A Small Town. Two Disappearances. A Trail of Bodies Across Seven States

WEBVTT
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A Labor Day weekend turned into a nightmare of murder
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as a cross-country crime spree terrorized the nation. A pair
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of suspected spree killers traveled through state after state, leaving
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murder victims in their wake. Working against time, the FBI
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and local authorities marshaled their resources to stop the killings.
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In a small Ohio community, an elderly woman and a
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teenage boy disappeared. Because they vanished within hours of each other,
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police believe the cases were linked. But they didn't know how.
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I'm Jim Kallstrom, former head of the FBI's New York office.
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A trail of stolen vehicles and murder victims across seven
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states led the FBI in a hunt for two serial killers.
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Their only hope of stopping them was to anticipate the
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killers Next move.
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August 29th, 1994. Summer was drawing to a close in
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the small town of Port Washington, Ohio. The peaceful farming
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community was dotted with isolated rural homes. A 79-year-old widow,
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Ruth Loder, lived alone. Those of her family that lived
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nearby kept a close eye on Mrs. Loader since she
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was battling with cancer. When she heard footsteps in the kitchen,
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she thought it might be her granddaughter returning to see
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her before she went to sleep. She discovered strangers instead.
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The following morning.
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The Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office received an urgent call from Mrs.
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Loader's sister. As was their routine, Mrs. Loader's sister and
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son-in-law came to check on the sick woman. but found Mrs.
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Loader and her car missing. Sheriff Walter Wilson, a detective
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lieutenant at the time, was the lead investigator.
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Family members had seen Mrs. Loader the evening prior to
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the morning of her disappearance. She was fine at that time.
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They had indicated to us that Mrs. Loader was recovering
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from cancer surgery, that she definitely needed medication, which was
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left behind.
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The family was worried since Mrs. Loader was so weak.
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She would become very ill if she was without her
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medication for long. Marks on the back door and damage
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to the door frame indicated it had been kicked in.
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The forced entry told the sheriff that the frail woman
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had not left of her own free will. Mrs. Loader's
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purse was left behind, but her cash was missing, along
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with the keys to her red Buick. Sheriff Wilson immediately
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issued an all-points bulletin for the widow and her car.
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He knew that they'd have the best chance of finding
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her alive if they acted quickly.
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We felt very early on that Mrs. Loader obviously had
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been kidnapped. We immediately began a massive search for Mrs.
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Loader and her car. Then that involved all of the
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area law enforcement agencies, It involved numerous fire department personnel.
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Citizens from the area came out in droves and helped
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with the search for Mrs. Layden.
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Concerned over her fate, the community was united in its pursuit.
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The command center was formed in the Port Washington fire station,
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where authorities worked with volunteers to plan the urgent search
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for the ailing woman. If she didn't have her medicine soon,
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her condition could become critical. They had to find the
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grandmother before it was too late. Mrs.
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Loader was pretty well known in that area. It's a
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very good family. They're very highly thought of, and everyone
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was very concerned for her and felt obligated and really
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sincerely wanted to try to find her to help her.
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Mounted reserve units geared up to comb rougher terrain on horseback.
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Local police and neighbors searched fields and woods for any
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trace of her or the missing car. Sheriff's deputies from
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a neighboring county brought in canine units hoping to pick
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up a scent. The Ohio State Highway Patrol ordered their
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aircraft to scan roads from above. The extensive search turned
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up no trace of Mrs. Loader or her car. Special
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collections were taken at restaurants and grocery stores to help
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pay for additional personnel. Deputies alerted the media while family
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members posted flyers in neighboring towns hoping to get the
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word out beyond the local community. That afternoon, A woman
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who knew Mrs. Loader called the sheriff's office with information
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and came in for an interview. She told investigators that
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she'd seen Mrs. Loader's red Buick in town at about
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11 p.m. the previous evening. She thought it was strange
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that the ailing woman would be driving that late. Though
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the light was dim, she could see that a young
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man was driving the car. The witness tried her best
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to help a police artist construct a composite sketch from
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what she could remember of the brief encounter. In the
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area surrounding Port Washington, Ohio, concern that a criminal could
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be on the loose spread fear in a community that
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was not used to locking their doors. Police showed the
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composite sketch at every interview. But no one could identify
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the man depicted in the drawing. The day ended with
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no new leads. On day two of Mrs. Loader's disappearance,
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a deputy entered her case into the NCIC, the National
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Crime Information Center. a computer system linking 57,000 law enforcement
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agencies across the country. Sheriff's Department. That same day, the
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sheriff's office fielded a call from some concerned parents. Their
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16-year-old high school sophomore had also disappeared from Tuscarawas County. Okay,
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disclose it. In nearby Newcomerstown, three miles from the house
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where Mrs. Loader disappeared, a worried father and stepmother told
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a sheriff's deputy their son was missing. His family and
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his former employer had not heard from him for three days.
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Do you have a picture on it? Yes, I do. A.
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22 caliber handgun was also missing from the house. The
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parents gave authorities a photograph of the missing boy. Eric Elliott.
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It seemed kind of ironic at the time that we
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would have Mrs. Loader missing and that we would also
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have a juvenile reported missing within that short distance.
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Ohio investigators wondered if there was any connection between the
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two disappearances from the same county. Just 36 hours after Mrs.
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Loader's abduction, Sheriff Wilson received another call. 650 miles west
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in Fulton, Missouri, police found a red Buick stuck in
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a farmer's muddy field. When they ran its Ohio plates
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through the NCIC, they discovered it was Mrs. Loader's stolen car.
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The farmer had not seen who had abandoned it. The
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car's keys were missing, but the doors were unlocked. Among
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the items officers found inside was a green soda bottle
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and a sandwich wrapper labeled Goshen Dairy Store. They towed
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the vehicle to the station for further examination. Lieutenant Timothy
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Daimler from the Calloway County Sheriff's Office in Fulton, Missouri.
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was assigned to lead the investigation. His department's first task
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was to check the car's locked trunk.
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We weren't sure exactly what we were going to find.
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We had a missing lady from Ohio, and this was
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her car, so... We were under the assumption that very
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possibly we may find a body when we opened up
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the trunk.
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Investigators needed to open it without damaging evidence or injuring
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the woman if she was unconscious inside. An auxiliary deputy
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who was a locksmith was called in. They discovered the
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trunk was empty. After three days of searching, hope of
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finding Mrs. Loader alive was beginning to fade. On September 1st,
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an FBI evidence recovery team from Kansas City was called
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in since the missing woman's car had crossed state lines.
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Agents worked with local authorities processing Mrs. Loader's car for
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forensic details. They gathered several sets of prints and hairs.
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In Ohio, the foreign prints were entered into an automated
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fingerprint system, but no matches were found. Sheriff Wilson prepared
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to travel to Missouri. On a hunch, he took along
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a photo of the missing teenager, Eric Elliott.
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At the time, it was nothing concrete as far as
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connecting Mrs. Loader's disappearance and Mr. Elliott's report of his
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son missing. However, I felt that since we're going to
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Callaway County, you know, it would make sense to maybe
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obtain a photograph of the missing juvenile and take with us.
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Mrs. Loader's son-in-law joined the sheriff to help in the investigation.
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The Missouri official did not recognize the photo, but the
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Ohio sheriff did recognize the sandwich wrapper found in the car.
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It was from Goshen Dairy, a store near Mrs. Loader's house.
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Her son-in-law said the family kept her vehicle clean. Perhaps
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Eric Elliott, who also lived close to the store, had
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left the wrapper in the car.
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They had a photograph of Elliott with them, and we
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decided to cover Kingdom City, which, where they would have
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gotten off the interstate.
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Ohio and Missouri investigators checked exits along nearby I-70, a
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major east-west route in the region. They hoped someone at
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the rest stops would be able to confirm that Elliot
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had been in the area. They spoke to dozens of
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employees and travelers. Late in the afternoon, their efforts finally
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paid off. They found one person who remembered seeing the
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teenager the day before. Unfortunately, authorities found no one who
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remembered seeing Mrs. Loader or her car. For the first time,
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investigators considered 16-year-old Eric Elliott as a suspect in her abduction.
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Missouri deputies also continued to canvas the rural Fulton area,
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inquiring if neighbors had seen anything unusual. At the house
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closest to the field where Mrs. Loader's car was found,
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an officer knocked on the door of an elderly couple,
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William and Flossie Brewer. He heard their dog, but the
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couple appeared to be out. Since their car was not
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parked outside, the deputy continued on. Authorities checked dozens of homes,
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but found no one close by who had seen Eric
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Elliott or Mrs.
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Loader.
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I was on my way home After finishing that up,
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I received a page from the communications center that they
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wanted me to call them immediately. They told me that
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they had found two bodies at a farmhouse out on
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County Road 147.
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It was the home of William and Flossie Brewer, the
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house closest to the field where Mrs. Loder's car was
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found earlier that day. Authorities believe the two crimes were
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likely connected. Three days after Mrs. Loader's disappearance, sheriff's detectives
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found the bodies of 86-year-old William Brewer and his 76-year-old
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wife Flossie in the basement of their home. Each had
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multiple gunshot wounds. They were slumped over. They were near
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the door.
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She had her hands tied behind her back with what
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appeared to be a telephone cord, and he was on
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her right slumped over also, and his cane was standing
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there right beside him.
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The detective also found the couple's dog faithfully guarding their
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lifeless bodies. An autopsy later determined that both Mr. and Mrs.
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Brewer had each been shot three times in the head
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with a. 22, the same caliber weapon missing from Eric
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Elliott's home. The 16-year-old suspected in the disappearance of Mrs.
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Loader now became a suspect in the double homicide.
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There was no indication that the suspect had spent any
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length of time in the house before this occurred, so
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from the evidence it pointed us that it had happened
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relatively quickly.
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Investigators found no signs of forced entry. In the basement,
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the door to the outside was covered with cobwebs, indicating
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it had not been opened. Investigators spoke with the Brewer's son.
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He said the couple's Oldsmobile was missing, along with several rifles.
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All were entered into the NCIC. The son added that
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his mother's bedspread was also missing. Technicians worked the scene
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until 5 a.m. On the floor near the front entrance,
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investigators found two distinct sets of footprints foreign to the house.
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One appeared to be a tennis shoe, the other a
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hiking boot. Investigators suspected the double homicide was likely connected
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to Mrs. Loader's disappearance. What they didn't know was if
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16-year-old Eric Elliott and a companion had become spree killers.
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By September 2nd, 1994... Four and a half days had
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passed since the ailing Ruth Loader was forced from her
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Ohio home without her medication. She was missing and presumed
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dead since her stolen car was found abandoned in Missouri,
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150 yards from where police discovered a slain elderly couple.
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Authorities suspected an Ohio teenager named Eric Elliott and at
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least one companion were responsible for the crimes, but they
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had no direct evidence. Lieutenant Timothy Daimler of the Callaway County,
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Missouri Sheriff's Department recalled that citizens in the surrounding areas
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were stunned.
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These are people that live in the rural community. They're
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used to leaving their doors unlocked. They do know everybody.
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And I think it was somewhat of a realization that, unfortunately,
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even though you do live in a rural community, that
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you still have to lock your doors and pay attention
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to when strangers are in your neighborhoods.
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With two confirmed homicides and a likely third in as
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many days, local authorities turned to the FBI for help.
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Special Agent Peter Christ of the FBI's Canton, Ohio, resident
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agency was assigned the case. To catch up with the
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suspected spree killer and his companion, they needed an idea
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of where Eric Elliott might be heading.
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So we were trying to get as much background information
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as we could. We were looking for relatives, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends.
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We were convinced that they were heading across the country,
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and we just needed to know everybody that there was
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a possibility that they would stop and visit, to either
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visit to say hello or get any kind of financial
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or moral support.
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Agents asked one of Eric Elliott's friends to come in
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for questioning.
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Yes.
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The friend told them that Elliot had recently become very
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close to a young ex-convict named Louis Gilbert. He said
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that Gilbert and Elliot had spent a lot of time
241
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together over the past few weeks. Both had been complaining
242
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about how boring life was in the small town and
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that there was no reason for them to stay. Gilbert
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00:19:09.650 --> 00:19:12.410
was estranged from his wife and son, and Elliot wished
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to visit his birth mother in California. The friend added
246
00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:19.619
that the pair mentioned they wanted to do something that
247
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would make them go down in history and planned to
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start by stealing a car. The last time he saw
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00:19:28.509 --> 00:19:31.130
them was five days ago when Gilbert and Elliot were
250
00:19:31.170 --> 00:19:38.369
walking along railroad tracks behind Mrs. Loader's house. Because Elliot
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00:19:38.410 --> 00:19:41.809
was a troubled teen, Agent Crisp believed that he probably
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looked up to 22-year-old Lewis Gilbert. since Gilbert appeared to
253
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do as he pleased.
254
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At the point when Gilbert befriended Elliot, he had been
255
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released from jail two weeks prior to that, had a
256
00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:58.759
criminal history, had had a history of getting in trouble.
257
00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:01.480
And at that point, we sort of felt that maybe Mr.
258
00:20:01.539 --> 00:20:05.460
Elliot was in awe or enamored with Mr. Gilbert because
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00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:07.480
he did have that kind of criminal history background.
260
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Investigators dug deeper into Lewis Gilbert's past. The 22-year-old had
261
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:17.720
served time for stealing a boat and breaking and entering.
262
00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:24.230
He had also been convicted of physically abusing his three-month-old son.
263
00:20:26.190 --> 00:20:29.029
Though agents still lacked concrete evidence that Gilbert and Elliot
264
00:20:29.069 --> 00:20:32.140
were traveling together, they needed to find them as soon
265
00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:34.099
as possible to prevent any more killing.
266
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Our biggest concern at this point was that we suspected
267
00:20:38.990 --> 00:20:40.309
these two of Mrs.
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00:20:40.329 --> 00:20:41.289
Loader's disappearance.
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They were strong suspects in the killings and the double
270
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homicide in Missouri, and we were very concerned that this
271
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kind of activity would continue all the way across the country.
272
00:20:54.009 --> 00:20:56.230
Sheriff Wilson's first step was to see if anyone had
273
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seen Gilbert with Elliot at the Goshen Dairy Store, close
274
00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:04.619
to Mrs. Loader's Ohio home. Missouri investigators had found a
275
00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:07.720
sandwich wrapper from the store in Mrs. Loader's abandoned vehicle.
276
00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:18.039
The clerk identified the wrapper. She also remembered selling the
277
00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:21.299
sandwich and some soda to Gilbert and Elliot just after Mrs.
278
00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:26.660
Loader disappeared. Authorities now had confirmation the young men were
279
00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:31.759
traveling together. But five days had already passed since the
280
00:21:31.779 --> 00:21:37.220
spree killers had begun their cross-country rampage. The FBI quickly
281
00:21:37.259 --> 00:21:40.160
secured arrest warrants for kidnapping and burglary in the Ruth
282
00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:45.589
Loder disappearance. Though agents believed the pair was also responsible
283
00:21:45.609 --> 00:21:49.750
for the double homicide in Missouri, authorities still lacked evidence
284
00:21:49.789 --> 00:21:55.769
to formally charge them with those crimes. Agents weren't about
285
00:21:55.809 --> 00:21:59.119
to wait for someone to call in. Anticipating Gilbert and
286
00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:03.400
Elliot's westward movement, the FBI visited Gilbert's mother in Tahlequah,
287
00:22:03.460 --> 00:22:09.289
Oklahoma on September 3rd, 1994. The agent warned her that
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00:22:09.329 --> 00:22:12.390
her son and his friend were armed fugitives suspected of
289
00:22:12.430 --> 00:22:17.130
driving a stolen Oldsmobile with Missouri plates. It was possible
290
00:22:17.150 --> 00:22:18.789
that the pair would visit her for help. The FBI
291
00:22:18.809 --> 00:22:33.420
had just missed them. Gilbert and Elliot had arrived at
292
00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:39.269
2 a.m. the previous day. Gilbert claimed the Oldsmobile they
293
00:22:39.289 --> 00:22:42.890
were driving belonged to a friend. They said they were
294
00:22:42.930 --> 00:22:46.630
headed to California. The pair spent the day and left
295
00:22:46.670 --> 00:22:52.650
a few hours before the agent arrived. Cooperating with the FBI,
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00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:55.660
she described the clothes the pair was wearing and gave
297
00:22:55.720 --> 00:23:00.160
agents addresses of other relatives. Authorities feared that if they
298
00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:02.940
didn't catch up with them soon, the spree killers would
299
00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:03.660
strike again.
300
00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:06.839
That was one of the most frustrating things about this
301
00:23:06.900 --> 00:23:10.109
whole investigation. It just appeared that we were always a
302
00:23:10.190 --> 00:23:12.509
half a day or a day behind them. And that's
303
00:23:12.549 --> 00:23:15.150
probably one of the most frustrating things. We just couldn't
304
00:23:15.170 --> 00:23:15.730
get ahead of them.
305
00:23:17.349 --> 00:23:21.299
Because Eric Elliott was a minor, investigators needed court permission
306
00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:25.240
to distribute his photo. They got the go-ahead 36 hours
307
00:23:25.319 --> 00:23:29.670
after the double homicide in Missouri. Lieutenant Daimler added it
308
00:23:29.730 --> 00:23:31.950
to the nationwide bulletins for the fugitives.
309
00:23:33.529 --> 00:23:35.430
I was scared to see where they were going to
310
00:23:35.450 --> 00:23:37.769
end up next and who they were going to kill next.
311
00:23:38.690 --> 00:23:42.500
And I wanted to do everything I could to help
312
00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:46.480
get those people off the street because it was apparent
313
00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:48.559
to me that they didn't care who they killed.
314
00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:53.619
Despite the best efforts of authorities, the urgent hunt for
315
00:23:53.640 --> 00:24:02.650
the suspected killers stretched into its sixth day. On September 4th, 1994,
316
00:24:02.650 --> 00:24:06.309
165 miles west of Gilbert's mother's house in Oklahoma, a
317
00:24:06.349 --> 00:24:09.390
dirt biker was riding the rural trails around Draper Lake
318
00:24:09.670 --> 00:24:15.910
just outside of Oklahoma City. His ride was cut short
319
00:24:16.190 --> 00:24:22.279
when he discovered a woman's body amongst the trees. As
320
00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:25.619
he raced to summon police, he rode around an Oldsmobile
321
00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:30.349
with Missouri plates Almost a week after Mrs. Loader's abduction
322
00:24:30.390 --> 00:24:35.509
in Ohio, the nationwide hunt for two suspected killers would continue.
323
00:24:38.390 --> 00:24:42.369
By September 4th, 1994, six days had elapsed in the
324
00:24:42.529 --> 00:24:46.430
FBI's massive nationwide search for a pair of suspected spree killers.
325
00:24:49.470 --> 00:24:52.549
Lewis Gilbert and Eric Elliott were wanted for a possible
326
00:24:52.609 --> 00:24:56.049
murder in Ohio and a confirmed double homicide in Missouri.
327
00:24:56.950 --> 00:25:03.869
The fugitives were last seen in Oklahoma, heading west. That
328
00:25:03.950 --> 00:25:07.039
same day, Oklahoma City police responded to a call from
329
00:25:07.099 --> 00:25:09.619
a dirt biker who had discovered a woman's body near
330
00:25:09.660 --> 00:25:15.900
Draper Lake. Officers secured the crime scene, then called in
331
00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:21.690
homicide detectives. They interviewed the biker who had made the discovery.
332
00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:27.359
Homicide inspector Bob BMO of the Oklahoma City Police Department
333
00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:28.339
was assigned the case.
334
00:25:30.700 --> 00:25:33.089
Once we come upon the immediate scene where the body
335
00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:38.970
was located, I observed the young woman to be in
336
00:25:39.130 --> 00:25:41.930
a kind of a bent over backwards and caught between
337
00:25:42.009 --> 00:25:42.450
a tree.
338
00:25:44.190 --> 00:25:48.210
The victim was a white female in her 30s. Investigators
339
00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:51.930
found no identification on or near the body. But a
340
00:25:51.970 --> 00:25:55.130
manager at a nearby marina later identified her as his
341
00:25:55.190 --> 00:25:57.269
missing employee, Roxy Rudder.
342
00:25:58.529 --> 00:26:02.650
As a part of our investigation, another vehicle had been
343
00:26:02.750 --> 00:26:06.279
found a short distance away from where the victim had
344
00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:09.460
been located. And we didn't know if this was a
345
00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:11.839
part of the crime or not, although we did secure
346
00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:13.420
the area around this vehicle.
347
00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:17.940
When detectives checked the Oldsmobile's Missouri plates with the NCIC,
348
00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:21.839
They discovered the car had been reported stolen from the Brewers,
349
00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:28.619
the double homicide victims from Missouri. Oklahoma investigators immediately notified
350
00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:34.380
authorities back east. To Tuscarawas County Sheriff Walter Wilson in Ohio,
351
00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:37.430
it appeared that Gilbert and Elliott had struck again.
352
00:26:39.210 --> 00:26:44.289
They had recovered Missouri's stolen vehicle, and they also had
353
00:26:44.390 --> 00:26:48.700
another murder victim. It's just another case. terrible feeling that's
354
00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:52.839
really hard to describe that obviously this tragedy continues.
355
00:26:56.299 --> 00:27:01.970
Oklahoma police crime technicians gathered evidence from the vehicle. They
356
00:27:02.009 --> 00:27:08.670
recovered several unused. 22 caliber bullets. A pawn shop receipt
357
00:27:08.690 --> 00:27:13.960
from a local Oklahoma City store was also found. Prints
358
00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:17.450
lifted from inside and outside the car. matched both Gilbert
359
00:27:17.710 --> 00:27:24.950
and Elliott's. Oklahoma medical examiners determined that Ruttle's death had
360
00:27:24.990 --> 00:27:27.089
occurred in the last day or two since there was
361
00:27:27.150 --> 00:27:33.259
little decomposition. Death had been inflicted by a. 22 caliber weapon.
362
00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:42.960
Detectives notified the woman's devastated husband. He informed them that
363
00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:49.170
her two-toned pickup truck was also missing. Investigators listed it
364
00:27:49.210 --> 00:27:52.589
as stolen and added its information to the growing NCIC
365
00:27:52.630 --> 00:27:58.890
report on Gilbert and Elliot. Detectives also took the receipt
366
00:27:58.970 --> 00:28:01.839
found in the Brewer's car to the Oklahoma City pawn
367
00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:06.000
shop that issued it. Two video games and a socket
368
00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:08.660
wrench set had been pawned the day before the murdered
369
00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:14.900
woman was found. They showed the receipt to an employee.
370
00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:18.579
He vaguely remembered Gilbert and Elliot. but he had something
371
00:28:18.700 --> 00:28:23.079
else that might be stronger than memory. The pawn shop
372
00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:29.170
was equipped with a 24-hour surveillance camera. The videotape confirmed
373
00:28:29.230 --> 00:28:33.210
his story. September 3rd was the last confirmed sighting of
374
00:28:33.289 --> 00:28:37.589
Gilbert and Elliot. The FBI issued two more warrants for
375
00:28:37.609 --> 00:28:42.170
the suspected killers for unlawful interstate flight. Agent Peter Crist
376
00:28:42.190 --> 00:28:45.319
and his team were frustrated that after six days, four victims,
377
00:28:45.380 --> 00:28:48.859
and thousands of manners, The killers remained a half day
378
00:28:48.900 --> 00:28:50.000
ahead of the FBI.
379
00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:54.480
A lot of things were going through my mind. Number one,
380
00:28:55.660 --> 00:28:59.000
we didn't want another double homicide. We didn't want another
381
00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:02.210
killing anyplace. And we were, I guess, what I kept
382
00:29:02.250 --> 00:29:06.529
thinking about, what have I not done? What lead have
383
00:29:06.569 --> 00:29:09.630
I not sent out? Let me look everything over again
384
00:29:09.670 --> 00:29:11.230
to see maybe if we can somehow get ahead of
385
00:29:11.269 --> 00:29:13.890
these guys instead of being behind them for a half day.
386
00:29:13.789 --> 00:29:19.109
Or a day. The nationwide hunt for Gilbert and Elliot intensified.
387
00:29:20.730 --> 00:29:24.660
Law enforcement agencies mobilized additional helicopters to search for Roxy
388
00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:30.880
Ruddle's two-toned pickup truck on routes heading west. Long-haul truck
389
00:29:30.900 --> 00:29:33.730
drivers were also notified to report any sightings on the
390
00:29:33.789 --> 00:29:38.869
road or at rest stops. Hundreds of calls poured into
391
00:29:38.910 --> 00:29:50.380
police in Oklahoma. Missouri, and Ohio. But none led to
392
00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:52.279
the fugitive's immediate whereabouts.
393
00:29:56.460 --> 00:29:59.470
Every time the phone rang, I was very concerned that
394
00:29:59.490 --> 00:30:02.109
it would be another body. And that's a terrible feeling
395
00:30:02.130 --> 00:30:03.910
when you're working a case like this, when you know
396
00:30:04.309 --> 00:30:06.930
what has happened up to that point and what you envision.
397
00:30:06.970 --> 00:30:08.349
The worst thing you can envision in your mind would
398
00:30:08.369 --> 00:30:10.970
happen if this thing continued. So every time the phone
399
00:30:11.009 --> 00:30:13.349
rang and somebody said it was for me, that was
400
00:30:13.390 --> 00:30:15.170
my biggest fear. That was the first thing that came
401
00:30:15.210 --> 00:30:17.170
into my mind. Oh, we found another body.
402
00:30:19.430 --> 00:30:22.789
The two suspected spree killers had chosen elderly people and
403
00:30:22.890 --> 00:30:27.170
women as their prey. And the FBI didn't know where
404
00:30:27.670 --> 00:30:34.130
or whom they would strike next. By September 5th, 1994,
405
00:30:34.130 --> 00:30:37.289
after a week of searching, the FBI and local law
406
00:30:37.329 --> 00:30:40.319
enforcement were no closer to finding two suspects in a
407
00:30:40.390 --> 00:30:46.200
killing spree that spanned three states. Agents believe that 22-year-old
408
00:30:46.259 --> 00:30:49.980
Lewis Gilbert and 16-year-old Eric Elliott were headed to the
409
00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:53.980
home of Elliott's mother in California, driving a stolen two-tone
410
00:30:54.039 --> 00:31:00.109
pickup truck with Oklahoma plates. Missouri Lieutenant Timothy Daimler feared
411
00:31:00.130 --> 00:31:03.210
the murder suspects would kill again if they decided to
412
00:31:03.250 --> 00:31:05.170
steal another car as they traveled west.
413
00:31:06.609 --> 00:31:10.650
I wasn't thinking serial killer at the time. I guess
414
00:31:10.990 --> 00:31:12.779
what was going through my mind at the time was
415
00:31:12.819 --> 00:31:17.240
that these guys didn't care who they killed, and I
416
00:31:17.299 --> 00:31:19.640
was thinking that we need to catch these people.
417
00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:26.019
News reports and bulletins alerted people in western states that
418
00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:34.880
the suspected killers were headed their way In New Mexico,
419
00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:38.289
state police criminal agent Daniel Becker first heard about the
420
00:31:38.329 --> 00:31:39.569
fugitives through the media.
421
00:31:41.250 --> 00:31:45.049
My initial thought was that the chances of them being
422
00:31:45.329 --> 00:31:48.730
apprehended in New Mexico were extremely slim because of the
423
00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:52.480
wide open spaces that we have and a relatively small
424
00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:54.839
amount of law enforcement that we have throughout the state.
425
00:31:59.869 --> 00:32:01.970
The same day the reports began to hit the news
426
00:32:02.009 --> 00:32:05.329
in New Mexico, Gilbert and Elliot stopped at the rural
427
00:32:05.390 --> 00:32:08.589
home of an older couple 15 miles south of Santa Fe.
428
00:32:15.319 --> 00:32:18.059
They claimed that the stolen two-tone pickup truck was low
429
00:32:18.140 --> 00:32:25.839
on gas. The couple agreed to help. The fugitives said
430
00:32:25.880 --> 00:32:28.359
they were on their way to California but the woman
431
00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:30.940
was suspicious and she didn't see any luggage in the truck.
432
00:32:51.130 --> 00:32:53.410
To her, they seemed jumpy and left in a hurry
433
00:32:53.470 --> 00:33:02.660
when they heard the noise of nearby construction work The
434
00:33:02.700 --> 00:33:05.630
woman reported the sighting to the New Mexico State Police.
435
00:33:06.849 --> 00:33:09.450
But by the time units arrived to investigate, the two
436
00:33:09.490 --> 00:33:14.349
young men were nowhere in sight. The following morning of
437
00:33:14.410 --> 00:33:18.460
September 6th, a New Mexico man reported another sighting to police.
438
00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:24.200
He claimed to have seen Gilbert and Elliot the previous night.
439
00:33:26.230 --> 00:33:28.589
The man told the officer that he first encountered them
440
00:33:28.630 --> 00:33:38.910
while driving on Highway 599 outside Santa Fe. The motorist
441
00:33:38.950 --> 00:33:41.500
saw two young hitchhikers and pulled over to pick them up.
442
00:33:41.519 --> 00:33:48.140
Hey, how's it going?
443
00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:56.769
Thanks for picking us up, man. They said their pickup
444
00:33:56.789 --> 00:34:01.980
truck had gotten stuck in the mud. He didn't realize
445
00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:04.160
who they were until he saw their photos on the
446
00:34:04.220 --> 00:34:11.260
news the next morning, describing them as suspected killers. The
447
00:34:11.659 --> 00:34:13.460
witness said he gave the pair a ride to the
448
00:34:13.500 --> 00:34:18.349
store where they bought food and gas. Later that night,
449
00:34:18.369 --> 00:34:20.369
he saw them again and drove them back to the
450
00:34:20.429 --> 00:34:32.719
place they had first met. It was a desolate part
451
00:34:32.739 --> 00:34:41.559
of the highway The officer needed a landmark to estimate
452
00:34:41.639 --> 00:34:46.280
where the motorist had dropped the fugitives The man said
453
00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:50.780
it was close to a small overpass In the chance
454
00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:53.239
that the fugitives were still in the area He alerted
455
00:34:53.389 --> 00:34:58.690
all area law enforcement. The New Mexico State Police were
456
00:34:58.730 --> 00:35:07.929
aware they had to move fast. Two units raced to
457
00:35:07.949 --> 00:35:10.210
the location to conduct a search for any trace of
458
00:35:10.250 --> 00:35:15.949
the suspected murderers. They found the overpass in a remote area.
459
00:35:19.050 --> 00:35:30.969
Reports had warned that the Ohio men were armed. Gilbert
460
00:35:31.010 --> 00:35:33.489
and Elliot would be tired and desperate after running and
461
00:35:33.550 --> 00:35:39.030
hiding for seven days with little money. Officers prepared for
462
00:35:39.070 --> 00:35:45.260
the worst. If the fugitives were still in the area,
463
00:35:45.510 --> 00:35:48.079
they had miles of shrubs and hills behind which they
464
00:35:48.119 --> 00:35:51.980
could conceal themselves and take aim at anyone approaching. Exactly.
465
00:35:57.559 --> 00:36:05.980
Officers were instructed to use extreme caution. The team wanted
466
00:36:06.019 --> 00:36:17.070
to bring them back alive. They scanned the dust for footprints,
467
00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:20.469
food wrappers and soda bottles. Anything that might indicate the
468
00:36:20.510 --> 00:36:21.969
suspected killers was still.
469
00:36:21.769 --> 00:36:22.150
In the area.
470
00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:38.610
They approached one of six culverts underneath the highway. Carefully,
471
00:36:38.670 --> 00:36:45.199
they moved forward for a closer look. One officer spotted
472
00:36:45.320 --> 00:37:14.699
two men lying on the ground inside, apparently sleeping. One
473
00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:16.760
of the startled men appeared to be groping for his
474
00:37:16.840 --> 00:37:20.860
gun in the dark. In the next split second, officers
475
00:37:20.920 --> 00:37:23.760
had to decide whether they needed to use deadly force
476
00:37:24.219 --> 00:37:31.670
to stop the suspected spree killers. On September 6th, 1994,
477
00:37:31.670 --> 00:37:34.150
New Mexico State Police were within a few feet of
478
00:37:34.230 --> 00:37:40.829
murder suspects Lewis Gilbert and Eric Elliott. The fugitives reached
479
00:37:40.889 --> 00:37:48.760
for their weapons, but chose not to die. After a
480
00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:51.280
murder spree that took the lives of four victims in
481
00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:54.519
less than a week, the pair was arrested without a struggle.
482
00:37:56.360 --> 00:38:02.070
The 1,800-mile chase had ended. FBI Special Agent Peter Christ
483
00:38:02.110 --> 00:38:03.989
got the news of their arrest in Ohio.
484
00:38:05.389 --> 00:38:07.710
My reaction, of course, when I received that news was
485
00:38:07.829 --> 00:38:11.130
a tremendous sigh of relief. The first thing I wanted
486
00:38:11.170 --> 00:38:13.889
to know, it was after they'd been caught, were there
487
00:38:14.130 --> 00:38:17.550
any bodies, were there any unsolved homicides close to where
488
00:38:17.590 --> 00:38:18.650
they were arrested?
489
00:38:18.670 --> 00:38:19.449
Of course, the.
490
00:38:19.429 --> 00:38:22.469
Answer was no. Just a tremendous sigh of relief that
491
00:38:22.489 --> 00:38:23.989
this whole thing was finally over.
492
00:38:27.239 --> 00:38:30.340
Officers recovered a. 22 handgun and a green soda bottle
493
00:38:30.380 --> 00:38:35.510
at the campsite where the pair were apprehended. They also
494
00:38:35.550 --> 00:38:41.510
found the bedspread belonging to the murdered Mrs. Brewer. State
495
00:38:41.550 --> 00:38:44.809
police found Roxy Ruttle's stolen pickup two miles away near
496
00:38:44.849 --> 00:38:51.809
a racetrack in Santa Fe. Like their other two stolen vehicles,
497
00:38:51.849 --> 00:38:56.059
the truck was stuck in the mud. Examining fingerprints, crime
498
00:38:56.099 --> 00:38:59.280
scene and lab investigators matched personal items to the murdered
499
00:38:59.320 --> 00:39:05.409
woman in Oklahoma City. Investigators also found another green soda bottle,
500
00:39:05.909 --> 00:39:08.610
the same brand they had found under the culvert and
501
00:39:08.650 --> 00:39:14.510
in Ruth Loder's car. Eric Elliott and Louis Gilbert were
502
00:39:14.550 --> 00:39:17.269
taken to the New Mexico State Police District office in
503
00:39:17.329 --> 00:39:22.489
Santa Fe. If they could turn one against the other,
504
00:39:23.010 --> 00:39:29.690
their prosecution would be assured. 16-year-old Eric Elliott made one
505
00:39:29.769 --> 00:39:32.489
phone call call to his father in Ohio and refused
506
00:39:32.530 --> 00:39:39.050
to say anything about the killings. Now it was Lewis
507
00:39:39.090 --> 00:39:43.599
Gilbert's turn. The ex-convict waived his rights and agreed to
508
00:39:43.659 --> 00:39:48.280
be interviewed. New Mexico State Police criminal agent Daniel Becker
509
00:39:48.320 --> 00:39:49.539
had little time to prepare.
510
00:39:51.170 --> 00:39:53.449
Gilbert revealed very little during the first hour of our
511
00:39:53.469 --> 00:39:58.440
interview about these killings. A couple times he made mention of,
512
00:39:58.980 --> 00:40:01.199
I asked him if he had did this out of,
513
00:40:02.820 --> 00:40:05.780
for some justifiable reason, or if he's a cold-blooded killer,
514
00:40:06.460 --> 00:40:08.250
and he responded by saying, one of those.
515
00:40:13.510 --> 00:40:16.230
Gilbert claimed that he didn't recall what had happened over
516
00:40:16.269 --> 00:40:17.550
the past five days of.
517
00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:21.340
Did you murder him?
518
00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:25.000
He refused to say anything about the murders or Mrs.
519
00:40:25.039 --> 00:40:38.539
Loader's disappearance. Frustrated, the investigator left the room. A few
520
00:40:38.599 --> 00:40:40.820
moments alone was all Gilbert needed.
521
00:40:42.980 --> 00:40:46.079
After we had taken our first break, Gilbert began to
522
00:40:46.139 --> 00:40:49.489
open up a little bit more And he actually made
523
00:40:49.969 --> 00:40:52.769
an admission that he had killed between one and five people.
524
00:40:53.469 --> 00:40:55.429
And when I had asked him why he had killed people,
525
00:40:55.469 --> 00:40:56.829
he said, for stupid reasons.
526
00:41:01.469 --> 00:41:04.090
Gilbert began by recounting the day he met the woman
527
00:41:04.130 --> 00:41:12.289
in Oklahoma. He said that he and Elliot struck up
528
00:41:12.329 --> 00:41:15.840
a conversation with Roxy Ruddle when they found her fishing alone.
529
00:41:16.219 --> 00:41:23.039
in a secluded area of Draper Lake near Oklahoma City.
530
00:41:24.039 --> 00:41:25.739
They told her that their car was stuck in the
531
00:41:25.780 --> 00:41:31.300
mud and needed a ride back to town. She offered
532
00:41:31.340 --> 00:41:44.719
to help and packed up her gear. Her pickup truck
533
00:41:44.739 --> 00:41:48.710
was parked just up the hill Give.
534
00:41:49.920 --> 00:41:51.980
Me the keys.
535
00:41:52.820 --> 00:41:55.940
When her back was turned, Gilbert pulled the. 22 pistol
536
00:41:56.079 --> 00:42:01.820
Elliot had taken from his parents' Ohio home. Then Gilbert
537
00:42:01.860 --> 00:42:09.480
told Elliot to tie Ruddle's hands. Gilbert said Ruddle cried
538
00:42:09.639 --> 00:42:15.360
and asked him not to hurt him. Elliot stayed behind
539
00:42:15.380 --> 00:42:25.699
while Gilbert marched Ruttle into the woods. He told her
540
00:42:25.719 --> 00:42:38.269
to sit down at the base of a tree. Then
541
00:42:38.309 --> 00:42:44.619
he shot Roxy Ruttle. Now that Gilbert had admitted to
542
00:42:44.739 --> 00:42:49.519
one murder, the agent pressed him on the others. He
543
00:42:49.599 --> 00:42:52.059
asked the confessed killer to describe what had happened in
544
00:42:52.099 --> 00:42:54.440
Missouri the day before he got to Oklahoma.
545
00:42:56.639 --> 00:43:00.280
Gilbert advised me that they had been traveling through the
546
00:43:00.320 --> 00:43:03.929
state of Missouri, and the evening before the murders, they
547
00:43:03.969 --> 00:43:07.010
had parked the stolen vehicle that they had obtained in
548
00:43:07.070 --> 00:43:11.730
Ohio in what I was led to believe was a field.
549
00:43:12.760 --> 00:43:15.840
and they'd slept in the vehicle overnight, and the following
550
00:43:15.900 --> 00:43:17.940
morning or afternoon when they were about to leave, they
551
00:43:18.000 --> 00:43:20.880
realized the vehicle was stuck, so they needed to get
552
00:43:20.940 --> 00:43:21.559
another vehicle.
553
00:43:25.550 --> 00:43:29.389
As Missouri investigators believed, Gilbert and Elliot had simply walked
554
00:43:29.429 --> 00:43:32.289
to the closest house and saw a car in the driveway.
555
00:43:35.110 --> 00:43:36.670
It was the home of Mr. and Mrs.
556
00:43:36.730 --> 00:43:36.989
Brewer.
557
00:43:40.960 --> 00:43:43.280
Gilbert decided they'd ask to use the phone to call
558
00:43:43.300 --> 00:43:43.860
for a tow.
559
00:43:45.039 --> 00:43:50.550
Wanting to help, the brewers let the young men in.
560
00:44:01.820 --> 00:44:04.250
Once inside, they learned that they didn't have a telephone book,
561
00:44:04.650 --> 00:44:06.070
so they couldn't come up with a number to call
562
00:44:06.110 --> 00:44:08.150
for a wrecker. And it's at that point that Gilbert
563
00:44:08.170 --> 00:44:10.969
told me that he decided, or they decided, that they
564
00:44:10.989 --> 00:44:12.110
were going to kill the Brewers.
565
00:44:16.590 --> 00:44:20.750
They led the grandfather and grandmother into the basement. Then executed.
566
00:44:28.610 --> 00:44:28.760
Them.
567
00:44:34.380 --> 00:44:36.780
There was one more crime that Gilbert had not discussed.
568
00:44:43.599 --> 00:44:46.989
The elderly cancer patient from Ohio, Mrs. Loader, was still
569
00:44:47.030 --> 00:44:51.849
missing and presumed dead. No one knew what had become
570
00:44:51.889 --> 00:45:00.960
of her. On the evening of August 29th, 1994, Lewis
571
00:45:01.000 --> 00:45:04.380
Gilbert and Eric Elliott approached Mrs. Loader's Port Washington home
572
00:45:04.420 --> 00:45:12.610
to steal her car. Since no one answered when they knocked,
573
00:45:12.760 --> 00:45:21.570
they believed the house was empty. So they broke in
574
00:45:21.610 --> 00:45:29.010
to search for the car keys. After 10 minutes, they
575
00:45:29.070 --> 00:45:32.320
still hadn't found the key As they rummaged through the
576
00:45:32.340 --> 00:45:35.460
living room, they were startled when Mrs. Loader suddenly appeared.
577
00:45:38.489 --> 00:45:40.949
He claimed Mrs. Loader was still alive when he locked
578
00:45:40.969 --> 00:45:42.710
her in the trunk of her car and sped off.
579
00:45:48.769 --> 00:45:52.480
They got about four miles outside of town in a
580
00:45:52.500 --> 00:45:56.340
wooded area, and they pulled up alongside of a guardrail
581
00:45:56.760 --> 00:46:01.760
and parked, got outside, Gilbert told me that he opened
582
00:46:01.780 --> 00:46:04.659
the trunk and he picked up Mrs. Loader out of
583
00:46:04.699 --> 00:46:08.000
the trunk and they took her off the road near
584
00:46:08.019 --> 00:46:11.239
the guardrail about five feet from the side of the road.
585
00:46:13.489 --> 00:46:16.030
Gilbert said he forced Mrs. Loader to walk away from
586
00:46:16.050 --> 00:46:21.090
the car. He said he shot her with the same.
587
00:46:20.869 --> 00:46:28.389
22 that had killed the others. Gilbert had finished his
588
00:46:28.449 --> 00:46:33.400
description of the murders. but he hadn't told the agent
589
00:46:33.440 --> 00:46:35.460
where they could find the murdered Ohio woman.
590
00:46:37.619 --> 00:46:40.489
We knew it was crucial to find Mrs. Loader's body,
591
00:46:42.590 --> 00:46:46.530
both as evidence so this murder could be prosecuted and
592
00:46:46.610 --> 00:46:50.789
also just simply as closure for the family so that
593
00:46:51.769 --> 00:46:55.269
they could find her and make for proper arrangements for
594
00:46:55.309 --> 00:46:55.670
a funeral.
595
00:46:59.980 --> 00:47:05.780
Gilbert gave authorities directions to find Mrs. Loader's remains. 50
596
00:47:05.780 --> 00:47:08.909
people from the FBI and 12 different law enforcement and
597
00:47:08.949 --> 00:47:15.630
volunteer groups followed Gilbert's directions. They searched for the dead
598
00:47:15.690 --> 00:47:21.929
woman in fields and woods and hills for days. But
599
00:47:21.969 --> 00:47:25.840
the 79-year-old widow and mother of four was never found.
600
00:47:30.929 --> 00:47:33.699
Sheriff Walter Wilson continues to work the open case.
601
00:47:35.860 --> 00:47:40.260
When you work a murder case, you almost become part
602
00:47:40.320 --> 00:47:43.380
of the family, so to speak, because your goal, obviously,
603
00:47:43.460 --> 00:47:46.909
is to solve the crime, to help the victims, the
604
00:47:46.949 --> 00:47:51.869
surviving victims, as much as you possibly can. It's something, obviously,
605
00:47:51.889 --> 00:47:55.650
that will never, ever be forgotten. I have a high
606
00:47:55.690 --> 00:47:58.670
respect for the Loader family. having got to know them
607
00:47:58.710 --> 00:48:01.389
very well. I feel bad to this day that we've
608
00:48:01.449 --> 00:48:03.889
not yet been able to recover Mrs. Loader's remains.
609
00:48:07.389 --> 00:48:10.650
Sixteen-year-old Eric Elliott stood trial as an adult in Oklahoma.
610
00:48:12.710 --> 00:48:16.050
Elliott was found guilty of first-degree murder for his participation
611
00:48:16.110 --> 00:48:19.670
in the killing of Roxy Ludlow. He was sentenced to
612
00:48:19.750 --> 00:48:25.389
life without parole. In Missouri, after 57 years of marriage...
613
00:48:26.429 --> 00:48:30.809
the Brewers were laid to rest. Unlike the family of
614
00:48:30.869 --> 00:48:33.989
Ruth Loader, the Brewer family was able to have some
615
00:48:34.070 --> 00:48:41.519
closure for their tragic loss. After being sentenced to death
616
00:48:41.579 --> 00:48:44.719
for the murder of Roxy Ruddle in Oklahoma, Lewis Gilman
617
00:48:44.840 --> 00:48:47.760
was extradited to Missouri, where he stood trial for the
618
00:48:47.800 --> 00:48:49.579
murders of William and Flossie Brewer.
619
00:48:51.400 --> 00:48:52.260
Lewis, where's Ruth?
620
00:48:53.420 --> 00:48:54.019
Where's the lady in Ohio?
621
00:48:54.079 --> 00:48:55.010
Where's Ruth, Lewis?
622
00:48:56.639 --> 00:49:00.559
Give her family a break. He remained silent on the
623
00:49:00.599 --> 00:49:06.400
whereabouts of Ruth Loder's remains. Since the Ohio woman has
624
00:49:06.460 --> 00:49:09.309
not yet been recovered, there has been no trial date
625
00:49:09.429 --> 00:49:13.889
set to answer for her kidnapping and murder. For her
626
00:49:13.969 --> 00:49:18.469
family and friends, Gilbert and Elliot's actions are unconscionable.
627
00:49:19.989 --> 00:49:23.090
I've often thought what goes through their mind or what
628
00:49:23.130 --> 00:49:26.639
causes them to do that, and I really, it's hard
629
00:49:26.659 --> 00:49:30.460
to understand or think what they're thinking other than obviously
630
00:49:30.500 --> 00:49:32.420
they have to be very evil people.