Identified! Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - Pamela Buckley & James Freund #9

[Awsi Dooger]

Upon closer examination, maybe it happened at the intersection of the T itself. Those are definitely trees on both sides. I'm not confident the 1983 zoomed dark sections I'm looking at alongside Locklair to the northeast are trees as opposed to simply muddied areas or elevation changes along the dirt road.

That T intersection on both sides in later aerials gives way to impression of a road. Maybe it was already obvious as trafficked in 1976...the path to the tobacco stand.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Ha! Thanks! Sometimes, (like that post) I seem to only offer-up apple to orange information but I try.

Now here I go with something else... I just recently learned about the CrimeDoor app (which appears to give a virtual walk-through of various crime scenes). The news clip linked below refers to its' use in the Delphi murders. And, it reminds me of some of the work GH did early on but with an improved twist. Too bad GH didn't advance his skills and manner to create something more - as he had the initial foresight, imo.

That being said, I'm not quite sure how well this app will help solve crimes (it somewhat borders on gimmicky imo). However, I think that the CrimeDoor app could be very helpful in virtually "seeing" the location of Sumter Co murders (maybe a combo of historical views as well current). It would take research and work but I think it's entirely possible.

Not sure the developers will consider Sumter County Does for that app. Maybe if it were closer in time with greater opportunity to catch the offender.

Regardless, I wish the app developers hadn't exaggerated conditions at the end of the bridge in Delphi. No need for that. Bridge Guy had no trouble walking rapidly with hands in pockets in that area because the planks are almost totally normal in that area, with only an occasional exception. Instead that app depicts more missing planks and worse conditions at the end than is true of the beginning. I walked Monon High Bridge in Delphi about 10 days after visiting Locklair Road in Sumter County. It was obvious while crossing that the vast majority of people who set out on that bridge do so only briefly, while the bridge is over the scenic area above Deer Creek. They enjoy the view and take pictures, then turn around and go back. That's why the wear pattern changes from worst at beginning to moderate in the midsection then almost perfectly fine near the end.

When I crossed the only issue near the end of the bridge was slick green moss all over the planks. I was not prepared for that since I had not seen it in prior photos or videos. This photo was taken from just off the bridge at right, very close to where Libby filmed the video:

imgur.com

 

[worldwatcher]

Not sure the developers will consider Sumter County Does for that app. Maybe if it were closer in time with greater opportunity to catch the offender.

Regardless, I wish the app developers hadn't exaggerated conditions at the end of the bridge in Delphi. No need for that. Bridge Guy had no trouble walking rapidly with hands in pockets in that area because the planks are almost totally normal in that area, with only an occasional exception. Instead that app depicts more missing planks and worse conditions at the end than is true of the beginning. I walked Monon High Bridge in Delphi about 10 days after visiting Locklair Road in Sumter County. It was obvious while crossing that the vast majority of people who set out on that bridge do so only briefly, while the bridge is over the scenic area above Deer Creek. They enjoy the view and take pictures, then turn around and go back. That's why the wear pattern changes from worst at beginning to moderate in the midsection then almost perfectly fine near the end.

When I crossed the only issue near the end of the bridge was slick green moss all over the planks. I was not prepared for that since I had not seen it in prior photos or videos. This photo was taken from just off the bridge at right, very close to where Libby filmed the video:

imgur.com

Wow, that looks slippery, seems like you would watch your steps!

Anyway, kinda odd, that decades of the murders- the 400 meters distance - were never mentioned, and suddenly, it pops up?! Typical MSM, some just c&p it..and before you know it, it is considering a fact. The area must have changed a lot by then...

 

[worm]

This story of giving a stolen gun as a Christmas gift makes zero sense, and to think that is what they sold LE is just frustrating. They know who the gang in NC was that stole the gun, how could they not track it to SC?

 

[fred&edna]

Not sure the developers will consider Sumter County Does for that app. Maybe if it were closer in time with greater opportunity to catch the offender.

RSBM

True. But I saw another YT video of the CrimeDoor app creator (Neil Mandt) and it appears the app includes the Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman murders, and I think I saw what looked like the home of JonBenet Ramsey. As I said, the app seems rather gimmicky but a well-done virtual walk-through of a crime scene is a wonderful tool.

ETA: The app even includes the murder of Georgann Hawkins

Get An Exclusive Look At CrimeDoor App — True Crime Junkies' One-Stop Shop!

 

[Betty P]

I was thinking this morning about how the two ended up in SC. We haven’t heard of a car being registered to either of them and I looked at the weather in Lancaster PA and Colorado Springs from around Christmas of 75 and it just doesn’t seem ideal for somebody taking off walking and possibly having to camp at night. Both areas were in the 30s with some moisture in PA and cool winds in CO.
Also, traveling on foot in SC during this time in Aug would have been no picnic either with the heat and humidity. Water and shade would have been a must for any hitchhiker.

Agree, hence they must have been traveli,g by car or some other vehicle.

It also might help to add some flexibility to the "last heard from" date. It may not accurately represent the time they went missing, but the time reporting family members in MN and PA last spoke with them. They may not have known which friends or acquaintances to talk to.

My theory is that JP had already moved away from PA, possibly to CO and only called home on holidays. Pam had separated from her husband and was probably living on her own or with a roommate. She probably had a job. They were young adults with busy lives, no cell phones or computers who probably didn't call home often.

As for continuing to follow their cases once they've been identified, its not unusual. Armchair sleuths who follow UID & missing cases are different from those who follow cold cases. LE is receptive to that, as they have been with this case and many others. It helps keep cases in the public eye, generates tips and sometimes brings new info. Would it help if we moved the thread over to the Cold Case section?

 

[worldwatcher]

Per Matt McDaniel (Remember that Pamela and James were killed in August)

"In December of 1976, a truck driver named George Lonnie Henry from Wadesboro, NC was stopped in SC for driving under the influence. He had in his possession a stolen gun with a scratched-off serial number that was ultimately determined through ballistics to be the murder weapon. Subsequent interviews and polygraphs yielded mixed results as to whether or not he was the one responsible for their murders. According to George Henry's statement he was a few hours away at the bed-side of his ailing wife at a NC hospital. The chain of custody of the gun remains a mystery as well. George Henry claims that his brother, Jim Henry had given it to him as a gift. Since several months had elapsed since the murders, it is difficult to verify George Henry's alibi or to verify who actually had possession of the gun at the time of the murders. The gun was originally stolen by a group of thieves in the Raleigh-Durham area, before the Henry's came into possession of the gun. Could it be possible that another person or persons had possession of the gun at the time of the murders and that George Henry had no involvement?"
I can't wait for Matt's book to release.
Rest in peace James and Pamela We love you

" Combining old fashioned investigative work with non-public information , I developed a lead that is potentially explosive and could turn this case on its head. I have turned over this lead along with my other research to the Sumter SD. I believe this new lead will result in an arrest and a conviction."

 

[Ray_of_hope]

Thanks
His brother, Jimmy, who was 22 Yr younger died in 2012.There is no mention, about what year, the gun originally was stolen?

@fred&edna, I have been following the Delphi murders, sideways, that's quite interesting, the app/new tool, that will help to solve their murders, I hope!

That was the only info on the gun.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

" Combining old fashioned investigative work with non-public information , I developed a lead that is potentially explosive and could turn this case on its head. I have turned over this lead along with my other research to the Sumter SD. I believe this new lead will result in an arrest and a conviction."

I sure hope so. Matt seems pretty confident and he's sure done a lot of great work.

 

[Betty P]

" Combining old fashioned investigative work with non-public information , I developed a lead that is potentially explosive and could turn this case on its head. I have turned over this lead along with my other research to the Sumter SD. I believe this new lead will result in an arrest and a conviction."

Interesting. What is Matt's last name again? He didn't mention it on his web site.

He proposes a few theories, one of which seems interesting. He says there was some public corruption in the area in the year or two prior to the murders. One involved a rogue police officer who killed a local police chief. The link is broken, will have to see what I can find out.

 

[worm]

Agree, hence they must have been traveli,g by car or some other vehicle.

It also might help to add some flexibility to the "last heard from" date. It may not accurately represent the time they went missing, but the time reporting family members in MN and PA last spoke with them. They may not have known which friends or acquaintances to talk to.

My theory is that JP had already moved away from PA, possibly to CO and only called home on holidays. Pam had separated from her husband and was probably living on her own or with a roommate. She probably had a job. They were young adults with busy lives, no cell phones or computers who probably didn't call home often.

As for continuing to follow their cases once they've been identified, its not unusual. Armchair sleuths who follow UID & missing cases are different from those who follow cold cases. LE is receptive to that, as they have been with this case and many others. It helps keep cases in the public eye, generates tips and sometimes brings new info. Would it help if we moved the thread over to the Cold Case section?

Expanding on that just a bit. Pamela would have known the pitfalls of traveling, or being “on the road” with limited resources/income. Again, I find it hard to think that she left alone and walking. But no trail. Car tag, motel sightings, bus receipts, and so on. Has the missing report on her ever been made public?

 

[onceuponadecember]

I wish we had better photos of Pam and James. We have some of Pam closer to her death, but none of James around then. James's reconstructions look way different from his HS yearbook photos in all honesty.

 

[Feme98]

I wish we had better photos of Pam and James. We have some of Pam closer to her death, but none of James around then. James's reconstructions look way different from his HS yearbook photos in all honesty.

Maybe James's photos will be eventually released! Let's keep hope

 

[Betty P]

Expanding on that just a bit. Pamela would have known the pitfalls of traveling, or being “on the road” with limited resources/income. Again, I find it hard to think that she left alone and walking. But no trail. Car tag, motel sightings, bus receipts, and so on. Has the missing report on her ever been made public?

It was such a busy summer, a lot going on, especially in July and August. I also think they were just passing through, so most LE probably didn't bother to go around asking motel owners, etc. if they had seen them. Their murders didn't make news outside of Sumter and the surrounding area. It's water under the bridge, right? Now all that's left is to find their killers and its highly likely those were a local person (s).

I'm going to check the local news to look for stories on LE in the area, see if I can find what the local amateur sleuth was referring to on his web site. It's possible the crime scene location, near the county line, might be relevant. Committing the deed in another jurisdiction. I wonder if there was a rougue, former LE in the area who liked to go around with his own police car lights, pretending to be a cop, pulling people over.

Slightly similar to some other cold cases, like Colonial Parkway murders, where it appeared someone who was LE or impersonated an officer pulled over couples to murder them.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

" Combining old fashioned investigative work with non-public information , I developed a lead that is potentially explosive and could turn this case on its head. I have turned over this lead along with my other research to the Sumter SD. I believe this new lead will result in an arrest and a conviction."

I hope so. But I've been intentionally avoiding his site because something like this was guaranteed. He's so consumed with this case it can lead to inflated evaluation of a lead and suspect. I've seen that so many times, including several sleuthers who proclaimed 99% certainty toward their guy in other high profile cases.

Seemingly it needs to be physical evidence and undeniable. Otherwise why would somebody confess to a 45 year old crime, especially since mere months later the possession of the apparent murder weapon led to an simple skate?

 

[worm]

I hope so. But I've been intentionally avoiding his site because something like this was guaranteed. He's so consumed with this case it can lead to inflated evaluation of a lead and suspect. I've seen that so many times, including several sleuthers who proclaimed 99% certainty toward their guy in other high profile cases.

Seemingly it needs to be physical evidence and undeniable. Otherwise why would somebody confess to a 45 year old crime, especially since mere months later the possession of the apparent murder weapon led to an simple skate?

Agreed, good points. I am however holding hope that somebody may have confessed this to a confidante and we haven’t heard yet. It has happened in other cases. I have my doubts about another DNA surprise coming our way in this case.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Wow, that looks slippery, seems like you would watch your steps!

For whatever reason I was very relaxed at Delphi but Locklair Road gave me the creeps. I remember looking in both directions all the time. If somebody had rattled down that dirt road I'm not sure what I would have done. I intentionally left my car door open at every stop in case I wanted to jump back in. That's how weird it felt and normally I always look at big picture...a normal place with one heinous act long ago.

At Monon High Bridge in Delphi I had two major wobbles because I used the wrong tactic of leaning backwards while tentatively checking out the planks ahead. That was a mistake because once a plank is surprisingly soft -- which happened all the time -- you reflexively pull your foot back and all the body weight is working against you. Both times I had to do a frantic whirlybird to regain balance and avoid falling on my back at 6-3, 205 pounds. Those old worn planks would have been tested.

Finally I realized Bridge Guy was utilizing the correct method...leaning forward and using confident steps but angling one way or another to avoid obvious problematic spots. He definitely had been up there before, even if I'm not a believer in local.

 

[Vern]

RSBM.

BTW, nobody in South Carolina was referencing meters in summer 1976, even if the Montreal Olympics had just ended. The 400 meter estimate doesn't show up until decades after the murders.

Ref the distance; it came from the National Post article (a Canadian newspaper). That was a conversion of the distance for us Canuks because it's the language we understand. LOL. I'm certain that you metric-system deniers never used metres in any of the press releases or articles.

We'd have converted it to metric way back then too for Canadian publications. We still do that today in stories as in, "about 2 miles (close to 3.2 km)". Much like when an article talks about money, and you'll see the currency written as "$100.00 USD ($110.00 CAD)" or Euros etc.

That's the spot I'm talking about ... where the T comes up from the bottom of the map and crosses Locklair Rd. The North side trees no longer exist. The south side seems to have some still - right in there is where it happened me thinks.

 

[Ajaygee11]

" Combining old fashioned investigative work with non-public information , I developed a lead that is potentially explosive and could turn this case on its head. I have turned over this lead along with my other research to the Sumter SD. I believe this new lead will result in an arrest and a conviction."

I really appreciate all of the work that Matt McDaniel has done. Without him they may never have identified James & Pamela. I don’t want to sound critical of him, but because I am older and a bit more conservative from 30 Years in business I would have said “I developed a lead that I believe is very encouraging and may help solve the case”. The phrase “Potentially Explosive” sounds a bit overhyped.

 

[worldwatcher]

For whatever reason I was very relaxed at Delphi but Locklair Road gave me the creeps. I remember looking in both directions all the time. If somebody had rattled down that dirt road I'm not sure what I would have done. I intentionally left my car door open at every stop in case I wanted to jump back in. That's how weird it felt and normally I always look at big picture...a normal place with one heinous act long ago.

At Monon High Bridge in Delphi I had two major wobbles because I used the wrong tactic of leaning backwards while tentatively checking out the planks ahead. That was a mistake because once a plank is surprisingly soft -- which happened all the time -- you reflexively pull your foot back and all the body weight is working against you. Both times I had to do a frantic whirlybird to regain balance and avoid falling on my back at 6-3, 205 pounds. Those old worn planks would have been tested.

Finally I realized Bridge Guy was utilizing the correct method...leaning forward and using confident steps but angling one way or another to avoid obvious problematic spots. He definitely had been up there before, even if I'm not a believer in local.

I saw the footage that was taking and idd, it looked like he has been there before, I am not familiar with the area, and it does seem - deserted -?
I follow the case side ways, so didn't dive into the details, I really hope it will be solved, 2 girls were murdered and the killer still on the loose, despite he was filmed.
Poor girls and family.
Much appreciated your description of the 2 CS.