USA Today has an incredible story that they themselves are at the center of!
The people in the story asked that their last names not be used. It starts July 31st 1999 at a truck stop in Twin Falls Idaho. Tommy uses a payphone to call his sister Marcella. Marcella is his Tommy's older sister and helped him when their father died in an accident in 1984. Tommy was also a type 1 diabetic so she had given him his insulin shots growing up in Northern California.
Tommy was exploring America and would check in almost every day to tell his sister what he had seen. When she didn't hear from him for a few days she became worried and called police. Their investigation led to the discovery of his van in a Yellowstone National Park lot. Police spread out looking for him. When no leads were discovered after a few weeks, the theory became thieves may have killed Tommy somewhere between Twin Falls and Yellowstone and then stole his van.
Over the years, she tirelessly searched through missing persons reports, unidentified remains, and hospital patient lists across several states. She started a non profit to help family members like her. It's called NorCal Alliance for the missing Marcella had come upon dozens of men who don't remember their names or anything about their lives. She hoped to connect some of the families through her organization.
As years turned into decades not only did she lose hope but she grew angry. "I hated it when people would tell me, 'Well he could be alive somewhere.' It pissed me off." She had looked everywhere and if he was still alive she would have found him over the decades she had been searching. But everytime a hospital admitted a non verbal person who didn't have family with them she would investigate to help connect them with worried siblings or spouses.
In May she received an article from USA Today about a non verbal man in an LA Hospital. When she saw him she was stunned! Could this be her brother? He now had a beard and was 25 years older but it certainly had a resemblance. She called the hospital but the nurse said his eyes were a different color. She posted the newspaper pic next to a photo she had from the 90's of Tommy. Her friends said ignore that nurse, just keep investigating. She ended up speaking with Deputy Derek Kennemore. He went over and fingerprinted the man in question and sure enough it's Tommy!
Marcella told her teenage daughter who screamed 'You did it, Mom, you did it. Oh my God, you found him' because I've been looking. And then my other daughter said, 'I am so proud of you for not giving up.'"