Mystery of US man who woke up speaking fluent Swedish, with no memory of his past

Doctors are looking into the mystery of a US man who awoke speaking only Swedish, with no memory of his past, after he was found unconscious four months ago at a southern California motel.

Michael Boatwright, 61, woke up with amnesia, calling himself Johan Ek, the Desert Sun newspaper reported.

Mr Boatwright was found unconscious in a motel room in Palm Springs in February. After police arrived, he was taken to the Desert Regional Medical Centre where he woke up.

Hospital officials said Mr Boatwright might have been in town for a tennis tournament in the Coachella Valley. He was found with a duffel bag of exercise clothes, a backpack and tennis rackets.

He also carried four forms of identification – a passport, a California identification card, a veteran’s medical card and a social security card – all of which identified him as Michael Thomas Boatwright.

Palm Springs police have documented his information in case anyone lists him as missing or wanted, authorities said.

In March, doctors diagnosed Mr Boatwright with transient global amnesia, a condition triggered by physical or emotional trauma that can last for several months.

The rare mental disorder is characterised by memory loss, “sudden and unplanned travel”, and possible adoption of a new identity, according to the Desert Sun.

Despite an extensive search, medical personnel and social workers have been unable to locate Mr Boatwright’s next of kin. Authorities are still unsure of his birthplace, listed on his identification as Florida. Photos show him in Sweden at a young age.

Swedish public records show Mr Boatwright lived there on and off between 1981 and 2003. Several Swedes said they knew of him as an American with a big interest in medieval history and jousting.

Swede Olof Sahlin said he met Mr Boatwright around 1985 through their joint interest in medieval history. He said he saw the American at jousting events regularly in the 1980s and sporadically in the early 1990s.

“He was nice, sympathetic and talented at fighting in plate armor,” Mr Sahlin said. “A little bit reserved maybe.”

Mr Sahlin said he never knew how Mr Boatwright made a living during his time in Sweden but has now heard from other friends that he briefly worked as a personal assistant and in the construction sector.

Mr Sahlin said their last contact was in 1999 and he does not know what happened to him after that.

Mr Boatwright cannot recall how to exchange money, take public transport or seek temporary housing like homeless shelters or hotels, the social worker assigned to his case, Lisa Hunt-Vasquez, said.

He cannot remember his son or two ex-wives, either.

He has no income or insurance, further complicating his treatment at Desert Regional. And he has little money he can access.

Doctors do not know how much longer he will be able to stay at the centre. Aside from his amnesia, Mr Boatwright is in good health. The hospital is looking for alternatives that would keep him off the streets but for now, he is unsure of both his past and his future.

“Sometimes it makes me really sad and sometimes it just makes me furious about the whole situation and the fact that I don’t know anybody, I don’t recognise anybody,” he told the newspaper.

The Desert Sun later said it had found Mr Boatwright's sister.

Michelle Brewer, of Louisiana, could not shed much light on what happened to him. She told the paper she had not spoken to him for a decade and could not even get in touch with him when their mother died last year.

She called him a “wanderer” who only returned to his Florida home when he needed money.