http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911/cryptanalysis_032911

No reward has been posted

[Edited on March 30, 2011 at 12:18 PM. Reason : you'd be helping solve an open murder case!]

3/30/2011 12:18:12 PM

aint nevuh hurd dat word befo

3/30/2011 12:18:53 PM

If you get it right does that mean they arrest you?

3/30/2011 12:19:54 PM

^ twice.

3/30/2011 12:21:25 PM

My coworker said this is their new job application, there really wasn't a murder

[Edited on March 30, 2011 at 12:29 PM. Reason : omg grammar]

3/30/2011 12:24:06 PM

oh there was a murder, it is a job application but they take hiring very seriously

3/30/2011 1:24:00 PM

that persons' fucked up

in other news i may have another job offer

3/30/2011 1:30:31 PM

They are not hiring for other stuff, b/c I would love to be on the art theft team.

3/30/2011 2:54:04 PM

Fact: You'd have to be able to read it without having to use a computer to translate it because there'd be no reason to right down notes that you can't decipher on the spot

3/30/2011 3:01:29 PM

Fact: E appears in front of almost all symbols and word "endings" and spaced about the average word count apart.

I would consider E to be a SPACE character to separate words

3/30/2011 3:07:13 PM

Don't they have computers for this type of thing?

3/30/2011 3:08:02 PM

So far, I can only decipher the first line:

"Never gonna give you up..."

3/30/2011 3:09:29 PM

Quote :

"Fact: E appears in front of almost all symbols and word "endings" and spaced about the average word count apart. I would consider E to be a SPACE character to separate words "

I saw the same thing also the S or T appears with E several times.

3/30/2011 3:17:43 PM

On the first line of part two, there's an E+E... I think that would help support the E=space theory. I also say its a plus, and not a lower case t, because all of the other t's are capitalized

interesting, because i there are no other +'s... break in consistancy or a different character. Does it mean and? The likelyhood and would appear more than once is high.... so, maybe not

[Edited on March 30, 2011 at 3:23 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on March 30, 2011 at 3:25 PM. Reason : .]

3/30/2011 3:22:23 PM

Appears to be a recipe for Red Velvet Cake

3/30/2011 3:24:54 PM

WLD & NCBE repeats are my focus points

3/30/2011 3:27:07 PM

Quote :

"McCormick was a high school dropout, but he was able to read and write and was said to be “street smart.” According to members of his family, McCormick had used such encrypted notes since he was a boy, but apparently no one in his family knows how to decipher the codes, and it’s unknown whether anyone besides McCormick could translate his secret language."

Designed to only be written and read by himself. That is one apparently great way to keep your shit private

3/30/2011 3:31:12 PM

I think the E is a space too.
I thought that the NCBE were part of directions since that is how they are written out. Also he has two letters written at once so he either put the correct letter than changed it, or is dyslexic. I am prone to beleive he might be dyslexic esp. since he had his own system and dropped out of high school.
I also searched for possible hwy/rt that the #s would correspond to, but didn't find any thing apparent, but I think they could be Mile marker #s

maybe I will look at it more later.

3/30/2011 3:40:34 PM

Quote :

""

I love cryptoquips, ncbe repeated tells me that there exists a static key in this puzzle.

3/30/2011 4:03:39 PM

i'm pretty sure ncbe is a unit of measurement.

3/30/2011 4:04:27 PM

motherfucker had shitty handwriting, why didn't he use a word processor!!

3/30/2011 4:10:51 PM

wldncbe is repeated a lot of times, that last wld'sncbe has an apostrophe s, as to show possessive.

3/30/2011 4:11:12 PM

Quote :

"motherfucker had shitty handwriting"

3/30/2011 4:34:18 PM

We know parentheses were used as parentheses since each the open parenthesis has a corresponding and non-nested closing parenthesis.

3/30/2011 4:40:02 PM

Quote :

"Over the years, a number of CRRU’s examiners—who are experts at breaking codes—have puzzled over the McCormick notes and applied a variety of analytical techniques to tease out an answer. “Standard routes of cryptanalysis seem to have hit brick walls,” Olson noted. Our cryptanalysts have several plausible theories about the notes, but so far, there has been no solution. To move the case forward, examiners need another sample of McCormick’s coded system—or a similar one—that might offer context to the mystery notes or allow valuable comparisons to be made. Or, short of new evidence, Olson said, “Maybe someone with a fresh set of eyes might come up with a brilliant new idea.”"

gotta agree with this slashdot post
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/03/29/209238/FBI-Wants-You-To-Solve-Encrypted-Notes-From-Murder

Quote :

"McCormick had used such encrypted notes since he was a boy and all we get are two examples? Lame. Why doesn't the FBI provide some of the research they've already done? Collaborate instead of simply asking someone to do your work! For example, higher quality scans, unique symbols, symbol frequency, symbol distance matrices, other known writings of the victim. Can we get some more environmental clues? victim's known proper nouns, background, travels, language(s) exposed to, favorite pop culture topics, etc. This all seems like a lot more detective work should be done. Solve the murder, not the puzzle."

[Edited on March 30, 2011 at 5:33 PM. Reason : v]

3/30/2011 5:19:45 PM

10 bucks says this guy was a huge troll and wrote down a bunch of random letters

3/30/2011 5:37:46 PM

I would also like to know where they found the note.

Was it lying on a murdered person's chest?
Was it lying on the floor of his car?

3/30/2011 9:53:47 PM

Quote :

"The Ricky McCormick murder notes are two hand printed documents found in the pants pockets of murder victim Ricky McCormick when his body was discovered in a field by sheriff’s officers in St. Louis, Missouri on June 30, 1999. "

Answer to my question

3/30/2011 10:00:05 PM

Note 1 text:

( MND MUNE M RSE-N-S-M-KNARE ) ( ACSM )

TFRNE NPINSE NPBSE RCBRNSE NPRSE INC

PRSE N MRSE OPRE HLD WLD NCBE ( TFXLF TCXLF NCBE )
AL-*RPPIT XLYPPIY NCBE MGKSE WLD RCBRNSE PRSE
WLD RCBRNSE NT SGNENTRSE - CRSLE - CITRSE WLD NCBE
AL WLD NCBE TSME LRSE RLSE URGLS ~ EAS ~ WLD NCBE
( NOPFSE NLSRE NCBE ) NTE G D DMN SENCURE RCBRNE

( TENE TFRNE NCBRTSE NCBE INC )

(FLRSE PRSE ON DE 71 NCBE )
(CDNSE PRSE ON SE 74 NCBE )
(PR+SE PRSE ON REDE 75 NCBE )

(TF N*CMSP SOLE MRDE LUSE TOTE WLD ~ WLD NCBE )

( 194 WLD's NCBE ) ( TRFXL )

Note 2 text:

ALPNTE GLSE-SE ER+E
YLSE MTSE-CSTE-WSE-FRTSE
PURTRSE ONDRSE WLD NCBE
N WLD XLR CMS? NE WLD STS ME XL

DULMT 6 TUNSE NCBEXC

(MuNSA I STENMU NARSE)

KLSE-LRSTE-TR SE-TRSE-MKSE N-MRSE

(FREENSE SE N MRSE)

NMN RCBX NSE PTE 2 PTE WSRC BREXE
36 MLSE 74 SPRKSE 29 KENOS OLE + 73 RTRSE
35 SLE CLGSE OUNNTXF DKRSE PSESHLE
651 MTCSE HTLSE N CU TC TRS NMRE
99.84.8 2 UNE PLSE VCRSE AOLTSE NSKSE N SE

NSRE ONSB PUT SE WLD NCBE (3 XARL)
?NTOSE NRSE I N 2 N TRLERCB ANSE NTSRCR O NE
ASPUSE N G-SPSE MSKE R 8 SE NEBE AU XL R
HM CRENMRE ECBE 1/2 MUNDDLSE

D-W_M-Y MIL XDRLX

3/30/2011 10:02:24 PM

"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."

3/30/2011 11:25:06 PM

"be sure to drink your Ovaltine!"



FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...

3/31/2011 12:02:47 AM

Quote :

"10 bucks says this guy was a huge troll and wrote down a bunch of random letters"

3/31/2011 12:14:31 AM