Evan Ratliff and Other Vanishings

It’s something very romanticized by movies and books, I think. The idea of dropping off the grid, creating a new life for yourself. Even more so, of traveling the U.S. and touring with a rock band. Ratliff lived many people’s dream in the time that he was posed as both James Gatz and the “lazy roadie and moneyed patron” Don. However, in doing so, he lived in a very anxious state - even believing that a helicopter was following him on his morning jog. He worried that “They’d contacted my cat sitter; would they kidnap my cat?"
This story made me think of the many sort of conspiracy theories surrounding celebrities’ deaths. Some people believe that Elvis Presley or Kurt Cobain may have faked their own deaths and even be alive today. After reading this article though, it seems that this would be a very hard thing to do. Sure, Ratliff’s whole life was posted on the internet and there was a contest going on for his location - but isn’t this somewhat true for celebrities, as well? If these deaths were fake, Elvis and Kurt would be constantly be on edge, concerned about being seen, and eventually, I believe, they would be found out. And certainly by someone a little more professional than the various bloggers so concerned with them, such as “Proof: Elvis is Alive!!” and “Kurt Cobain is still alive.”

If Ratliff couldn’t hide his identity, what makes people think that the King of Rock ‘n Roll could hide his?