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Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders /// Part 1/// 265

November 23, 2022 / 55:19

This episode covers the Oklahoma Girl Scout murders, focusing on the events surrounding the tragic incident at Camp Scott in June 1977. Key discussions include the camp's layout, the victims, and the investigation that followed.

The episode begins with a description of Camp Scott, located near Locust Grove, Oklahoma, and its facilities for young campers. The hosts, Nick and the Captain, detail the arrival of the campers on June 12, 1977, and the unsettling events that transpired that night.

They recount the experiences of the three young victims, Denise Milner, Lori Farmer, and Michelle Gussay, who were assigned to tent number eight. The hosts discuss the lack of security at the camp and the eerie occurrences reported by counselors and campers during the night.

The investigation is detailed, highlighting the discovery of the bodies the following morning and the response from local law enforcement. The hosts also discuss the various suspects, including camp staff and local residents, and the challenges faced by investigators.

Throughout the episode, the hosts emphasize the impact of the murders on the community and the lasting legacy of this tragic event.

TLDR

The episode details the 1977 Oklahoma Girl Scout murders, focusing on the victims, investigation, and camp security failures.

Episode

55:19
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foreign [Music] welcome to True Crime garage wherever you are whatever you are doing thanks
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[Music] Camp Scott was a 410 acre camp that was owned and operated by the tulsa-based magic Empire
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Council of Girl Scouts since 1928 this Camp was located in a wooded area about two miles from the town of Locust
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Grove Locust Grove Oklahoma is a small town even today with less than 2 000 people
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this densely wooded area is about 40 miles from Tulsa Locust Grove has a large Native American
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population members of the Cherokee and other tribes settled there after they were forcibly relocated for more Eastern
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areas the camp had facilities for up to 140 children and a staff of 30 counselors
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Camp Scott was divided into 10 units named after Indian tribes such as Choctaw and qual the Girl Scouts were
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assigned their units and to their counselors when they arrived at Camp Scott the counselors were generally older
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girls ages 16 to 25. there were no male counselors at the camp most of the campers came from the Tulsa
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metropolitan area Camp Scott housed both Girl Scouts and their younger counterparts the brownies
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so the girls attending ranged in age from second grade through High School one thing of note
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the camp was partially fenced and had Gates that were locked at night but the fence has been described as not
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the kind that could keep anyone in or out in the summer of 77 this place was filled with young people
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the Girl Scouts is a group synonymous with camping the outdoors volunteering and of course cookies
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and a new batch of Scout Troops shuffled in every two weeks to enjoy everything summer camp has to offer
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until that one terrible night in June what took place the night of June 13 1977 was and still is horrifying
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parents sent their young happy daughters to an idyllic two-week camp and they never returned
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what was done to these girls can only be described as pure evil this week we examine the Oklahoma Girl
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Scout murders [Music] well the trailer did a good job of setting up the location for this week's
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case so let's dive right into the events of June 12th and June 13th of 1977. buses full of excited campers arrived
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around 3 P.M on Sunday June 12th this was to be the first day of a two-week Camp the counselors offloaded the girls
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checking their names off the list the girls were separated into units by age and school grade
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there were 10 units total once the girls were sorted their bags were loaded onto
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a pickup truck and transferred to the appropriate tents by counselors in the camp Ranger Ben Woodward
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27 girls were assigned to the Kiowa unit and they were allowed to select their tent mates
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all the tents had four girls but for some reason tent number eight in the Kiowa had only three girls assigned the
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three girls who were left after everyone else picked their roommates these three
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did not come to Camp with friends and did not know anyone else in the unit these girls were Lori farmer age eight
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Denise Milner age 10 Michelle gussay age nine the three were introduced and agreed to
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share a tent they were sent off to unpack and get acquainted the girls unrolled their sleeping bags
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and put them on three of the four cots in tent number eight Lori and Michelle took the cots on the south end of the
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tent and Denise took the first cut on the North side they stowed some of their other stuff on the empty cot
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side note real quick here tent number eight was actually referred to by the Kiowa unit campers and staff as tent
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number seven they did not count the counselor's tent as a tent with a number only the scout
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tents it has become known as tent number eight there's even a well-known book about the
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case with this title the counselors for the Kiowa Unit were Carla Sue wilheit 23 D Elder 20 and
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Susan Emery only 18. all of these counselors were personally hired by camp director Barbara day with at least one
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being a former camper and two being repeat counselors all attended a week-long pre-camp conference earlier in
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the month this is to get acclimated to the rules and Protocols of the Girl Scout camp
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there they were told if they saw any Outsiders on the camp property there to tell them that it's private property and
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to leave this was pretty much the extent of the security of this camp the councilors arrived at Camp Scott
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earlier on the day of the 12th prior to the arrival of the campers and some noticed that someone deliberately cut
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off the flap on tent number six a large section of the newish tent about four feet by five feet was cut off
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it was repaired with linen material so the tent was usable that day contrary to the beliefs of many no counselors were
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assigned the Camper's tents the counselor shared their own tent accommodations within each unit so
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Captain basically what we have here is we have seven tenths that are full of campers four in each with the exception
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of what is actually cabin number seven has three girls in it but it's labeled number eight because the counselor's
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tent that only houses counselors is not counted uh as it's not numbered per the camp yeah and this is a little strange
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because every time I went to summer camp there was a counselor that stayed in our
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cabin with us yes me me as well uh the Kiowa unit was more isolated than the rest of the units
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it was located right next to the border of dense Woods at the westernmost edge of the camp and was accessible only by a
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service road that came to a dead end at the campsite the unit was arranged in a semi-circle with a kitchen and a meeting
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area in the middle of the circle and the circle comprised of the eight platform tents these were really 12 foot by 14
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foot canvas cabins on top of wooden platforms two feet off of the ground Yeah so basically it it looks like a
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cabin but the walls and the the ceiling and or the roof is made out of the tent material but the floor is wood in and
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then you have some steps to get up onto the wooden platform the canvas sides were tied tightly to the wooden
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platforms but could be rolled up as needed each tent was large enough to house four girls tent number eight was
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the last one in the unit furthest removed from the counselor's tent 100 yards away tent number eight was near a
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path that led to the restrooms but was 75 feet from the next closest tent it was not visible from the tent that
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housed counselors Susan Carla and Dee we're gonna post pictures of the actual tents and the layout on our Instagram at
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True Crime garage now we aren't sure what happened for portions of this first day likely the camp engaged in Get to
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Know You activities we do know that dinner in the Great Hall cafeteria was around 5 30 or 6 p.m
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after dinner all the girls gathered and D A Kiowa unit counselor led the whole camp in song
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the sky began to look ominous and it started to pour as the girls made their way to their tents by the time they
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arrived at their tents everyone was soaking wet after dinner activities were canceled
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due to the storm and the counselors told the girls to change into dry clothes and
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get ready for bed the kids spent the evening writing letters home to their parents
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at 8 pm there was a meeting in the kitchen area in the middle of the unit where the girls had cookies and the
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counselors read Winnie the Pooh we know that at some point Denise Milner asked Dee if she could call home she was
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already homesick she did not want to go to camp but her mother convinced her to give it a try
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D comforted Denise and told her to stick it out and that she could call her mother in the morning right counselors
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were trained to try to keep the girls from calling home finding that it didn't help the homesick girls to feel any
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better well and it probably didn't help the return rate I mean if a girl is calling home a couple times during Camp
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her parents might think twice about sending her next year and we all know how young kids can act too given these
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situations if they're in it if they're at a place that they don't really want to be
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they will really exaggerate you know I hate it here it's terrible here it's the worst thing ever and you find out well
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they're singing songs they're reading books they're writing letters they're it's awful yeah it's a torture it's
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horrible you know what I find horrible though I don't like I never like the Get to Know You activities where you have to
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say hi my name is Nick I'm from Columbus I go to school here and I enjoy boating
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or you know you have to like name a hobby or something and because I always feel like to meet you yeah I always feel
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like I'm on the spot and then not only that there's a whole bunch of people that you're meeting for the first time
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and you you try to remember their names or something they're into and it just doesn't work for me yeah I used to get
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extreme homesickness when I'd spend the night at people's houses so then I eventually to stop spinning at
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people's house because I'm like oh I'm just going to wake up in the middle of night and start crying anyways and this
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is not a good look for me so let me just leave about 11. Denise returned to tent
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number eight and she wrote a letter to her mother uh of course this letter saying that she didn't really like camp
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and wanted to come home all three girls in tent number eight wrote letters home that night the rain ended around 9pm
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according to the Camp staff that night the counselors checked on each of the tents and told the girls it was time for
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lights out this was around 10 30. girls stayed up late and told goat ghost stories and giggled and you know all
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that kind of stuff some people have reported that there was an after dark game of Hide and Seek the
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camp was not lit at night there were no electric lights that were left on except
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at the Rangers and directors houses and the absolute Darkness was part of the experience that the girls were expected
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to get used to there was a kerosene lanter hung at the latrine area for use but the girls were
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told to always leave their tent in the company of a buddy and always carry a flashlight to help them navigate their
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way around in the pitch black right the camp was surrounded by dense Woods which
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contributed to the darkness now we need to get into the events and true stories of some things that we know
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that went on that night in question so first we have a counselor in the Comanche unit
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she reported she was walking back from the restrooms at some point after lights out and she noticed a dim light shining
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in the woods nearby it appeared just beyond the tree line surrounding the camp the counselor knew that no one
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should be in that area she shined her flashlight in that direction as as soon as her flashlight
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hit the tree line the dim light was turned off this was in the direction of the service road correct in a few
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minutes it returned and began moving Northwest in the direction of the Kiowa unit again she tried to see what it was
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with her flashlight and again the light went off the counselor waited for several minutes
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and didn't see the light again so she returned to her own tent around 9pm Susan Emery left Kiowa unit
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to go to the staff house to hang out she was not on duty that night around 10 30 p.m D Elder decided to make
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a tent check of the Kiowa unit she went to every tent and talked with the girls the last tent she visited was
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the furthest away tent number eight all three of the girls were finishing their letters home by flashlight
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Dee told them it was time for bed and after a few minutes she closed the flap on the tent and left Susan returned to
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the Kiowa unit around 11 pm at some point in the night counselor Celia Stahl said a girl started screaming in the
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woods and counselors found her sleepwalking they put her back to bed in her tent another thing that was reported
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was at some time in the night a young girl scout started screaming in the club Paul unit
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which housed the youngest campers a frightened girl told counselors that she was walking from her tent to the
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restroom area when someone grabbed her by her raincoat other girls said something was walking around their tents
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one girl said she saw a man in the woods or possibly two men reports vary right counselors presumably attributed all of
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this paranoia to First Night Jitters and or pranks and escorted the girls back to
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their tents I'm sure that it's probably fairly hard to tell what is fact and what is fiction regarding some of these
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stories that these young campers are passing along to the counselors Carlin D both reported hearing the girls giggling
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and messing around Into the Night Carla reported that she and Dee were awakened at 1 30 a.m by some of the
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girls intent number five slamming the door in the bathroom area Carla got up and escorted the girls back
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to their tent then as they both lay awake on their cots Carla and Dee heard a strange noise it seemed to be a low
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guttural moaning Dee and Carla got up and went outside walking toward tent number five
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Carla then walked toward the road that led to the camp when she reached the road she pointed her flashlight in the
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direction of the sound she could see nothing in the woods and the moaning stopped
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she said she assumed the noise was some kind of animal right she walked back to the tent area and she and D checked out
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tent number five and then they returned to their own tent the strange moaning noise then resumed
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sometime in the night likely after 2 A.M as Dee and Carla went back to sleep the flaps of the counselor's tent were
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taken off the hook screws that held them Dees and Susan's purses and Carla's glasses disappeared
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around this time young campers who woke up saw a light outside their tents the girls intent number seven watched as
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the light approached their tent and then suddenly the tent panel was pulled open
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and a light Shone inside the tent a ten-year-old camper watched terrified as a large dark figure glared into the tent
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then dropped the panel and moved away at some point the hook screws holding down the back of tent number eight were
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removed a girl in Cherokee reported hearing screams around 3 A.M and one of the more disturbing details
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one camper and quilt paw unit reported hearing someone screaming or moaning mama mama
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in the morning Carla woke up to her alarm at 6 a.m she planned to get up 30 minutes early so she could take a hot
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shower at the staff house a few hundred yards away from the service road and at these camps I mean you're lucky if you
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get hot water at all so you really you have to get there early and fast if you want to have a hot shower well Carla
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tiptoed out of her dark tent and down the steps it was a beautiful calm sunny day after the storms the night before
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Carla walked along the trail to the showers when a flash of bright yellow caught her eye and she walked over
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closer to investigate she saw from several yards away a sleeping bag on the ground then she saw a child lying
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partially on and under the bag and partially on the ground she wondered what the girl was doing
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sleeping outside of her tent but then what she was seeing registered this small child was not sleeping
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something terrible has happened and Carla ran away strangely she recounts that her first inclination was to run
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and wake up Dee and Susan and the other Kiowa counselors right and insist that they count all of the girls in the Kiowa
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tents she told them she saw a girl's body on the ground and more sleeping bags next to it near the trail
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and she was afraid the girl on the ground was from her unit yeah Susan and Dee and Carla ran to all the Kiowa tents
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checking on the occupants who were still asleep but found tent number eight was empty they had 24 girls accounted for
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but Denise Lori and Michelle were missing Carla looked closer into the dark tent
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and saw Blood on the floor and mattresses she was trying to make heads or Tales of
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everything that was going on yeah it's almost like she wants to count all the campers first so if she goes back to the
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body that she'll know that it's not one of her Campers or if it is one of her campers before she has to investigate
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the body yeah and this girl she was lying near a tree about 150 yards away from tent number eight
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it's very likely that it was simply because she was just too afraid of what she might find right so instead Carla
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told Dee and Suzanne to make sure that the Kiowa girls didn't leave their tents while she ran for help the counselors
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were trained to try to keep calm and keep from upsetting their girls in scary situations
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Carla cut across the field toward the nurse's quarters which was approximately 300 yards to the South
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but Susan apparently decided to investigate what Carla saw and when she came to the area where the girl lay on
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the ground she started screaming right Dee came running and put her hand over Susan's mouth and told Susan to go back
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to the unit to keep the girls calm D felt the first sleeping bag and felt a body inside and same for the second
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sleeping bag she ran for her car meanwhile Carla reached the nurse's quarters and frantically roused Marianne
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alabeck the camp nurse telling her something terrible had happened and there was a body down in the Kiowa unit
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the nurse dressed quickly and hurried to her car while Carlo raced next door to awaken camp director Barbara day and her
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husband Richard meanwhile nurse alebec encountered Dee on the road in her own car and when
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asked what happened Dee told her there are those little girls down there and I think they're all dead
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the nurse drove over to the Kiowa unit and found Suzanne who led her to the spot where the bodies lay
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what nurse olabek saw and Susan Carla and Diesel earlier was horrifying Denise Milner lay on her back on the ground her
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legs spread wide apart she was nude from the waist down there were visible wounds and blood on
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her face the nurse touched the Carotid artery to see if there was a pulse but when she squeezed blood came out of the
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girl's mouth trying to find her wrist the nurse realized that the dead girl's hands were
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tied together behind her back camp director Barbara day and her husband arrived Barbara stayed at the
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car while Richard ran over to the body on the ground he instinctively picked up a sleeping bag lying partially under
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Denise and covered the dead girl Richard was a surgical technician at a large Tulsa hospital and he knew Dead
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when he saw it he noted that there were two other sleeping bags that clearly contained
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bodies and he told his wife to call the police but strangely no one seems to have
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actually opened the two sleeping bags to check on the contents what if one or both of the girls were
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still alive in any event Richard and Barbara got into their car and drove to the house of
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Camp Ranger and ex-marine Ben Woodward he lived in a house on Camp Scott grounds with his wife and kids
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his wife was the camp cook the days had trouble waking Ben and finally had to let themselves in and Shake him in his
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bed until he woke up Richard told him what was going on and Barbara called the highway patrol
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Richard went to the camp gate which was locked from the previous night to wait for the police and then LED them to the
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Kiowa unit Ben Woodward went to the site of the bodies horrified at what he saw he was near tears
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when he recovered himself and looked around he noted a red and white 9-volt flashlight with a roll of duct tape
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lying near the bodies a decision was quickly made not to tell the other campers what happened multiple
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stories are told by girls who were at the camp that day about what information they were given
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some were told that there was a problem with the water supply others say that there was an accident
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as one article said nothing in the Girl Scout manual told these young counselors
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how to deal with this situation the campers were awakened by the camp Bell told to get dressed and sent to
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breakfast in the Great Hall with counselors being sure to steer them onto Pathways from the scene
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after they were fed breakfast and packed up they did some arts and crafts and went swimming until the buses arrived
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and authorities approved the girl's departure all the girls were loaded up and sent
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back home to Tulsa during all of this time while they kept campers distracted Camp staffers were
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using nameless to try to figure out exactly who the missing girls were counselors were being questioned in the
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tents and camp areas were searched by investigators there are conflicting stories about what
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the Camper's parents were told about why the girls were coming home but it seems
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most believed that there was quote an accident at the camp and the parents found themselves waiting for the buses
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not being certain whether their children were coming home when they saw their daughters emerge
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from the buses many of the parents broke down with relief the three victims parents were reached
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by phone and told their daughters had been killed but not much more information than that was given Camp
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Scott officially closed on June 14 1977 and never reopened [Music] yeah foreign [Music]
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holiday cheers to everyone out there Peter Weaver was the sheriff of mays County and was one of the First
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Responders on that morning at Camp Scott he quickly decided that the Slayer or Slayers likely picked that particular
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tent because it was over 50 feet from the others and near thick brush which would give the killer cover
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Weaver stated that he touched Denise Milner's body and estimated her body temperature at around 70 degrees this
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led many people to speculate that Denise was only dead for a short time as her body was somewhat warm around 7 A.M
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at that time of year in Oklahoma the sun begins to rise as early as 5 A.M Sheriff Weaver called in the Oklahoma
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State Bureau of Investigation or the OSBI agent Mike Wilkerson was assigned the horrific case of the three dead girl
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scouts his two brothers were also agents and like many Oklahomans the wilkersons were part Native American
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Mike and his brother Dave wrote someone cry for the children a comprehensive book about this case which we will
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reference from time to time when Wilkerson arrived at the scene he met up with another agent with the
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district attorney Sheriff Weaver a medical examiner and a highway patrolman this is Howard Berry Trooper Berry lived
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less than a mile from Camp Scott and a call from Dispatch sent him to the scene around 6 30 A.M
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also called in was Mike wheat a reporter who helped police by taking crime scene
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photos we took hundreds of photos of the bodies and the scene to document the findings for investigators
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he is still Disturbed to this day at the memory of what he witnessed three sleeping bags one yellow plaid one dark
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green the other a red flower pattern lying together beside the trail under a tree Denise Milner's body and the other
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two inside the bags he photographed inside of tent number eight we commented later when he was done that
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he noted Blood On The Souls of his shoes this next part Captain is very strange and I don't really know what to make of
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it when agent Wilkerson arrived he learned that the two sleeping bags had still not been opened yeah this was at
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10 A.M about four hours after discovering the bodies no one had opened the sleeping bags to check the Girls D
00:29:00
and Richard day both at least touched the sleeping bags and guessed that there were bodies inside but it's it's
00:29:05
shocking to me that the bags weren't opened earlier when Law Enforcement Officers opened the
00:29:12
first sleeping bag they found eight-year-old Lori farmer wrapped in bloody bed sheets
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the next bag was opened and revealed Michelle gussay she was bloody and was bound in a fetal position with cord
00:29:24
around one hand then looped tightly under her buttocks and bound to the other hand
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some reports state that Lori and Michelle had ligatures around their necks Blood Stained bed clothes were
00:29:36
found in their sleeping bags there is a disagreement about what the two girls in the sleeping bags were
00:29:42
wearing when they were found but one report says that they were naked from the waist down the other Reports say
00:29:48
that they may have been wearing something the body of ten-year-old Denise Milner
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was lying out in the open half nude she was lying on her back with her pajama top pulled up under her arms and her
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arms taped down around the shoulders with black duct tape that ran across the pajama top
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her hands were bound behind her with thick dark two-inch duct tape and some kind of cord the duct tape over top of
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the cord right she was beaten severely on her face in the shape of some kind of blunt object or instrument was visible
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on her face observers said it appeared to be a rectangle approximately two inches long
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and three quarters of an inch wide around Denise's neck there were two ligatures one was a cord the other was
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an elastic bandage attached to the cord was a cylindrical object approximately four inches long
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made of terry cloth towel material the theory at the time is the elastic bandage was pulled over her face to make
00:30:52
some type of blindfold the terry cloth object was a carefully handmade and hand sewn gag you said
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there's discrepancies on what the findings were like on what they were wearing what two of the girls were
00:31:05
wearing yeah these would be both of the girls in the sleeping bags right but you
00:31:08
would assume with all these pictures being taken that would have evidence so we could look back on and say well this
00:31:15
is what the photo says yes and so where I think that lies is that I don't think there's a discrepancy for the
00:31:22
investigators I think there's a discrepancy for the general public because I wouldn't assume that all of
00:31:30
the photos have been released publicly right the other thing here before we move on regarding some of the other
00:31:36
items found and some of the evidence out there Captain is this this terry cloth object which has been
00:31:42
noted as carefully handmade hand sewn okay so whether it was intended to be made as a gag you know to gag one of the
00:31:51
girls or if it was just made for something else and then used as a potential gag it's interesting to me
00:31:57
because it's referenced as a carefully handmade hand sewn object right right so this is very likely a one of a kind
00:32:07
object and we've seen this in several cases that we've covered before where we have objects or things that were used
00:32:14
materials that were used in dumping of a body or binding a person or binding a victim that are one of a kind and later
00:32:23
we see those items photographed and photographs of such released to the public because again they're one of a
00:32:29
kind somebody out there knows about should know about these items especially if the killer didn't make it yeah even
00:32:36
if you can just identify the material if we know where that material came from maybe we can figure out who bought that
00:32:43
material and we saw this specifically in the Amy mihalovic case where we have this this thing that was probably used
00:32:50
to move her body or to cover up her body when it lied in the field but it was somebody repurposed this item somebody
00:32:57
put some work into this item and unfortunately in Amy's case we didn't get this wasn't released to the public until
00:33:04
20 some years later now I don't know I couldn't go back and find if this particular terry cloth object was
00:33:12
released publicly or pictures of it publicly at the time of the initial investigation
00:33:18
the other item we have is that flashlight so this is a red and white nine volt flashlight
00:33:24
this is a bulky almost rectangle shaped flashlight with a large handle on top with the light and lens in the front
00:33:31
these are very typical you see them in a lot of homes and a lot of people use these and purchase these for camping
00:33:38
right this is also possibly the blunt object that was used in the beating very likely and the other thing too we we
00:33:47
talked about uh Wayne Gravette his case not too long ago just a few weeks ago this is a similar flashlight to the one
00:33:53
that was used to make into a bomb for that case now the lens for this flashlight was covered by a piece of
00:34:01
dark green or black garbage bag there's I've had several people I've read several sites that state that it's dark
00:34:09
green I wasn't there and I don't think these people were there when I see pictures of this flashlight
00:34:16
this material this plastic material appears to be black to me right this is attached to the lens and it was attached
00:34:25
with masking tape and a small hole was placed in the plastic presumably so that only a tiny beam of muted light would
00:34:33
shine through inside the flashlight investigators found a section of newspaper wedged
00:34:38
inside the flashlight's battery compartment this very likely intended to keep the
00:34:44
battery in place the paper the newspaper was from the April 17th edition of Tulsa World
00:34:52
investigators entered tent number eight and they found it stained and splattered
00:34:56
with blood there were large blood stains on the wooden floor particularly near the cot
00:35:02
in the Southeast Corner the blood stains on the floor were smeared like someone had tried to wipe them up possibly even
00:35:10
using the sheets and blankets from the cots which we know were found in the sleeping bags with the two girls so the
00:35:17
girls were attacked most likely in the tent there were no drag marks at the spot
00:35:22
where the girl's bodies were found so they were likely carried from the tent over to the spot and then piled under
00:35:29
the tree some of the girls clothing was found nearby they found two different types of
00:35:36
footprints on the floor one a tennis shoe design size 7 and the other was a military
00:35:43
style boot print estimated to be in the size of 10 to 11 range now you're saying
00:35:49
male sizes that I don't know for certain um I would assume that when we're talking about military style boot print
00:35:58
and it being size 10 to 11 range we're looking at male prints there the interesting thing though is the tennis
00:36:05
shoe design size seven right you could speculate really either I guess investigators saw that
00:36:13
the screw hooks holding the back flap of the tent were unscrewed and they were placed on the ground they guessed that
00:36:20
the killer entered the tent from the back now this is this is exactly how it happened with the counselors tent as
00:36:27
well that's a really good question the description is that the flaps may have been opened in the counselor's tent but
00:36:35
but you paint an interesting picture here when you're trying to see this crime go down or the events of that
00:36:41
night do we have an individual or individuals that are they're going up to the back of
00:36:47
the tents and like you said they're they're canvas material these walls right so you could perch down and kind
00:36:55
of Crouch there and wait to see if you hear anybody talking inside right and if you go minutes and minutes and
00:37:02
minutes with no talking now you get Brazen enough and you say all right well I'm going to lift open this back portion
00:37:08
and just kind of peek in you know where it wouldn't be as noticeable as opening up one of the flaps yeah I don't know
00:37:13
how one perches and crouches at the same time but it's difficult you have to be talented yeah or or I could just learn
00:37:22
to speak so we have the camp counselor's tent plus another seven tenths so eight
00:37:28
in total was there things done to other tents well unless you count the story of one
00:37:36
of the campers saying hey somebody opened up our our flap to our tent and looked in
00:37:41
then the answer would be no well we have the one flaps that were cut but they were cut the day before correct so the
00:37:49
difficult thing here with the statement from one of the young campers that says hey somebody at some point opened up our
00:37:55
our flap looked in the tent you know shining a light in there and all I saw was a large shadowy figure right
00:38:03
I don't know that we can say for certain that that is one of the killers or the killer walking around looking for a tent
00:38:10
or looking for a victim it very well could have been a counselor that thought they heard something and was just simply
00:38:17
checking in on the tent and didn't want to wake up the sleeping campers you know
00:38:23
and if you have one girl that's lying there and opens up her eyes and sees this happen but doesn't move the
00:38:29
counselor doesn't know that that kid's you know sleeping so that's difficult to say because the interesting thing with
00:38:36
that is that the tent that the camper says Hey somebody opened up our flap and looked in at some point was the tent
00:38:44
that was next to number eight which all the victims came from so if it was the killer did that have did he see
00:38:53
something inside and that tell him hey I'm moving on to another tent 15 additional agents arrived to conduct
00:39:01
searches of the general area this by early afternoon and by 3 pm a mobile lab and command post and a converted 25-foot
00:39:10
motorhome arrived from Oklahoma City agents and State Police began questioning the Kiowa counselors as well
00:39:17
as the other adults at camp ambulances transported the dead bodies to the medical examiner's office for
00:39:25
autopsies swabs were taken from each victim the bodies were combed all loose hairs and fingernail clippings were
00:39:32
collected three hairs from a piece of duct tape found on Denise Milner's hands were
00:39:38
placed in an Evidence bag and sealed all cords were cut away to preserve the knots for future study the entire
00:39:46
section of blood-stained floor of the tent was removed and taken away the autopsy results were very upsetting
00:39:55
Denise suffered blunt trauma to the head and died of strangulation she was sexually assaulted
00:40:01
there were lacerations on her genitalia and fragments of leaves and debris were found in her what was the trauma
00:40:09
consistent with that flashlight or did they ever report that that's really difficult to say because there was
00:40:15
another item that was found nearby I believe it was a like a crowbar or a tire changing tool right
00:40:22
and they couldn't say for certain where this blunt force trauma came from many have
00:40:28
have thought over the years that it probably came from that crowbar or the tire changing tool but there is no
00:40:35
definitive statement given regarding those the blunt force trauma suffer to her head
00:40:41
Michelle was killed by blows to the back of her head and the sides of her head with contusions to the brain this
00:40:49
leading investigators to believe that she was either lying down or standing with her back to the assailant when she
00:40:55
was struck there were indications that she was sexually assaulted Lori died the same
00:41:01
way blows to the Head she was also sexually assaulted it's believed both Lori and Michelle were assaulted after
00:41:08
they were dead estimated time of death is as early as 2 A.M but noted that it's likely most likely between 4 and 6 A.M
00:41:20
a lot of officers and a lot of agencies the investigators generally agreed that the murderer entered the tent through
00:41:28
the back struck two girls sleeping on the south side of the tent killing them or at least incapacitating them there
00:41:37
wasn't much blood on Denise's bed leading agents to believe that she may have been tied up in the tent gagged or
00:41:43
strangled so she could not scream then taken outside of the tent assaulted in the woods where she was found
00:41:51
regarding the other things that went missing that night these were the purses belonging to Dee and Suzanne that
00:41:58
disappeared sometime in that night yeah Suzanne's purse which she had sown herself out of old blue jeans contained
00:42:06
a pair of sunglasses in a case pairs of glasses belonging to Suzanne and Carla were missing as well Carla didn't
00:42:14
realize this until June 14th when she was finally allowed to return to her tent right at least one pair of glasses
00:42:22
was found discarded in the bushes near the death scene well this gets weird because then you wonder is it somebody
00:42:28
messing with the scene afterwards or were these items actually taken that night that night yeah even if they were
00:42:35
taking that night did the perpetrator come through the front of the tent or do you come through the back because we
00:42:40
know the flaps of the back were taken off yeah and you have like you said there's like 24 hours that go by before
00:42:48
we are told that this item actually went missing right so there's been some thought regarding the
00:42:56
glasses that were found you know they're removed from the tent they're found near
00:43:00
the death scene in the bushes almost as if they were just like tossed away yeah and someone many people have said that
00:43:07
it was almost like someone was trying them on or for whatever reason stole them and decided to toss them at the
00:43:14
last minute investigators collected a pillowcase from the scene stained with semen
00:43:20
in the course of the investigation every adult at Camp Scott and all of the children in the Kiowa Unit were
00:43:26
interviewed by agents all counselors were asked about their sex lives investigators looked at Ben Woodward the
00:43:33
camp Ranger he was actually a suspect very early on Ben was the last person that we know of to enter Camp Scott that
00:43:42
Sunday night so how they approached that how how's your sex life Colonel you mean
00:43:47
regarding the interviewing the counselors right right how do you think they went about that
00:43:53
well and me being I'd be such a jackass that I you know they'd be like how's your sex life Captain I'd say it's kinky
00:44:02
okay well there were there was some evidence or at least some things at the scene that led some of the investigators
00:44:10
to believe now mind you this is before they received the autopsy reports right there were some things found at the
00:44:17
scene that led some investigators to believe that the sexual assaults might have been
00:44:23
might have been perpetrated by a female so I think what they're trying to figure
00:44:28
out here is everyone's you know sex preferences right and and we also have the situation where we have a camp full
00:44:37
of girls a camp full of female counselors and very few men that are working at this area
00:44:43
Ben I think Ben Woodward the camp Ranger I think he really you know I said he was a suspect early
00:44:50
on I don't think he technically was a suspect I think it's just the straight up fact that according to the books he's
00:44:58
the last individual that is known to have entered the camp that night yeah and he was the one that locked the gate
00:45:05
so his story is this his daughter she's grown or at least older and she worked somewhere in town off the campgrounds
00:45:15
yeah he had to pick her up from her work drive her back to their home and after returning he locked the gate this around
00:45:22
10 45 pm only Ben Woodward and Barbara day had keys to this gate is it possible that he
00:45:30
left it unlocked when he went to go pick up his daughter because that would give
00:45:35
somebody an opportunity to get a vehicle on the property and maybe park it in a position where he wouldn't know about
00:45:42
it's possible but according to his statement he when he was told of what had happened at the camp yeah he his
00:45:50
first course of action was to go to the gate unlock it waiting for police to arrive so he could lead them to where
00:45:58
he's been told that the first girl was found they did search his home that day they
00:46:03
found nothing of evidentiary value and he did take and pass a polygraph test with flying colors his wife was his
00:46:12
Alibi you know she said you know he returned home at around 10 45 and was with me all night and she took a
00:46:19
polygraph and passed one as well right Ben told law enforcement that the camp had been subject to break-ins in the off
00:46:26
season with supplies and food stolen more than once yeah but isn't that pretty common with any Campground
00:46:33
I would think so yeah the most recent break-in occurred several weeks before the camp opened this is supported by
00:46:41
several other associates it seems the break-ins were considered harmless almost a reality of life in the remote
00:46:48
wooded area right you know I I know some guys that have places way out in the middle of nowhere that they use cabins
00:46:56
for hunting or for fishing or both and they go there a handful of times each year and they always say hey when I
00:47:03
when I show up for that first time and haven't been there in a while there's things that are changed on my cabin or
00:47:09
on my ground somebody has been squatting there for a night or two right on the 14th a local farmer named Jack Shroff
00:47:17
showed up at Camp Scott with his adult son he heard about the murders on the news Jack Shroff told Sheriff Weaver his
00:47:26
Farmhouse was broken into at some point after 3 P.M on June 12th the Sunday when
00:47:32
the campers arrived at Camp Scott so the day leading into the night of the murders
00:47:38
right so possibly these break-ins have something to do with the murder the murders that night well at the very
00:47:45
least Shroff seems to believe they may have you know in his property it's a 110 acre property it's located about a mile
00:47:52
west of Camp Scott Shroff was there until Sunday the 12th until about 3 P.M so he knows that hey I've not been there
00:48:02
since this time when I returned I noticed that my home was broken into right it had to have happened after 3
00:48:09
P.M on the 12th so the agents went to The Farmhouse and they found that the door was kicked in and they found a boot
00:48:16
print on the doormat now Shroff reported that a role of black duct tape was missing as well as two six packs of
00:48:23
Pabst Blue Ribbon and a crowbar after thorough searches three empty PBR bottles and a crowbar were found in the
00:48:32
Southeast corner of Camp Scott cord matching the cord that had tied up the girls was found in the Shroff home
00:48:39
Shroff identified the duct tape found at Camp Scott as looking like duct tape that he had in his house
00:48:47
but he could not identify the flashlight that they found now Sharaf immediately became a suspect
00:48:53
agents theorized the burglary could be just a cover-up you know Shroff came up with when he realized he left his
00:49:01
flashlight and tape and other items at the scene and that his fingerprints would be found on these items the other
00:49:09
thing that's very curious here too Captain is his timing saying that hey my home was broken into sometime after 3
00:49:16
P.M on the 12th well we know that that was the day that the campers arrived but it's also the timing the time that the
00:49:24
campers arrived he's almost purposely removing himself I mean he could be truthfully removing himself right or
00:49:30
purposefully removing himself from that area at the exact time that the later would be victims are arriving to the
00:49:38
camp all right so this this what I could do he has access and some of his items that quote unquote
00:49:47
his barn was broken into his property was broken into these items are found at the scene correct so
00:49:56
but we don't think he has a motive does he have an alibi what's going to clear this individual
00:50:02
so a tricky thing because he was immediately targeted by the media as a child killer you know that they even I
00:50:11
believe the headlines say child Slayer on the newspaper the next day and they have a big picture of him on the
00:50:19
newspaper yeah that would that'd be really nice she'd come forward trying to help the police and this is what they
00:50:24
get to not the police but the media he Shroff immediately agreed and assisted in any in all parts of the investigation
00:50:33
that he could he went in for questioning and he cooperated he took a polygraph past the polygraph test now it wasn't
00:50:43
just that that cleared him because by all accounts he has been 100 percent cleared of any involvement in the crime
00:50:51
and this is because he had multiple properties Shroff was fairly well to do he had several Alibis that placed him
00:51:01
nowhere near the area at the time when the murders occurred he wasn't in town at that time right
00:51:07
so but it does take some time to track these things down and figure these things out and clear this guy but before
00:51:14
they could he's labeled by the media as the Killer well they would bring in tracking dogs
00:51:21
and once these tracking dogs were brought in OSBI agents did something interesting they brought the doormat
00:51:28
from the Shroff Farmhouse the one that had the discernible boot print on it they brought this to the dogs at Camp
00:51:35
Scott and they gave it to them for Ascent to follow the dogs led the agents right back to The shroff's Farmhouse and
00:51:43
pond area where a burned campfire was found a burnt out campfire this is interesting
00:51:51
because it means that the killer went straight from The Farmhouse you know from burglarizing The Farmhouse
00:51:57
sometime after 3 P.M on Sunday to Camp Scott possibly right so well according to the dogs right unless because he
00:52:06
these items that were placed at the crime scene were taken from the home right so somebody broke into this home
00:52:14
brought those items with them and went to Camp Scott so how did the burglar know that the
00:52:20
house would be empty we I mean we don't know for certain but did the burglar break into the house and happen upon the
00:52:27
duct tape and rope and decide to go kill some girls this seems very unlikely right now one thing that Jack schroff
00:52:35
told investigators was that his Farmhouse had been repeatedly broken into six seven or eight times yeah put
00:52:43
some locks on the door he says well when they found the door it was kicked in I was joking uh he said usually what was
00:52:51
taken from the house was food and tools right um but you have to wonder is it possible
00:52:56
that the killer knew that he would find these items at The Farmhouse because he had been there before possibly having
00:53:04
some squatters in the area because of the Wilderness you know there's a lot of times you can get some of that goes hey
00:53:10
I can set up a tank I could set up a little Campground for myself breaking to the neighboring houses and I can live
00:53:17
off this land for at least a few weeks which also makes you wonder if you're going to ask those questions did the
00:53:22
killer go to this Farmhouse with the intention of breaking into it to steal items to
00:53:28
commit murders yeah did this killer or Killers did they know that there would be 140 campers
00:53:37
showing up that day at Camp Scott I don't know and how much was this person keeping an eye on this area
00:53:46
anyway on Thursday so this is four days after the bodies were discovered a pair of tennis shoes and socks inside a bag
00:53:53
labeled Denise Milner were found on the front steps of a camp Scott Building being used as a command post by all
00:54:02
accounts I could find they were definitely not there the whole time someone placed them there this was right
00:54:08
after someone reported seeing a man in the woods for the third night of that week investigators used dogs but they
00:54:16
couldn't find anything they couldn't track anything they even strung up thread between trees that was found
00:54:21
broken the next day and Footprints were found as well but no trace of anyone someone was clearly in the area moving
00:54:30
around at night foreign a lot more to get to in episode two and three of the Oklahoma Girl Scout murders
00:54:42
yep and we will see everybody back here in the garage tomorrow until then be good be kind and don't litter
00:54:59
[Music] [Applause] [Music]

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  • 80
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  • 75
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Episode Highlights

  • Camp Scott Overview
    Camp Scott was a 410-acre camp for Girl Scouts, located near Locust Grove, Oklahoma.
    @ 02m 41s
    November 23, 2022
  • The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders
    A horrifying case where parents sent their daughters to camp, but they never returned.
    “What was done to these girls can only be described as pure evil.”
    @ 05m 06s
    November 23, 2022
  • First Night at Camp
    The campers arrived and settled in, but strange occurrences began to unfold.
    @ 05m 37s
    November 23, 2022
  • The Discovery of the Bodies
    Camp staff discover the bodies of three girls, leading to immediate horror and confusion.
    “He instinctively picked up a sleeping bag and covered the dead girl.”
    @ 22m 58s
    November 23, 2022
  • Parents' Emotional Reunion
    Parents anxiously await their daughters' return, only to face devastating news.
    “Many of the parents broke down with relief.”
    @ 25m 51s
    November 23, 2022
  • Shocking Autopsy Findings
    The autopsy reveals the brutal nature of the girls' deaths, shocking investigators.
    “The autopsy results were very upsetting.”
    @ 39m 55s
    November 23, 2022
  • The Investigation Begins
    Investigators collected evidence from the scene, including a pillowcase stained with semen.
    @ 43m 15s
    November 23, 2022
  • Interviewing Counselors
    All counselors were questioned about their sex lives during the investigation.
    @ 43m 29s
    November 23, 2022
  • A Suspect Emerges
    Ben Woodward, the camp Ranger, was the last known person to enter Camp Scott that night.
    @ 43m 36s
    November 23, 2022
  • Break-ins and Murders
    Local farmer Jack Shroff reported a break-in on the day campers arrived at Camp Scott.
    @ 47m 20s
    November 23, 2022
  • Mystery Shoes Found
    A pair of tennis shoes labeled Denise Milner were discovered at Camp Scott days after the murders.
    @ 53m 51s
    November 23, 2022

Episode Quotes

  • What was done to these girls can only be described as pure evil.
    Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders /// Part 1/// 265
  • Something terrible has happened.
    Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders /// Part 1/// 265
  • He instinctively picked up a sleeping bag and covered the dead girl.
    Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders /// Part 1/// 265
  • Many of the parents broke down with relief.
    Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders /// Part 1/// 265
  • The autopsy results were very upsetting.
    Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders /// Part 1/// 265
  • He was immediately targeted by the media as a child killer.
    Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders /// Part 1/// 265

Key Moments

  • Welcome to True Crime Garage00:40
  • Strange Noises17:43
  • Horrifying Discovery22:58
  • Parents' Relief25:51
  • Grim Autopsy Results39:55
  • Evidence Collection43:15
  • Suspect Identification43:36
  • Break-in Report47:20

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown