BANGKOK, Thailand — The body of Charles E. Ditlefsen, whose CEDCo Publishing Co. calendars featured a variety of railroad subjects, was found dismembered in a freezer in Thailand. He disappeared in 2008.
Ditlefsen, who was born in Hungary, was a transportation planner in Marin County, Calif. News reports from Thailand say Ditlefsen may have been killed by a passport fraud ring, which used his documents to embezzle funds from his bank accounts.
He started CEDCo in the 1970s, producing high-quality color calendars. Initially, the calendars featured railroad scenes, but he later expanded his offerings to include autos, aircraft, film stars, and ships. By 2003, CEDCo had grown into a $20 million business. The company suddenly closed without explanation in 2005.
In 1995, he wrote and published “Those Magnificent Trains,” a collection of photographs and text. Many of the photos in the book had been previously published in his calendars.
I was Chucks lover & we had an incredible romance for 14 years. However, I would not for some reason marry him. As i look back now I feel I should have taken a chance. We came from distant worlds but our love for each other was undeniable & electric In 1989 I left him & moved back east but he always haunted me. We were happy just being together and we could read each others thoughts but Chuck had delusions of grandeur & was a Fantasist. He once told me & believed it was he knew for a fact that one day when we were ready we would walk thru Golden Gate Park,
be picked up alive by a Golden Chariot & taken to
Heaven. Because of those kind of announcements I knew I could never marry him because he was a special kind of crazy that scared me. Chuck wanted a family and I did not want to raise children with him because I felt his views would ultimately ruin us. He had started CEDCO when I left and on the night I went into hiding b 4 I moved back east he called me at midnight to say he loved me I said I would contact the next day but never saw him again. He eventually found me and wanted me to come back to CA. I was running one of the country’s major arts instititutions at
The time & was married to someone else who I was
Peaceful with & still am. Chuck called me & I called him for many years even after his marriage. I eventually came home but I couldnt find the friends we had together. Some had died, some had moved &
Michael a lawyer & very good friend I cannot remember his last name.
So this is why I am posting this. I do not believe the
Melted corpse in the coffin is Chuck. I have studied it again & again and here is why I am suspicious. I know a former zoo director who spent a year in Bangkok and he told me it was easy to pick dead bodies in the street. I know Chuck would never harm
Anyone but he lived in the gray & may have worked w
Criminals to change his identity. The authorities describe the corpse as Hungarian , Chuck was Danish. Chuck had the most beautiful teeth & the teeth on the corpse are very crooked. Also Chuck was 6’1” & the corpse is much shorter. His age is also wrong In 2005 when he was said to have died Chuck would have been 58 & now he would be 70. He wa born in 1947 so the ages dont match either
I am beginning to believe Chuck is alive somewhere with a new identity. So I am offering a REWARD for proof of life. I would also appreciate Michael our lawyer friend last name & contact info. And Chuck if you read this please call Mary Ellen. I was Mary Ellen Murphy when Chuck & i were together. I will tell you I
have an anti aging gene & still look very young. I want to see you one more time if you are still alive
cannot believe u are dead. My phone number is 415 917 7964 & leave a message on how to contact you
If you r still alive & get this message I might be able to help you. It was my husband who urged me to look for you.
This is the first step so all of you train lovers if you know where he is tell him to call me. My line is safe. Anyone w information please call me tooU can also email me.
I’m doing this because I have too. I need to know if. You are still alive. I have received pychic messages from you but dont know if they r from live or dead you. My email is mekuhi1@msn.com. Thanks 2 all of you who read this.
No! Having known, and even shared a house with, Chuck Ditlefsen during the ’70s, that can’t have been him found in Thailand! I knew Chuck and his father, and they were of Danish descent, BOTH born in the USA. Plus, Chuck was at least 6’3″ in height! Unfortunately, he likely has been killed, but the body they found definitely can’t be his!
what a shock to read about.chuck. He used some of my photos for his callenders and books over a seventeen year period. I hope the b%^*%s that did this are caught.
Well that’s a totally awful way to go. Yeeeesh.