Hi gang. I'm the new kid on the hunt here so let me give you a tiny bit of info about me.
First, I grew up in Artesia and like Finder have hunted and fished all over Eddy County. I was just starting my sophomore year in college at ENMU when these murders happened and I never forgot them. I went on to become a school teacher in Lovington and ultimately a police officer in the city. Finally ended up in Texas as patrol pilot. And that's probably all that's relevant about me. But I know Carlsbad pretty well and even dated a girl from there when I was in high school.
Anyway, I bring a bit of a different perspective. I don't claim I'm right about anything and respect the wealth of ideas put forth before me. Now let me toss out a few of my thoughts for you to chew on.
First, I think maybe too much thought has been given to these crimes from only the victim's point of view. I try to close my eyes and get in the heads of everyone...the killer's...the cops...the witnesses...whatever. Here are some random thoughts relating to some of the comments put forth in this thread.
1. The murder scene/dump site. I believe it was genuinely the murder scene for the reasons I've stated below.
2. I do not think the murder scene was preselected. A dumber location would have been hard to find and Eddy County is a paradise for places to hide or bury bodies. I think there was a growing panic in the killer's mind. He has already abducted two young girls, beat one of both of them into some sort of submission. He has already raped Patty, I suspect. He knows he must kill them to hide his crime and perhaps he has some vague idea where he wants to do it. But each tick of the clock he is getting more nervous. Each tick of the clock things are getting more dangerous for him. What if he's stopped? What if one of the girls does something crazy? He's told them he'll turn them loose if they obey but he knows they are starting to doubt him. They must be feeling desperate enough to try anything. He's got to get rid of them and fast.
He turns down the Sitting Bull Falls road from the Artesia highway. He drives .7 of a mile, possibly arguing with the girls each foot of the way. Then he sees the little dirt road leading north into absolute nothingness of the New Mexico night. No houses. No vehicles. Nothing but the little road and grease wood. Perfect, he thinks and turns off on this road.
He drives another half mile down this bumpy track thinking that he is really getting away from all possibility of discovery. At last he stops, turns his headlights to the east and marches both girls out in front where he can see them. He murders them and starts back to the car for Patty's clothes. Was he going to try to dress her, put the clothes by her or what? Who knows.
This is when he gets his first big shock. The car comes into view right through his headlights as they shine out towards the Artesia highway. (Witness)
He panics. Little did he know that he had simply driven parallel to the highway and was easily in view. The next car could be state police.
So he throws Patty's clothes in the air and runs for his car for a panic return to Carlsbad. That's how I see the murder happening.
3. Someone questioned why the WB went fishing just at dusk. Easy answer. Night time is the best time to fish the Pecos River. The main fish on the river is catfish and most of their feeding is done at night. So leaving for fishing at dusk make perfect sense. Many people go out and fish all night. Frankly, a better question is "Why didn't they fish longer after going to the trouble and paying money to get there?"
4. Police cover-up. I'm going to be in the minority here and say as an ex-cop I don't believe it. Cops come in all flavors like anything else but few are crooked or up for any serious cover-up. They let a fellow officer slide if they catch him driving a little fast. They send him home if they catch him after a drink or two. But that's about it. Do anything more serious than this and most cops will throw a fellow officer in the slammer. When I was a cop we found the chief screwed up and hired an officer from Texas where there was a warrant for him writing hot checks. We arrested him and threw him in jail so fast he never knew what hit him. The vast majority of cops are serious about right and wrong...even the lazy ones.
What many here see as police cover-up, I see as bungling incompetence. You have to understand the times in 1961. When I became a cop, I was handed a badge and some uniforms and told to report for work that night. Another officer rode with me a few hours and he was dumber than dirt and a total coward. Happily he was the one leaving that I was replacing and the next day he told the chief I was "good to go" just so he could get away from me. That was my training and this was six years AFTER the girls were murdered. Serious police training was non-existent back then. So it naturally followed that these murders were a tragic parade of errors that would make any properly trained officer today fall over in a dead faint.
Carlsbad is not New York or L.A. Carlsbad will always be plagued by poorly trained, inexperienced officers. I think if they have anything to hide, it is their own internal weakness. The result of all this has been tragic for the Restines. This case was once, I think, very solvable. Today I despair.:furious:
Anyway, I'll kick out more of my screwy thoughts as I have them.