Episode overview

Parallel Universes Are Real — And People Fall Into Them

The Why Files · 6 June 2026 · 4 Egleze moments

What happened in this episode?

This episode of The Y-Files, hosted by AJ, presents three campfire-style paranormal stories described as true and unsolved mysteries involving reality shifts and missing identities. The most newsworthy segment covers the case of William Burgess Powell, also known as Benjamin Kyle, who was discovered naked and amnesiac behind a Burger King in Georgia in 2004. For 11 years he could not legally prove his existence until DNA genealogy identified him in 2015. The episode reveals that a 2026 documentary alleged Powell may have faked his amnesia and worked for organized crime or intelligence agencies before vanishing in 1976, evidenced by a forensically wiped computer and searches for Colorado cold case murders. His former associate expressed fear of him, and Powell disappeared again in 2016 after the documentary aired. The episode also covers Lorena García Gordo, a Spanish woman who posted online in 2008 claiming she woke in a parallel universe where her boyfriend and over 100 memories never existed, and Carol McKelvey, who in 2006 reported driving into an empty, alternate version of her California hometown populated by inhuman entities. AJ presents these as unsolved mysteries without debunking or analysis, inviting audience feedback on expanding them into full episodes.

What are the key points?

William Powell was found with total amnesia in 2004 and lived 11 years legally non-existent until DNA identified him in 2015.
A 2026 documentary alleged Powell worked for intelligence or organized crime and faked his amnesia after finding forensically wiped computers.
Powell has a mysterious 21-year gap from 1983 to 2004 with no employment records, addresses, or documentation anywhere in the United States.
His former coworker from 1976 stated he was afraid of Powell and refused to discuss their relationship further.
Lorena García Gordo documented over 100 reality discrepancies in 2008, including a boyfriend no one else remembered and a sister's surgery that never happened.
Carol McKelvey reported encountering inhuman entities in an empty parallel Riverside, California in 2006 after smelling her dead grandfather's cigar smoke.
All three cases remain unsolved with no definitive explanations, presented as campfire stories without analysis or debunking.

Which topics are covered?

UFO & Paranormal Espionage Crime & Justice Controversial

How is this page sourced?

Programme: The Why Files
Published: 6 June 2026
Original episode: Open the original source ↗

Egleze verifies the speaker, source and timestamp for each linked moment. Unless a moment is explicitly marked independently verified, statements remain attributed claims by the named speaker rather than established facts.

Watch original episode More from The Why Files

4 moments from this episode

Source-linked · editorially selected

UFO & Paranormal

Woman Reports Waking in Alternate Reality Where Boyfriend Never Existed

at 6:39 · Attributed speaker claim

She had been with him for months. He helped her get over a bad breakup with her ex, Miguel. Augustine would know what to do. She grabbed her phone and scrolled to his name. It wasn't there. But she knew his number. She dialed and a man answered, but it wasn't Augustine. He never heard of Augustine.

Lorena García Gordo posted online in 2008 that she woke to find her sheets, job, and entire life changed, including no record of her boyfriend Augustine despite months of memories. A private investigator found no birth certificate, license, or witness to his existence. She documented over 100 discrepancies between her memories and reality, leading her to conclude she had jumped into a parallel universe.

Read this moment → Check original at 6:39 ↗

UFO & Paranormal

Driver Describes Entering Empty Parallel Version of Hometown in California

at 22:14 · Attributed speaker claim

These weren't exactly people. They were something wearing the shape of people. Even though Carol would love to ask someone about the town, she knew these were not the people to ask. She knew it deep in her soul that if she spoke to whatever was on that corner, she would not come back.

Carol McKelvey reported that in 2006, after smelling her deceased grandfather's cigar smoke, she entered a deserted, alternate version of Riverside, California, where her family homes and the historic cemetery were replaced by different structures or empty lots. She encountered humanoid figures with wrong proportions moving in stuttering motion, which she instinctively knew were not human and posed existential danger.

Read this moment → Check original at 22:14 ↗

Espionage

Documentary Claims Missing Man Worked for CIA Before Disappearance

at 34:25 · Attributed speaker claim

They claim they recovered a computer Powell used that was forensically wiped. The kind of wipe that takes specialized software. They claim that recovery tools turned up searches of his real name, and he was searching for Colorado cold case murder files.

A documentary crew investigating the Benjamin Kyle case claimed to have recovered a forensically wiped computer containing searches for Colorado cold case murders under Powell's real name. The series alleges Powell worked for organized crime or a redacted intelligence organization before his 1976 disappearance. His former coworker stated he was afraid of Powell and refused to elaborate.

Read this moment → Check original at 34:25 ↗

Crime & Justice

Man Found Behind Burger King Had No Identity for 21 Years

at 35:33 · Attributed speaker claim

For 21 years, 1983 to 2004, a stretch where William Powell simply isn't anywhere. No job, no address, no record. Not one witness who can place him.

William Burgess Powell, discovered naked and near death behind a Burger King in 2004 with total amnesia, lived 11 years without legal identity before DNA genealogy revealed his name. Investigators later uncovered a suspicious 21-year gap in his records from 1983 to 2004, with no employment, address, or documentation. A 2026 documentary alleged he may have worked for organized crime or intelligence agencies and that his amnesia may have been fabricated.

Read this moment → Check original at 35:33 ↗