JIM THOMPSON

Jim Thompson is probably the most well known brand of silk and silk products in the world today.

Jim was an American, who worked for the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during the Second World War.

After the war he and other investors formed the Thai Silk Company in 1948.

At that time, silk weaving was a traditional but dying craft in Thailand. New designs and contacts in Western markets, enabled Thompson to grow his business dramatically.

Jim Thompson had an eye and a love for arts and crafts, especially Thai ones. He had a traditional residence built on the edge of Klong Saen Saeb, constructed of interconnecting teak houses, which he purchased and had transported from various Thai provinces. As of 2006, the residence is still there in Bangkok and is open to visitors.

Jim's collecting of antique Buddha relics sometimes put him at loggerheads with the Thai authorities.

In 1967 Jim Thompson took a vacation in the Cameron highlands of Malaysia, where he stayed with some of his friends. These included the husband and wife owners of Moonlight Cottage, where he was staying, the Lings. His other companion was a Mrs. Mangskau.

Moonlight Cottage was quite remote, on a high jungle clad mountain.

One afternoon during this visit he went alone for a walk. He has never been seen since. Many theories surround his disappearance.

1. He fell and was fatally injured, or he suffered a heart attack or some other affliction and was subsequently consumed by nature.

2. He was attacked by a wild animal (tiger, python etc.).

3. He was abducted by enemy agents or his own side (his time with the OSS suggests CIA connections to some). The Vietnam war was underway at this time.

4. He arranged his own disappearance.

5. Many other theories.

Jim disappeared, but his Thai Silk legacy did not.

Since living in the region (admittedly some twenty five plus years later than when Jim vanished), I have seen Malaysian newspapers report at least one adult fatality caused by a python and even one caused by a swordfish stabbing a fisherman through the chest. Not that I suspect there are any murderous swordfish in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia.