It was a cold October 3rd in 2000 when a security guard on patrol checked a recently fenced off utility tunnel under the Railroad tracks of the long gone USS Homestead works when he made a grizzly discovery of human remains despite the best efforts of the coroners office and even facial reconstruction she still remains unidentified to this day. Thought to be a new immigrant due to type of dental work she had which is not used in US the coroner even worked with immigrant society's etc in an effort to identify her but no luck.
Almost 15 years since women's remains found in abandoned railroad tunnel in Homestead still unidentified
Ghost running up tracks with lantern in Etna warns railroaders of Train ahead to prevent crash ?
I first saw this story appear in the Weekend Magazine in the now closed Pittsburgh Press which featured local area haunting's in an article in early 70's .
It mentioned railroaders who would see a ghost of an old man with red eyes and holding an old fashioned train lantern running up the tracks in Etna toward their train as in an effort to stop or warn them of an impending crash.
this is the first and only time I have seen this tale in writing and I have asked many I know around Etna including Railroaders if they ever heard of the tale and none has.
Yes there were serious train wrecks in Etna in 1909 which took 3 lives and many others over the time period which would support a ghost trying to warn approaching trains but if it was such a great legend you think there would be more to it than an article in a paper 40 years ago.
This once again looks like a totally made up legend by an editor to sell newspapers.
With no other writings or persons who know about it to be found.
It mentioned railroaders who would see a ghost of an old man with red eyes and holding an old fashioned train lantern running up the tracks in Etna toward their train as in an effort to stop or warn them of an impending crash.
this is the first and only time I have seen this tale in writing and I have asked many I know around Etna including Railroaders if they ever heard of the tale and none has.
Yes there were serious train wrecks in Etna in 1909 which took 3 lives and many others over the time period which would support a ghost trying to warn approaching trains but if it was such a great legend you think there would be more to it than an article in a paper 40 years ago.
This once again looks like a totally made up legend by an editor to sell newspapers.
With no other writings or persons who know about it to be found.
Edward Wayne Edwards a little known Serial Killer who prowled around Pa. from 1983-86
Edward Wayne Edwards grew up in Akron Ohio but spent time as an incarcerated juvenile in 1948 near Philadephia
Then again in 1967 in Lewisburg Federal Prison near Philadelphia and again in 1982 for Arson of a rental home all while plying his trade as a serial killer it is believed he could have killed as many as 100 people during his 66 years of causing havoc and terror . One detective believes he could be behind some of the Zodiac killings and Black Delilah murders as well. Having recently released the book " Its me " Edward Edwards the serial killer you never heard of http://coldcasecameron.com/
Then again in 1967 in Lewisburg Federal Prison near Philadelphia and again in 1982 for Arson of a rental home all while plying his trade as a serial killer it is believed he could have killed as many as 100 people during his 66 years of causing havoc and terror . One detective believes he could be behind some of the Zodiac killings and Black Delilah murders as well. Having recently released the book " Its me " Edward Edwards the serial killer you never heard of http://coldcasecameron.com/
This is another case of what all he did in his life and who he may have killed will never be known .
He passed away in prison while awaiting execution , and unless bones or other evidence show up specifically linking him to a crime in this area we will never know but with his track record you would have to believe he was active here as well.
There where plenty of unsolved rapes and murders at the time he was running around here , but he was not the only one running around. He is not specifically being looked at for any murders in Pa. at present but you never know.
I do not know what attract these individuals to this area but it seems the region is a cross roads many travel thru as they go about there crime sprees . This area is also very active with illegal drugs and there transportation as well.
He passed away in prison while awaiting execution , and unless bones or other evidence show up specifically linking him to a crime in this area we will never know but with his track record you would have to believe he was active here as well.
There where plenty of unsolved rapes and murders at the time he was running around here , but he was not the only one running around. He is not specifically being looked at for any murders in Pa. at present but you never know.
I do not know what attract these individuals to this area but it seems the region is a cross roads many travel thru as they go about there crime sprees . This area is also very active with illegal drugs and there transportation as well.
Questions still surround the fire which destroyed the Vogue Terrace in 1963
One day in 1986 while doing electrical work for a contractor at the Burnam Wood Apartments in Monroeville an older gentleman who looked to be in his 70's who was moving to a new apartment asked if I could help him get couple heavy things up to his car. Sure I said when its lunch time in 30 minutes. I went up and helped him move couple boxes and he tried to pay me and I said no just a cold drink would be fine and he gave me a can of coke.
I asked If he had lived in complex long and he said about 10 years . He asked me had I ever heard of the Vogues? the singing group yes I had my parents listened to them when I was a kid on the radio.
Well he goes on to tell me his name is Elmer Willet and he was the manager of the Vogues at one time. Wow that's neat my parents will get a kick out of that I told him.
He then asked me of I heard of the old Vogue Terrace where the group got its name ? I had I told him I had and that it burned down when I was a little kid my parents had told me about it . Elmer went on to tell me how he had an office there and how terrible the fire was and how a manager for a group appearing there died.
Elmer also lived there and how he almost lost his life and had to crawl out on a ledge .He said he had lost everything in the fire but luckily came out of it OK. He said he still to that day thought something funny about the fire and explosion he heard with it happening a day after the place opened after being remodeled into a full night club. But it was investigated and they believe it started in basement furnace room.
The owners of the club did all they could to make everyone whole but where not able to rebuild unfortunately they where financially ruined by the fire.
I saw him a couple more times during the remodel project in 86 that summer never to see him again and later read in papers he died in 1991 .
I forgot about the whole thing .
Then as a Fireman I got interested in Fire Investigation having how many customers having been thru fires before hand and seeing what caused them while doing repairs and then joining the Fire service and after looking into the Fire at the Vogue Terrace and descriptions of how fast and violent it was one would think arson was a possibility especially in light of all the other fires in region at that time so Elmer was right to be concerned. Had some one deliberately burned out the owners? Its possible but we will never know .
I asked If he had lived in complex long and he said about 10 years . He asked me had I ever heard of the Vogues? the singing group yes I had my parents listened to them when I was a kid on the radio.
Well he goes on to tell me his name is Elmer Willet and he was the manager of the Vogues at one time. Wow that's neat my parents will get a kick out of that I told him.
He then asked me of I heard of the old Vogue Terrace where the group got its name ? I had I told him I had and that it burned down when I was a little kid my parents had told me about it . Elmer went on to tell me how he had an office there and how terrible the fire was and how a manager for a group appearing there died.
Elmer also lived there and how he almost lost his life and had to crawl out on a ledge .He said he had lost everything in the fire but luckily came out of it OK. He said he still to that day thought something funny about the fire and explosion he heard with it happening a day after the place opened after being remodeled into a full night club. But it was investigated and they believe it started in basement furnace room.
I saw him a couple more times during the remodel project in 86 that summer never to see him again and later read in papers he died in 1991 .
I forgot about the whole thing .
Then as a Fireman I got interested in Fire Investigation having how many customers having been thru fires before hand and seeing what caused them while doing repairs and then joining the Fire service and after looking into the Fire at the Vogue Terrace and descriptions of how fast and violent it was one would think arson was a possibility especially in light of all the other fires in region at that time so Elmer was right to be concerned. Had some one deliberately burned out the owners? Its possible but we will never know .
Consider that even today there are still massive court fights about fires being ruled incorrectly as many Arson Convictions are being thrown out for use of junk Science in determining how a fire started.
Where talking 1963 when I was a little kid Fire Science has greatly expanded but still even today an experienced arsonist can make a fire look accidental and the fact the club burned a day after it opened you better believe lots of people including insurance company's had questions so they used what technology they had available at the time to come to the conclusion.
It has been too many years and any evidence long gone and memory's fading and witnesses and perpetrators if there where one have passed away . So even if a compete investigation was done today using the most advanced investigative techniques little could be found out or proved and who could you prosecute? like in so many case where a fire burns so intensely
all you can do is speculate as to how the fire started .
I have heard a couple old timers say Morrie the Match an infamous arsonist in the City of Pittsburgh started it so club owners could collect on the insurance , but it was all talk and speculation and was looked into as far as In can tell and nothing to it Morrie was not operating in area at the time from what I can tell.
Anything I could add to the fire hypothesis would be strictly speculation as well.
You also have to remember back then fire resistant building construction codes where not in place and few buildings had Sprinkler systems so this could also account for why the club went up so fast and explosions heard during fires are normal as a fire overtakes a room .
So for all intents and purposes its another tragic fire lost to history and all we can do today is speculate.
Anything I could add to the fire hypothesis would be strictly speculation as well.
You also have to remember back then fire resistant building construction codes where not in place and few buildings had Sprinkler systems so this could also account for why the club went up so fast and explosions heard during fires are normal as a fire overtakes a room .
So for all intents and purposes its another tragic fire lost to history and all we can do today is speculate.
A young Women murdered in her home during a 150 Mile Bicycle Event Weekend in 1990 is there a connection?
As a member of Allegheny Valley React an Emergency Radio Communications Group we often got asked by Bicycle Groups to provide Safety Patrols along routes they where having events on.
It was in 1990 that we helped with a 150 mile event that went thru 2 county's and during that weekend a horrifying attack and murder of a young woman Emily I Johnson would take place right by where the bicyclists would pass.Unsolved to this day.
It was in 1990 that we helped with a 150 mile event that went thru 2 county's and during that weekend a horrifying attack and murder of a young woman Emily I Johnson would take place right by where the bicyclists would pass.Unsolved to this day.
I do not know If state police even looked into fact the bike route went past the home on that June 11th of 1990 or if they even knew I tried contacting them thru the media at the time and never heardback but over 500 bicyclists went by that day and may have heard or saw something or even be involved but information was never looked into or shared. and the place Emily worked J&L Structural no longer exists.
But this is one of just a very long string of unsolved homicides in Rural Butler County.
A Real Life Lion Protecting a Junk yard in Beaver County its true
I have heard tale of an old junk yard near Aliquippa which has a Real lion to help guard it and the story is true
He is kept in a large cage on the property which is no longer a working venture but now a storage location for the gentleman's business .
I heard all kind of story's about it but there you have it in black& white The junk yard is located near where flight 427 went down in 1993 and I will try to get a picture of Kingsley if he is still there next time I am in area.
He is kept in a large cage on the property which is no longer a working venture but now a storage location for the gentleman's business .
No Answers in disappearance of 3 yr. old Nicole Brenner from a South Side Super Market 30 years ago
Nicole Brenner 3 years old was shopping with her mom in the now closed and moved Giant Eagle in February 1982 on the South Side of Pittsburgh when her mom turned around and she was gone .
Never to be seen or heard from again and the case took so many twist and turns including her mom being accused of accidentally killing her and burying here along Whited Road a short cut I take from Brookline to Carrick my self and many motorists use. If she was even buried there it had already been strip mined for coal and her remains would never be found. the case is still open and cold.
Many including myself believe the mother is not telling the truth what happened but its been 30 years and nothing has come out well past the statute of limitations if mother arranged to have her disappear with relatives as some suspect.
3 Young Girls missing in 1981 One found murdered 2 never found where they connected?
I In an earlier article I covered the case of a Young Girl Christine Gunther who went missing in November of 1981 and was found couple days later murdered and in months leading up to her disappearance and murder 2 more young girls disappeared never to be found
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2011/11/06/Murder-case-cold-for-30-years-warms-up-after-
Michelle Reidenbauch went missing in September of 81 in Zelinople and and Toni Lynn Mcnatt in November of 81 in Clairton
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20060922&id=8PFRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=V3IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6283,702134
All 3 disappearing under similar circumstances . The work of a Serial Killer? very possible and there has been no answers in all 3 cases.
All 3 disappearing under similar circumstances . The work of a Serial Killer? very possible and there has been no answers in all 3 cases.
Unanswered questions after firefighters find a woman in burned out jeep in North Side by Scrap Yard
I travel by Warhola Scrap yard all the time when I go from north side to the Strip District the famous artist Andy Warhols brothers business is a busy place during the day but not at night when a vehicle was found in flames and after firefighters put them out the discovered the very badly burned remains of a woman Jamie Lynn Stickel 33 a popular bartender her body and flaming vehicle was found on a cold February night in 2002 at 4:00 AM near where she rented an apartment.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20020406&id=RIVIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PXADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3337,1773510
Was it an accident ?was it a homicide ? damage was so severe it may never be known.
But friends believe she was murdered. But no new leads have come about in 12 years since it happened .
I can tell you this the north side is crawling with all kind of criminals and lost souls when it comes to human beings as it has several homeless shelters and half way house facility for newly released criminals.
The North Side is no place to be at 4:00 am So I can understand why her friends think it was foul play.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20020406&id=RIVIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PXADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3337,1773510
Was it an accident ?was it a homicide ? damage was so severe it may never be known.
But friends believe she was murdered. But no new leads have come about in 12 years since it happened .
I can tell you this the north side is crawling with all kind of criminals and lost souls when it comes to human beings as it has several homeless shelters and half way house facility for newly released criminals.
The North Side is no place to be at 4:00 am So I can understand why her friends think it was foul play.
Unsolved killing of two young teens on Rural Butler County Road in 2002
There is a short cut road I use between Mars and Evans city appropriately called Mars Evans City road when I am working in the Zelinople area.
Rural road and one day I hear on the news that 2 young teen boys have been found dead on one of the roads which lead off of it. cash dollar Road in July of 2002 they are Possible hit & run victims Shawn Bauer and Scott Fosnaught both 15 and both mysteriously killed and still unsolved to this day what really happened thou one man was prosecuted for selling alcohol to the under age teens but investigators are no closer to what happened last I heard .
http://missing87975.yuku.com/topic/2893/UNSOLVED-CHILD-MURDERS-SHAWN-BAUER-amp-SCOTT-FOSNAUGHT#.U4R4onJdUrU
What happened we may never know but some one does . One possibility they may have stumbled onto something they where not suppose to see. Like a drug Deal etc. but till some one comes forward or the woman who was prosecuted talks we will never know .
They buried a what on Neville Island ? Yes they buried an Elephant among other things
Neville Island is an industrial shit hole of an island on one side and a really nice residential area on the other.
at one time it was all very fertile farm land and the asparagus grown on island was featured on the menu of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York but then with demand for steel and other industrial products needed for WWI 1/2 of neville Island was seized by the government for production then horn swaggered by US Steel. after the war and not returned to the community.
and its never been the same since .
There have been all kinds of story's about the island one of them of the island being used as a body disposal site for the McKeesrocks Mob and body's do wash up along the river bank occasionally but with all the digging being done down there you do not hear of any body's being found and besides the island was 24 / 7 with activity and many plants had guards patrolling as well if they closed on weekend. I know I spent many days on that island at several places working Guard shifts
There is a small burial yard on the island right in the middle of all the industry.
an explosion at a rendering plant when they brought an Elephant that died at the Pittsburgh Zoo down to be rendered.
This is a known fact that they disposed of Zoo animals at this on the plant on Neville Island and Herrs Island and that's where the story gets interesting .
The explosion which did happen and severely damaged the plant in 1963 but it was a sewage pump station which exploded and damaged the rendering plant.
Not the elephant which blew the plant up but that's what locals will tell you.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19630305&id=TSkNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KGwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7106,541139
at one time it was all very fertile farm land and the asparagus grown on island was featured on the menu of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York but then with demand for steel and other industrial products needed for WWI 1/2 of neville Island was seized by the government for production then horn swaggered by US Steel. after the war and not returned to the community.
and its never been the same since .
There have been all kinds of story's about the island one of them of the island being used as a body disposal site for the McKeesrocks Mob and body's do wash up along the river bank occasionally but with all the digging being done down there you do not hear of any body's being found and besides the island was 24 / 7 with activity and many plants had guards patrolling as well if they closed on weekend. I know I spent many days on that island at several places working Guard shifts
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| Another dusty dirty day on the island |
There is a small burial yard on the island right in the middle of all the industry.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19750611&id=4hQcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DFYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5890,5926927
There was also all kinds of hazardous chemicals dumped by Hillman Chemical that was found while a park was being built
However there has been this persistent story ofThere was also all kinds of hazardous chemicals dumped by Hillman Chemical that was found while a park was being built
an explosion at a rendering plant when they brought an Elephant that died at the Pittsburgh Zoo down to be rendered.
This is a known fact that they disposed of Zoo animals at this on the plant on Neville Island and Herrs Island and that's where the story gets interesting .
The explosion which did happen and severely damaged the plant in 1963 but it was a sewage pump station which exploded and damaged the rendering plant.
Not the elephant which blew the plant up but that's what locals will tell you.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19630305&id=TSkNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KGwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7106,541139
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| remains of old rendering plant building |
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| old rendering plant behind new garages |
So the story has truth to it just not all the facts right .But its still funny as hell.
Beulah Church Road Cemetery Haunted?
No this is not the Beulah Presbyterian Church your thinking of in Church Hill Pa on Beulah Rd Allegheny County this one is along a very rural Beulah Church Road in Armstrong County near the Coal Patch Town of Brownstown.
The Church no longer exists having burned down but that's where fact and legend get mixed up.
I Take Care of and Engineer at WAVL 910 AM in near by Spring Church section of Kiskimetas Twp. and as one of my duty's I must every 3 months run out to 3 points and check our signal level to make sure we are on signal and not causing problems and Brownstown is one of the points I travel to which is by way of Beulah Church Road where I pass the old cemetery and upon doing some research I find there is rumors it is haunted by those who perished in a fire at the church . The fire did happen but it was at night and no one perished as one legend goes . Most say the haunting started after the church burned down and was not replaced . Maybe the spirits are mad there is no church to attend? I have never seen or heard any kinds of activity in or around the well kept cemetary . But people love to belive what they will believe .
As you can see its really rural out there on the narrow twisting lanes many times I have encountered Guys having fun in 4x4 jacked Up customised Pickup Trucks running up and down the road but no ghosts .
The Church no longer exists having burned down but that's where fact and legend get mixed up.
I Take Care of and Engineer at WAVL 910 AM in near by Spring Church section of Kiskimetas Twp. and as one of my duty's I must every 3 months run out to 3 points and check our signal level to make sure we are on signal and not causing problems and Brownstown is one of the points I travel to which is by way of Beulah Church Road where I pass the old cemetery and upon doing some research I find there is rumors it is haunted by those who perished in a fire at the church . The fire did happen but it was at night and no one perished as one legend goes . Most say the haunting started after the church burned down and was not replaced . Maybe the spirits are mad there is no church to attend? I have never seen or heard any kinds of activity in or around the well kept cemetary . But people love to belive what they will believe .
But if you want go check things out for yourself .Be careful as the roads are tight and narrow not well marked or maintained and limited cell phone coverage.
Did a UFO or Nazi Bell mystery Craft actually crash in Kecksburg or is it all speculation.
I was on my way up Pa 31 thru Mt Pleasant about 20 years ago when a came upon a sign Kecksburg 12 miles. Kecksburg ? yes where did I know the name from then it dawned on me the old NBC- Unsolved Mysteries TV show with Robert Stack .Never had time to check it out .
Then while recovering from Colon Cancer treatment I visited Kecksburg several years ago and it has since exploded on the History Channel as they have an ever presence of UFO investigation shows and even the Americas Hero Channel shows on WWII which talk about the Nazi Bell and connection to Kecksburg.
I was young boy of 6 when it happened and do not remember it on news at the time as so many other bad things where going on then in the news and did not even here about it till local news ran a show on it about 30 years ago and then the NBC Mystery Show.
Of course now with Radio Shows like Coast to Coast AM and the Internet have brought out all the kooks and conspiracy theorists about what happened there, which some claim nothing at all.The night of Dec. 5 ,1965
OK so what really happened it was during the cold war and I believe it was a Soviet space probe which crashed not a Nazi Bell which means we have old Nazis running around here .
So if that's what it was I can understand the cover up of what happened if it was an National Security Issue maybe some day we will know for sure but till then just speculation. just like the B-25 crash into the mon river.
In the mean time Stan Gordon and his UFO group continue to this day to get reports of strange lights over Western Pa all the time.
Then while recovering from Colon Cancer treatment I visited Kecksburg several years ago and it has since exploded on the History Channel as they have an ever presence of UFO investigation shows and even the Americas Hero Channel shows on WWII which talk about the Nazi Bell and connection to Kecksburg.
I was young boy of 6 when it happened and do not remember it on news at the time as so many other bad things where going on then in the news and did not even here about it till local news ran a show on it about 30 years ago and then the NBC Mystery Show.
Of course now with Radio Shows like Coast to Coast AM and the Internet have brought out all the kooks and conspiracy theorists about what happened there, which some claim nothing at all.The night of Dec. 5 ,1965
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| Poster from X files TV show |
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| replica of craft supposedly found in kecksburg for TV show |
OK so what really happened it was during the cold war and I believe it was a Soviet space probe which crashed not a Nazi Bell which means we have old Nazis running around here .
So if that's what it was I can understand the cover up of what happened if it was an National Security Issue maybe some day we will know for sure but till then just speculation. just like the B-25 crash into the mon river.
In the mean time Stan Gordon and his UFO group continue to this day to get reports of strange lights over Western Pa all the time.
Sabotage of Train tracks in 1941 which resulted in 5 dead unsolved to this day in Beaver county
I stop for coffee and gas every once in a while at the Sheetz C store along Pa 65 in Baden that day while enjoying my coffee on cold day across road way they where working on nearby tracks and an older gentleman standing beside me who I greeted and agreed weather was very cold said to me yes good day not to be working outside. He went on to talk about a bad train wreck in 41 nearby on
March 17 1941 the Cleveland to Pittsburgh Passenger Train is en route thru Beaver County in Baden when it is thrown from the tracks 40 feet into the Ohio River which results in 5 dead it is discovered the trains tracks have been loosened and the protective signal which warns of track separation had been bypassed.
A suspect is arrested but released and the case has gone unsolved over 70 years.
http://www3.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/13655/baden-pa-train-wrecked-mar-1941
This is prior to America entering WWII but it is going on overseas and there are those in America under suspicion of being collaborators and sleeper agents ready to attack in particular German Citizens who are major part of immigrants in the country. If they did have anything with the wreck there has been no connection established. Was it a Disgruntled Railroad Employee very possible it took expert knowledge to disable the signal system.
But none was found responsible. It is believed the actual target was the Manhattan Limited which passed earlier with out incident .lots of questions but no answers.
There is also an unsolved train wreck from sabotage in Lawrence County as well
March 17 1941 the Cleveland to Pittsburgh Passenger Train is en route thru Beaver County in Baden when it is thrown from the tracks 40 feet into the Ohio River which results in 5 dead it is discovered the trains tracks have been loosened and the protective signal which warns of track separation had been bypassed.
A suspect is arrested but released and the case has gone unsolved over 70 years.
http://www3.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/13655/baden-pa-train-wrecked-mar-1941
This is prior to America entering WWII but it is going on overseas and there are those in America under suspicion of being collaborators and sleeper agents ready to attack in particular German Citizens who are major part of immigrants in the country. If they did have anything with the wreck there has been no connection established. Was it a Disgruntled Railroad Employee very possible it took expert knowledge to disable the signal system.
But none was found responsible. It is believed the actual target was the Manhattan Limited which passed earlier with out incident .lots of questions but no answers.
There is also an unsolved train wreck from sabotage in Lawrence County as well
In a strange twist while reading about the baden story in a local paper It reminded me of a similar passenger train wreck in 1995 in Arizona where train was deliberately derailed in similar manner and no suspects found.
a note saying Sons of Gestapo an unknown group was responsible. Coincidence ?
Its been a year since Penn Hills resident Dan Niehaus disappeared into thin air as well as Armstrong County resident
An employee of Tribune -Review Paper who lived on Lime hollow Road not far from me Dan seems to have disappeared into thin air his truck and keys found at his home.
Was there a home invasion and he was abducted and murdered. Did he go for a ride with some one who killed him or did he commit suicide in the woods all the terrible thoughts which goes thru ones mind when a person disappears for no reason.
Around the same time a man in Armstrong county near Avonmore also went missing and has never been found Albert Copper III
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/06/10/family-bewildered-by-westmoreland-co-mans-disappearance/
Both cases the men disappeared and left behind there wallets and cell phones like they wanted to disappear and walk into new lifes.
But until they are found only the worse can be thought.
Both cases the men disappeared and left behind there wallets and cell phones like they wanted to disappear and walk into new lifes.
But until they are found only the worse can be thought.
Still Unsolved Murder of young Girl on way to school haunts Peters Twp. 30+ years ago
I have have traveled thru the Donaldsons Crossroads interchange many times where 15 yr old Christine Guenther was abducted and murdered On a cold rainy Oct 26 1981
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2011/11/06/Murder-case-cold-for-30-years-warms-up-after-
billboard-and-Internet-campaign/stories/201111060219
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2011/11/06/Murder-case-cold-for-30-years-warms-up-after-
billboard-and-Internet-campaign/stories/201111060219
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| Donaldsons crossroads |
Even in 84 the area was still largely undeveloped as we where building the range there was still plenty of talk around her disappearance and murder by locals who helped with the range project and its gone over 30+ years unsolved.
The interchange and area around it has been overly developed now and you would not recognize it if you have not been thru it for a while .
Her body was found along Cecil Sturgeon Road in South Fayette in Allegheny County at the time a very rural area and road so it would appear who ever did the crime had to be a local to even know that road existed.
Perhaps Christine after waiting so long for the non running bus excepted a ride from some one who seemed worried about her or she started walking home or to pay phone to get help when she was abducted.
But no one has seen any thing or any one pick her up.
Serial killer very possible I have long suspected one or more of running around the area and in this case ready to pounce at opportune time.
But fact her body was found where it was suggests some one local who had to know area and that road .
Which is still very rural as South Fayette is now being slowly taken over by home developers.
The interchange and area around it has been overly developed now and you would not recognize it if you have not been thru it for a while .
Her body was found along Cecil Sturgeon Road in South Fayette in Allegheny County at the time a very rural area and road so it would appear who ever did the crime had to be a local to even know that road existed.
Perhaps Christine after waiting so long for the non running bus excepted a ride from some one who seemed worried about her or she started walking home or to pay phone to get help when she was abducted.
But no one has seen any thing or any one pick her up.
Serial killer very possible I have long suspected one or more of running around the area and in this case ready to pounce at opportune time.
But fact her body was found where it was suggests some one local who had to know area and that road .
Which is still very rural as South Fayette is now being slowly taken over by home developers.
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| Cecil Sturgeon road |
Many Unanswered Questions in Abduction and Murder of young John Baglier from Clearview Mall in 97
It was a sensational case that cold winter of November 9th of 1997 when 18 yr old John Baglier an affluent well liked Butler County youth would encounter and be abducted from Clearview Mall and murdered by 23 yr old Richard Gamble by all accounts a loser from Ford City in Armstrong County
The coward gamble would take his life in Arizona when tracked down and confronted by Law enforcement after making Baglier change into his clothes and stealing his identity and credit cards .
johns Body would be found in Armstrong county several weeks later in a culvert along a county road about a mile from where Gamble grew up.
http://old.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20010604newsmakerreg4.asp
http://articles.latimes.com/1997-03-09/news/mn-36385_1_mall-exit
With Gambles death went many unanswered questions as to why he did what he did and did he have help in planning and executing his crime did he conceive and plan it all by him self.
Unfortunately we will never know unless some one comes forward with further information.
But why Would gamble from Armstrong County travel all the way to Butler County to that particular mall
and choose that particular victim.
Ford City and City of Butler are 2 worlds apart I have worked and traveled both areas and done work in the mall itself and kids from Ford City do sometimes make the 45 minute drive down US 422 to the mall to hang out so did Gamble track and watch his prey before pouncing or was it strictly an impulse crime grab first affluent kid you see and think will not fight back and take from him
out of jealousy because they have it all and you have nothing seems to be the case but to then take off on what plan and think your going to get away with it that's a whole different story.
But then again Gamble was nothing more than a loser.
He had no idea what his actions have done to Johns family and those who knew and loved him other than his own pathetic cowardly wants.
If others where involved I hope it is discovered and they get there due punishment.
The coward gamble would take his life in Arizona when tracked down and confronted by Law enforcement after making Baglier change into his clothes and stealing his identity and credit cards .
johns Body would be found in Armstrong county several weeks later in a culvert along a county road about a mile from where Gamble grew up.
http://old.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20010604newsmakerreg4.asp
Unfortunately we will never know unless some one comes forward with further information.
But why Would gamble from Armstrong County travel all the way to Butler County to that particular mall
and choose that particular victim.
Ford City and City of Butler are 2 worlds apart I have worked and traveled both areas and done work in the mall itself and kids from Ford City do sometimes make the 45 minute drive down US 422 to the mall to hang out so did Gamble track and watch his prey before pouncing or was it strictly an impulse crime grab first affluent kid you see and think will not fight back and take from him
out of jealousy because they have it all and you have nothing seems to be the case but to then take off on what plan and think your going to get away with it that's a whole different story.
But then again Gamble was nothing more than a loser.
He had no idea what his actions have done to Johns family and those who knew and loved him other than his own pathetic cowardly wants.
If others where involved I hope it is discovered and they get there due punishment.
The legend of Green Man also known as No Face Charlie . He was a real person whose legend spread to many regions
Just like the legend of the 13 Bends Road the Green man Legend has some truth to it but it has been re told and adopted by other community's .
I remember hearing about the green man in Allegheny County's South Park clear back in the 60's when I was a young kid he was supposedly a utility worker who got severely shocked and skin turned green and he
would hang out around a tunnel off Piney Fork Road
http://hauntsandhistory.blogspot.com/2007/12/green-man-of-south-park.html
Only problem there is absolutely no truth to him hanging out there or in north hills or anywhere else in Allegheny or any other county except Beaver County in the town of Koppel
He was a real person named Raymond Robinson
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While he lived and only traveled the roads around Koppel in Beaver county mainly Pa 351 his legend has gone all over the place where people have meet him and how he was injured all just made up story's and if you really did meet him in Koppel you would have to be well into your fifty's to have done so.
I traveled sections of Koppel/New Galilee road many times as a kid both days and nights as a short cut to Ellwood city where our family stayed with friends along Conequenessing creek and never ran into Raymond until one nght when we where on our way home from new castle and I still use the road as I have customers in Beaver falls and Ellwood City and I travel down Wallace run Road Pa 551 and go over the bridge on Pa 18 which replaced the trolley bridge where Raymond was hurt and never knew this is where The Green Man legend came from till I started working with an older electrician from beaver county Joe Mallack 73 who personally knew Raymond and would protect him and one time he and his biker buddies took Raymond to Ohio for a beer I found this out while researching this article on Raymond .
So another legend busted unfortunately. But he did exist but no where outside the Koppel area but still fun to tell your grand kids or scare a girlfriend so she holds you tight as you go check his tunnel
I remember hearing about the green man in Allegheny County's South Park clear back in the 60's when I was a young kid he was supposedly a utility worker who got severely shocked and skin turned green and he
would hang out around a tunnel off Piney Fork Road
http://hauntsandhistory.blogspot.com/2007/12/green-man-of-south-park.html
Only problem there is absolutely no truth to him hanging out there or in north hills or anywhere else in Allegheny or any other county except Beaver County in the town of Koppel
He was a real person named Raymond Robinson
He was also known as no face Charlie and in fact was severely disfigured by an electric shock when he climbed a trolley bridge and struck a power line as a kid .
 |
| My friend Joe Mallack 2nd from left with the green man Raymond Robinson |
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| Greenman's Tunnel South Park |
I traveled sections of Koppel/New Galilee road many times as a kid both days and nights as a short cut to Ellwood city where our family stayed with friends along Conequenessing creek and never ran into Raymond until one nght when we where on our way home from new castle and I still use the road as I have customers in Beaver falls and Ellwood City and I travel down Wallace run Road Pa 551 and go over the bridge on Pa 18 which replaced the trolley bridge where Raymond was hurt and never knew this is where The Green Man legend came from till I started working with an older electrician from beaver county Joe Mallack 73 who personally knew Raymond and would protect him and one time he and his biker buddies took Raymond to Ohio for a beer I found this out while researching this article on Raymond .
So another legend busted unfortunately. But he did exist but no where outside the Koppel area but still fun to tell your grand kids or scare a girlfriend so she holds you tight as you go check his tunnel
Shades Run and the Purple Gang is there any truth to the Legend in Penn Hills ?
My Friend the late Noel McCarthy known to everyone as Grizzly often told the story of Shades Run.
It is located along Allegheny River Blvd just as you cross from city to Penn Hills and go over a concrete bridge .
Its all grown up this time of year but normally you can look up the Hollow.
Grizzly talked about a pack of Wild Dogs runs around it and how Body dumps and suicide victims where found there but he also talked about the Purple Gang or Purple Hood gang who conducted mayhem and murder in the caves hidden among the weeds during the 1920's Boot Legging hay days
As you can see in the Google Earth Image its a very big very thickly wooded area some of it encompassed by the Former Government Run VA facility to the left .
While victims of foul play and suicides as well as walk away's from VA who lost there way and perished where found in the area as well as cases of wild dogs running free in area have been documented .I can find nothing on the Purple Gang or Purple Hood Gang linking them to the area other than the notorious Purple Gang in Detroit which was loosely associated with the mob and had dealings in almost every big city during boot legging days supplying booze and possibly did business with Larocca Crime family here in its early days .
But almost all of the old mob of Pittsburgh have passed into history and if the actual purple gang operated here other than to deliver booze to the city I can find no evidence of it or the supposed caves
I am hoping I will run into an older Penn Hills resident who might be able to further fill in the story or legend .
and also some day I hope to explore the area to see if there are even any caves up there which is always a possibility with terrain in area but for now it seems more legend than fact. Like the 13 bends road across the river in Harmar Twp.
It is located along Allegheny River Blvd just as you cross from city to Penn Hills and go over a concrete bridge .
Grizzly talked about a pack of Wild Dogs runs around it and how Body dumps and suicide victims where found there but he also talked about the Purple Gang or Purple Hood gang who conducted mayhem and murder in the caves hidden among the weeds during the 1920's Boot Legging hay days
While victims of foul play and suicides as well as walk away's from VA who lost there way and perished where found in the area as well as cases of wild dogs running free in area have been documented .I can find nothing on the Purple Gang or Purple Hood Gang linking them to the area other than the notorious Purple Gang in Detroit which was loosely associated with the mob and had dealings in almost every big city during boot legging days supplying booze and possibly did business with Larocca Crime family here in its early days .
But almost all of the old mob of Pittsburgh have passed into history and if the actual purple gang operated here other than to deliver booze to the city I can find no evidence of it or the supposed caves
and also some day I hope to explore the area to see if there are even any caves up there which is always a possibility with terrain in area but for now it seems more legend than fact. Like the 13 bends road across the river in Harmar Twp.
7-11 clerks murder during robbery in Wilkinsburg goes 30 + years with no answers
The store along 1614 Penn ave in Wilkinsburg now an independent C store was once part of the 7-11 food store chain and it has been the subject of numerous Hold ups over the years but in 1982 it was the scene of a murder .The stores owner Eustace Durado 52 was found stabbed in the store by a neighborhood youth who stopped in to shop when he found Eustace stabbed and having bleed to death on the floor by unknown assailants
Its is one of the oldest cold cases in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh and there has been absolutely no leads who or why.
The store now has a security window for after dark and cameras something it did not in 1982
When security cameras where still very expensive Black& White and not very good in quality.
Thousands ride past this store daily as they go down Penn Ave the original US 22 /30 to the city to work
but at night its isolated with few close homes mostly apartment buildings that sit back from the road.
Hopefully some one will come forward with information but this was just as the mills went down and people scattered to all points of the country So unless there is a DNA match some day it will go down as unsolved.
A Treasure supposedly hidden in Mckees Rocks before the Revolutionary War
Seems beside all the bad things that go on in McKees Rocks there is rumor of a fortune hidden some where in or around the burial mound said to be cursed.
Supposedly it is the collected wealth of John McKee who McKees Rocks is named after
who took up sides with the french and Indians against the British and who disappeared into the Ohio river with a jump from a cliff never to be seen again .
Supposedly it is the collected wealth of John McKee who McKees Rocks is named after
who took up sides with the french and Indians against the British and who disappeared into the Ohio river with a jump from a cliff never to be seen again .
Now mind you this is all rumor and nothing more than a sensational article in a newspaper and its not the only story of fortunes waiting in hiding to be reclaimed hidden away during the various wars which took place in early america or stolen by highway bandits to later be picked up particularly in Fayette county also known as Fayettenam for a reason.
But with all these storys about hidden treasures you think by now with all the coal mining and property development which has gone on it would have been found by now but there may well be some day some one with a metal detector out looking for coins and such just so happens to come across just such a find.
Unfortunately thou its mostly old forgotten grave yards and building foundations found not treasure but you never know.
Butler County Girl vanishes in 1985 with out a trace
It was a cold snowy day when 8 yr old Cherrie A. Mahan
got off her school bus on Corn Planter Road in rural Winfield Twp after a long day at school and vanished into thin air never to be seen again despite a massive manhunt by the entire community for her.
There has been no trace or contact its like she was just sucked into a vortex
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19850223&id=jKccAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GGIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4863,3874822
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19851204&id=Fd4cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CGMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6405,4582685
The only possible clue to her disappearance a van with a skiing scene on it kids report was in the area
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Unfortunately there was a van like this driving around a woman owned which had nothing to do with the case which caused even more confusion
One weird twist to this whole case is the name of the road she disappeared on
Cornplanter Road .
It might mean a farmer planting corn which there is plenty of in Butler County .
But there is also a legend and curse that goes with this name the name of a great Seneca Indian Chief Corn Planter whose grave was disturbed when the Allegheny was flooded to make the Kinsua Dam and is said to have put a curse upon the land.
http://www.examiner.com/article/kinzua-dam-a-paranormal-hotbed
The Allegheny River passes right thru Butler County .
Coincidence?
got off her school bus on Corn Planter Road in rural Winfield Twp after a long day at school and vanished into thin air never to be seen again despite a massive manhunt by the entire community for her.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19850223&id=jKccAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GGIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4863,3874822
The only possible clue to her disappearance a van with a skiing scene on it kids report was in the area
Unfortunately there was a van like this driving around a woman owned which had nothing to do with the case which caused even more confusion
 |
| Still a very rural area of butler county despite development |
Cornplanter Road .
It might mean a farmer planting corn which there is plenty of in Butler County .
But there is also a legend and curse that goes with this name the name of a great Seneca Indian Chief Corn Planter whose grave was disturbed when the Allegheny was flooded to make the Kinsua Dam and is said to have put a curse upon the land.
http://www.examiner.com/article/kinzua-dam-a-paranormal-hotbed
The Allegheny River passes right thru Butler County .
Coincidence?
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