Find 815 clues/January 8

Billboard vandalism investigated

The Ames Tribune reported that the Ames Police department investigated vandalism to the Oceanic Airlines billboard in Ames, Iowa.

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Sam's desk - web browser

Black Rock

Sam's web browser initially updated with a third website about the Black Rock. The url in Sam's browser was www.slaveshipsearch.com.

Update

As of January 9, the url www.slaveshipsearch.com has been updated in the real-world to show the information Sam was looking at. www.slaveshipsearch.com is hosted at find815.com.

Sunda Stories

Later in the evening, the website about the Black Rock was gone, but another website called "Sunda Stories" appeared. It lists notable planes and ships that have been lost in the Sunda Trench since 1566. At the bottom, it makes note of failures with electronics and compasses:

“

The Sunda Trench List of some notable planes and ships lost in the Sunda Trench: 1566 -- Loss of Portugese trading vessel on trip from Ambon Island 1693 -- Disappearance of noted early Dutch explorer Conrad Van Eyck 1815 -- British fighting vessel "Princess Mary" reported missing with all hands on trip from Cape Town 1914 -- Japanese steam freighter goes missing on expedition to New Guinea 1931 -- Dutch freighter vanishes returning from Timor, crew of 29 on board 1933 -- British warship disappears during expedition 1937 -- Pilot involved in search for Amelia Earhart disappears off coast of Sumatra 1944 -- Several American bombing planes go missing in region on routine mission, despite no reports of storms or enemy activity 1948 -- Dutch merchant ship SS Ourang Medan was found adrift off Indonesia with all of its crew dead. The ship subsequently caught on fire and sank. 1951 -- US submarine disappears during patrol of waters 1955 -- British plane en route to Thailand disappears with 7 crew and 13 passengers -- one week later a plane sent out on a rescue mission also vanishes 1957 -- US seaplane lost with 10 crewmen 1964 -- American aircraft carrying 55 military personnel to South Vietnam vanishes 1966 -- British navy boat on patrol during Indonesian confrontation vanishes -- initially this loss was thought to be due to Indonesian military, but later release of classified documents from the Indonesian government indicated this was not the case 1973 -- French sailor disappears during round the world yacht expedition 1975 -- privately-owned plane carrying Minister in Indonesian government vanishes with 6 people on board 1981 -- Japanese commercial plane with 2 pilots and 42 passengers disappears en route to Jakarta 1981 -- Pleasure craft captained by West German business tycoon disappears 1988 -- Indonesian commercial plane disappears over ocean, 238 people on board 1998 -- Taiwanese freighter lost 2003 -- ship High Aim 6 left Taiwan on October 31, 2002 - found floating in Australian waters without its crew on on January 8, 2003. In addition to these, there have been reports of a high incidence of unexplained electronics failure in the area. Compasses have also been known to behave erratically.

”

Missing images

There are two missing images in the page. Both their names are displayed if you zoom in, although the first image name can't be identified. From what is possible to see of the second name, it reads "...Submarine HMS S2.jpg".

• The HMS M2 sank on 26 January 1932, while on its way to a military exercise in Lyme Bay, which is in the English Channel. It sank after leaving its base on the Isle of Portland.

Notes

The url in Sam's browser is http://www.findoutpedia.com/sundastories.

Sam's desk - email

Inbox

Reply from Isaac Chapman of Austral Air, Subject: "Enquiry"

“

Dear Mr. Thomas Thank you for your enquiry concerning employment with our company. At the moment there are no suitable positions available. However, we have put your details on file should one arise in the future. We wish you well with your future projects. Kind regards Isaac Chapman Human Resources Austral Air

”

Sent

Email to Tracey R, Subject: "Yes another favour ... please ;-)"

“

Ahoy there Trace, Greetings from the Christiane I. I made it! It was looking a bit dicey for a while there but soon as I pulled out my screwdriver they were never going to leave Jakarta without me. The captain is a crusty ol' sea dog called Ockham. He's a straight talker so we get on fine (you know how I like to know where I stand). The expedition supervisor is another story. He's a real company man. Keeps reminding everyone of his 'employer requirements'. His name's Talbot. I've heard the captain calling him 'Oscar' behind his back so I assume that's his first name. His accent's hard to pin down - maybe a little US East coast (as if I'd know). He seems pretty well heeled, educated - probably from old money. Real slippery type, doesn't give much away. As a result I still don't know exactly where this expedition is headed, or what it hopes to find. I suppose if I knew more about this Talbot bloke it might help...do you see where I'm going with this? So what do you think? Can you find out more about Mr Talbot for me? Just add it to my tab ;) S. PS - how's the "black rock" research going? You're not losing your touch are you?

”

This day in summary

• It is learned that the Sunda Trench has a history of plane and ship disappearances and causes trouble with electronics and compasses.
• Austral Air doesn't have any positions for Sam, but they will keep his file on record.
• Sam asks Tracey for information on Talbot and "black rock".