The death of Blair Adams is officially an unsolved mystery.
There are numerous subgenres within the true crime genre. We have murders, serial murderers, infamous crimes, abductions, missing person cases, and more. Yet, one particular genre of true crime gets the most Reddit posts, where it is the most debated and examined — true unsolved crime.
A case of this nature inspires theory after theory and never ceases to fascinate people.
Blair Adams in a file photo
Adults who unexpectedly vanish under questionable circumstances fall under this category of actual criminal cases. It was almost as if they vanished after exhibiting chaotic, weird, and incomprehensible conduct.
Was it alien abduction, human trafficking, or unsolved murder, or did they voluntarily vanish?In either case, it’s one of those things that can keep you up at night as you descend further and further into a rabbit hole on the dark web.
Who Was Blair Adams, And What Happened to Him?
Blair Adams, a Surrey, British Columbia, Canada resident, withdrew most of his funds from his bank account and removed cash, valuables, gold, and platinum from his safe deposit box on July 5, 1996. Then, he tried to enter the United States using a ferry from Victoria, British Columbia, to Seattle, Washington.
Immigration officials highlighted Adams as a potential drug courier because of the significant sum of cash he was carrying. He was refused entry after discovering he had convictions for drug and assault-related offenses.
The Toyota Blair Adams had rented
Adams was discovered by Canadian border security agents early on July 9 while attempting to cross the border on foot at the Pacific Highway Border Crossing. Adams’ hands and legs were covered in scratches, according to officials.
The car had been found abandoned close to the Pacific Highway Border Crossing, and Adams fit the description of a man accused of stealing it; nevertheless, he denied involvement and was released due to a lack of proof.
Access to the United States
On July 10, Adams used a Nissan Altima he rented from the Vancouver International Airport to drive into the United States. After arriving in Seattle, he went to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to buy a roundtrip ticket to Frankfurt, Germany.
Adams had dated a German woman while living in Frankfurt; however, she later admitted to law enforcement that he had never contacted her about visiting. Adams had previously worked in Frankfurt on a project for his stepfather’s construction company.
But Adams ultimately decided against taking the aircraft to Frankfurt and exchanged his credit for a one-way ticket to Washington, D.C. Around 6:45 am, he arrived and leased a Toyota Corolla at Dulles Airport.
Blair Adams’ car keys lying on the road
Adams rear-ended another driver’s automobile on U.S. Route 250 in Troy, Virginia, later that morning, resulting in minor damage. Adams “seemed kind but was in a hurry,” the car’s driver remarked to police, according to the report.
On July 10, somewhere in the evening, Adams traveled about 500 miles (800 km) southwest of Washington, D.C., to Knoxville, Tennessee. At 5:30 p.m., Adams was reportedly seen in Knoxville at a gas station on Strawberry Plains Pike for the first time.
What really happened to Blair is still unsolved.
Adams informed the attendant at the gas station that he was experiencing trouble with his car key and could not enter the vehicle. An Interstate Repair Service driver, Gerald Sapp, was summoned to the location.
When Sapp arrived, he discovered that Adams had tried to use the key for a Nissan, not the Toyota he was driving—the car he had left in Seattle. Sapp remembered: “I requested that he check his pockets. I remarked, ‘You better have another key in your pockets if you drove this up here.’ He refused to look, too.
“So, I believed him to be crazy. He was adamant that he had the car’s key in his possession.” Adams was dropped off at a Fairfield Inn in Knoxville by Sapp, who had arranged to take the automobile to a nearby repair facility.
After checking in, Adams was caught on closed-circuit television in the lobby of the Fairfield Inn. After paying $100 for a room, he lingered at the hotel for around forty minutes. When the front desk employee tried to give him his change back, Adams left the lobby and went outside.
The Finding of a Body
Around 7:30 on July 11, 1996, construction workers found Adams “half-naked” with his pants off and shirt open in the parking lot of a Fairfield Inn hotel still under construction near the Strawberry Plains Pike-I-40 intersection.
His socks, shoes, and pant legs were all next to his torso. About $4,000 worth of German, Canadian, and American cash was found strewn all over his body.
Along with the cash discovered with the body, investigators also discovered a black duffel bag with travel documents and maps and a fanny pack containing five ounces of gold bars, platinum and gold coins, jewelry, keys, and a pair of sunglasses.
Inside the purse Adams carried were money and jewels
According to an autopsy report by the University of Tennessee Medical Center, Adams suffered numerous wounds and abrasions. The Knox County Sheriff’s Department has hypothesized that some injuries were sustained while defending oneself.
Adams also took a hard punch to the stomach, which caused a rupture. Sepsis caused by an abdominal hole was determined to be his official cause of death. He also had a forehead wound that authorities thought was caused by a club or crowbar.
Adams was also suspected of being sexually assaulted, but no Genetic evidence supported this claim.
Investigation Into the Death of Blair Adams
Because of the cause of death, police do not believe this was a suicide. We don’t know what transpired between when Blair checked out of the Fairfield Inn at 7:37 PM and when he passed away at roughly 3:30 AM.
But this is what researchers discover while attempting to provide an exact response. They revealed in an interview conducted much later in 2010 that Blair’s case had started out as a composite sketch of a man.
Two women who claimed to have seen Blair conversing with this man outside of the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Knoxville provided the information for the sketch.
After sketching the man they observed Blair conversing with in Cracker Barrel, these two women informed the police that they saw the incident. As calculated by Google Maps using actual streets, the distance between the Fairfield Inn and the parking area where Blair was discovered is only about 19 minutes.
The CCTV footage from the hotel
They are simply on different sides of the highway. After that, if taking that walk, one would pass the Cracker Barrel on the route. So, you would pass the Cracker Barrel on the roadway you took to get to the parking lot because it was literally just next to the Fairfield Inn.
It is presumed that Blair may have left the hotel to look for dinner and found up at the Cracker Barrel across the street, where two women overheard him conversing with a man.
They discovered no narcotics or alcohol in his system but found some lettuce, beef, and shrimp. Furthermore, it was clear from the stomach that he had eaten before passing away.
Did he accidentally run into fresh issues at Cracker Barrel, which had nothing to do with his paranoia, or was he the man Blair was initially fleeing from that these two women had seen him talking to?
Or perhaps Blair wasn’t even speaking to the man outside Cracker Barrel, and the witnesses misidentified the individual.
Police also had to accept that Blair was located near a truck stop that drew those who lived a nomadic lifestyle. It was also well-recognized for being a hub of criminal activities.
So, a boss may have engaged in illegal activities, such as sexual or drug-related activity. The fact that there was so much money and gold left at the scene and that it almost seems personal to me is my single objection to this notion.
The abandoned purse found next to his body
The money would have been taken if this had happened randomly that evening. You accept the money, regardless of the circumstances. It gets taken.
It has nothing to do with this because it is a personal motive. Moreover, there is merit in murdering a person and then dispersing the proceeds.
At first, investigators thought Blair’s death resulted from an unsuccessful robbery. But as none of his money or valuables were taken, it was ruled out. They also investigated the idea that it had to do with drugs.
No proof was discovered, though, to back it up, either. They also looked into the possibility that a pimp or prostitute might have murdered him. They failed to uncover any proof that he had ever engaged in prostitution, however.
The case is still officially unsolved. Although they have followed most of their leads in this case, investigators are still looking into it. The hair that was discovered in Blair’s hand yielded DNA. A match has yet to be discovered.
His mother was recently re-interviewed. She said he allegedly went to the American South to participate in the Olympics. She also mentioned that he had once been romantically involved with a male roommate; this could imply that his demise resulted from an unsuccessful gay affair.
Why she never before informed investigators of this knowledge is still being determined.
The Mysteries Keep Coming
Blair’s activities, such as altering last-minute flights and travel arrangements, switching cars several times, and enrolling into a hotel he wasn’t staying at, could indicate that he thought someone was chasing him and attempting to divert their attention.
And that is the best theory: his repeated attempts to travel to Germany and subsequently to the United States suggest that he believed someone was pursuing him. Friends acknowledge that he did say this frequently, and passersby claim to have seen him acting paranoid, but no supporting evidence for this notion has ever been discovered.
There were no messages, threats, or indications that Blair had engaged in any illicit behavior that may have brought him to this location. He had no drug-related offenses and no problems at all. The investigation following Blair’s death did not mention Blair’s prior history with a drug or assault conviction.
A composite sketch of the initial suspect
I cannot tell you whether or not the police have looked into if Blair’s past was catching up to him or if his death was related to this, but they could have.
Also, have the Surrey police in British Columbia and the Knoxville County police spoken or exchanged notes regarding this case? I wonder if they have spoken and said, “His background is shown here. What have you got?”
Blair’s cremated remains are in Canada’s British Columbia, at the Victory Memorial Park.
RIP, Blair Adams.
Next, read about Spain’s Most Haunted House: The Cortijo Jurado. Then, if you’re interested in Unsolved Mysteries, try the True Story Behind the Lake Baikal Aliens!
