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May 20, 2008 11:19 pm US/Pacific
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Search For Bodies Underway At Manson Calif. Ranch
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) ―
Scientists and crime scene investigators picked up shovels Tuesday and started slicing thin layers of dirt off the top of a three-by-six foot area— painstaking work designed not to disturb any evidence of bodies that might have been buried here decades ago, when the area was home to convicted murderer Charles Manson.
This spot, the first of two digs planned on Barker Ranch over three days, was chosen for the exploratory excavation after a combination of forensic technologies and a cadaver-seeking police dog indicated the soil had been disturbed and there was evidence of decomposition, said Sgt.Jeff Hollowell with the Inyo County Sheriff's Department, which was overseeing the investigation.
The evidence on its own is not proof there is a human body in the ground—or that any bodies found are connected to Manson and his followers.
But the combination of science and police work was strong enough to warrant the exploratory excavation, according to the crew of nearly 20 scientists, law enforcement officials and National Park rangers who were camping in the high desert mountains bordering Death Valley for the duration of the dig.
"The evidence is indicative enough to where we're out here today," said Arpad Vass, senior researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, an expert in identifying and analyzing the chemicals exuded by human bodies as they break down over time.
The rugged terrain, accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles able to climb over sharp rock and loose gravel, and the temperature, which hovered around 105 degrees, made the work hard for those involved. The nature of the soil—dry and chocked with rocks—made it difficult to operate some of the new forensic tools being put to work on this project, some for the first time on a case outside the laboratory, researchers said.
But investigators and forensic experts involved in re-examining the 40-year-old crime scene were anxious to see the results.
"We've got a lot riding on this," said Mammoth Lakes Police Sgt. Paul Dostie, who handled the cadaver-seeking dog that did the initial work of identifying the suspect sites. "We have the science and law enforcement coming together, and this is a first. We're really looking to see how all these technologies come together."
Before the dig started Tuesday, the forensic expert had scanned the dirt with ground penetrating radar, laser technology that highlights bones, and performed soil chemical analysis tests—all methods not available when Manson and his followers were arrested.
The expedition is expected to last through Thursday. Temperatures were forecast to surpass 100 degrees during the crew's entire stay.
For years, rumors have swirled about other possible Manson victims—hitchhikers who visited the ranch and were not seen again, and runaways who drifted into the camp, then fell out of favor.
The decision to further investigate the site where Manson and his followers hid following the murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others came after initial tests in February found at least two sites that could be graves.
After further soil sampling with inconsistent results, Sheriff Bill Lutze agreed to the exploratory excavation. The National Park Service has closed the ranch to the public for the duration of the dig.
Manson is serving a life sentence at Corcoran State Prison.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)