Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 17, 1994 TAG: 9409200039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MONETA NOTE: BELOW LENGTH: Medium
It's official: Elvis is alive.
The report is now on its way to the White House. The story has broken. The truth is out. The only question remaining is: Will the world believe it?
In at least one corner of the world Friday afternoon, the answer was yes.
About 50 people attended a news conference Friday at the Camper's Paradise Resort overlooking Smith Mountain Lake to witness the release of a report by the mysterious Presley Commission. The report claims the late king of rock 'n' roll is not, in fact, dead.
The news conference was hosted by Phil Aitcheson, founder and president of the Presley Commission, a self-appointed independent panel formed in 1992 to investigate Elvis Presley's alleged death on Aug. 16, 1977.
Aitcheson, 43, of Moneta, was flanked by a woman who identified herself as Debbie Story, but then said that wasn't her real name. No other commission members were present.
The inch-thick report concludes that Elvis faked his death to protect himself and his family from death threats stemming from his work as a government agent. It says he has been living ever since in a government protection program.
Skeptics undoubtedly will scoff. But the curious and the supportive people who turned out for the news conference seemed ready to believe the theory. If they are any barometer for the rest of the world, then Elvis is as good as ... well, at the closest 7-Eleven.
Richard and Helen Dragon and their Franklin County neighbor, Rose Dickey, were among the curious who walked away believers - or at least left wondering.
"The government is capable of doing anything," said Richard Dragon, 63. "So it's very feasible."
Linda Wray, 47, of Rocky Mount, who called the 1976 Elvis concert in Roanoke "the highlight of my life," has never believed he died. Nor has she ever liked the reports about his drug use. She came out Friday to hear the other side.
The commission report contends that Elvis did not use drugs, that he believed the drug culture was leading to the disintegration of the country, and that he became a government informant to expose drug trafficking in the entertainment industry.
Dianna Holland, 24, and Steve Hodges, 30, both of Rocky Mount, wore matching T-shirts from a recent visit to Graceland, Presley's mansion in Memphis, Tenn., where he supposedly is buried.
"I believe the man [Aitcheson] knows what he's talking about," Holland said.
She carried with her an album of photographs they took at Graceland that offer more evidence, she said, that Elvis is alive. She pointed to an upstairs window. In one photo, it is open. In the next, it is closed.
There is also the last car Elvis drove. Holland pointed to the license plate. The date on the decal is June 1981. Then there is the note on display from Elvis to his former manager, Col. Tom Parker, dated 1980.
"I came out to satisfy my mind," she said.
Joan Clark, 47, president of the Looking For Elvis Fan Club, drove all night from Mobile, Ala. "I think [Aitcheson is] right on target," she said.
She talked of logic and common sense. "Let's say he was really dead and buried. Do you think there would be this many clues that he's alive?" she asked.
And she had a quick response to the skeptics. First, they don't bother her. "We get this every day of our lives." Second, how do they know the commission isn't right?
"Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" she asked, then paused.
"Have you ever seen him?"
The hour-long news conference was worth the long drive, Clark said. "I'm always doing things for Elvis."
Aitcheson was thrilled.
"We're shocked at the turnout, shocked at the turnout," he said.
Camera crews from three television stations and four newspapers attended the news conference, nearly an hour's drive from Roanoke. Plus, The Associated Press sent a story about Aitcheson and the commission over the national wire. By late Friday, he had received interview requests from media in Pittsburgh, Nashville, Chicago, North Carolina and Texas, and from the BBC in London.
He also expects to hear back from the White House. The report comes down hard on the government for its role in the whole conspiracy.
"I suspect they may call me in for a talk," he said.
by CNB