The Feather Thief

Johnson discusses his trip to the town of Tring. He first visited the museum, where he noticed security cameras. He thought the cameras might have been installed after the string of break-ins experienced by the museum.

While at the museum, Johnson spoke with Dr. Robert Prys-Jones and Mark Adams. The museum staff reiterated the scientific loss caused by Edwin’s crime as well as the fact that their count of the missing bird skins was accurate. They also noted that Edwin’s guilty admission closed the missing bird skins case. Dr. Prys-Jones stated, “Rist pleaded guilty. This meant there may not have been a level of investigation that might otherwise have been” (168). His admission led Johnson to believe that Edwin might have had an accomplice.

Dr. Prys-Jones also gave Johnson a spreadsheet that recorded the number of skins recovered from Edwin’s apartment, including those with and without tags, the number recovered by mail, as well as an “‘approx. no. of specimens represented by feathers and skin fragments’ for each species of bird” (171). These data led the museum staff to determine the missing bird skins count. 

While in Tring, Johnson also met Adele. She echoed what the museum staff had told him. Since Edwin admitted guilt, she could no longer investigate the case, unless there was new evidence presented to the police. Adele also casts doubt on Edwin’s Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis.  

Based on these two conversations, Johnson reached two conclusions. The first was that Tring’s count of the missing bird skins was accurate. The second was that no one else was interested in determining what happened to the missing bird skins but him.

Johnson continues to recount his search for the missing bird skins and whether Edwin acted alone. At this time, Edwin still ignored Johnson’s requests for an interview. For this reason, Johnson decided to “circle him, talking to those who had bought the birds, teasing out the names of other customers, cajoling them into forwarding incriminating e-mails, and exploring whether he had worked with an accomplice” (178).

Johnson had some success with his strategy. He was able to identify and speak with individuals who Edwin had not named in his case. One such individual was Ruhan Neethling, a chief financial officer of a major dried fruit and nut company and a hunter. From their conversation, Johnson deduced that Ruhan had two of the missing bird skins. While Johnson tried to convince Ruhan to give the specimens back to the Tring museum, Ruhan refused. Like many other fly-tiers, Ruhan did not believe in the scientific value of museum collections. He was also religious and did not believe in evolution. Instead, he believed it was God’s will that species went extinct. This perspective made him even less likely to return the bird skins than some of the other fly-tiers.

Johnson’s big break in the case came when he discovered the Wayback Machine. Johnson uncovered posts on the trading floor of ClassicFlyTying.com by someone with the screen name Goku. Goku appeared to be helping Edwin sell bird skins. This led Johnson to wonder about Goku’s identity and if he was Edwin’s accomplice. 

Johnson documents his attempts to uncover the identity of Goku. On a trip to Yale to speak about his new memoir on the Iraqi war to students, Johnson met with Dr. Richard O. Prum, who was also trying to solve the mystery of the bird skins.

Prum gave Johnson a USB drive with his research, which included never before seen screenshots of Edwin’s personal website, EdwinRist.com. This website contained numerous bird skin listings. Johnson points out that it is clear from the photos that these specimens are from a museum. Edwin also mentions artwork by Long Nguyen from Norway. Through Facebook searches, Johnson discovers that Long Nguyen, who is good friends with Edwin, was Goku.

Johnson realizes, “Long was everywhere” (193), including on the fly-tying forums. Several members accused Long of being Edwin’s accomplice; an accusation which both Edwin and Long denied. Johnson asked Long for an interview, but he initially declined.

Around the time he figured out Goku’s identity, Johnson wrote to Edwin, once again asking for an interview. Much to Johnson’s shock, Edwin agreed. Johnson and his wife, Marie-Josée, booked tickets to Germany where they would conduct the interview. Out of concern for their safety, Johnson hired a bodyguard named Klaus, which he later realized was unnecessary.