CENTERTON — The resignation of Mayor Ken Williams comes on the heels of his recent revelation that his true identity is Don LaRose, a Baptist minister who has been missing since 1980. Williams recounts on a Web site the wild story that led him from the life of Don LaRose to the life of Ken Williams. The Web site, which he created earlier this year, is www. donlarose. com. Since the unveiling of his true identity, Williams has updated the site to correct inaccuracies he added to cover his trail to Arkansas. Following a special meeting of the Centerton City Council on Wednesday, Williams spoke to television and newspaper reporters, answering some questions about his past but otherwise directing media to visit the Web site.
Williams said he will continue to use the name of Ken William and plans to stay in Centerton with his wife, Pat, and maybe even serve on city boards, commissions or in a volunteer position. Williams has been using the name Bruce Kent Williams, minus the “ T, ” for the last 27 years. He worked at local radio stations and has served as mayor of Centerton since 2001. The real Bruce Kent Williams was a New York teenager who died in an automobile accident in 1958. LaRose was supposedly abducted in 1975 while he was pastor of the First Baptist Church in Maine, N. Y. He was found several months later in Chicago living under Williams’ identity. LaRose claimed he had been brainwashed to believe he was Williams.
He regained portions of his memory after being administered a truth serum, Williams said.
A few years later, LaRose became the pastor of Hessville Baptist Church in Hammond, Ind. He told his abduction story to different church groups and received substantial publicity.
Because of the publicity, he said, he received threats against his life and the lives of his family members. In 1980, his office was ransacked and he was later told to get in a parked car and wait until someone came.
Instead of following those instructions, LaRose bought a bicycle, backpack and supplies and fled Hammond, leaving behind his wife, Eunice, and two daughters.
If he hadn’t fled, he said Wednesday, “ there’d be some bodies in some graves. ”
After months on the run, Williams’ journey brought him to Rogers, where he got a job at radio station KAMO.
Williams said he was dejected because the New York State Police and the FBI did not believe his story and did not fully investigate his claims. He said Wednesday that both agencies were given a copy of tapes depicting him revealing his story while under the influence of the truth serum. He said he does not have a copy of those tapes and that the New York State Police erased their copy.
His first wife still lives in Hammond, where his daughters also live. Seven years after LaRose disappeared, a court declared LaRose dead, a family member told The Daily Record. Eunice has since remarried.
Williams, in his new life, has been married to his current wife, Pat, since 1986.
He published a book this year, which became available on Amazon. com on Monday. The book, “ Finding Jesus in the Old Testament (the Jewish Scriptures ): Discovering the Jewish Roots of Your Faith, ” points out prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament, a topic Williams said fascinated him after a short visit to Israel in 1996.
Loren Winn, pastor at the First Baptist Church in Maine, N. Y., said Wednesday he received a mysterious e-mail within the past two weeks from someone claiming to be an intermediary for Don LaRose. The author of the e-mail said LaRose wanted to apologize, not for the things he had done, but for his “ unChristian-like attitude” to the church.
Winn remembers LaRose from various pastor circles in the Maine, N. Y., area and said locals have been divided about the reasons for his disappearances for many years.
“ This comes up once in awhile and there’s never been an answer about where he is, about what’s going on, ” Winn said.
While Williams’ former family in Hammond, Ind., and former church family in Maine, N. Y., are familiar with Don LaRose and his disappearances, for Benton County residents, the news was totally unexpected.
“ It’s a shock. I don’t really know what to think, ” said Cathy Brown, a server at the Centerton Inn. “ I’ve always liked him. He seemed like a really nice guy. ”
Marty Morrison of Centerton was stunned. Morrison’s seven sons recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts, and several of the boys completed their Eagle Scout projects in Centerton, where they worked somewhat closely with Williams.
“ He’s either got some mental delusions or he’s got a pretty wild story, ” Morrison said. “ It blew me away. I don’t know what to think. ”
Staff writers Eleanor Evans and Tracy Neal contributed to this report.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
