Excavation to Begin at Manson Family Hideout

by Donna Weaver

Well, it's about time! A decision has been reached to commence a "limited" excavation to search for human remains at the former Death Valley hideout of Charles Manson and his followers. Police now believe Barker Ranch may be the location of several clandestine graves of additional victims possibly murdered by the Manson Family cult.

Following the grizzly murders of seven people in 1969, little has changed at the cabin where Manson was found hiding in the bathroom (pictured below right) when arrested at Barker Ranch. An officer who used the facilities there had found Manson, who was taken into custody along with several of his cohorts.

Inyo County Sheriff Bill Lutze issued a statement last Friday: "There was no consistent response from the dogs that searched, and no conclusive findings from the soil samplings tested by top experts in the field. Therefore 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 is to proceed with limited excavation in a very few areas." The excavation will take place May 20-23 at which time the federally owned park will be closed to visitors. A few weeks ago, Sheriff Lutze had postponed the decision to dig, saying ownership of the land was a compelling consideration on whether or not to proceed with the excavation.

Manson (pictured below left) apparently is no stranger to burying people in his backyard. Before moving to Barker Ranch, Manson and his followers resided at Spahn Ranch. On the night of August 8, 1969, Manson sent his right-hand man, Charles "Tex" Watson and three others to 10050 Cielo Drive with instructions to kill everyone inside. Murdered in the brutal killing spree were Steven Parent, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, Sharon Tate and Sharon Tate's 8 month-old unborn fetus. The homicidal rampage continued the following evening with the horrific murders of Rosemary and Leno LaBianca.

Eight days later, on August 16, 1969, Manson and other family members were arrested on suspicion of auto theft. They were released, however, due to a date error in the search warrant. Manson blamed the arrests on Spahn Ranch hand Donald "Shorty" Shea. Believing Shea ratted them out to the police, Manson decided it was time to move, but before leaving for Barker Ranch, Manson and other family members killed Shea and buried him behind Spahn Ranch.

Although we may soon find out if there are indeed more possible victims of Charles Manson and his followers buried in unmarked graves on Barker Ranch, identifying the remains and proving who killed them may be difficult, if not impossible. Still, if nothing else, the discovery of human remains may help ensure that Manson family members who are on one-year parole reviews will never see the light of day.

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DIG!

by Donna Weaver

I just don't understand the delay. Get your warrants, and DIG!

Earlier this month, it was reported that human remains may have been found near Barker Ranch, once the hideout of Charles Manson and his followers. Barker Ranch now resides on national park property, and nearby Myers Ranch was once owned by a Manson Family member and also served as the cult's hideout.

Testing equipment from Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory indicated the presence of two clandestine graves and a possible third gravesite after search dogs from Mammoth Lakes Police Department and Necrosearch--a nonprofit organization that specializes in locating clandestine gravesites--indicated the possible location of human remains.

But Inyo County Sheriff Bill Lutze stated on Friday that he believes further testing is necessary. In a written statement, Lutze said:

"Myers Ranch is private property, Barker Ranch is national park property. . . . Both are compelling reasons to be as cautious as possible and use every reasonable testing method available before disturbing the ground with excavation."

Last week it was reported that former Inyo County detective John Little said he was told by his former supervisor in 1974 to investigate the possibility of human remains buried at Barker Ranch.

"He said I should go up and take a look around the Barker Ranch and try to find four grave sites somewhere around 150 yards from the building," Little said. "At that time, there wasn't a lot of really good forensic techniques to find things. Imagine what you could find with the sonar stuff they have now."

Until the suspected grave sites are excavated we won't know for sure if they contain human remains, and, if so, how they came to be buried there. Whether or not these possible unidentified remains are victims of Charles Manson or his followers isn't the point. According to The Doe Network Unexplained Disappearances Geographic Index, in California there are 49 reports of men, women, and children who disappeared without explanation between 1944 and 1974, with a total of 901 disappeared persons up until the year 1999.

As a survivor of a homicide victim whose remains have never been found, I can tell you that statistics alone cannot capture the fear, horror, frustration, and pain felt by those who know and love a person who has suddenly vanished from their lives. There have to be several families wondering in anguish if their loved ones could be buried in unmarked graves in Inyo County, California. Those families should not have to wait one minute longer than necessary for an answer, and ownership of the property is not a sufficiently compelling reason to make them wait.

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