My attempt to break the Ricky McCormick Code

Working on some modified images

2011-06-18T00:01:00.000-04:00

The WLD that appears throughout when turned the LD actually resembles a lower case e.

Some things I forgot to post here

2011-06-17T23:56:00.000-04:00

on the page labeled notes.

line five the sixth character is a 6
line ten, the seventh character in from the left is a 7, the seventh character in from the right is also a 7

Also on line ten it starts with what looks like a crossed out 1 followed by 6mLSE7
assuming the first character is a 1 you have 16mLSE7 if the m is actually a sideways 3 and the S is actually a 5 you have 163L5E7 which makes the 1,3,5, and 7 appear in the proper sequence for the line.

Gambling references??

2011-05-24T03:15:00.000-04:00

Others have put forth theories on this being gambling notes for a bookie. I don't give that theory much weight because bookies can normally pay their bills and don't get evicted. The word bets does appear a fair amount and I noticed red sox at the top of P1. Here is an attachment in case anyone is interested.

Return to the bus route theory

2011-05-22T04:47:00.000-04:00

Having the knowledge that Ricky was being evicted I am wondering if it is possible that these two pages could include information on his search for a new apartment. I am going to look up apartment complex names aroud these bus routes to see if anything matches up with any of the code. Also, the 71, 74, and 75 NCBE on the page with P1 at the top. I wonder if those could be dates. July 1, 4 and 5th.

A little light hearted guessing

2011-05-22T04:39:00.000-04:00

A theory I briefly entertained but I don't think I posted about was that Ricky was jotting down notes about such things as Movies. Some movies that came out around the time of his death that can be found in one form or another in the text are:

South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut sprk and uncut clearly appear in the code.
Sixth Sense
200 Cigarettes

I have seen some others but I am curious if anyone else sees this. I quickly moved on from this but thought I would revisit it here.

Only sort of Ricky related

2011-05-22T04:09:00.000-04:00

I found it interesting the number of people that are interested in this topic from all over the world. I know about Joseph from Spain as he actually comments but here are where some other recent visits were from.

United States

Spain

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Germany

India

France

Poland

Australia

Singapore

Cleaned up image

2011-05-18T19:56:00.000-04:00

I cleaned up the image that had all of the dark splotches on it. There some areas I left unmodified since I wasn't 100 percent sure what the intended letters were. I did this on a pixel by pixel level to minimize any mistakes.

I hate when I find something out only to learn that others already knew

2011-05-17T02:43:00.000-04:00

I was sifting through the MO court data involving Rick and an eviction. I was getting ready to put in the info and was just going to do a Google map search when I found someone on web sleuths had pretty much covered it. Rather than repost the info I will just like to it here.

The key points I think are his relationship with Sandra Jones and the address involved. He was evicted just before he was killed so there may be something in the notes about this info. This would be truly sad but imagine if he had been convicted and then got killed trying to get back home to his mom or one of the other places he sometimes lived.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6297414&postcount=545

Ricky is not in the Social Security Death Index

2011-05-14T02:40:00.000-04:00

I decided to go looking for Ricky the other day in the Social Security Death index using my Ancestry.com account. I think I read somewhere he was on disability so you would think even if he never worked a day in his life he still would have had a number and been in their records. The conspiracy theorist in me briefly came out and wondered if what the FBI is putting out there happened as they say it did. I am never one to believe in such things but I have done extensive genealogy research in the past and everyone I know that has died in recent years has been in that index. I might request the death certificate from the Missouri department of vital records assuming I am eligible to make that request. I don't think you run into privacy with death records, only birth and marriage.

Patterns in Numbers

2011-05-13T20:52:00.001-04:00

Ok so this post is going to be long because of the data I am going to post. I wrote a program a while back to convert all the letters in the code to their places in the alphabet. I thought this would help me look at the patterns without my brain being able to find words because it would not see any letters. Now I could just be finding patterns in the numbers that aren't actually there but this pattern occurs on line 9

(~6~~12~~18~~19~~5~ ~16~~18~~19~~5~ ~15~~14~~4~~5~ 71 ~14~~3~~2~~5~)

The first three digits are multiples of 6 with the fourth being 19 which breaks the pattern. Unless you add the 5 in which case it becomes 24 which would be the next expected number. The next grouping has 16,18,19. The next group is 15,14 and then 4,5. THen finally you have 14,3,2,5 which I suppose could be seen as 1,2,3,4,5 out of order. I fully admit that this could mean nothing but these patterns exist all over the place in this document. I ran some other random text through the same program such as the preamble to the constitution and the Gettysburg address and there was not a similar abundance of numerical patters,

(~13~~14~~4~ ~13~~11~~14~~5~~13~~18~~19~~5~-~14~-~19~-~13~-~11~~14~~1~~18~~5~) (~1~~12~~19~~13~)

~20~~6~~18~~14~~5~ ~14~~16~~11~~14~~19~~5~ ~14~~16~~18~~19~~5~~18~~3~~2~~18~~14~~19~~5~~14~~16~~18~~19~~5~~9~~14~~3~

~16~~18~~19~~5~ ~14~ ~13~~18~~19~~5~ ~4~~16~~18~~5~ ~8~~12~~4~~23~~12~~4~~14~~3~~2~~5~(~20~~6~~24~~12~~6~~20~~3~~24~~12~~14~~3~~2~~5~)

~1~~12~-~16~~18~~16~~16~~9~~20~ ~24~~12~~25~ ~16~~16~~9~~25~~14~~3~~2~~5~~13~~7~~11~~19~~5~~23~~12~~4~~18~~3~~2~~18~~14~~19~~5~~16~~18~~19~~5~

~23~~12~~4~~18~~3~~2~~18~~14~~19~~5~ ~14~~20~==~14~~5~~14~~20~~24~~19~~5~-~3~~18~~19~~12~~5~-~3~~12~~20~~18~~19~~5~ ~23~~12~~4~~14~~3~~2~~5~

~1~~12~~23~~12~~4~~14~~3~~2~~5~~20~~19~~13~~5~~12~~18~~19~~5~~18~~12~~19~~5~~21~~18~~7~~12~~19~~14~~5~~1~~19~~14~~23~~12~~4~~14~~3~~2~~5~

(~14~~15~~16~~6~~19~~5~ ~14~~12~~19~~18~~5~ ~14~~3~~2~~5~)~14~~20~~5~ ~7~~4~~4~~13~~14~~19~~5~~14~~3~~21~~18~~5~~18~~3~~2~~18~~14~~5~

(~20~~5~~14~~5~ ~20~~6~~18~~14~~5~ ~14~~3~~2~~18~~20~~19~~5~ ~14~~3~~2~~5~ ~12~~14~~3~)

(~6~~12~~18~~19~~5~ ~16~~18~~19~~5~ ~15~~14~~4~~5~ 71 ~14~~3~~2~~5~)

(~3~~4~~14~~19~~5~ ~16~~18~~19~~5~ ~15~~14~~19~=~5~ 74 ~14~~3~~2~~5~)

(~16~~18~+~19~~5~ ~16~~18~~19~~5~ ~15~~14~~18~~5~~4~~5~ 75 ~14~~3~~2~~5~)

(~20~~6~==~3~~13~~19~~16~~19~~15~~12~~5~~13~~18~~4~~5~ ~12~~21~~19~~5~ ~20~~15~~20~~5~ ~23~~12~~4~ ~14~ ~23~~12~~4~ ~14~ ~3~~2~~5~)

(194 ~23~~12~~4~'~19~ ~14~~3~~2~~5~)(~20~~18~~6~~24~~12~)

~1~~12~~16~~14~~20~~5~ ~7~~12~~19~~5~-~19~~5~ ~5~~18~+~5~

~22~~12~~19~~5~~13~~20~~19~~5~-~3~~20~~19~~5~-~23~~19~~5~-~6~~18~~20~~19~~5~

~16~~14~~20~~18~~20~~18~~19~~5~~15~~14~~16~~18~~19~~5~~23~~12~~4~~14~~3~~2~~5~

~14~~23~~12~~4~~24~~12~~18~~3~~13~~19~~16~~14~~5~~23~~12~~4~~19~~20~~19~~13~~5~~24~~12~

~4~~22~~12~~13~~20~6~20~~21~~14~~19~~5~ ~14~~3~~2~~5~~3~

(~13~~21~~14~~19~~1~~9~~19~~20~~5~~14~~13~~21~~14~~1~~18~~19~~5~)

~11~~12~~19~~5~-~12~~18~~19~~20~~5~-~20~~18~~19~~5~-~20~~18~~19~~5~-~13~~11~~19~~5~~14~-~13~~18~~19~~5~

(~19~~1~~5~6~14~~19~~5~~19~~5~~14~~13~~2~~19~~5~)

~14~~13~~14~~18~~3~~2~~18~~14~~19~~5~~16~+~5~2~16~~20~~5~~23~~19~~18~~3~~2~~18~~14~~19~~5~

26~13~~12~~19~~5~74~19~~16~~18~~11~~19~~5~29~11~~5~~14~~15~~19~~15~~12~~5~173~18~7~18~~19~~5~

356~12~~5~~3~~12~~7~~19~~5~~21~~21~~14~~21~~20~~18~~5~~4~~11~~18~~19~~5~~16~~19~~5~~19~~8~~12~~5~

651~13~~20~~3~~19~~5~~8~~20~~12~~19~~5~~14~~3~~21~~20~~3~~20~~18~~19~~14~~13~~18~~5~

99.84.52~21~~14~~5~~16~~12~~19~~5~~14~~3~~18~~19~~5~~1~~15~~12~~20~~19~~5~~14~~19~~11~~19~~5~~14~~18~~19~~5~

~14~~19~~18~~5~~15~~21~~19~~5~~16~~21~~20~~19~~5~~23~~12~~4~~21~~3~~2~~5~(3~24~~15~~18~~12~)

~4~~14~~13~~19~~5~~14~~18~~19~~5~~9~~14~2~14~~20~~18~~12~~5~~18~~3~~2~~18~~14~~19~~5~~14~~20~~19~~18~~3~~18~~2~~14~~5~

~12~~19~~16~~14~~19~~5~~14~~7~~19~~16~~19~~5~~13~~11~~19~~5~~18~~2~~19~~5~~14~~3~~2~~5~~1~~22~~24~~12~~18~

~8~~13~~3~~18~~5~~14~~13~~18~~5~~19~~3~~2~~5~ 1/2~13~~21~~14~~4~~4~~12~~19~~5~

~4~-~23~-~13~-~25~~8~~9~~12~ ~24~~4~~18~~12~~24~

I haven't given up I have just been busy

2011-05-11T21:00:00.000-04:00

Some things I have noticed as of late which hopefully I will have more time to go into at some point. Many of the letters that don't look right look perfect when the page is held at a 90 degree angle.

A few crazy theories I have gone through since my last posting involve, TV, Oprah and Movies. I will try to start posting more as well as posting some marked up visuals that show what I am talking about.

A final thing is that everyone pretty much seems to assume that the circled P1 means page 1. If you look on that page however there is another P1 in the coded text and it has a tiny mark like a superscript 1 just before it as if to remind him of some importance in decoding the document.

Get out your telephone

2011-04-11T11:27:00.000-04:00

I haven't figured out exactly how it works yet but I am relatively sure the code requires a telephone. The only letters that never appear in the entirety of the two pages are Q and Z. I find that to be too much of a coincidence. I started writing a computer program on Sunday night to try to decode it using the first possible method I have devised. Program isn't done yet though and can't work on it at the moment because I have to do the job I get paid to do. :)

I have been busy but not updating

2011-04-10T14:14:00.001-04:00

While I am sure a simple substitution cypher will not work for this I am thinking that grouping letters and then doing some sort of substitution may be the answer. My biggest problem at the moment is exactly how to group things. For instance, I originally thought NCBE was an obvious grouping however I am starting to think that N could just be a breaking character and CBE could be the actual pattern. Here is one of the pages with a possible coding of repeating characters. To do some of these I tried to find a pattern first and then find the largest grouping that never appeared apart from each other. Below is not finished but it is my first pass through.

(MND MKNE? RSE-N-S-M-KNARE) ( ACSM )?

TFRNE NPKNSE NPRSE RCBRNSE NPRSE INC

PRSE NmRSE ?PRE HLD WLDNCBE (TFXLF TCXL N CBE)

AL-PRPPIT XLYPPIY NCBE m?KSE WLD RCBR NSE PRSE

WLDRCBRNSE NT ??NENT?SE - CRSLE - CLTRSE WLD NCBE

AL WLD NCBETSmE LRSE RLSE UR GLSNE AS N WLD NCBE

( NOPFSE NLSRE NCBE ) NTE GD DMN SEN CURE RCBRNE

( TENE TFRNE NCBRTSE NCBE INC )

(FLRSE PRSE ONDE 71 NCBE )

(CDNSE PRSE ON S?E 74 NCBE )

(PR+SE PRSE ON REDE 75 NCBE )

(TF NRCMSP SOLE MRDE LUSE TOTE WLD N WLD NCBE )

( 194 WLD'S NCBE ) ( TRFXL )

Video of where he was found

2011-04-08T17:29:00.000-04:00

This is the video I used along with the article to pin point the location they found the body.

FBI Seeks Help Cracking Cold Case Code

From 1999: Body found in field puzzles police

2011-04-08T17:22:00.000-04:00

This is an article containing information I sued to find the location of where they found the body. I will be posting a link to a Fox affiliate's recent coverage which shows archival footage of the scene.

From 1999: Body found in field puzzles police

My theory so far

2011-04-08T15:22:00.002-04:00

I have read many theories on this and a good number of them seem plausible. I believe the numbers are all bus routes. The biggest problem with definitively proving this theory is that I only have access to current bus routes and not the routes that existed in 1999.

Almost all of the numbers found on the notes are bus numbers in the St Louis area. I suspect that this would probably be true of most areas so I had to make more sense of them before I felt comfortable about this. On one of the pages the number 75 appears. On the other page there are a series of numbers which when taken in order are routes that intersect with the 75 route.

Line 10 on the page labeled NOTES has the numbers 36 74 27(9) and 75.
The 27 could be a 29 although that would not work out with the current bus lines. If looking at the bus system map of the area traveling west - east on the 75 line each of these numbers is a bus route heading south in the order listed above.

I have also noticed some patterns which could be streets individual bus routes take although this will take a good bit more investigation on my part.

One additional item I thought of while writing this post was that what look like the letter k could be a symbol denoting a bus turning. That is wild speculation at this point though.

Location the body was discovered

2011-04-08T15:16:00.001-04:00

Through some thorough searching of the area and local news footage I think I have found the exact area the body was found. Here is a link to the area on Bing maps

Why am I doing this

2011-04-08T15:13:00.002-04:00

Since the FBI has asked for help it seems there are hundreds if not thousands of people trying to crack this code. I like puzzles and I thought it would be fun. I have gathered a lot of data on my theory and thought I should start documenting it. Maybe someone will even see this and leave a comment that helps me break the code. In addition to my overall theory I will be posting any info I find along the way which should help anyone else looking into this code.