A man from Pennsylvania awoke in a Florida gas station with no memory of his identity or how he came to be there, in a baffling medical case of total amnesia.
The Mysterious Discovery
Darrell Powell was discovered unconscious in a Wawa store bathroom in Orlando on September 8th. He had been stripped of his wallet, phone, and any form of identification, leaving him a complete mystery to the authorities who found him.
When he regained consciousness, he could not recall a single detail from his life. Deputies from the Osceola County Sheriff’s office concluded he was suffering from a profound and complete form of amnesia.
With only $45 in cash on him, he was rushed to hospital and registered as a John Doe. Police attempted to identify him using his fingerprints, but with no criminal record on file, the effort proved unsuccessful.
The Search for Identity
After an eight-day stay in hospital, authorities turned to facial recognition technology. This breakthrough led them to his Pennsylvania driver's licence in an online database.
The software revealed a tragic personal history: both of his parents had passed away, he had no next of kin, and his only remaining connection was his ex-wife, Abi Knaub, whom he had not contacted in over a decade.
Shocked by the call from police, Knaub learned they suspected a stroke or a brain aneurysm had caused his condition, erasing all memory of his life prior to being found.
Powell was eventually discharged with a diagnosis of amnesia caused by a brain aneurysm, yet he was left with the daunting reality of not knowing who he was.
Rebuilding a Life from Scratch
Despite having had no contact with Powell since 2014, Knaub dedicated herself to helping him. She arranged for his transport by bus from Florida to Maryland, where she met him.
"I'm not taking that stance. And everybody in my life... all understand and support me in doing this because they know this is who I am," she told reporters.
Knaub immediately drove him to Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill. Doctors there confirmed the presence of a brain aneurysm, but since it wasn't bleeding, they believed it was probably not the direct cause of his sudden memory loss.
She started a GoFundMe to raise money for essentials, explaining that the cheapest group home they found costs about $550 per month, an amount Powell cannot manage as he has no job.
As of last Friday morning, the fundraiser had reached $665 of its $10,000 goal. Powell is currently living in a homeless shelter, and not even photographs from his past have been able to trigger his memory.
"He needs to have a life now. Even if he can't remember his life," Knaub said.
