Updated: Search goes on for Joshua's kin
by Melanie Marshall
The search continues for next of kin for well-known street poet and peddler, Joshua Watauga. In an attempt to locate family, photos Joshua carried were released by Appalachian Regional Healthcare System police. Those photos were posted online Thursday.
It has been determined the photos of the young girl were actually a local family who knew Joshua, but were not related in any way.
Watauga collapsed behind the Mountain House Restaurant in Boone on Aug. 10 at approximately 4 p.m. He was transferred to Wake Forest University's Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem later the same day.
According to a spokesperson at Baptist, Watauga is in stable condition and was admitted as a patient under the name Joshua "Doe."
Many possible names have surfaced since hospital officials began searching for next of kin - Joshua Ted Watauga, Joshua Beau Daniels, Joshua Theodore Watauga, Joshua Ted Kurylo, J.T. Kurylo, Teddy King and Walter Curillo (Cariello).
In a profile of Joshua by Leigh Ann Henion, published in the July 25, 2002 edition of The Mountain Times, Joshua said he first came to Watauga County in 1978. Henion's story also mentioned Joshua's previous career as a professional musician who once performed on KPFA public radio in San Francisco.
Community members are continuing to come forward with information and several have stated Joshua spoke of a daughter.
Anyone with information regarding Joshua's true identity or possible family is asked to contact the Watauga Medical Center police department at (828) 262-4100 or Melanie Marshall at the Watauga Democrat at (828) 264-6397.
Appalachian State University student Sara Sheppard has created a Facebook group in support of Joshua Watauga, a street poet who lived in Boone since the early 1980s.
The page reads, "Both the ASU campus & Boone community have been affected by a man who has come to be known has Joshua Watauga. He is famous for selling his rocks & stories on King Street for many years now. The stories & rumors surrounding him, however, are the real mystery. For a man who means so much to this community, we seem to know so little.
"Both Appalachian & the town of Boone do a great job of creating a sense of solidarity and community. Many of us view Joshua as a very vital member of that community and promoter of that solidarity. Hopefully we can now band together & help out one of our own who is in need."
The Facebook group, titled "Help Joshua get back to Boone," has grown to more than 7,300 members in just a few days.
Updates are being sent to group members regarding conversations between Sheppard and a spokesperson at Baptist hospital.
According to the page, Joshua will require continued care after his hospital discharge and group members are trying to help relocate him to Boone, or as close as possible.
Sheppard is a senior business psychology major. She said, after living in Boone for four years, she has grown to know Joshua and fears he will be put into a facility away from his home and community.
The purpose of the group is to bring awareness to his situation in an attempt to persuade state officials to place Joshua in the area.
"Right now it is a possibility that he be returned to Boone, but people need to step forward and ask that he be returned," Sheppard said.
Joshua is currently listed in stable condition.
It has been determined the photos of the young girl were actually a local family who knew Joshua, but were not related in any way.
Watauga collapsed behind the Mountain House Restaurant in Boone on Aug. 10 at approximately 4 p.m. He was transferred to Wake Forest University's Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem later the same day.
According to a spokesperson at Baptist, Watauga is in stable condition and was admitted as a patient under the name Joshua "Doe."
Many possible names have surfaced since hospital officials began searching for next of kin - Joshua Ted Watauga, Joshua Beau Daniels, Joshua Theodore Watauga, Joshua Ted Kurylo, J.T. Kurylo, Teddy King and Walter Curillo (Cariello).
In a profile of Joshua by Leigh Ann Henion, published in the July 25, 2002 edition of The Mountain Times, Joshua said he first came to Watauga County in 1978. Henion's story also mentioned Joshua's previous career as a professional musician who once performed on KPFA public radio in San Francisco.
Community members are continuing to come forward with information and several have stated Joshua spoke of a daughter.
Anyone with information regarding Joshua's true identity or possible family is asked to contact the Watauga Medical Center police department at (828) 262-4100 or Melanie Marshall at the Watauga Democrat at (828) 264-6397.
Appalachian State University student Sara Sheppard has created a Facebook group in support of Joshua Watauga, a street poet who lived in Boone since the early 1980s.
The page reads, "Both the ASU campus & Boone community have been affected by a man who has come to be known has Joshua Watauga. He is famous for selling his rocks & stories on King Street for many years now. The stories & rumors surrounding him, however, are the real mystery. For a man who means so much to this community, we seem to know so little.
"Both Appalachian & the town of Boone do a great job of creating a sense of solidarity and community. Many of us view Joshua as a very vital member of that community and promoter of that solidarity. Hopefully we can now band together & help out one of our own who is in need."
The Facebook group, titled "Help Joshua get back to Boone," has grown to more than 7,300 members in just a few days.
Updates are being sent to group members regarding conversations between Sheppard and a spokesperson at Baptist hospital.
According to the page, Joshua will require continued care after his hospital discharge and group members are trying to help relocate him to Boone, or as close as possible.
Sheppard is a senior business psychology major. She said, after living in Boone for four years, she has grown to know Joshua and fears he will be put into a facility away from his home and community.
The purpose of the group is to bring awareness to his situation in an attempt to persuade state officials to place Joshua in the area.
"Right now it is a possibility that he be returned to Boone, but people need to step forward and ask that he be returned," Sheppard said.
Joshua is currently listed in stable condition.