March 15: The abandoned Barker Ranch house in the Panamint Mountains west of Death Valley National Park, Calif. Charles Manson and his followers retreated to the Barker Ranch after a killing spree during the summer of 1969.
Charles Manson in 1949 at the age of 14.This photo was in an Indianapolis newspaperalong with the headline "Boy leaves'sinful home' for new life in Boys Town."He escaped three days later.
Experts Find Possible Evidence of More Manson Family Murders
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Associated Press
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Bone-white stretches of salt, leached up from the lifeless soil, lay like a shroud over the high desert where a paranoid Charles Manson holed up after an orgy of murder nearly four decades ago.
Now, as then, few venture into this alkaline wilderness — gold-diggers, outlaws, loners content to live and let live.
But a determined group of outsiders recently made the trek. They were leading forensic investigators searching for new evidence of death — clues pointing to possible decades-old clandestine graves.
And the results of just-completed followup tests suggest bodies could indeed be lying beneath the parched ground. The test findings — described in detail to The Associated Press, which had accompanied the site search — conclude there are two likely clandestine grave sites at Barker Ranch, and one additional site that merits further investigation.
Next step, the ad hoc investigators urge: Dig.
For years, rumors have swirled about other possible Manson family victims — hitchhikers who visited them at the ranch and were not seen again, runaways who drifted into the camp then fell out of favor.
(snip)
Last month, equipped with cutting-edge forensic technology, the investigators assembled in the ghost town of Ballarat for a 20-mile ride in all-terrain vehicles to the ranch.
The team included two national lab researchers carrying instruments to detect chemical markers of human decomposition, a police investigator with a cadaver-seeking dog, and an anthropologist armed with a magnetic resonance reader.
WHAT A "CRIME FIND"...
2 comments:
I have read about this case since 1969 and have been to Barker Ranch many times never seeing a soul there. Before the ranch house was burned down in May of 2009, it was a far-out place to hang out, trip around the dessert and enjoy the area during the day or night, the Ranch house can get very creepy at night and most people opt to split the scene while the sun is still up. The only way to know how creepy it can get is to spend the night and face your fears. I can tell you from my visits to the ranch you may leave with an entire new out look on life. I myself have become vary very aware of who and what is around me.
I wonder how many souls will be at the ranch on the 40th Anniversary of the murders. I hear in LA that the Helter Skelter tour that drives by Cielo Dr, Waverly Dr, and Spahn's movie ranch etc, is booked for Saturday night. There is plenty of room at Barker Ranch and you don't need to buy a ticket. Just bring food, water and extra gas so you can trip around the area for yourself. The public needs to understand that The Manson Family, was only at Barker and Myers ranches for a short period of time and that there is a lot of other groovy sites to see in that part of the dessert. ( Myers Ranch is always forgotten about). The Public also needs to understand that the media is only going to tell them what they want them to know.
Example on the 40th anniversary of the Tate-Labianca murders, the media will be all over the case for a day or so and then drop it and then hit on it again when one of the murderers comes up for parole witch is not far away. Ratings are cash, and cash rules. anyway open a new door and see what you find.
what a bunch of bozos those cops were in 2008. using a bunch of equipment they spent money on just for this no doubt, a two week vacation in the desert in or near one of the most beautiful sites in the park (striped butte), crowding way too many people onto the porch causing it to collapse and no doubt having at least something to do with the fire that ultimately destroyed it. better these yahoos stayed at the donut shop under the AC than screw up one of the most interesting places left in the state. way to go "law enforcement" once again proving we dont hardly need no cops.
one love
jb
Post a Comment