The Mysterious Case of Benjamin Kyle

Back in August 2004, a man was discovered unconscious behind a Burger King in Georgia. Initial reports indicated he was naked and covered in blood. When he regained consciousness, he couldn’t remember anything about himself. Now, two filmmakers are on a quest to uncover the details of his life during the many years he was missing.

On May 25th, a four-part documentary titled The Many Lives of Benjamin Kyle will premiere on Investigation Discovery (ID). It follows Eric and Shannon Evangelista as they assist a man who claims to have a rare form of amnesia. However, things took a surprising twist in 2015 when he was identified as William Burgess Powell.

What remains uncertain is whether Powell, who is featured in the documentary, will agree with the filmmakers’ conclusions.

Powell, as reported by People magazine, has no known criminal history and has not faced any charges. His current whereabouts are unknown, and the filmmakers are asking anyone with information to reach out to Hot Snakes Media.

“We keep investigating,” Shannon remarked. “The key question for us is what happened from 1983, when his Social Security payments ceased, until 2004, when he was found by the Burger King. We hope the public can help us answer that.”

Hospital staff nicknamed Powell “BK Doo,” short for “Burger King Doo.” He subsequently took on the name Benjamin Kyle. Shannon experienced retrograde amnesia, which involves losing memory of events prior to a brain injury, but her husband, Eric, started to doubt the accuracy of his diagnosis.

“The way he described his amnesia felt dated, like something out of old films,” Eric explained. “As we probed deeper, it became evident that he didn’t genuinely want to be found. It was puzzling, so I told Shannon, ‘This doesn’t add up; we need to dig deeper.’”

Though Powell has publicly stated he experienced memory loss, the Evangelistas are well-acquainted with investigative methods. Eric has a background as a news producer and reporter, and Shannon worked as a federal criminal defense attorney before moving into a prosecutor role.

Shannon mentioned that after hearing Powell’s story, she aimed to reunite him with his family while documenting the experience. Yet, as they delved further, the mystery only deepened and raised more questions about his past.

“It was strange,” Shannon recalled. “I dreamt of reuniting him with his family, but when we finally took him out, he seemed to recognize places and events. He mentioned specifics about a theater built in 1984, but he didn’t recall any individuals. It was confusing.”

During the documentary, Powell, now 77, shared he has fleeting memories from the mid-’80s and once joked about the perfect spot to dispose of a body in the Colorado mountains, laughing while he kicked a stone down a slope.

However, Powell’s comments at times made the production team uneasy. Shannon mentioned, “He began to say disturbing things about digging up skulls, and I was left questioning, ‘What’s going on here?’ It felt too complex for just us to handle.” They sought advice from Ken Maxwell, a former FBI agent.

Maxwell identified a significant clue: a missing persons report from 1976, detailing Powell’s escape from Indiana. The report stated that his vehicle had been left in a rural area, sans license plate, which raised suspicions. “Nobody just abandons their car, especially under those circumstances,” Maxwell noted. “They were likely trying to escape something.”

The investigation further revealed a lack of physical evidence supporting Powell’s account of being beaten and left behind the Burger King. Instead, his injuries seemed minor, with no scrapes other than ant bites and sunburn.

Over time, speculation about Powell’s potential connections to organized crime arose, with several cold cases investigated in the area. Maxwell took these theories seriously, stating, “You never know where the clues might lead.”

While Powell has distanced himself from claims of being involved in criminal activity, questions about his background remain unanswered. Maxwell noted, “He could be living off the grid if he truly wanted to.”

Since December 2016, when Shannon last had contact with Powell, the trail has gone cold. “We were told he had vanished again,” she said. “There are rumors, but nothing concrete.” Various acquaintances reported they hadn’t heard from him in years, adding to the mystery of his whereabouts.

“We’re under the impression he’s still around Lafayette, possibly staying low-key,” Maxwell commented. “He had skills that probably helped him maintain his anonymity.”

As the investigation advances, the filmmakers face an abundance of clues and issues that seem to complicate rather than clarify Powell’s life. “We just want to understand who this man really is,” Eric concluded. “We aren’t stopping here.”