Identified! Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - Pamela Buckley & James P Freund #8

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To be clear, my reply about pot being in the system was intended to answer a question only and not to accuse anybody of anything. I’m brand new to this and don’t know enough to have an opinion on anything. I wasn’t aware of this thread and started a duplicate in another section by error.
 
worm said:
To be clear, my reply about pot being in the system was intended to answer a question only and not to accuse anybody of anything. I’m brand new to this and don’t know enough to have an opinion on anything. I wasn’t aware of this thread and started a duplicate in another section by error.
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No worries. My first post at WS was a total disaster... I almost didn't return. It's okay. Welcome!
 
I decided to dive a bit deeper into my MB theory. I actually found footage from 1976 of Myrtle Beach and there were young couples everywhere. I really believe this is where James and Pam may have been heading or just came from. :)
IMO
 
I don't know how the matchbook got off into smoking pot territory. I was trying to point out that the simple explanation for how a matchbook from a truck stop in Nebraska got into their possession, Pamela was from Colorado which is next door to Nebraska and she was probably going down Interstate 80.

As some one previously stated Matchbooks were advertisement and free and you could get them everywhere. Truck stops, diners, restaurants almost any business would have a glass jar of them sitting by the cash register for free.

If they had found their possessions, they probably would have found a lot more and also things like candles. It appears they were living outdoors most of the time and at the campgrounds, they probably used candles at night or had a fire to cook their food.
 
Dragonfyree said:
I don't know how the matchbook got off into smoking pot territory. I was trying to point out that the simple explanation for how a matchbook from a truck stop in Nebraska got into their possession, Pamela was from Colorado which is next door to Nebraska and she was probably going down Interstate 80.

As some one previously stated Matchbooks were advertisement and free and you could get them everywhere. Truck stops, diners, restaurants almost any business would have a glass jar of them sitting by the cash register for free.

If they had found their possessions, they probably would have found a lot more and also things like candles. It appears they were living outdoors most of the time and at the campgrounds, they probably used candles at night or had a fire to cook their food.
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Mhm. To add to my MB theory, there was a KOA near the beach itself in MB, which according to many theories is the style Pam and James lived by: campground to campground by car
 
Their toxicology reports showed no drugs or alcohol in their systems when they died. Articles I found say that postmortem toxicology reports are taken with blood, but levels of THC can be a bit sketchy depending on time of death, decomposition of the body before autopsy, etc. Still, if they were smoking weed I assume they would have find paraphernalia on their bodies and traces of it on their clothes and personal effects. Not that it really matters anyway, imo.

He could have taken the matchbooks just in case or because they were of use while camping (lighting a fire to stay warm, boil water, cook food, light candles to see in the dark, anything really). I don't think the matchbooks really mean anything.
 
Springrain said:
Their toxicology reports showed no drugs or alcohol in their systems when they died. Articles I found say that postmortem toxicology reports are taken with blood, but levels of THC can be a bit sketchy depending on time of death, decomposition of the body before autopsy, etc. Still, if they were smoking weed I assume they would have find paraphernalia on their bodies and traces of it on their clothes and personal effects. Not that it really matters anyway, imo.

He could have taken the matchbooks just in case or because they were of use while camping (lighting a fire to stay warm, boil water, cook food, light candles to see in the dark, anything really). I don't think the matchbooks really mean anything.
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Mhm. I know dragging theories is sometimes futile, but what if James used these matches at some campground like a KOA?
 
onceuponadecember said:
Mhm. I know dragging theories is sometimes futile, but what if James used these matches at some campground like a KOA?
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This is probably a weird detail, but I wonder how many of the matches, if any, were used. If they were using them to light fires, etc. at KOA-type campgrounds, maybe the amount of matches could be an indicator as to how long it took them from getting the matches (presumably in Nebraska?) to their deaths...OK, I will admit this is a bit of a stretch, but...maybe if he was running low that shows they were camping out for a while?
 
The article announcing James's birth says his parents lived in Leominster but that he was born at the Lucy Helen Hospital, which is in Fitchburg: The Historic District - Lucy Helen Hospital

I know this doesn't contribute towards any greater knowledge of this case but I thought I'd add it for the sake of accuracy.

Through searching newspapers.com I was hoping to find info post-army service but, alas, I didn't find anything except for the attached. But there appear to have been more than 1 James Freund in Lancaster so, who knows.

If you find it relevant, his family appear to have moved to Lancaster in 1956 (that's when parents bought the house). And that in addition to baseball (he was pitcher/infielder), he made the paper for setting a discus throw record as a 14yr old and for bowling. If you search newspapers.com using "Jim" instead of James, you can find this.
 

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Anthony Matthews was his stage name. His full name was Anthony Matthew Swanson. This link holds many old articles, including details of his death in the hang gliding incident and also when the Sunlending trio first trekked to Colorado.

Anthony was from Litchfield, MN and was buried there after his death in Colorado. So that's two of the three from Sunlending who were from Minnesota. John Daly appears to be originally from Pennsylvania but it is more difficult to find information on him, and how he may have met the other two.

These articles are easy to open and enlarge:

Anthony Matthew Swanson | Steamboat Springs Community Libraries

It was a new hang glider that Anthony had flown only five times previously. Dozens of people watched from cafes as he launched from 9100 feet but struggled to get into the seat, kicking his feet forward but never able to pull himself into the seat. Finally he fell to his death from several hundred feet. The side bars on that glider were said to cause a numbing effect on hands and arms after about two and a half minutes. Those bars were supporting Anthony's full weight under his armpits as he struggled to steer the glider after failing to enter the seat.

I'll paste the sections regarding Sunlending. It looks like Pamela may have met and married her husband within months after the group relocated to Colorado:

"He played in numerous bands on the club circuit, and finally formed a band called "Sunlending." With Anthony at the helm, the group changed members six or seven times, always receiving praises, and dedicated toward one end: entertainment for others."

"Laluti, Greek for Little Flower, was the name of Anthony's two story bus, his home for six years. His companions were two Afghan hounds, Gandalf and Sabrina. It was this entourage, and his group Sunlending that first descended on Steamboat in the winter of 71-72 and played at the old A-frame at the ski area."

BTW, Anthony was in the army from 1966 to 1968 and assigned to a Special Services Branch where he spent his time entertaining. He was stationed in Germany. That is a commonality with James Freund. They may have been there during the same time because I believe I saw mention that James was overseas in the military when his father died suddenly in fall 1966.
 
Mbt said:
The article announcing James's birth says his parents lived in Leominster but that he was born at the Lucy Helen Hospital, which is in Fitchburg: The Historic District - Lucy Helen Hospital

I know this doesn't contribute towards any greater knowledge of this case but I thought I'd add it for the sake of accuracy.

Through searching newspapers.com I was hoping to find info post-army service but, alas, I didn't find anything except for the attached. But there appear to have been more than 1 James Freund in Lancaster so, who knows.

If you find it relevant, his family appear to have moved to Lancaster in 1956 (that's when parents bought the house). And that in addition to baseball (he was pitcher/infielder), he made the paper for setting a discus throw record as a 14yr old and for bowling. If you search newspapers.com using "Jim" instead of James, you can find this.
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Good point—the sheriff at the press conference referred to him as ‘Jim.’ Maybe that came from talking to people who knew him.
 
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