The Daniel Christiansen Files

This report is still developing, but here's the gist of what we have so far. As I understand it, someone discovered a wooden briefcase in a trash bin in St. Petersburg and found, upon opening it, a treasure trove of bizarre documents, writings and drawings dated between the 1940s and the 1990s. The documents seem to signify a fixation by their owner, one Daniel Christiansen, on the subject of extraterrestrial beings and conspiracy theory, culminating in an alleged sighting of a majestic starship accompanied by nightmarish winged living creatures straight out of the book of Ezekiel, directly above the St. Pete Pier.

The briefcase contains odd maps of the world as it was pre-WWII, hand-drawn on plastic film with a hole in the center indicating that they may have been intended to be slipped over a globe, in order to superimpose a 1930s map atop it.

The person who found the cache of files shared with a friend, who in turn uploaded 102 scanned images of the documents to Imgur and started a thread about the mystery briefcase on Reddit. In the last 24 hours, the subject has become a hot topic on other forums as well, such as Lunatic Outpost.

Even though many of the people discussing the matter aren't the sharpest pencils in the box, the Internet Hive Mind has successfully managed to suss out some of Mr. Christiansen's background details, with special thanks to Reddit user "drivebyhistorian", who says:

Although he was born in Skodsborg, Denmark at the time of his immigration in 1927 his residence is listed as Helsinger (more commonly known in the English speaking world as Elsinore thanks to Hamlet).

His final destination on his arrival form in 1927 is listed as Henryville, PA. From 1924 to 1929 Henryville was the location of the Pocono People's College, an experimental college that did not require its adult students to have any educational prerequisites upon entrance.

The head of Pocono People's College was Dr. Sorn Mathiasen, who had previously taught at the International People’s College in Elsinore. Daniel Christiansen listed S. A. Mathiasene [sic] as his contact in the US upon his arrival.

This is speculation, but I think it's likely that Daniel Christiansen took classes at the International People's College in Elsinore where he made the acquaintance of Dr. Mathiasen.

When Dr. Mathiasen became the head of the Pocono People's College it's possible Daniel was invited over to continue his studies. He lists Dr. Mathiasen as his "friend" not as his teacher/professor on his immigration forms, so it would seem their relationship was a close one.

This could help explain why someone with an 8th grade education (according to his WWII enlistment records and the 1940 US Census) had such an advanced grasp on mechanical drawing. Perhaps he studied engineering?

When the college closed due to the stock market crash in 1929, Daniel moved to Newark, New Jersey and found work. First as a mechanic in an automobile factory and later as a carpenter working in furniture repair. He lived in Newark until at least 1942 when he entered the Army.

I'm not sure yet what Daniel did in the years immediately following WWII. The next time he pops up in records is in 1953 when he married Anastasia Harjaks, an Estonian immigrant, in Palm Beach, Florida.

Daniel and Anastasia lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey from at least 1957 to 1959.

Anastasia died in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1983.

The question is, now what? Will someone who knew Mr. Christiansen step forward and shed some light on these fascinating materials?