FlishFun.com

On Feb 20, 2006, the President of our company went missing. He was last heard from at 6:20 PM talking to his wife. On the 21st, he was discovered dead. I blogged all the events that happened on the Neowin Forums, but it was quite disjointed.

Now that everything is said and done, I figured I should post it here. I’m going to post edited versions of what was posted on the other site. It will be edited to remove things that do not have to do with this, and also to include anything that is missing.

Since this is a very long entry, I’m going to make it split… if you want to read it… please click the “(more)” link below.

————————————————————————-

1st Entry - Feb 21 2006, 10:31

At approx. 6:20 PM (CST) last night, the President of our company went missing. No one knows where he is, and as he’s a very scheduled person, they suspect foul play (this is the first time in years he didn’t open up shop at 4:30 am). No one outside of the company has been told with the exception of the company attorney and the sheriff’s dept.

As of now, his two daughters (which work for the company) are out looking for him (his car, along with his gun is missing) and the rest of the company who was out of town are trying to get back (this includes the VP). The last person to hear from him (via cell phone) was his wife… who lives out of state (and is trying to get here as fast as possible). The last people to see him were the last 5 people here before we closed last night (me, 3 other employees, and the company accountant).

It’s a very odd thing to hear about first thing in the morning, and the company is trying to figure out what to do (we’re not a huge operation, and earlier this month we lost two important employees, both the VP of Construction and our Office Manager suddenly quit the same day after years of service). It’s absolutely crazy.

I’ll keep this updated as I get more info…

————————————————————————-

2nd Entry - Feb 21 2006, 11:32

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/2344751.html

Body Found
Unknown cause of death

Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found Tuesday morning in the area of 116th and M streets.

Police say that the body was found in a field a short distance from the man’s car but there was no initial word on a possible cause of death.

At this point the case is being investigated as a, “death unknown.”

The man’s identity was not immediately released.

We’ve confirmed that this vehicle was our President’s. The sheriffs are here now going through his office, but will tell us no details. We assume the body found was his, but they will not confirm nor deny it.

More as it happens…

————————————————————————-

3rd Entry - Feb 21 2006, 13:09

The VP of Ops was able to get a flight back here and will arrive today. The Pres’ daughters have met with sheriffs and have left for the day. While it hasn’t been officially confirmed, we’re to believe it was indeed his body (though still no details about how he died). The one thing we know is that he didn’t tell anyone he was going there, and everyone agrees he had no reason to go to that part of town. It’s all very odd.

We’re shutting down business at 2:00 pm today, and will come back in tomorrow morning. This will give the two VPs and the Pres’ daughters time to discuss what the plan of action is, and what new details have come up. So tomorrow I should have more updates (unless the news finds something out this evening).

On a personal note… I hope we don’t shut our doors permanently. While we don’t have a ton of employees… I’m sure it would be tough for most of them (me included) to suddenly have to find a new job. It’s a hard time for everyone here…. the pres made it his business to walk around every morning and ask each employee about their day. He was a very caring employer and we’ll miss him.

————————————————————————-

4th Entry - Feb 21 2006, 17:40

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/2344751.html

Death Ruled Suicide
Identity not released

Investigators say that a man whose body was was found Tuesday morning in the area of 116th and M streets apparently committed suicide.

Police say that the body was found in a field a short distance from the man’s car.

The man’s identity was not immediately released.

Well, the website has changed and now says it’s been ruled a suicide. We’ve yet to get official police confirmation if it was the President or not (just what has been said by the VPs, etc). Jess and I drove down there after work and it was very out of the way, though technically it was only a few blocks from the office (I didn’t realize it till we got there).

We’ll watch the news tonight to see if any new details are released, if so… you’ll get another update… if not, you’ll get one tomorrow. Hard to believe he’d commit suicide. He was a devout Catholic (as are his children)… and I’m pretty sure they look down on that.

Man, this is getting worse and worse……

————————————————————————-

5th Entry - Feb 22 2006, 09:06

Sorry to keep you all waiting, but I didn’t get any more information till this morning.

Jess and I watched the news last night and this morning, but the story was completely gone. Why? It seems our VP of Ops got back last night and the first thing he did was call his friend at the news station and ask them to take the story off the air.

Here’s what I’ve found out this morning…

First off, it was the President that was found, and yes, it was suicide. It seems he took his gun and some bullets with him last night after talking to his wife. He drove to that field, got out, and the assumption is he probably tried to talk himself into doing it. He loved his car very much, and that’s most likely the reason he didn’t do it inside.

He left no note, either at the scene, at his home, or here at the office. He didn’t attend that church, as it wasn’t a catholic church, but since he was religious, they figure that’s why he chose it. They still don’t know why he did it. The assumption is that it had to do with the company and/or money and he chose his own way out. Whatever the reason, it’s probably still looming overhead and we don’t know it (because suicide rarely solves any problems).

The VPs and his wife and daughters are meeting with the lawyers and accountants today to see if it’s possible to keep the business running. As of this morning the lawyers have said it is okay (legally) and now they need to talk to the accountants and see how the business is doing cash-wise.

That’s all for now… it should be “business as usual” for the rest of the week, until Friday when we will close for his funeral. After that, we’re playing it by ear.

I’ll keep you all posted on any updates… as for me, I’m currently backing up all my files on my work PC just in case we shut down.

————————————————————————-

6th Entry - Feb 22 2006, 15:36

Okay… this is most likely the final update about this whole story unless I lose my job or the truth about why he committed suicide comes out. Here is the (edited) statement that we are giving to the press… just for those wanting a little closure.

Why is it edited? Cause it hasn’t been given out yet, so I don’t feel right naming names.

One or two little notes… my boss has left with the VP to pick up the Pres’ car… that has to be pretty hard, but they’re trying to just get everything taken care of. Also, the new President (VP of Ops) is coming around and asking us about our day. Seems at least one of the old Pres’ old routines won’t go away. :happy:

————————————————————————-

7th Entry - Feb 23 2006, 06:56

Quick update… they’re now reporting his suicide on the news out here (TV and Newspaper).

Seems that people are filing construction leins like there’s no tomorrow (over 500 in a day, actually). I wonder how people at work are taking it? It also seems the reporters got some of their facts wrong… they got what his daughters do for the company wrong, which I’m sure will upset them.

On a personal note… Jess and I spent about 4 hours last night looking for something to wear to a funeral. It’s not as easy as it seems.

Alright… I’m off to get ready for work. And oh, since people keep asking, I work for a homebuilder… we build homes and communities (I’m just part of the IT Dept).

EDIT FROM WORK - So, our doors are locked to prevent people from storming in. Seems there are a lot of angry people calling us and trying to come here. We’re not giving answers to anyone over the phone, as they want to just give an official statement. It hasn’t stopped ringing since I got here.

There are quite a few new updates… for one, the new Pres asked to see how much we owe people… seems it’s quite a bit according to the report I helped sort for accounting this morning (I’m not going to post the amount, but it’s not a little, let’s just say that). Secondly, some of our trades are going to current jobsites and removing their work (example, one of our steel trades has been removing the steel laid out and/or just put up at the sites). And third, the consensus of people here is that he committed suicide for the insurance money to bail out the company. I’ve heard many people saying that the accountant that was here on Monday night told him he would have to declare bankruptcy and he probably made the choice to save the company (as in, kill himself and have his life insurance policy pay out). Is that the truth? I dunno… it makes sense, though.

That’s all I got for now… this is truly the oddest work situation I’ve ever had to deal with.

————————————————————————-

That’s it… there’s no more entries. It’s been a very sad week and I hope everything works out okay.