I was 19 when I wrote this piece back in 1994 for The Elvis Beat #10, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

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The headline “Elvis is alive” on the front page of The Richmond Times-Dispatch, a legitimate and respectable newspaper, was a bit surprising. Unfortunately, the theories presented in the article were old news, worthy only of The National Enquirer.

Phil Aitcheson called a press conference on September 16 in Moneta, Virginia, to announce the findings of his two-year investigation into Elvis’ death. He alleges that the singer faked his death.

Aitcheson explained that Elvis had been made a federal agent at large in 1971 after meeting with President Richard Nixon, and then became involved in a major FBI investigation of organized crime. Aitcheson says that Elvis faked his death on August 16, 1977, to enter the federal witness protection program. “Elvis wanted to help his country out any way he could,” he said.

Aitcheson’s “Presley Commission,” which consisted of 14 other members who apparently wish to remain anonymous, assembled The Presley Report, a 300-page document that supposedly proves their findings.

A 1981 recording, made four years after Elvis died, was played for reporters at the press conference. The recording was analyzed by an “expert” who found that the voice on the recording was Elvis Presley.

Similar claims were made by author Gail Brewer-Giorgio in her 1990 book The Elvis Files. Her book and a 1991 television special of the same name, hosted by Bill Bixby, used similar documents and the same recording as “evidence.”

Brewer-Giorgio previously wrote The Most Incredible Elvis Presley Story Ever Told (1987) and Is Elvis Alive? (1988) about Elvis faking his death. She also wrote a 1979 novel, Orion, about a singer loosely based on Elvis who faked his death.

Brewer-Giorgio’s evidence was shot down in a 1992 follow-up television special, The Elvis Conspiracy. Also hosted by Bixby, the second special had the tape analyzed by a new expert who found that the voice was not that of Elvis. The program also found all of the other major evidence false as well and concluded that Elvis is dead.

One can only speculate if Brewer-Giorgio is somehow connected with Aitcheson’s project as well, attempting to cash in on Elvis’ loyal fans once again. The Presley Report sells for $29.95, and Aitcheson claims that profits will go to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Elvis’ name.

The Elvis Beat recommends that fans contribute to their favorite charities in a more direct fashion.