CA - Barry Pinder, 21, Mendocino County, 18 June 1974

[burblestein]

Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Case # 74-42358

Automated report # 06-3774

Date of birth: 12 June 1953

Place of birth: Panama Canal Zone

Parents: Major JEM and Lt. Col. SH Pinder

Siblings: Two older sisters

Education: Graduated 1971, Winter Park (FL) High School

Barry was a white male, 6 feet 1 inch tall, weight 180 pounds, with collar-length blond hair parted on the left. Both Maitland FL, given as his home of record, and Winter Park FL, the town in which he was schooled, are in the Orlando FL metropolitan area.

In June 1974, Barry was vacationing at MacKerricher State Park, north of Fort Bragg CA. On 17 June 1974, three or four male visitors were seen at Barry's campsite by neighboring campers. A motorcycle was also noted. At 9 AM 18 June 1974, a tourist from San Jose found Barry's body. The tourist reported the find to a park ranger. In turn, the ranger called a deputy from MCSO's Fort Bragg substation. Barry's body was fully clothed, and lay partly under a picnic table. His face and skull had been beaten in. A nearby stick of firewood was the obvious weapon. The homicide scene was littered with beer cans and trash.

Neither the visitors nor the motorcycle were still present.

Barry's remains were moved to Fort Bragg, where a post mortem in a funeral home was performed by Dr. Aa. Meanwhile, LE scrambled for clues. The park worker who checked in visitors recognized the name "Pinder", but gave a description incongruent with Barry. There was a short-lived APB for two motorcyclists seen in the vicinity of MacKerricher; however, that was soon "corrected". Barry was identified via his fingerprints. They were on file from an arrest in San Diego.Barry's father arrived on 20 June 1974 to retrieve Barry's remains.

Sources:

Findagrave website: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=69882972&df=all&

MCSO website page: http://mendocinosheriff.com/missing/coldcases.html

Ukiah (CA) Daily Journal, 19 June 1974: https://www.newspapers.com/image/578596/

UDJ, 20 June 1974: https://newspapers.com/image/578978/

UDJ, 15 July 1974: https://newspapers.com/image/584581/

Barry's homicide happened at the same time as the 20 June 1974 disappearances of Linda Lee Lovell and Stephen Locke Packard from nearby Westport. Cross-reference is http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-18-Westport-CA-June-1974&highlight=Mendocino plus the individual threads for Linda and Steve.

 

[burblestein]

It's unlikely that three or four guys rode in on a single motorcycle. So, was the motorcycle Barry's bike? Was his bike stolen during the murder?

 

[burblestein]

Information concerning this active homicide case may be called in to the MCSO Tipline at 707-234-2100. Their Investigative Services Bureau may be emailed at barneys@co.mendocino.ca.us.The Sheriff's Office can also be reached at 951 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, CA 95482.

 

[burblestein]

Barry Kirk Pinder.

 

[burblestein]

A brush with the law back in Florida: Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 1972: https://www.newspapers.com/image/225316969/?terms=Barry+Kirk+Pinder

Barry walked into MacKerricher State Park to register on Monday evening (17 June). He had been living in San Diego. He was IDed by fingerprints. Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 21 June1974: https://www.newspapers.com/image/294355827/?terms=Barry+Kirk+Pinder

MCSO extended its investigation to the Bay Area for unstated reasons. Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 23 June1974: https://www.newspapers.com/image/294358174/?terms=Barry+Kirk+Pinder

 

[ohthatkatgirl]

According to the Winter Park High School In Remembrance Facebook page, Barry Pinder was on a cross-country motorcycling trip, which if accurate, explains the motorcycle seen by the campers.

 

[burblestein]

Good catch, katgirl. Looks like his murderers stole his motorcycle.

 

[ohthatkatgirl]

Barry's mothers obituary -
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/orlandosentinel/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=96232071

His father died in 2001.

I wonder if the motorcycle was the main target for the men or if it was simply taken after Barry was murdered. If it was the target I wonder how the motorcycle came to the attention of the men, whether they met Barry elsewhere, spotted it at the campsite, or saw him out on it and followed him. It's a shame, we don't know what the bike was and if it was valuable.

 

[Betty P]

Hi All,

I was just looking at a map of the campground where Barry was killed. Unless the campground has changed, it looked like the campsites were pretty close together. Kind of makes you wonder how someone didn't hear anything from Barry's campground when he was killed.

Since Barry had a motorcycle, is it possible he stopped off someplace in one of the nearby towns to get something to eat and buy some beer? Maybe that's where he met up with the other bikers. Maybe asked if they had any pot to buy, they followed him back out to is campsite and the worst happened afterwards. Remember, back then you could buy beer at age 18. It could also explain why the investigation into his murder went to the San Francisco area, per the link above.

If anyone here is a local, do you recall any biker-type bars in the area? Did SF area bikers ride through frequently?

 

[burblestein]

I know that there was a Hell's Angel presence in Mendo County as far back as the late 1980s. Whether they were here in the 1970s, I don't know.

I have a speculative scenario, based on biker attitudes. Remember in the Karla Faye Tucker case, the victim was murdered because of the biker attitude that he wasn't man enough to deserve owning a Harley-Davidson? Could that have been the motive behind killing Barry?

 

[Betty P]

I know that there was a Hell's Angel presence in Mendo County as far back as the late 1980s. Whether they were here in the 1970s, I don't know.

I have a speculative scenario, based on biker attitudes. Remember in the Karla Faye Tucker case, the victim was murdered because of the biker attitude that he wasn't man enough to deserve owning a Harley-Davidson? Could that have been the motive behind killing Barry?

I've read a couple of rock star bios from that era and quite a few of them lived in the Mendocino area back then. From the stories there was a lot of partying & drugs there and I'm pretty sure I recall references to some biker gangs that were part of the scene. When you're a rock star living out in the boonies and you like to buy a lot of drugs, biker gangs were a pretty good source for your supply. IIRC, there was a pipeline from Mexico to San Francisco, then north. I really don't think any of those rockers were involved in murders, but their presence in that area gave biker gangs reason to be running drugs up there frequently. A couple of bio references I recall were those of Gene Clark of the Byrds (Gene lived in Albion all through the 70's, poor guy was a major addict) and Doug Sahm, but there were plenty more in the 70's. It was a popular place to get away from the big cities, relax and party. A lot of rich trust funders with drug habits, too. That region definitely was sketchy back then and would have been dangerous for anyone to hitchhike or motorcycle through.

Yeah, bikers were crazy violent with big egos. Probably still are. I read that book about Karla Faye many years ago and had forgotten that part til you mentioned it. I could see them wanting to steal a motorcycle from some small time teen guy who may have approached them to buy some pot or something.

Also seems possible something similar happened to Stephen Packard and Linda Lovell who were hitchhiking through the area around the same time and are still missing.

 

[ohthatkatgirl]

An article I found on Barry's funeral. Apparently he was travelling with a friend, whom was away visiting family when Barry was murdered and all of Barry's possessions were stolen including his bible.

Sent from my SM-T355Y using Tapatalk

 

[ohthatkatgirl]

According to this article Barry was traveling alone, had a bus pass and was planning to be on a month long trip.

Sent from my SM-T355Y using Tapatalk

 

[burblestein]

Note to Tricia: Move this thread to CA - CA - Barry Pinder, 21, Mendocino County, 18 June 1974 in Cold Case homicides.

 

[dotr]

Feb 1 2021
23 unforgettable North Coast cold cases and where each stands now
''23 unforgettable North Coast cold cases and where each stands now

''Unsolved cold case: Barry Kirk Pinder was found dead at MacKerricher State Park campsite north of Fort Bragg on June 18, 1974, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office. Campers told investigators that they saw three to four males as well as a motorcycle at the campsite the night before. The motorcycle was gone by the time Pinder’s body was found. According to an autopsy, Pinder died because of blunt force trauma. Anyone with information can contact the sheriff office’s tip line at 707-234-2100. (Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office)''

 

[Betty P]

According to this article Barry was traveling alone, had a bus pass and was planning to be on a month long trip.

Sent from my SM-T355Y using Tapatalk

That's curious. There must be a news reporting error somewhere, unless he bought the motorcycle along the way. It could be the motorcycle the witness saw at his campground site belonged to someone else? Perhaps the person who killed him? Thanks for the research on this.

Also good the case is getting new attention in the local news media. Maybe the reporter can do some research and tell us whether he had a motorcycle.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Barry Kirk Pinder​

On June 18, 1974, 21-year-old Barry Kirk Pinder was found murdered at his campsite inside MacKerricher State Park just north of Fort Bragg. An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

Neighboring campers reported seeing three to four male subjects in the campsite the prior evening along with a motorcycle. The following day Pinder was found deceased underneath a picnic table and the motorcycle was no longer at the location.

Anyone with information in regards to the murder of Barry Kirk Pinder is asked to contact the Sheriff's Office Tip-Line by calling 707-234-2100.

• Age at time of murder: 21 years-old
• Height: 6' 1"
• Weight: 180 lbs.
• Hair: Blonde
• MCSO Case#: 74-41358 Automated Report# 06-3774
• Date of murder: June 18, 1974

Cold Cases - Mendocino County | Mendocino County, CA

www.mendocinocounty.org