Our news partners at The Seattle Times report that the man who brought international attention to Discovery Park is back in Seattle.
Jon Doe wandered out of Discovery Park last August with $600 in his sock and no idea who he was or how he got there. He is now receiving psychotherapy at Sound Mental Health and participating in a day program at the Emerald House. Although he has been identified as 53-year-old Edward Lighthart, he still prefers to go by the name Jon Doe.
While he’s hoping to stay in Seattle for good, he said, he still has panic attacks and impulses to flee. Recently, police found him back in Discovery Park, under a tree, with no idea how he got there.
“For awhile after (being found) when people asked me who I was, I just showed them The Seattle Times article,” said Lighthart, sitting in a downtown office building, his black pants, shirt and jacket contrasting with his white beard and mustache. His memory of the past six months is hazy, but seems to include Portland, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Las Vegas, N.M.
Lightlart told The Times “I’m not aware of this getting better, I don’t want this to be a permanent thing, but I’m beginning to feel it might be.”
