Lyle’s Story: A Timeline

Photo credit: DafneCholet / Foter / CC BY

Involvement in 9/11? Unrequited love? A life on the run? Lyle’s story has generated so many theories, it’s easy to become confused as to what actually happened. Although facts are scarce, this is what we know for sure…

For the purpose of this post, LS is Lyle Stevik; BW is the motel manager who checked Lyle in; GB is the motel owner; MD is the maid who found LS; and LY is the investigating officer. Much of this information has been provided by ColdCaseMan and Eugene from the WebSleuths forum.

Friday, September 14, 2001

• LS arrives at the motel at around 4 PM. Nobody sees LS arrive but BW later tells law enforcement that bus services from Forks and Aberdeen stop outside around this time.

• LS proceeds to the front desk and checks in. BW asks LS for identification, but he doesn’t have any. BW gives him a room anyway because he looks “okay”. BW later states that LS might have had a backpack, but isn’t sure.

• Lyle fills in an envelope that is used for gathering data on check-in. LS states his name is “Lyle Stevik”, and his address is “1019 S. Progress Ave, ID”. BW adds the city name (Meridian – misspelled as “Meridan”), and re-writes the state abbreviation (ID) on the envelope. The name provided by LS is similar to the character Lyle Stevick, who features in the Joyce Carol Oates novel You Must Remember This; the address matches that of a Best Western hotel in Meridian, Idaho. 

• Lyle pays $43.87 in cash for the room.

• LS is given the keys to Room 8. BW later tells law enforcement that LS has a slight accent, which she believes to be Canadian, but isn’t sure. She states that LS was polite, but didn’t want to talk. 

• LS returns to the front desk at around 5 PM. He tells BW that Room 8 is too noisy, and asks how long the noise will continue from an adjacent trailer park. There seems to be a noticeable change in LS’s behavior at this point. BW later describes LS as giving off bad vibes, making her feel nervous, and looking “spaced”. However, the subsequent autopsy reveals that LS had not been using alcohol or drugs.

• BW asks LS if he did anything in Room 8; LS states that he messed up the pillows. BW asks LS if he had taken a shower; LS states that he didn’t. Staff later find out that LS had, in fact, taken a shower in Room 8.

• LS states that he wants to stay at the motel for another day, but doesn’t provide any additional payment at this stage.

• LS is given the keys to Room 5.

Saturday, September 15, 2001

• MD knocks on LS’s door so that she can clean the room. LS does not respond, so MD enters. LS explains that he doesn’t need “room service”, but requests additional towels. As LS had only paid for one night, it is unclear whether whether a conversation took place at this point regarding how long LS was planning to stay. It is also unclear whether the motel had a policy of granting credit to guests who were staying for an unspecified number of nights.

• BW observes LS “pacing up and down” Highway 101, which is adjacent to the motel. 

• LS is seen by “several people” on the porch outside Room 5 on Saturday afternoon. These people are presumably fellow motel guests, although the police file doesn’t make this clear.

• In 2014, MD’s daughter recalled the series of events that preceded LS’s death at the motel on Facebook. She states that her mother spoke to LS on the “evening before his passing”, and described him as being “rude”. It is unclear whether she means Saturday or Sunday evening when describing this encounter. 

Sunday, September 16, 2001

• LS purchases a copy of The Daily World Sunday – a local daily newspaper that serves the Aberdeen, Washington, area. The police file alludes to there being two copies of The Daily World Sunday in the room (one being found in the trash can, and a second copy on the bed). It is unknown if the motel provided a copy of the newspaper to guests, or whether LS had purchased two copies.

Monday, September 17, 2001

• MD enters the room on Monday morning, and finds LS hanging from a coat rack in the far corner of the room. MD initially thinks that LS is praying because of the position he is in.

• At 11.45 AM, GB receives a phone call at home telling him to come to the motel immediately. When he gets there, GB enters Room 5 before calling the police. GB calls BW. She tells him that Lyle checked in on Friday afternoon. It is unclear who is on front desk duty on Monday morning, if anyone.

• At 12.15 PM, LY is informed that a body has been found in a motel room.

• The following items are found in the room: a new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste in the drawer; two copies of The Daily World Sunday; soap wrappers and toilet items provided by the motel; a piece of paper in the trash can with the word ‘SUICIDE’ written on it; $2.40 in loose change; a Coke soft drink cup; and a motel comment card with the words ‘For the room’ printed on it. The comment card is folded around $160 in $20 dollar bills. An additional 8 one dollar bills are found in LS’s pocket.

• At 8.06 PM, LY contacts BW for a statement.

• The details LS provides are entered into a number of databases during Monday evening. No matches are found.

Wednesday, September 19, 2001

• At 12.30 PM, an autopsy is carried out in Montesano, Washington. The coroner estimates that LS is approximately 25 years of age.