Alternatively he had been kidnapped or killed by bandits or business rivals. Some argued seriously that he had fallen under the spell of an aboriginal Semang woman and was living with her in the jungle. More probably – but less sensationally – he had simply fallen down a concealed cave or suffered a stroke and been eaten by wild animals. Whatever the case is, the truth, like Jim Thompson, has never been found. He was declared legally dead in 1974 after the seven-year period required by Thai law.