'Piano man': An unsolved mystery

2005-08-08 08:27

London - Doctors fear that the identity of a mysterious mute pianist found wandering on an English beach in April might never be known, a British newspaper reported on Monday.

"We have discounted a lot of the names and continue to look at those which remain. But there is no obvious lead - we haven't had someone bashing down the door saying, 'This is my son' or 'This is my brother'," an official at the Little Brook hospital in Dartford, Kent, southeast England told the Independent.

"Given the enormous amount of publicity about Piano Man we think it surprising that someone who knows him has not come forward.

"It is possible that his family lead an isolated existence and have not seen the stories but we have to prepare ourselves for the fact that we may never know who he is and that he may be with us for a long time."

Mute music maestro

The so-called "piano man", a tall blonde-haired stranger thought to be in his 20s or early 30s, was found on April 7 on the beach at Minster, on the south coast of England, soaking wet but fully dressed in a black suit and tie, with no clue as to his origin.

He has not spoken since and has not responded to written appeals while being kept under observation in the psychiatric hospital.

But he has fascinated social workers, the British media and the general public over his one means of communication: playing classical piano music.

When given a pencil and paper by hospital staff, the mystery man drew a grand piano - and then, when shown a piano at the hospital chapel, he impressed his carers with a remarkable virtuoso performance.

Since an appeal for witnesses in mid-May investigators have received around 1 000 calls or emails, but none have helped the identification process, and several leads, including one in France and another in the Czech Republic, have proved false.

- AFP