TRIGGER WARNING: There are brief references to violence and suicide in the first episode of Netflix's rebooted "Unsolved Mysteries" series (opens in new tab), about a 32-year-old writer who dreamed of raising a family with his wife Allison Rivera (opens in new tab) and writing movie scripts, The mysterious and tragic story of Ray Rivera is detailed: on May 16, 2006, Rivera received an urgent phone call and rushed out of his home. His body was found a week later in a vacant conference room at the Hotel Belvedere in Baltimore. Police have not identified any suspects in his death.

Rivera appeared to have fallen, jumped, or been pushed off the roof, but the case was controversial and confusing from the start. It contained bizarre details, including an unusual trajectory from Rivera's roof and Rivera's last note (opens in new tab) that mentions Freemasonry.

The coroner ruled the cause of death "undetermined" and said that, according to Allison, Ray's wounds were not entirely consistent with suicide. There was something else odd: it was very difficult, if not impossible, for Ray to jump from the roof above and go through the roof below. His cell phone was found on the roof, undamaged, and his flip-flops were nearby. Ray's family said he was not in any mental distress or suicidal, and that he was afraid of heights. Video footage from the hotel's surveillance cameras could not be viewed due to a technical error.

Even stranger was the unusual behavior of Ray before his death. In the weeks before his death, the alarm at his home was set off twice, and Allison said he was clearly frightened.

Shortly before his death, Ray had written a long stream-of-consciousness note that was discovered by his family (open in new tab), local station WBALTV reported. It may have been written in some sort of code, and the FBI determined that it was not a suicide note. It also contained the names of deceased people, including actor Christopher Reeve and film director Stanley Kubrick. It also contained a long list of Rivera's acquaintances and associates, asking him to make them and himself five years younger. The memo also mentioned Rivera's apparent interest in Freemasonry. The memo began and ended with phrases used in the Masonic order.

Regarding the "well played game," a Reddit user posted in the r/UnsolvedMysteries subreddit. From a post by user/zumalightblue:

However, co-creator Terry Dan Muller denied the theory in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. (Open in new tab)

She has spent as much time on that memo as she has with the FBI. She placed no significance on the movie "Game". Ray liked many different types of movies. He was just a man who was interested in everything. If he had only ever left that sentence, or if that was all he wrote randomly, people would be a little suspicious. But this is what he always did. He kept a lot of diaries filled with random writing. Allison went through all the diaries trying to find clues to figure out what happened to him, but she feels that she never found a real strong connection in "The Game."

Some additional details were not covered in this episode, which is interesting. As for Rivera's interest in Freemasonry, there was more detail in a WBALTV (open in new tab) report: "On the day Rivera disappeared, he was talking to members of a Maryland lodge and asking about joining. The weekend before his disappearance, he spent time reading a masonry study book called The Builders. On the day of his disappearance, Rivera went to a bookstore and bought a book titled "Freemasons for Dummies".

Rivera's death is also the subject of a book titled "Unexplained Death": "Mikita Brottman spent ten years researching the details of Rivera's upbringing, disappearance, and alleged suicide by jumping from the roof of his apartment, the Belvedere. Although the book delves into the dark history of the suicides of Belvedere guests, Brottman speculates that Rivera's death was not one of those.

Ray's brother Angel told the Washington Examiner (opens in new tab) that the staff told him, apparently off the record, that Ray needed to be pushed to land that way. He said, "Apparently, their impression was that there was another set of doors on the roof, and it would be more logical for him to be pushed through them.

Angel added that Ray's treasured money clip mentioned in the episode was never found. 'It was a gift from Allison and she carries it with her at all times. She saw it in his hand that morning. It was a family heirloom."

Since the release of this episode, among other cases covered in the series, numerous "credible" tips about Ray have been received, and the show's producers say they have passed all information on to authorities.

This article has been updated. Anyone with information on Rivera's death should visit unsolved.com.