Soil Tests At Barker

Go to Google NewsMore Soil Tests Planned at Manson Ranch
By JULIANA BARBASSA 2 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Further forensic tests of the soil at the remote ranch where Charles Manson once lived were ordered Friday before a decision is made on whether to dig for more possible victims of the convicted killer.

"Barker Ranch is national park property," Inyo County Sheriff Bill Lutze said in a statement, explaining that its location is a compelling reason "to be as cautious as possible and use every reasonable testing method available before disturbing the ground with excavation."

The decrepit ranch is within the boundaries of Death Valley National Park, in the rugged Panamint Mountain range. Manson and his followers retreated there after a 1969 killing spree that set Los Angeles on edge.

Manson is serving a life sentence at Corcoran State Prison for the murders of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate.

Last month, a team of researchers from Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted tests of the soil at the site using new forensic technology. The team's equipment looked for chemical markers that match those released during decomposition of human bodies.

Results from that first search, which focused on surface soil samples, showed that there could be at least two unmarked graves at the ranch. But Lutze, the law enforcement official with jurisdiction of the area, called for a second trip that would likely examine deeper soil samples.

The date of the second set of tests is still uncertain, Lutze said.

It's still unclear whether the researchers from the national lab will return to the ranch themselves, or whether law enforcement officials will gather samples that can be analyzed in the Tennessee lab, said Arpad Vass, senior researcher at Oak Ridge.

Vass was part of the team that visited Barker Ranch last month in search of possible clandestine graves at the cult's last dwelling. He spent years building a database of decomposition odors that can help them determine how long a body has been in the ground technology he hopes will eventually be used to help law enforcement find unknown graves.

In further testing, investigators likely would try to develop the site's depth profile, taking core samples of the soil to see if the presence of certain compounds increases further down, Vass said.

A decision about whether to dig will be made after results from the second round of testing are revealed, likely in late April, Lutze said.

Thanks Vinny,its facinating eh ?

Yes it is.
I always wondered why there wasn't a concentrated search at Barker, like there was at Spahn.
I guess because at Spahn they were looking for a specific corpse - Shorty.
With the Barker search, even if they find bodies and can identify them, we probably won't know who they are.

So Spahn has already been searched,was this shortly after the murders of 69 or more recent please.

Im surprised they found nothing.

I know from reading over the years that  several  people have been seen as posible Manson victims.Its a long shot, but do you reckon there might just be one
dumping ground,that has vet to be identified.

There must be something driving them,after nearly 40 years they are finaly searching Bakers.

Vinny check out Foxnews.com. Debra says they found something !

I keep checking Fox News, I still have seen nothing about Barker ranch that is more recent than about two weeks.  I am probably looking in the wrong place.

No Birds you arent.It just made 2 mins in the news,blink and you miss it.

I know searching for someone is important but its yesterdays news(1969) and was smuthered by more recent events.

Debra did state that they had found a grave site(not a grave in such) possibley containing two bodies one being an adult.

It was bit loose i thought.

Okay, I will continue to watch for it, thanks.

[quote author=ThorTate link=topic=2748.msg15808#msg15808 date=1207298928]
So Spahn has already been searched,was this shortly after the murders of 69 or more recent please.

Im surprised they found nothing.

[/quote]

They found Shea in 77 or 78, after Grogan told them where to look.  Before that, Spahn Ranch had been searched on numerous occasions, much of the ground being dug up.
Barker Ranch is much more remote and harder to access than Spahn.
I also think that the reason authorities were so anxious to search Spahn (find Shorty) was the fact that they were trying 3 people with his murder.

WR?

I realized who it was after I posted.
Don't mind me, a little slow this AM. 

[quote author=catscradle77

And at one point--was it Barkers that was searched because of WR...(spitting, dont like that man)
I don't think there was ever a search at Barker on the same level as Spahn was searched.

can i ask about Hughes,he was found also.

Yes he was.  Look in the Defense thread - Hughes found.

He was found but not at Barker's. Unless, I am mistaken. He was found at another spot in the desert.