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No Identification Or Memory

On August 31, 2004 at 5:00 am a beaten naked man was found unconscious behind the dumpster of a Burger King. The man had no driver’s license, wallet or any other identification. After waking up at the hospital from being unconscious, the hospital staff asked for his name. All he could remember was his first name “Benjaman” with two a’s. He could not remember his last name or social security number. The last name Kyle was his placeholder name provided at the hospital. Benjaman suffered from cataracts on both eyes which he was able to operate 9 months after a charity raised the money. Upon seeing himself in the mirror, he was surprised to see he was 20 years older he thought he was.

Struggling 11 Years With No Identity

Benjaman spent many years between shelters and hospitals. With no identification or social security he was unable to obtain legal employment or a place to stay. He was the only person on the missing database that was not missing. In 2007 he was diagnosed with dissociative amnesia which he suffered since 2004. Benjaman was featured in Dr.Phil, Jeff Probst and even on a segment of News4Jax. In 2011 he caught a big break when he was asked to be featured in a short documentary named “Finding Benjaman”. The purpose was meant to help his situation from a legal standpoint and perhaps even find his family. Despite the many efforts to get the word out nobody came forward. Here is the documentary:

Identity Found And Revealed

After the documentary, Benjaman was able to obtain a government issued id but his true identity still remained a mystery. There were many efforts in order to match his fingerprints and DNA to information stored in national databases. At this point multiple DNA agencies, research centers and even the FBI were involved. It wasn’t until September 16, 2015 that Benjaman announced on his Facebook that his identity had been found. He did not release any further details at this time for privacy reasons. On November 21, 2016 Benjaman Kyle’s true name was revealed to be William Burgess Powell. It was also reported that he found his family. Many questions still remain unanswered that led him to where he was found in 2004.