In our last installment of a Mystery at The Quixote Hotel we discovered the theft of a 1967 Land Rover Series IIA. It belonged to former astronaut-turned-Hollywood stuntman Chance Reeves. The vehicle would be discovered caked in mud and sand about a week later. It was outside of a small airfield in Palm Desert Airpark in Rancho Mirage east of Los Angeles. The keys to Mr. Reeve’s Land Rover was still in the ignition. It’s believed that whomever stole Senator Tyler’s camera from his room at the Quixote Hotel also stole and drove Mr. Reeves’ Land Rover to the airfield.

On January 4th, 1967, two days before the theft of the Land Rover and the disturbance in Senator Tyler’s Presidential Suite, the Senator’s young wife arrived at the Quixote. Cookie Tyler arrived driving a brand new 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 which she said was a present from her wealthy husband. The former circus performer and Russian beauty queen insisted that only head concierge Sanjay Sidhartha assist her with her luggage. No bellhop was allowed to park her car or touch her twelve pieces of luggage. Staff would later say that she never removed her sunglasses or spoke to anyone other than Sanjay Sidhartha during her stay. Senator Tyler would later explain to authorities that Cookie who was nowhere to be found the evening he blacked out on January 6th, 1967.

Next post: Person of Interest #4. Astronaut-turned-Hollywood stuntman Chance Reeves