Instalment No. 11 (c)


General Black conducts survey of his own


Satisfied with whatever that was brought up, general Black and his team later got together to work out the details of their plan.

The subsequent morning, the threesome got up early and made the necessary arrangements for an aerial tower to be positioned on a water tank near the country house. The device was designed to throw a radar communication 'net' which covered a radius of approximately sixteen kilometres. Lieutenant Horgan was put in charge of the tower and his role was to ensure that a minute-by-minute radio contact was established with his superior's exploration team.

General Black, who was equipped with a portable wireless set, went into the woods to conduct a survey of his own. He was in constant contact with his aide while being accompanied by Dean and two aborigines. Apart from being able to keep in touch with his assistant, general Black was also able to establish radio contact with the other parties who were on the lookout for Jim.

The search conducted on Saturday, April 1, was indeed extensive. Joining in the exploration were two hundred more officers and men from Perak's police field force. They were earlier engaged in a training operation at Tambun near Ipoh. They came to Tanah Rata from Tanjung Rambutan after making their way through the jungle. They were later ordered to merge with the various police parties who were based at the administrative division.


Excerpts from Chapter Ten, page 33, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 11 (d)

General Black calls off his investigations


The following day, there was no let up in their pursuit of Jim: the police carried on with their winnowing from where they had earlier left off; general Black and his crew went about with a separate probe of their own. The Sunday exploration, though intensive, proved to be no more of a success than before.

The morning after, general Black and his team informed the police that they were calling off their investigations. They left the scene and got over to Kuala Lumpur on the same day. While resting at the Malaysian capital, the general told a group of reporters that 'there has been absolutely no trace of Jim's whereabouts.' 'Jim,' he said, 'has a knowledge of jungle law. This would have enabled him to survive for a few days. On realising that he was lost, he would have been on the lookout for a stream. He would have subsequently followed it expecting to come to a village.

'I find his disappearance rather strange. There has not been a single clue, not a bit of torn clothing or even a shoe. According to the police here, a ransom is usually demanded within a time frame of forty-eight hours. Nothing of that sort has surfaced since the day he went missing.'


Excerpts from Chapter Ten, page 34, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

Instalment No. 12 (a)

Thai Silk Company increases reward for finder of Jim


The hunt for Jim went on uninterruptedly for eleven days. On their part, the police did put in a concerted effort to track him down. On the twelfth day, there was a noticeable downsizing in their operation: more than two hundred officers and men were ordered to leave the neighbourhood and head back for their home base in Perak. Only a skeleton force numbering less than a hundred was instructed to stay behind.

Over in Thailand, the situation was a lot different. The Thai Silk Company, which was monitoring developments closely, announced that the US$10,000 reward for the finder of Jim would be raised by another US$2,500. George Barrie, Jim's close acquaintance and business associate, was the one who came up with the additional offer.

Jim or no Jim, the Thai Silk Company went on to function in much the same way as it previously did. In an exclusive interview with the press, Charles U. Sheffield said, 'Until we hear from him, we will just continue producing and selling silk the way we've always done.

'If he does not turn up we would have no choice but to find another designer to replace him. For the time being, we do not want to make any quick changes in the company's general set-up. We believe there is still a good possibility that he will be found.'


Excerpts from Chapter Eleven, page 37, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).

I remember Jim Thompson
By Robert J. Rochlen


On Sunday March 6, 1967, a mixed group of Americans and Thais set out from Bangkok in Land Rovers and ordinary street vehicles for a remote destination north of the capital. The missions stated objective was to photograph cave ceilings to be used for Jim Thompson's Thai silk prints. It was a motley crew to say the least. I, my sister, my mother, dad, who was the photographer assigned to do the job, Jim Thompson, Lisa Lyons, a Thai art expert, and a couple of Thai museum officials. My brother Roger, being academically inclined, chose to stay home.
Jim had requested my dad take care of the photography. Though his current job description at the time did not include the designation of a˜professional photographer he had previously taken photographs for Life Magazine, and was asked to aid on this trip because of his close friendship with Jim and Lisa, and because of his prior workings with Bangkok's National Museum.

My dad first met Jim Thompson in September of 1955. They had been introduced the very same month of his new diplomatic posting in Bangkok by Bob Lasher, an American working at USIS. At that time, Jim still lived in his house near the Dusit Thani Hotel. Over the next following month and two years, they became close friends and both my parents were over at his house frequently for dinner. After a year of intensive Thai language training, my parents were back in Bangkok for another three years from December, 1958 to December, 1961, as they continued their friendship with Jim. And they went on trips together, including one up the River Kwai. That too was in search of caves.
In August of 1965 Dad was posted to Saigon, and he would come to Bangkok every three of four months to visit the family, and it was during one of these sojourns that the cave expedition was consummated. I was oblivious to much of what was happening at the time, and I don't even know if the cave pictures were taken, though I feel with some degree of certainty that any such ceiling pictures never ended up on Jim's Thai silk prints. But I do have pictures from the trip, and certain memories of that day.

I remember that the street vehicles had to be left at a point away from the cave or caves, and that that was the purpose of the Land Rovers; to access unsuitable terrain. I remember climbing on rocks, a hot day, dirt, and dust, but the caves, if they existed, remain a mystery to me. I remember Jim saying he wanted to walk back ahead of the Land Rover, and we told him we'd pick him up on the way back to our starting out point. And as we rode back, we kept looking for Jim, and it was a long time, and many miles before we caught up with him. We found him, tired, exhausted, dehydrated, and sapped of energy.

Little could we have imagined that this was an ominous portent of events that was soon to unfold. On March 27, 1967, three weeks after our Sunday excursion north of Bangkok, Jim Thompson once again set a lonely sail into the wilderness. Was this a man coming to terms with his previous life as an O.S.S. officer? Was he a tired man on a rendezvous with his Maker? Was this world no longer his home? I don't know what happened on that day, but I can't help but think of a hot afternoon three weeks before as a man set off on trial run of what was to become his rendezvous with destiny.

Dear Robert Rochlen,

Thanks for bringing to light something which I did not know of.

I have to admit, it came as a surprise to me that three weeks before Jim disappeared from the Cameron Highlands, he was involved in a cave expedition which later resulted in him being separated from you and the rest of the group.

I do not know what he had to say when you and your team caught up with him many miles away from the agreed starting out point. If he did have something to say, please feel free to share it with us.

Regards and best wishes.

Hi-

You know, in March 1967 I was only 10 and slightly out of it. Jim was very thirsty and drank a lot of soda. I do remember my dad telling me that Jim never drank a lot of soda. That night Lisa Lyons and my parents had dinner at his house. My dad died in March of 1999, and I don't believe my mom rembers what was discussed at the dinner. I don't know if Lisa Lyons is still alive, and if she is, where.

Robert

Edward-

Just a few more notes. Just got out of the hospital. I say this because there was a verb agreement issue in the last paragraph of the first piece I submitted. (Was soon to unfold should have been were soon to unfold.) But I can always blame it on the brain tumor that they took out, and since I just came home Sunday I can blame the spelling error of rembers on that event as well.
E-mail me and I'll E-mail picture I have of Jim in the 50's and 60's in Thailand.

Best-

Robert

Edward-

It seems that those last few weeks were filled with things that were not typical of Jim's actions. The barbar shop episode. His walking on ahead of the group on my trip 3 weeks earlier. And others. I think these are suggestive of something weighing on Jim's mind. Exactly what we will probably never know.

Robert

Edward-

This is a funny site. I posted 4 replies, but only see two. Anyway, if you want me to E-mail any pictures, let me know.

Robert

Dear Robert Rochlen,

Thanks for your replies.

My e-mail address is roysouza@singnet.com.sg.

I do look forward to hearing from you.

Regards and best wishes.

Edward Roy De Souza

I ordered your book of Amazon.com a few weeks ago and found it a fascinating read. The addition of maps, the glossary, bios, and index are an appreciated touch, making it much more than a linear telling of Jim Thompson's story.

I was struck when I first saw the cover, on which the illustration of Jim makes him look like an Asian man! And after seeing other illustrations of the principal charcters, I found it intriguing (though, not surprising) that the illustrator is Asian. As an artist myself, I know that an artist unconsciously paints himself into any portrait he does, but found this partiuclarly amusing since I'd never seen those results cross a racial line.

I'm curious, what is your relationship to the illustrator, Pak Ah Bee? Were these drawings done specifically for your book?

Regards,
Greg Orsi

Dear Greg Orsi,

Thanks for purchasing a copy of my book via Amazon.com.

I am indeed pleased that you found my book to be a fascinating read.

With regard to your query on my relationship with Pak Ah Bee, all I can say is this: he has been a full-time artist/sculptor for more than 25 years. I got to know him in 1995 when I approached him to work on the principle characters of my book. I have to admit that the drawings were done specifically for my earlier work which was published in the United Kingdom in 1996. The same set of drawings was used again when I opted to have my book published in the United States in the middle of last year.

Regards and best wishes.

Edward Roy De Souza

Mr De Souza

The reference to Lisa Lyons and the cave trip three weeks prior to Jim's disappearance caused me to do a quick Google. There are several references to Lisa and I believe that she is the same Lisa Lyons who is or was a consultant to the John Paul Getty Museum: www.getty.edu/museum/

You may consider it worthwhile to email the Getty Museum for contact details?

Regards
Karl Head

Karl-

Thanx for the tip. I contacted the Getty Museum. She did do a stint there as a guest curator when the museum. I E-mailed the museum, and they told me that the lady who knows how to contact her would be back in a week. I forwarded a copy of the reply to Edward. I know our Lisa at one time worked for the Boston Museum. We should know in about a weeks time, and if it's the right Lisa Lyons, she should be able to confirm the location of the trip and perhaps a few other details.

Robert

Dear Karl Head & Robert Rochlen,

Thanks for the replies.

I do hope that the lead which was brought to light would gradually bring us to the right person in question.

In the meantime, let's see how things develop from here...

Regards and best wishes.

Edward Roy De Souza