Ranch to Be Searched for Manson Victims

[struggle4progress]

Source: NYT

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
Published: May 10, 2008

... For years there was speculation that unaccounted-for victims of Charles Manson and his followers were buried at Barker Ranch, where Mr. Manson was captured, and the local authorities say they are going to put the matter to rest at last ...

The area around Barker Ranch, in the southwest area of Death Valley National Park in the Panamint Mountains, will be closed to the public for four days while the digging goes on.

The search was prompted by the findings of a forensic technology team that descended on the ranch in March, armed with special instruments that detect human decomposition, a cadaver-seeking dog and a group of researchers that included the sister of the actress Sharon Tate, who was among seven people murdered by members of the Manson cult ...

“I believe the only way to determine once and for all whether there are bodies buried at Barker Ranch from the time of the Manson family,” said Sheriff Bill Lutze in a news release, “is to proceed with limited excavation in a few areas” ...

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/us/10manson.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

[orleans]

1. omg--at first glance i thought the ranch was the crawford "ranch"

(because of the jenna boosh wedding threads i've been reading. i thought: "wow--they're searching the bush ranch for manson victims BEFORE the wedding? will there be time?")

[man4allcats]

2. The Bushes are capable of anything, and

George is just stupid and pathological enough to be involved in something like this, but in fact it's just crap. If there are additional bodies, you can bet freaky Charlie and his friends were behind it. That crazy bastard should NEVER be paroled!

[kestrel91316]

4. He won't be. He's quite obviously just as dangerous as he ever was.

That guy is pure evil.

[bluestateguy]

3. Why won't Charles Manson die already?

nt

[uppityperson]

5. About time they searched it. I hope some families find closure, though painful.

I am sure there are more bodies from Charlie's group.

[Festivito]

6. Like a search for Jimmy Hoffa, search during RepubliCON times.

Helps make a news story big enough to hide RepubliCON misdeeds.

[CountAllVotes]

8. yeah where did Jimmy Hoffa go?

Never did find him either with the cement shoes and all. :dunce: :evilgrin:

[Festivito]

12. Might be cement footings for a Detroit building.

The Rencen, Renaissance Center, built by Ford, just purchased a week ago by General Motors as GM's new headquarters.

My guess.

[CountAllVotes]

7. time to drag out ye old boogie man

I rather think that Richard Ramirez (aka "The Night Stalker") was just as creepy as well as others that have been around in the past that are still alive (and hopefully in prison where they belong).

However, Manson is an easy target what with that "hippie" past and all. Forty years ... good luck finding anything in the desert after 40 years! :eyes:

[brentspeak]

9. If there's a location where possible unknown victims of Ramirez' are buried

then yeah, authorities should investigate it like they're doing with Manson's old grounds. In any case, law enforcement is duty-bound to pursue this new Manson information, just like they would (or should) with any other case.

[divineorder]

10. During Hippie Times

There were so many runaways going to California. Who knows how many went missing and were never heard from? If they find people buried there, at least the families will finally know. Also, it isn't because they were "hippie" but because there were multiple killers organized like a cult. So several different people may have been murdered by several different people.

Throw in folks who probably died of overdoses and such and were probably buried too, and that could be a lot of folks as well.

Ramirez was one person, and one person could only do so much. But yeah, if there was a hidden site, dig there too.

[struggle4progress]

11. I used to live in those parts. Scars on that landscape take a long time to heal

The evaporation rate far exceeds the annual rainfall, and I remember examining wooden ladders left outdoors by mining operations eighty or more years prior

ARNALL: That area in Death Valley is very dry. That dehydration is going to dry out the body and preserve it, maybe mummify it. Also, if the bodies were buried, they are protected from predation. So you may find these bodies as well preserved as you might find a mummy coming out of the deserts of Egypt. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0803/17/ng.01.html

While I never went up around Goler Wash, a common granitic sand and fine gravel fills many nearby desert valleys. There are places where you can pick up a pick of surface gravel and find that the top and bottom are different colors -- the top has simply been exposed to sunshine and rare rain over centuries, while the bottom has not. But even where the desert varnish has been lost, digging a hole into such sands, and refilling it, might leave a signature detectable by an archaeological expert: for example, disturbing such natural sediments can affect their compaction, so when re-placed in the hole the same material can have a different volume than it originally had