Two men in their 50s are accused of living under the stolen identities of dead children for more than three decades, and now police in Washington state are asking the public for help in unraveling the mystery behind who they really are.
The men have been using the names Tim Seidenfeld and Glenn Scotzin since around 1990, identities traced back to two Idaho children who died in separate accidents in the early 1970s, the Pasco Police Department said in a statement on Tuesday.
Investigators described the case as a decades-long identity mystery stretching across multiple states. But the mystery isn’t the current whereabouts of the two men, according to police, it’s answering questions about their pasts.
“We’re not looking to find them. We’re well aware of their location,” Pasco Police Lt. Tom Groom told the Tri-City Herald. “We’re asking for information about how they’ve been living their lives with their appropriated names.”
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The men appear to have surfaced in Salem, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, in 1990, shortly after assuming the identities. From there, they left a faint trail across the country, with ties to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Texas and California.
Police believe both men may have worked in the telecommunications industry in the early 1990s, but say no official employment records exist, deepening the mystery.
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“Due to the length of time these individuals have operated under stolen identities, traditional identification methods have proven to be challenging,” police said.
Authorities have not said whether the men are suspected of other crimes, but the unusual case has raised questions about how they were able to disappear into someone else’s life for more than 30 years.
Detectives are turning to the public, hoping someone recognizes the men or can provide clues about their true identities.
Authorities asked anyone with information to contact Pasco Police.
