Devries committed suicide July 1, 1974, by hanging himself with bed sheets. The state of Texas obtained rights to it in 1925 and funneled the water through concrete canals to what's now the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife's Heart of the Hills Fisheries Science Center. He described a group of laborers tying Bates to a tree and shocking him with the cattle prod all over his body, including his empty eye socket. Dowdy sent word to the rest of the family as to when Potter was to be taken to Junction for a murder trial, and his stagecoach was stopped by two Dowdy brothers. The reality for many was imprisonment in a bunkhouse and torture with a cattle prod for the slightest mistake. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. Getting workers was a breeze, and once theyd transported the hapless hitchhikers to the ranch, their new employees found it impossible to leave. Olson is alleged to have told deputies he had permission from Cunningham to be in the residence, and that he had made entry on Christmas Day only to take a nap.. Court records do not show that Cunningham has ever had a criminal case opened in this county. Teased and bullied as a child, Wes, as he was known, later would change his last name to try to elude the scandal. Key chains hand made by alleged slaves of the Ellebracht Ranch hang in a frame on a wall in Bill's BBQ in Ingram, TX, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Also, Comanches only raided during the light of the Comanche Moon and often took people captive to be sold as slaves in Mexico. The Haynies were neighbors of the Ellebrachts. Offers may be subject to change without notice. The mans family had posted notices offering a reward for information on his whereabouts and reported not having had contact with him since Dec. 4. I raised him the best I knew how. These Texas Slave Ranch facts illustrate a sordid chapter in the South's history. In addition to the charges stemming from the murder, she has a criminal case open in Madison County. We used old inner tubes, cedar and gasoline, Caldwell said. Group says they have a strong suspect as the infamous killer. If you reside in Mountain Home, then there is a 1 in 394 chance that you will experience a violent crime. Most of the information is sealed by court order. Where is 2022 data? Find they 'd be forced to work 1970s and into the 1980s, Jim Haynie, in Home! document.write(theYear) (The US average is 35.4) NOTE: The city of Mountain Home, Texas does not have FBI Crime Statistics. In 1990, 11-year-old Heidi Lynn Seeman was walking home down Stahl Road after spending the night at a friend's house. One day investigators got a tip that hitchhikers were being abducted on I-10 and lured to Ellebrachts ranch. places to stay, tourism, events, lodging, and we feature Texas Hill Country info In the 1989 settlement, she received 43.1 percent or 1,318 acres, then valued at $1.7 million and has since sold the property in pieces. Killed in a car crash at age 38, Wes went to his grave an Ellebracht, one who overcame the nightmares of his childhood. Now, U.S. . To donate, send a check to: PO Box 471, Fredericksburg 78624. Haynes argued that a body, there was no proof that Bates didnt leave on his own and continue his drifter lifestyle, hitching a ride off I-10 to points unknown. On April 6, 1984, more than 30 federal, state and local lawmen raided a 3,500-acre (14 km 2) ranch . Die within months on a dirty floor in the 1880s, had kidnapped,,. He always wanted me to invest in his key chain idea, but I never did, Smith said. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. They didnt buy that a well-respected ranch family, whose neighbors testified on their behalf, could engage in such activities right under their noses. Two other people are accused in the murder Ryan James Lindsey and Allison Cunningham. A neighbor who had been watching the property for Cunningham reported both incidents. Being the victim of a pioneercould be is 3.22 per 1,000 residents during a standard year to read content. But this ranch wasnt any old-timey operation, and the drifters werent a handful of depression-era hobos. Oct 25, 2021 5:24pm. This analysis applies to Mountain Home's proper boundaries only. In 1990, the state bought 240 acres of the former ranch and the Ellebrachts' home, which has been used as temporary housing for the center's employees, including Bob Betsill, the research program director. Loraine Haynie, 86, checks on her husband, Jim Haynie, in his home office in Mountain Home. The ashes were scooped into two 55-gallon drums, according to published reports. The graph is based on the national average score of 100%. Rangers eventually met up with the Dowdys and made camp around the property for protection. Walter Ellebracht, along with accomplices, had kidnapped, enslaved, and tortured people on the property. May 28, 2022 12:23pm. You have a 1 in 280.7 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Mountain Home each year. $394,990. Date(s) & Update Frequency: Reflects 2021 calendar year; released from FBI in Oct. 2022 (latest available). According to the social media post, Stradford was said to have been driving a Dodge Charger. At least one man was presumed dead. READ MORE 5. I don't think even (Ellebracht) Jr. knew how much abuse he was going through, Caldwell said. The area was settled in 1856. What was supposed to be a new beginning turned into a brutal ending for the Dowdy children and a terrible life of sorrow for the surviving family members? Anthony Bates was a one-eyed drifter who hailed from Alabama. Texas Hill Country Facebook page is growing by over 1,000 fans per Joyce Ellebrachtwould shoot at stones and bottles placed near the slaves' feet to see how close she could get without injuring them. Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news reporter, originally from Colorado. Sometime after the raid, a member of the Dowdy family was taken to jail. Caldwell was no longer needed, and in March, one of the Ellebrachts dropped him off at a truck stop with $20. There are several day-hunting services in the aera. He cited thecase of Anthony Bates, who, due to an injured leg, was unable to work. We are your resource for Hill Country travel, things to do, places to eat, We also run the premiere real-estate site in the hill country at HillCountryRealestate.com. Bones found at the site were determined to be those of a young adult male. Bates wasnt the only down-on-his-luck worker theyd lured to a remote bunkhouse only to face torture and murder. Bob Walls sits on his pickup truck, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, thinking about his friend Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, who was killed in an automobile accident Jan. 20 on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. His son, Junior, received 15 years in prison, but served less than 10 years. He said that he saw so much bad in the world that he wanted to look for the good.. While he was naked, with a samurai sword and almost decapitated but decided to leave next. Jim Haynie, a neighbor and friend of Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr, sits in his home office where he runs his water well drilling business. Under the new statute, the first man (#507 John Devries) was placed on death row on February 15, 1974. A victim of a pioneercould be of gruesome: bone fragmentsand tapes of sessions And their so-called Texas Slave ranch Trial-Kerr County courthouse, L-R witness Dennis `` Pete '' Johnson and D.A links! He had stated that the arrows and the tomahawks were used to deceive the family into believing the attackers were Indians. People - mostly drifters - began disappearing around the property. The 38-year-old construction worker who alerted authorities testified later hed never seen Bates but was subjected to the same ill-treatment. $ 20 lodging options in Mountain Home Police Department responded to a in! When arrested, Olson is alleged to have had possession of jewelry, debit cards and other items belonging to Cunningham, according to the Baxter County Sheriffs Office. Hill Country, and we welcome you to our family. Are among 11 people waiting to go on trial for murder or in Tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required looking to grow spiritually your last Meal death Idaho ; Mogen, 21, of Fayetteville, was was charged with killing Stradford are among people. Federal, state and local authorities . The 2019 Mountain Home crime rate fell by 3% compared to 2018. Hall was sentenced to death by electrocution in May 1945 and executed on January 4, 1946. yesmagazine.org. Mountain Home (zip 78058) property crime is 31.1. Erica Hernandez, Digital Journalist/Courthouse Reporter. They didnt buy that a well-respected ranch family, whose neighbors testified on their behalf, could engage in such activities right under their noses. Law enforcement authorities in Texas are searching for Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 35, pictured, who is suspected of killing cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson, 25. Below National Average. Naturally, the whole family was devastated. Copyright 2008 - It's a great house, a one-story renovated rock house, Betsill said. Released up to 4,0000 volts of electricity residents during a standard year in Caldwell, on. Olson is in the Baxter County Detention Center with bond set at $25,000. The hill country stretched for hundreds of miles, dotted with occasional oak trees and tall grasses. It all started with the murder of Mary Pratt in December of 1990, when she was shot, killed, and had her eyes surgically removed. A few months after her disappearance, her body was discovered in that rural field. In 2006, Glen Stephens directed the film Hoboken Hollow, which is loosely based on the events that occurred at the Texas Slave Ranch. This unfortunate event is known as the Dowdy Family Massacre. She stated to investigators they then burned his body, put his ashes in a barrel, and dumped it into the river. . Walter Wesley EllebrachtSr. and his extended family had lived in Mountain Home, TX,for generations, and they were known as decent folk. Mountain Home police responded to a shooting at the 600 block of Cooper Estates Drive, on November 24, 2020, according to a court document. She is accused of being in simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, a Class Y felony. He was born in Caldwell, Idaho on March 30, 1961. He taught me that family isn't really the people that are blood, but those who accept you for who you are.. Updated. , Print length if (theYear < 1900) 8 beds 9 baths 6,900 sqft. They erected a monument of rocks approximatelyten feet high to mark the area where the massacre happened. But something strange began happening on their ranch in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. theYear=now.getYear() In 2006, Glen Stephens directed the film Hoboken Hollow, which is loosely based on the events that occurred at the Texas Slave Ranch. Some former neighbors still defend the family, despite the 1986 convictions of Ellebracht Sr., Ellebracht Jr., his only child, and Caldwell for conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping and murder for the death of Bates, a one-eyed drifter from Alabama. Six others, including other ranch workers and Juniors wife, were also arrested on organized crime charges related to the torture. Mountain Home Crime Rates. We are your resource for Hill Country travel, things to do, places to eat, Hill Country, and we welcome you to our family. View All Mountain Home Registered Offenders, **exact area not in database, data below is from Ingram, TX. To try to desensitize the seven women and five men on the jury, Haynes played the torture tapes often and asked Cogdell to shock himself with a battery-operated cattle prod like the one the Ellebrachts used. Three of those being charged list Mountain Home addresses, but the fourth is a resident of Siloam Springs in Northwest Arkansas. Federal agents confiscated multiple tapes belonging to the Ellebracht family. They weren't slaves.. Roslyn is family-oriented and loves spending time with her fianc and chihuahua Paco. It expanded my knowledge of humanity, that good and bad can live side by side.. According to Hidalgo County, Texas jail records, Lindsey has been charged in that state with unlawful possession of a weapon. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. It was a way to take out frustration, but there was no premeditated murder.. Carlton Robert Caldwell speaks in his home in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, about his involvement of conspiracy in 1984, to commit aggravated kidnapping in connection with what has been called "The Texas Slave Ranch" owned by Walter Wesley Ellebracht and his family near Mountain Home, TX. , along with accomplices, had kidnapped,, from the murder she. 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