. He told her in his entire.

career he never failed to find someone. Then he handed her the file and told her. gently that the man she described had. never [music] been born. The man she. loved for months was now just another. item on a growing list of memories that. never happened. Once her list [music] passed 100 items, she started reading about time slips, déjà vu, and double memory. Then she. found a post on a science site about. multiple universes. She finally had a. name for what she was experiencing.

So, she left a comment with her real. name and email. She said, "Hello, my. name is Lerina. I am 41 years old and I. think I jumped into a parallel universe. If anyone has a similar experience, please write me an email." And the. emails came flooding in. On July 16th, 2008, with Miguel asleep. in the next room, she opened her laptop.

and posted her story online. She knew. people would call her insane, but she. didn't care anymore. Within hours, she got hundreds of. replies. Most said she was crazy or. lying, but a few believed her. Strangers from a dozen countries. described their own versions. A woman. who came home one night to find the. wallpaper in her hallway had changed. A. man who remembered a sister he never. had. A teacher who didn't recognize. people in her own wedding photo. A. father who looked at his son's report.

card and saw a name that was almost his. son's, but not quite. She answered. messages for 2 years. She kept her email. active and the post visible. She. responded politely to people who called. her insane, a witch, or a liar. Some. people called her a grifter, but she. never gave a single interview. She never. wrote a book. She never made a dollar. from her story. She wondered if none of. this was real. Maybe we're all. characters inside something, a game or a. simulation. Maybe whoever was running. her simulation hit a glitch and saved.

her into the wrong life. She said she was tired. Part of her. wanted to believe she was stuck in a. very long dream, she just wanted to wake. up. Then she stopped writing and Lerina. Garcia Gordo was never heard from again. Lerina's email is gone, but her post is. still online. You can read it in the. original Spanish. You can read almost 20. years of replies.

Lerina would be in her late 50s now, sleeping next to a man she didn't. choose, working a job she didn't want, [music] walking past photos of vacations. she didn't take. Some say that's what deja vu is, a small. update to your file. Maybe Lerina was right. Maybe she got. saved into the wrong life and nobody. [music] noticed but her. And if it. happened to her, it could happen to. anyone. If your whole life rewrote itself. overnight, you couldn't [music] prove.

it. Your ID would say you belong right. where you woke up. Your family would say. you're confused. [music] Your friends. would worry you lost your mind. Every. record in the world would line up. against you. Think about the last time you talked to. an old friend. They had memories of you. that you forgot. Things you said, things. you did that didn't sound familiar. Sometimes the person they're describing. doesn't sound like you at all. And maybe. that's because it's not.

Gather around. This happened in. Riverside, California in 2006. Carol pulled off the highway, turned. onto her grandmother's street, and. stopped the car. Her grandmother's old. Tudor house was gone. So were the giant. eucalyptus trees that were in front of. the house forever. Her aunt and uncle. lived next door, and their house was. gone, too. Instead, there were different.

homes. Not new construction, lived in. for years, lived in by strangers. But Carol would soon realize the only. stranger here was her. In March 2006, Carol McElhaney left her.

home in San Bernardino, California, with. her sheepdog Sandy. Sandy was competing. in a dog show in Paris, about an hour. south. About halfway through the trip, she saw a familiar exit, Riverside. She. grew up there. Most of her family still. lived there. She had plenty of extra. time, so she decided to stop and visit. her grandparents' graves. As soon as the thought entered her mind, she smelled cigars. But she didn't. smoke. Nobody ever smoked in her car. Her windows were all the way up because.

of the rain. She checked the dashboard. vents, closed. She looked around [music]. and checked the rearview mirror. Nobody. for miles. Sandy was curled up in the. backseat, asleep. Nothing in her car. smelled like cigars, but the smell was. thick and heavy. It was definitely cigar. smoke, and it was familiar. She remembered that her grandfather used. smoke cigars. He died when she was 5. years old. His cigars were the only. thing she actually remembered about him. Just the smell. This smell. And now, all.

these years later, that smell was back. She got off the exit and headed toward. her old neighborhood. Slowly, the cigar. smell faded. She knew that smells create. powerful memories. She figured thinking. about her grandfather probably brought. that memory back. She drove to her old house first, the. one she lived in for a few years after. college. She stopped the car in front of. the house, at least where the house used. to be. Right street, right address, but her house wasn't there. Not a single.

house on the street looked familiar. So, she drove to her grandmother's house. next, right around the corner. Once. again, she was at the right address, but. her grandmother's house was gone. Her. aunt and uncle lived right next door, their house was gone, too. Right street, right numbers, >> [music]. >> but again, different houses sat exactly. where her family's homes had stood her. entire life. Carol McKelvey couldn't get. lost in Riverside if she tried. Her. family settled in the city in the early. 1800s. She visited it as a baby. She.

spent her childhood summers there. She. lived there after college. This wasn't a. town she just passed through. This was. her family's home. She could navigate. these streets with her eyes closed, but. as she drove that neighborhood, none of. the houses were right. It was as if the. entire neighborhood was replaced, all of. it. Obviously, a few homes would change. over the years, but not all of them. Besides, these homes weren't new. They. were old. Carol needed proof that she wasn't. losing her mind. There was a place she.

knew well, not far from here, and it. couldn't be repainted or rebuilt. It. couldn't be paved over. She drove over to [music] the cemetery. Carol knew the cemetery well. She'd been. there dozens of times. She knew the. ornate iron fence at the main gate, the. long gravel driveway, and the specific. spot where her grandparents were buried.

She stopped the car at the entrance, but. it wasn't an entrance to a cemetery. There was no cemetery, just a rusty. chain link fence around a a lot. There. was no sign, no way in or out, just. dirt, scattered trash, and weeds. You can rebuild an entire block, maybe. even an entire neighborhood. That was unlikely, but Carol knew it was. possible, but not a cemetery. You don't. make a cemetery disappear, certainly not.

in the few months since she was here. last. That's when Carol realized. everything was too quiet. The rain was. still coming down, but she couldn't hear. it. She couldn't hear anything outside, no rain or wind, not even the sound of. traffic. Now that she thought about it, there was no traffic. She hadn't seen a. single car since she left the highway. She hadn't seen any people, either. Carol turned on the car radio to check. the news, but all she heard was static. Across the dial, AM FM, no matter where.

she tuned, she only heard static. She. turned off the radio when she heard. Sandy whine quietly behind her. Her dog usually loves sticking his nose. near the window. Not this time. He was pressed hard. against the floorboards, shaking. She pulled away from the empty lot, desperate to find anything familiar. The. local middle school looked correct, Riverside City College looked correct, but nothing else did. And still, there. wasn't a single person anywhere. She turned onto Riverside's main street,

University Avenue. This is where most of. Riverside's restaurants, banks, and. shops were. The Mission Inn Hotel looked. like a castle and took up an entire city. block. The hotel was built in 1876 and. was the heart of the city. But University Avenue was deserted. The. buildings were run down and covered in. graffiti. And the Mission Inn was gone. It wasn't boarded up, it wasn't. renovated, it didn't exist. Carol suddenly had an understanding that. she couldn't describe, she could only.

feel it. This was not Riverside. It was. built like Riverside, named Riverside, laid out street for street like. Riverside, but this place, whatever this. was, was somewhere or something else. She kept driving hoping to break the. illusion, but it only got worse. Trees were the wrong size. Stores she. knew since she was a kid were missing. Then she noticed the light outside. looked unnatural. It was flat and gray.

and she couldn't see any shadows. She kept driving slowly, but the urge to. get out of there was getting stronger. Then up ahead, she saw people. A small. group stood at a street corner. She. pulled over to take a look. She was afraid of them, but couldn't. explain why. There was something about. them that felt unnatural. [music] They. had two arms and two legs and looked. like people, but their proportions were off. But she. couldn't tell what proportions, just.

like something wasn't right. Then they moved and it was like they. were moving in an old film, like a slow. stutter, as if the whole world's frame. rate was too slow. These weren't exactly people. They were. something wearing the shape of people. Even though Carol would love to ask. someone about the town, she knew these. were not the people to ask. She knew it. deep in her soul that if she spoke to. whatever was on that corner, she would.

not come back. She was never more sure. of anything in her life. Then one of the things started turning. its head. She didn't know if it was. turning to look at her. She didn't wait. to find out. She double checked that the windows were. all the way up and the doors were. locked, then she got out of there as. fast as she could. She didn't stop for. gas, didn't stop for food, she didn't. stop for red lights. She definitely. didn't look in the mirror. She drove as. fast as she could till she saw the. freeway entrance. Just like the town,

the freeway looked empty, but she had no. choice. She got on the freeway to head. back home. She just hoped that when she. got to her house, that the house was. actually hers. The freeway changed everything. The. moment she hit the on-ramp, sound. returned. Rain, tires, traffic. The.

radio caught a station in the middle of. a song. In the backseat, Sandy stopped. shaking, sat up and put his nose to the. window like nothing happened. She drove. home a little too fast, but it was worth. it. [music] Everything was as she. remembered it. Her neighborhood, her. house, her furniture, everything was. normal. And for a long time, she didn't. tell anyone what happened. She couldn't. describe it. Then she learned about the. many worlds theory. The theory says. infinite parallel universes exist right. alongside ours, separated only by.

vibrational frequencies. And sometimes. these universes can collide or overlap, causing a rift. When people get caught. in a rift, they can end up in another. place or another time, or another. version of their own universe. Carol. said it still felt like she was in. Riverside in the right year, but on a. different timeline. Carol stayed away from Riverside for a. while. She tried to forget about the. cigar smoke and empty lot and all the. houses out of place.

Most of all, she tried to forget about. the people who weren't people standing. on that corner. Then her father died. He was going to be buried in the. Riverside Cemetery next to her. grandparents in the family plot, or so. she hoped. Carol drove down for the funeral. She. was on the edge her entire trip. The. last time she set foot in that city was. the afternoon where her reality broke. She held her breath and pulled up to the. spot. The cemetery was there. The iron.

gate, the gravel driveway, the rows of. headstones, exactly where she remembered. them. Her grandparents were resting. where they always were. Her father went. into the ground right beside them. After the service, the family went to. lunch. They ate at the Mission Inn, the. hotel that looked like a castle, taking. up an entire city block, just like it. had since 1876. After lunch, Carol drove past her. grandmother's old street. The big Tudor. house was there. The towering eucalyptus.

trees were there, and her aunt's house. was right next door. Carol asked her cousin if the houses on. the block had ever changed. He looked at. her like she was crazy. Those houses. never changed. They never burned down. They were built before Carol was even. born. The city was the city. There was no version of Riverside where. the Mission Inn was gone. There was no. version of Riverside where the cemetery. was just a dirt lot. Except for the. version Carol drove through one rainy. afternoon in 2006.

She finally started telling her story, though she can't explain what caused it. She didn't see lights in the sky. She. wasn't abducted. She didn't experience. missing time. And she returned to. Riverside many times over the years. Every visit, the streets were correct. The buildings were real. Everything was. exactly as it should be. Except there's. one place she avoids. She never went. back to that corner where the people, not people, were standing.

And she's pretty sure that they're not. there on that corner, but she doesn't. want to find out what happens if she's. wrong. >> [music].

>> Get her out. This happened in Richmond. Hill, Georgia in August of 2004. At 5:00 in the morning, a Burger King. employee carried a bag of trash to the. dumpster. [music]. There was a man on the ground. He. [snorts] had long matted hair and a. beard down to his waist. He was naked, sunburned, and covered in fire ant. bites. He was still alive, but just. barely. [music]. She dropped the trash, ran inside, and. called 911. When the paramedics rolled. him onto the stretcher, he opened his. eyes and tried to speak.

He couldn't remember his name. He. couldn't remember his birthday. He. couldn't remember a single day of his. life. He didn't know it yet, but on. paper, he didn't exist. Not for the last. 21 years. The hospital admitted him as a John Doe. The intake nurse needed something to. write on the chart. >> [music]. >> She wrote down where they found him, Burger King. Burger King Doe, BK Doe.

For weeks, the hospital tried to. identify him. They ran his fingerprints, they checked missing persons databases, they circulated his photograph. Nothing. His blood came back clean, no drugs, no. alcohol. His vitals and reflexes were. normal. He could talk, he could read, he. could tell you who the president was. He. just didn't know who he was. The doctors found three depressions in. his skull, blunt force trauma from a. long time ago. He didn't remember the. injury. He had cataracts on both eyes so.

thick, he was nearly blind. He didn't. remember that, either. He told them what. he could remember, a monument in. Indianapolis, a cemetery, a mall in. Boulder, Colorado, a river, a college. library with long tables. He He two. >> [music]. >> or three brothers. Not their names, just. the fact that he had them. The doctors. thought he was lying, so they tested. him. Spelling, vocabulary, math. He. passed everything. [music]. He knew the capitals of every state. He. knew the rules of poker, how to bone a.

chicken, how to fix a carburetor, the. lyrics to every song from the '60s. [music]. When the cafeteria handed him a tray, he. prepped the sandwich like a short-order. cook. He didn't think about it for a. second. The skills were intact. [music]. The man who learned them was gone. The hospital kept him for 2 weeks, then. they needed the bed. But to discharge. someone, the system needs a name. So, he. gave himself one. He chose Benjamin with. two A's and Kyle from the initials. they'd been writing on his charts, BK, [music]. Benjamin Kyle. Then Benjamin moved into.

a local shelter. About 9 months later, surgeons removed his cataracts. The. bandages came off, he looked into a. mirror and didn't recognize the man. looking back. He thought he was about. 40. The man in the mirror was almost 60. [music]. It was like he closed his eyes and woke. up 21 years later. >> [music].

>> For the next 11 years, Benjamin Kyle. legally didn't exist. The FBI ran his. fingerprints, no match. Interpol ran him. internationally and found nothing. The. US Marshal Service searched every cold. case file they had. The Social Security. Administration couldn't give him a. number without proving [music] his. birth. He couldn't prove his birth. without having a name. He couldn't get a. name without proving his birth. >> [music]. >> He legally couldn't rent an apartment, couldn't hold a job, open a bank. account. He couldn't get a library card. He couldn't vote, couldn't drive,

couldn't get on a plane. He couldn't see. a doctor without paying cash. As far as. the United States government was. concerned, the [music] man behind the. Burger King was never born. He went on Dr. Phil, he went on CNN, Anderson Cooper, National Geographic ran. a feature with his photo on their. homepage. The Today Show ran his case. three times. Tens of [music] millions of. people saw his face, and the whole. country was rooting for him, but nobody. called. [music]. He took odd jobs that paid in cash, washing dishes, sweeping floors, cooking. at a barbecue joint where the owner.

didn't ask questions. [music]. He slept in shelters, on couches, under. bridges when the shelters were full. >> [music]. >> The press called him the last unknown. man in America. But, 11 years later, his DNA found him. A genetic genealogist saw his case on.

television and couldn't let it go. She. ran his DNA against every public. ancestry database she could find. For. four years, she found cousins, distant. ones, then closer ones, then a half. sister. In the fall of 2015, she called. him. He had a name. William Burgess. Powell, born August 29th, [music]. 1948 in Lafayette, Indiana. His family. told him what they remembered. William. grew up in Lafayette. He left a hard. home at 16 and moved in with a host. family down the road. He had dinner at.

their table every single night through. high school and into adulthood. Then one. night in 1976, he didn't show up for dinner. >> [music]. >> The host family walked over to his. trailer to check on him. The door was. unlocked. The lights were off. His. stereo, his tools, his books, all. sitting right where he left them. The. bed was made. A few days later, his car. turned up abandoned a few miles down the. road near a dam. Doors locked, no note, no blood, no sign of a struggle. His brother reported him missing, but. that was 1976. By now, his family.

assumed he was dead. But, the family. wanted to take him home. to the actual house he grew up in. >> [music]. >> They drove him out to Lafayette and. walked him up the steps to the front. door and then he stopped. He looked into the house then he turned. around and walked back to the car. He. never set foot inside. There was a. reason William Powell disappeared and he. never wanted to be found.

>> [music]. >> A reporter started digging into the. years before the dumpster. He pulled the. missing person's report that the family. filed in 1976 and it told a story that. wasn't told on Dr. Phil or NPR. It was a. story that the FBI had never heard. In. March 1976, William Powell was working. at a convenience store in Lafayette, Indiana. He was 27 years old. He had a. co-worker named Charles Gets who went by. Chico. One night in the middle of the. night, Powell and Chico drove out of.

Lafayette and they kept driving. They. drove all night and all the next day. They stopped in Boulder, Colorado. State. police later found his car abandoned on. the side of the road. His keys were. gone. The trailer he'd been living in. was empty and the license plates were. removed. He didn't take a wrong turn, he didn't. break down, he didn't get lost. He just. took his license plates and walked away. The Social Security earnings record for. William Burgess Powell shows activity. through 1983. After that, nothing. No. employer, no tax filing, no address, no.

bank account, no traffic ticket, no. hospital records. For 21 years, there is. no William Powell anywhere in the United. States. Then a Burger King employee in. Georgia goes to take the trash out. In May of 2026, a documentary crew. released a series about the case. They. worked on it for years trying to figure. out what filled the gap. They didn't. find proof of anything but they found. enough to make people start asking. different questions. They claim they. recovered a computer Powell used that. was forensically wiped. The kind of wipe.

that takes specialized software. They. claim that recovery tools turned up. searches of his real name and he was. searching for Colorado cold case murder. files. They found emails that he'd been. spoofing to look like they were coming. from someone else. They tracked down Chico Guess, the man. who drove west with Powell in 1976. Guess agreed to talk to them briefly. He. said he was afraid of Powell and he. wouldn't say any more. They say Powell worked for organized. crime in Lafayette before he left. They.

call this a rumor. The name of the. organization is believed throughout the. series. There are no charges. There are. no arrests. There's no evidence anyone. has produced in public. But when the. documentary came out in May, Powell. wasn't around to respond to it. Around. December of 2016, William Powell. disappeared again. He went off grid. He. stopped using his name and he stopped. appearing on any record anywhere. Only. now he knows who he is. The same doctor who diagnosed him way. back in the beginning.

thought he was faking the entire time. That's on the record. And it's possible. that that doctor was right. What nobody. argues about is the hole in the middle. 21 years. 1983 to 2004. A stretch where. William Powell simply isn't anywhere. No. job, no address, no record. Not one. witness who can place him. He never got. those years back. Or he never lost them. He would be 77 years old now and nobody. knows where he is. And that's exactly.

how William Powell, aka Benjamin Kyle. Watson, the man who forgot his whole. life, probably remembered everything. He just made sure the rest of us never. knew it. Thank you so much for hanging out today. My name is AJ. This is the Wi-Files and. that was a campfire story. No debunking, no analysis, >> [music]. >> just a creepy story to scare you and the.

kids. And that one is true and unsolved. If you had fun, I'd appreciate if you. can like, subscribe, [music] comment, and share. That stuff really helps. And. like most topics we cover here today is. recommended by you. So if there's a. story you'd like to see, go to the. wifiles.com/tips or send us an email. We'd love [music] to cover that story. And if you'd like to hear any of these. campfire stories expanded into a full. episode, there's a few I'd like to do, then definitely let me know. Remember. the Wifiles is also a podcast that you. can take us on the road. I post deep. dives into the stories we cover on the. channel. [music] I also post episodes.

that wouldn't be allowed on the channel. Podcast is called the Wifiles Operation. Podcast and it's available everywhere. And if you're listening on an audio. platform, do me a favor, hit the thumbs. up or the like or the follow or whatever. those buttons are, those really do help. Now if you need more Wifiles in your. life, check out our Discord. We're about. to hit 100,000 members over there. It's. a lot of fun. It's a really supportive. community. There's someone on there 24/7. and it's free to join. Speaking of 24/7, check out our 24/7 I'm plowing through. the plugs. Speaking of 24/7, make sure. you check out our 24/7 stream in the.

Wifiles Backstage. Over there we run. episodes back-to-back with some fun. content in between [music] and the live. chat is super, super fun. Special thanks. to our patrons who make this channel. possible and make every episode of the. Wifiles happen. Every episode is. dedicated to our Patreon members. I. could not do this without you. If you'd like to support the channel, keep us going, consider becoming a. member on Patreon. For as little as. three bucks a month, get access to perks. like videos early with no commercials, exclusive merch, and two private live. [music] streams every week just for you. to hear the whistle in my teeth. It's. cuz I'm going too fast.

The the private live streams are a lot. of fun. >> [music]. >> For members only. Um my webcam is on. Everyone on the team has their camera. on. You can talk to all of us. Turn your. camera on, jump up on stage, ask [music]. a question. It's a lot of I think it's. the best perk there is. Another great. way to support the channel, grab. something from the Wifiles store. That. is [music] shop.thewifiles.com. You'll find it. But if you got to buy. merch, become a member on YouTube. YouTube members get 10% off everything. in the Wi-Fi store forever. So if you're. going to spend 40 bucks on t-shirts and. physical mugs, become a member on on.

YouTube for three bucks, >> [music]. >> pays for itself. And that money goes to. the team, not to me. Those are the. plugs. I got through them as fast as I. could. And that's going to do it. Till. next time, be safe, [music]. be kind, and know that you are. appreciated. >> [music]. >> Oh. Yeah. I played Polybius in Area [music] 51. A.

secret code inside the Bible [singing]. said I would. I love my UFOs and paranormal [music]. fun, as well as music. So I'm singing it. like I should. Look at another conspiracy [music]. theory. becomes the truth, my friends, and it never [music] ends. No, it never ends.

I feel the craft [music] got it and got. stuck inside Mel's hole with MK Ultra. I. feel lonely too aware. >> [music]. >> Did Stanley Kubrick fake the moon. landing alone? [music]. On a film set, where were the shadow. people there? >> [singing]. >> The Roswell aliens [music]. just bought the smiling [singing] man, I'm told,

and his name was cold. But I can't [music] believe. I'm dancing with the fish. head on fish on Thursday nights with. that Katie. and the Wi-Fi party. all through the night. All I ever wanted was [music] to just. hear the truth. So the wild ones are bumping all through. the night.

>> [music]. >> The mothman sightings and the solar. stones still come to a god that the. secret city underground. >> [music]. >> Mysterious number stations, planets. circle to [music] project stargate, and. what the dark watchers found.

We're in a simulation, [music]. don't you worry though. The black knights satellite is on. It. told me so, I can't believe. I'm dancing with the. fairies. >> [music]. >> Hekapoo third date nights with their J's. too, and the wild ones are bumping all. through the. All I ever wanted [music] was to just. hear the truth. So the wild ones are. bumping. all through the night.

Hekapoo [music] third date nights with. their J's too, and the wild ones are. bumping. all through the night. All [music] I ever wanted was to just. hear the truth. So the wild. ones are bumping. all through the night. >> [music].

>> Yeah, Curley loves to dance [music] on. the dance floor. because she is a camel, and camels love. to. when the feeling. is right, no wasting. time. Getting love to dance. >> [music]. >> Getting love to dance. >> [music]. [music].