Sara Vass, a family friend, said the family had heard from a retired police detective who described seeing Mr. Gray at a diner in Orange County, N.Y., after he was reported missing.

"His description of Spalding was on the money,'' Ms. Vass said. "The fellow he thought was Spalding came in and asked to sit at the window. The waitress said, 'That's a table for four people.' The man said, 'I want to sit by the window.' That is exactly what Spalding would do.''

Hopefully, Spalding Gray will be found alive and well, if a little dirty. But if he remains missing, he might become the Elvis of the over-educated New York literary hipster. Britain has their Elvisesque phantom: Richey James of Manic Street Preachers who disappeared near the height of their fame in 1995.