Unsolved: Ricky McCormick’s Death and the Encrypted Notes

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📍 Case Summary

• Name: Ricky McCormick

• Date Found: June 30, 1999

• Location: A field in St. Charles County, Missouri, USA

• Age at Death: 41

• Cause of Death: Undetermined (body too decomposed)

• Main Mystery: Two encrypted notes found in his pockets — never decoded, even by the FBI

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🧍 Who Was Ricky McCormick?

At first glance, Ricky McCormick didn’t seem like someone who’d become the center of a cryptographic mystery that would stump the FBI for decades. Born in 1958, McCormick was a lifelong resident of the St. Louis area. He had a troubled life—marked by poverty, chronic health problems, and brushes with the law—but nothing in his history suggested international intrigue or genius-level code-breaking.

By most accounts, Ricky was quiet and reclusive. He dropped out of high school in the early grades and was reportedly “functionally illiterate,” though friends and family said he often scribbled strange notes and phrases to himself—seemingly part of a personal code or mental shorthand. He worked a series of low-wage jobs, including at a gas station near his home, and was known to carry around small notebooks filled with unusual jottings. Those close to him thought little of it at the time.

He also suffered from serious medical issues, including heart and lung conditions, and had been receiving disability benefits. In the weeks before his death, McCormick had reportedly visited the emergency room and was in poor physical health. He was not married but had fathered at least four children and maintained some connections with extended...Read More