Brother gets two years for using missing brother’s identity, but still no word on missing brother

Though a 74-year-old man was sent to prison Thursday for using his missing brother’s identity to collect up to $500,000 in Social Security disability payments, no further light was shed on what happened to Jarvis Sayler, last seen in 1988.

In June, Chris Harvey Sayler pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft based on an investigation that started in 2013 when state Department of Licensing facial recognition software flagged ID photos seemingly of the same person but with two different names: Chris Sayler and Jarvis Sayler.

At the time of his arrest in 2019, Chris Sayler was living in Olalla but has since moved to Toutle, Cowlitz County.

In 2016 Chris Sayler went to a Bremerton Department of Licensing office to try to clear up the matter, where he claimed the confusion stemmed from his twin brother. 

When it was pointed out that Jarvis Sayler was four years younger, Chris Sayler allegedly responded: “It is a rare situation, but it does occur.”

Chris Sayler was accused of fraudulently claiming his disabled brother’s benefits starting as early as 1998. The minimum he took was $338,000, but prosecutors allege the true figure could be as much as $500,000.

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan said the 25-month sentence would have likely been longer but for Chris Sayler's advanced age, poor health and military service, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Chris Sayler was adopted by the Sayler family at 18 months old and served in the Navy during the Vietnam War.

“I attained the ID for my brother under a misunderstanding of circumstances, and didn’t use it for awhile,” Chris Sayler wrote in a letter included in court documents. “Then due to financial difficulties, I used it, then used it again. I knew it was wrong, and always felt guilty about what I did. All my life I’ve always tried to do right, but this one thing hung over me. My plan for the future is to live on the property in Toutle for whatever years I have left.

Missing man mystery remains unsolved

Though authorities solved the mystery of the twins born four years apart, the fraud case did not solve the mystery of what happened to Chris Sayler's brother.

“Our hope was that the investigation could shed light on what happened to Jarvis Sayler,” acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman said in a statement, noting that Chris Sayler made conflicting statements about when he last saw his brother. “While that has not happened, we are able to hold his brother accountable for stealing benefits from government programs that are designed to help the most needy in our community.”

An assistant U.S. attorney wrote that in 2019 authorities conducted a 50-state search for an identification card issued to Jarvis Sayler, along with searching Medicaid data since 2006 — the oldest data available — and found nothing.

“Given his age and disability, this lack of records is an anomaly and an indicator that (Jarvis Sayler) is likely deceased or not residing in the United States,” the attorney wrote, while noting that Jarvis Sayler was also not found in the Social Security Administration’s death records. Further,  Department of Homeland Security files showed no indication of international travel.

As of October 1988, Jarvis was living in Hazel Dell after moving to Washington state from Missouri, though he planned to move back home. He was described as mentally handicapped, partially blind and traveled by bus. He was reported missing in March 1989.

At about that time, deputies from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office interviewed Chris Sayler, who said Jarvis Sayler had been living with him but moved after the two had an argument, which was the last time he saw him.

However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote that when investigators interviewed Chris Sayler in October 2019 he claimed he last saw Jarvis Sayler in 2016 and before that in 2012.

After Chris Sayler's arrest, a Clark County Sheriff's Office detective said he was going to open a missing person's case for Jarvis Sayler, but without new information, the investigation would not likely go anywhere.

"Chris stole his ID, but what about Jarvis?" Detective Jon Shields told the Kitsap Sun in 2019. "By all accounts, Chris was the last one to see Jarvis alive.”