His name has been given as Alvin Williams, sources here said Friday. And, true to his instincts, he did once serve as an altar-boy at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, otherwise known as ‘Brickdam Cathedral’.

The lynchpin, it seems, was the name Trevor Lowe, which rang a bell in local national table tennis circles.

Through a series of networking, using the internet, the source said, the article, which first appeared in a US newspaper, was forwarded to former national table tennis champion, Andrew Gosira, who now lives abroad.

Gosira, who said he knew the guy very well, contacted another pal from his old tennis days, Mike Christophe, who in turn got in touch with Williams’ family. They, in turn, made contact with the relevant authorities. This was some two weeks ago.

According to the source, Williams apparently “has some sort of brain tumour which causes him to go through these bouts of amnesia from time to time.”

It is said that he has been known to disappear on previous occasions, but has always managed to regain his memory.