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I don't really have a whole lot to say except I wish OOP the best and hope some form of justice can happen.
But yeah. This is a unique but incredibly rough one.
I’m from East Texas and yeah, this is the sort of backwoods shit happens. Especially the bit about the cops going “…eh, let’s find a way to not investigate”. In small southern towns, it’s usually because someone in the force probably already has an idea of who was involved but the investigation would be damaging/damning. So, it just gets covered up.
Happens in big towns too. Was cleaning out an abandoned storage unit and found dozens of pictures of a dismembered woman along with dozens of patches from the sheriffs office. APD weren't even bothered. They just picked up the pictures and left even though I tried telling them about the rolls of plastic sheeting and rubber gloves and how everything in the unit was stolen. They just didn't care. What little faith I had in texas police was obliterated.
I wish I knew who she was or if her family ever got any peace regarding her. Or as much as they were able. I've tried looking into it based on the year from the pictures but honestly I'm a coward and afraid if I look too far into it I'll wind up with long lasting trauma. I only saw two of the photos because I just stuffed them into a manilla envelope and waited for cops because I didn't want to see any more.
I'd be worried about more than just trauma, don't beat yourself up too much, I'm not sure there are many out there who could do what you couldn't.
And anyway it's not on you, it's on the cops, you did what you were supposed to. Calling the authorities is the only option, maybe the news but that's not guaranteed to help.
Fear not the perils of the journey. Fear what you might become if you don't rise to face evil.
Shit I know exactly what you mean. I was terrified of calling the police for reasons I don't want to get into on here. But you might surprise yourself in what you will rise and become to do the right thing. I can't tell you what to do but I can say it sounds like you're the only one who has the power to change the ending of that story. I believe in you. And if this is how it was supposed to be well I'm proud of you for the trying you already did. 😁
The words "texas" and "police" together just sound really humorous. I can't imagine ever having faith in such an organization.
And wasn't the elementary school shooting where the cops did fuckall in Texas as well? Even when an active shooter was endangering children, couldn't be bothered to do a thing.
When I say little faith, I more or less meant none to negative but try to avoid extreme 100% statements because their supporters are exhuasting.
Ive been tailgated through a speed trap by a cop and then ticketed for not slowing down here. The cops refuse to answer calls half the time because they're protesting their "defunding" while having the highest budget in the history of Texas at a half a billion dollars. During the protests in 2020 I was helping with medical aid and photographing everything and have tons of photos of the cops on an overpass aiming at our heads. One picture is more or less looking up the barrel. Proud boys set a mattress on fire and the cops literally watched and did nothing and then turned and unloaded their "less than lethal" rounds into the crowd with people of color and children instead of the Hawaiian shirt fruit punch yahtzi boys.
And having them ignore the fact that dozens of sheriffs patches were found with the pictures of the body just clarified it for me. They'd rather protect their own, or even the possibility of one of their own, before they would even consider investigating a dismembered woman.
The possibility of a cop is more important than a very dead woman.
I was at the BLM protest in Portland Oregon and the brutality I witnessed from the police was insane. I went once or twice a week for nine months and I’m pretty traumatized by what I witnessed the cops doing, night, after night, after night.
Thank you for all that you’ve done. I was at the Occupy protests too. It’s amazing to me that things have only gotten progressively worse since then. I know social progress takes a very long time, but it’s still incredibly frustrating.
Same, but here in texas and just. Yeah. They ruined the brain of a teenager with a close range head shot with a bean bag. They shot up a pregnant woman with beanbags. I wound up losing a chunk of tattoo on my knee from hitting the ground so hard when they were hitting us with rubber bullets and tear gas.
They shot a kid in the head here too. Donovan Labella. I was there. I saw the whole thing. His skull got crushed in and there was blood everywhere. I’m deeply, deeply traumatized by it. The kid was just standing near the curb, holding a boom box, he wasn’t threatening anyone. He will never get any justice either. I hate our cops and “justice” system so much. https://www.koin.com/local/judge-portland-protester-cant-sue-u-s-marshal-who-shot-munition-into-his-face/
When I think of the protests I can still smell the tear gas and feel the rubber bullets hitting me, the sheer noise of their blasts knocking me off my feet, the LRAD machine piercing our eardrums…I shouldn’t even be talking about it because I get worked up. I have hours of videos of the crazy stuff the cops did, but I hate watching them because I just end up feeling sick.
All we wanted was some accountability, but all we got was a BIGGER budget for those pigs. Makes me want to scream.
Thank you for going to the protests. It’s scary. Most people wouldn’t do it. But you stood up for what matters, even though it was scary to do.
I lived in Minneapolis during the protests and the cops in real time fucking up the city far more than the protesters. That whole experience just solidified what I already knew from growing up in small towns in Texas: all cops will abuse their power to protect power. Anyone who aligns themselves with cops, I automatically distrust on a soul deep level.
Even though I didn’t participate in the protests, I still feel traumatized by the cops and the National Guard’s response. A journalist lost her eye because she was shot with a rubber bullet, they seemed to specifically target journalists/news crews, and people trying to give first aid. When that sort of thing happens elsewhere in the world, the US is quick to condemn it because they’re literally war crimes. Here though? People who spew leftist jargon ham strung a prime chance for show that police reform could be done. It was also crippled by Mayor Frey and the city council being too lily livered.
Talking to other white people up here in Minnesota during and directly after the protests was wild. The ones from here couldn’t conceive of feeling fearful of the police. Transplants from elsewhere, especially from the south, shared their own experiences with crooked cops.
That period did crystallize a shared political belief with libertarians: freedom from government oppression due to political beliefs. We should be able to gather without fearing that the government will mobilize military forces (including the police) in response. Even though it probably won’t happen, I never want to see the military stationed on my street corners again. Seeing the National Guard and military humvees stationed on the street corners in my neighborhood broke whatever remaining illusions I had about this country being “the land of the free”.
APD like Austin? If so, 0 surprise. They don’t solve cases. They’re still (afaik) claiming that all the dead bodies found in the river died due to accidents.
I am......aghast at this story. You found a killer's storage unit with evidence of a murdered woman alongside police badges, and the police were just like "Whateva 🤪🤙" ??!!!!!
If it ever happens and involves a kid's remains, contact the FBI or your state BCA. The FBI have jurisdiction for kidnapping and they'll most likely want to know why the locals aren't investigating.
If the child's remains are estimated to be under 12 years old, it's almost certain the FBI will open an investigation.
So if I'm reading the OOP correctly, the implication is that the "unidentified" bone was another human bone, belonging to someone else? And the cops don't want this to become a serial killer investigation?
More likely it's some kind of animal bone that got thrown in so they can say "Welp, this here isn't human remains. The rest of them bones are prolly hog or deer." And then move right along.
As other comments said, the sheriff probably has a good idea of who is involved and doesn't want to kick that particular hornets nest.
(Also, not trying to be an asshole with the accent, I'm from Birmingham and have definitely heard more stereotypical good ol boys in my time)
Didn't OOP find a human skull though, not to mention the medical bracelet. Local cops can be corrupt, but declaring one bone "unidentified" doesn't seem like it'd benefit them unless they're covering up there being more than one body.
The skull was shattered and the OOP himself said he thought it was from a deer at first. If you can find a way to justify writing off the validity of the skeletal remains, the medical bracelet becomes much less problematic. It's a piece of discarded jewelry in a burn pile that seems to contain the remnants of an entire house, no more inexplicable or ominous than the silver wear or appliances.
Corrupt and lazy cops are much more prevalent than serial killers.
Yep, that's his working assumption and having known plenty of Alabama cops I'd say that guess is probably right on the money. They barely want to deal with the bones that obviously belong to the first victim, they sure as hell don't care enough to expand the investigation.
If it's not tasing a minority for looking at you wrong or arresting someone for having a microscopic amount of pot on them the Alabama police do not even remotely give a fuck. OOP has done half of their jobs for them and they still can barely be assed to get involved.
There is considerable overlap between the most backwoods rural areas of the USA and nicer parts of developing nations.
I won't go as far as to say that someone living in rural Alabama is in the same conditions as someone in certain parts of Africa or SEA, but if we go by standard metrics for quality of life and indices of development, parts of the US are technically in "third world" conditions.
My fiance fell through the floor of the first house we rented here. That same house had a room where all of the wiring was completely shot and it also started pouring water in through the attic one day during a gnarly summer thunderstorm. A couple of months later a tornado spawned off a tropical storm and dropped a tree straight through the house like it was made of paper, which revealed previous severe fire damage in the attic. Hence why the tree went through the house instead of just landing on it.
Honestly that tree was the best thing that could've happened to it. Now my previous slumlord can't rent it to anyone else.
We use to have to travel 5 miles for potable water. Lived 3hrs drive from NYC. Got indoor plumbing less than 60 years ago. Had to steal wood to heat food and the house sometimes.
The burn pits too. Literally everybody I know that doesn't live in town has a huge burn pit somewhere on their property. I found a dentist chair once in my husband's grandmother's. For the record, we're absolutely not supposed to put any metal in there, but this story just confirms my suspicions that nobody's checking that shit.
I lived in Alabama as a child and have family still living there. My whole family is from Florida in the boonies so it all is plausible. The small towns and rural areas can be creepy without finding bodies.
I find the landlord giggling about it to be the creepiest thing.
Yeah, I’m from Mobile and live in Bham. That area of the state is, imo, particularly “out there”. As OOP alluded to, there is very little money and just as few opportunities. People like OOP just trying to get by with the cards they were dealt.
The number of times my jaw dropped while reading this… Definitely a BORU-worthy post, and holy shit I hope they find the monster who did this. No one deserves such a cruel fate. Hope OOP has emotional support in all of this too.
knowing that the victim has diabetes should narrow it down quite a bit though. Approximate an age for the body and compare it to children who went missing that long ago, and narrow it down to children who had diabetes. I'm not an investigator though so I might be wrong on how this works
In a small town, somebody may know the story and realize there's no justice to be had, or it was already applied. Say somebody killed the girl or allowed her to die from negligence, then somebody else took that somebody out and killed them and dumped the body elsewhere. Orrrrr the murderer has some blackmail on somebody important and they let that person flee the state. You can come up with all kinds of scenarios.
I heard a story about a family who applied some backwoods justice to a person who murdered a kid. They just took the person off into the woods and that person was never seen again. Supposedly a true story, related to me personally (not something I heard online or read about elsewhere.)
Diameter of the bracelet could help as well. I found my childhood ID bracelet, from when I was 5 or 6, and I'd maybe be able to fit it around three fingers now.
I have a medical bracelet (that I don't wear often) because yay for allergies and anaphylaxis. It just lists what I'm allergic to and reaction, no name or contact info.
The two most common types are usually a fob design that unscrews to reveal a slip that you add all your details to and some that are like an old style ID bracelet, with a chain and a bar stamped with your condition (so T1 diabetes, epilepsy, narcolepsy etc). Some people get the reverse of the bar engraved with an identifying detail but (from what I've seen) most people don't.
My money is on it being an ID bar bracelet due to their being no clue as to the identity and OOP being able to immediately identify them as diabetic. Plus there's quite a price difference between fob and bar bracelets so for a kid (who will outgrow it or possibly lose it) in a low prosperity area a bar is more likely due to the cost of replacing it.
Ah, okay. This is so sad - I wish law enforcement would make more of a push to identify her. I find it hard to believe that they couldn't extract DNA, even from her teeth.
The doll heads marking the body parts really gave me the chills.
it's one of those things that doesn't seem that spooky in say, a story or movie, but when it's real life it's horrifying.
It being a child's body gave me chills.
Any adult being found would be sad enough. But a child...it makes it ten times worse. I have children and I can't imagine the heartache and grief of not knowing what happened to your child when they were kidnapped or lured away.
Right there with you! Not something I should have read at 6:20 am when I'm the only one awake in the house and it is still dark as all get out outside. Next time, I will heed the warnings and stay away!
When I was about 6 to 10 years old (in 1988 to 92) I lived in a very insular community in Kentucky called Smith Mills. It no longer exists.
There was so much of people hiding things, trying to maintain a 1950s environment, that eventually the state shut it all down.
I went to elementary school with 152 students. That's 4 times less than my kids. I had to sing My Country Tis of Thee every morning along with pledge and being asked to * run the flag * up the pole. If it rained the school would pull students to take it down because it's "disrespectful to the flag" to leave it up when raining.
Indoctrination is real, but you can break it.
Growing up rural means you overlook shit and nobody says anything because it would upset the status quo —what makes that community "perfect". The minute you do, you're a problem and they run you off just like they did the only two black kids I went to school with in 5th grade.
I wouldn't be surprised if serial killers buried all sorts of evidence and people there. Place was insane.
Edited for spelling
Oh wow, do you happen to have any information on that town? That sounds fascinating. We have Centralia here in PA and I love learning about old abandoned places.
Surprisingly enough I live in PA now! You can still live your country though and know it has flaws. .
Make it better. That why we have the constitution. And why why we have amendment.
I'm OK with how was raised but but im not ok with recent changes. At least political shit was least problematic in 1999 when we we kids. I appreciate open political discourse. But they lying.
Everyone on politics is lying.
Edit I started a new med I'mtrying
Sounds like there was at the very least illegal dumping of hazardous materials there (I mean, besides the human remains).
When he said "old electrical box" I immediately was thinking "that's a call the EPA immediately situation". The chemicals they used to use in electrical equipment (transformers, etc.) are super dangerous and they were banned in 1979. Getting rid of that stuff involves a whole decommissioning process with soil testing and shit. For context - the cutoff for "toxic levels" for those chemicals (PCBs) is about 70 parts per billion...the fluids used in transformers were about 70% PCBs. Anyone who just dumps something like that could be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Yeah, had a transformer get hit by lightning on the farm back in the day, went out next morning and the grass around the pole was dead. Electric company came out and basically went “Oh Fuck” and asked us if we had any spare fencing because nothing should be walking around near the pole. They had a crew out there digging up all the dirt in a radius around the pole and replacing it with clean dirt and grass. Scary stuff.
>Getting rid of that stuff involves a whole decommissioning process with soil testing and shit.
Yeahh... as a lifelong Alabamian, it don't work that way down here (usually). The answer is usually bury it or burn it. I'm not saying it's right (because it's not), but it's just how things are around here.
Kinda like the movie "hot fuzz". They wanted to maintain the vibe of the perfect town so bad that the cops and town council and everyone else pretty much did whatever it takes to maintain the facade.
I mean I know that movie is a comedy (and a solid one at that), but that shit is fuckin real. Especially in rural towns.
I grew up in what used to be a sundown town. It ended long before I was born..... Kinda.
They wouldn't run non white people out anymore, but most in the area avoided it because of the history, and a lot of older folks didn't mind that view of the town one bit. Gave them the same benefits without having to do any of the awful shit.
Small all white farming community where almost every family was middle to upper class, gotta keep a couple poor families around to look down on and use as examples to your kids, "they're dirty, don't associate with them. Get good grades and go to college or you'll end up like them.". Meanwhile they were the nicest people in town and genuinely fun to hangout with. They weren't even actual poor. Just lower middle class. But god help you for not trying to "keep up with the Jones's".
Funny though, as we all got older we noticed the trashiest of people ended up being the upper middle/upper class bougie wannabe families. Dui's, hard drug use, domestic abuse, all seemed to come from the "rich" kids families lol.
Rural shit gets weird and wild.
Oh hey I did the flag at school as a kid! I can't believe I forgot that. Thought it was the coolest shit
Saw a sub lose her fucking mind because a girl on crutches wouldn't stand up for the pledge once. Was dIsReSpEcTiNg HeR hUsBaNd apparently.
it really is. i live in the closest thing alabama has to a major city but i’ve spent some time in the boonies and it is honestly harrowing. all of this checks out to me, especially the part about the local cops trying to sweep shot under the rug.
I lived in Idaho and when I mentioned wanting to visit certain parts of the state, all the locals instantly looked super uncomfortable. They started giving me warnings that sounded like a State Department travel advisory for a South American narco state.
Some rural areas of the US really are *that bad*.
Yeeeeah...just a couple days ago, the Utah womens basketball team played in the NCAA tournament at Gonzaga. All the hotels were booked out closer to Spokane, so they ended up in a hotel in Idaho. They had to leave because [racist a-holes](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/mar/26/utah-forced-to-move-hotels-at-ncaa-tournament-after-racial-hate-crimes) made a point of harassing players.
Idaho has [long had](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/mar/27/north-idaho-and-spokane-have-been-a-historical-hot/) a big issue with hate groups. :(
Yeah my last girlfriend when I was living in Orlando would listen to me tell stories about "home" here and a big reason she broke up with me was because she couldn't look at me the same way. She thought I was a monster, but I mean I don't think she understood you just gotta do what you gotta do out here. I'm going home to eat tonight no matter what someone thinks they're gonna do to me. End of story y'know? But yeah it do be rough ouchea. Someone above commented about third world countries and described our house and I'm just like 😅 this is the nicest house we've had in my lifetime
Every day on r/samegrassbutgreener and r/frugal there are people saying you're stupid for not wanting to live in cheap rural areas and just uppity and full of yourself.
No, I'm from the country. I live in a city because I'm queer and I want to live. In my town, it was people protecting pedophiles. I was the person who went to the police and got ostracized for it. I won civilly but I wasn't able to get him behind bars. I regret not killing him. I was his 7th victim and most of his other victims protected him when it came time to testify because they were protecting the town.
In the 70s in my town, it was a string of murders of Latinos that the town covered up. From the news story "Chief Hayes said to Mr. Morales, “I have killed a Mexican before, and I'm fixing to kill another one.”
This is not an aberration. This is what the rural areas are like in the South. But my town promotes itself as a quiet tourist town, mostly hunting tourism for deer and exotics. Got to protect that reputation.
Shittown is a podcast about another small town in the South. It's a suspenseful but dark story. These are not exceptions. This is the culture.
I'm so sorry you went through that, and I'm glad you're out of there and building a better life for yourself.
I agree with everything you're saying about rural small towns. When the Shittown podcast came out, my siblings and I all listened in shock, because if the town hadn't been actually identified in the show, we all would have sworn Shittown was our family's hometown.
I never for a minute regret leaving that behind. My extended family who are still there are either 1) elderly and living in poverty or 2) younger than 50 and addicted to hard drugs. Drug addiction is rampant, which means theft and home robbery are also extremely common. Police are corrupt good ol' boys who enforce the law unevenly. And *all* the white people are extremely racist. They may be surface-level nice to Black people who live in the community, but they'll turn nasty on a dime if they feel anyone isn't "in their place."
It is really weird to see people romanticize small-town rural life or daydream about making it part of their retirement plans. I think they're picturing something out of Andy Griffith, but there's a reason young people are fleeing rural areas.
I see people online constantly tell me "It's all fearmongering! Rural folks aren't all bad, I've lived out in the boonies my entire life and I haven't seen the kind of hate that people on the internet claim is common!" I presume most of those people don't see the hate because they're cis, gender conforming, white guys.
I travel a lot for work and I've been to urban, suburban, and rural areas all around the midwest and east coast I am also nonbinary and visibly gender nonconforming.
Rural areas suck ass. Sure, it's cool to hike through forests and stuff. But the people? I've had guns pointed at me while surveying land that's going to be developed, because they think the 1099 contractor digging holes is the one who's responsible for their neighbor's land being bought. I've had the stereotypical "We don't like strangers round these parts" when I got into a diner and try to eat alone. I've had to drive almost an hour to the nearest Walmart only to be called slurs and threatened when I go into the bathroom. I've had "nice" people try to strike up a conversation and then go "Oh yeah, it's really nice in Bumfucksville. We don't have any n\*\*\*\*\*s around here." like that's a completely normal thing to say. Sometimes I'm near an army base and people just assume I'm a female soldier, so my short hair doesn't get me asked if I'm "a queer"
(Weirdly enough, I've met bigfoot hunters when I have forest projects, and they're the nicest ones.)
One of the benefits of being in the city is not getting shot at or have guns pulled on you. It hasn't happened to me once living in the city. Just a difference from my childhood
Alabama in general sounds like a scary place, depending on your melanin levels. The armpit of Alabama just sounds like hell, or at least a step above Mississippi.
Edit: Clarification.
Wow. That is awful. I hope OOP is not too traumatized by this. I know that finding bodies is very disturbing and can affect the people for a long time.
Sad that they will probably never see justice, by the way OOP talks about their county.
The porcelain dolls are very creepy, however. Why would the killer mark where the bones are if not to check later? To see if they are still there, or to relive the crime.
Right??? And then why bury treasure like silver on top of it in a notoriously poor part of one of the poorest states in the union??? Like obviously it's gonna get dug up. We've been debating it since and we got nothin. They didn't even try to hide the burn pile either! Miles in any direction of nothin but forested fenced private property where no one would have found that shit! It makes no damn sense. My suspicion is whoever was the killer wanted that body found.
MY FUCKING GUY. I'D HAVE TO GIVE UP MY ANONYMITY TO SAY WHAT I WANT TO SAY IS SO GODDAMN CREEPY ABOUT THIS. HOLY FUCKING FUCK
Had never heard of this case. Holy fucking FUCK my guy
I've got choring to do real quick and then I'm gonna go back and dig up every fucking thing those bastards skirted around. There's too much here. I can't let this go. Gonna be gone for awhile. When I get back either there will be more I have and I'll be looking for answers to the above question or it's not her
What is right is never easy and we may have just solved a 40 year old case. Will report back with my findings when I get in contact with the family. I can't say more yet but God is good.
Honestly I had no idea what else to call it. I needed something to explain wtf was happening while also not making it too wordy I guess? Best I could come up with
When this story gets turned into a true crime doc, they need to use your title!
Seriously though, thanks for your work in sharing this. Must have been a really grim one to put together.
Hey OOP, I'm sorry things have been so rough for you. Please take care of yourself; I'm sure the past couple weeks haven't been easy. I hope things ease up soon (and your aunt experiences some fucking shame and brings your son's things back to you).
OOP himself! Just gotta say, crazy events aside, you write so well and with such a great sense of humor. *Anheuser of the Busch realm* got me cackling.
I really hope you and your mum remain safe! Well, that is to say, as safe as you can be, whilst heavily armed and trapped within the "armpit of Alabama."
Hey thank you! We're okay. One of our dogs is fairly traumatized from before her rescue and we are aware of anything larger than knee-high to a grasshopper farting in our yard let alone someone sneaking on the property to get us. We're probably safer than most people with their own security team.
Hey OOP.
Reading the BORU, and your comment about the animal shelter you help with and adopted Trouble through, I just wanted to tell you that you seem like a gem of a person.
I'm sorry you've been going through so much, and I hope that you can get to a place of caring for yourself/not being so "reckless" with your safety and stuff again! From one internet stranger to another, you deserve peace and happiness, and I hope you can find it! Good luck :)
Also from Alabama's armpit (more like the crotch for me, though, I suppose). Honestly, this reads exactly as I would imagine it to. Sounds right.
My town had a teenage girl murdered by her father before being burned, back in the late 80s, early 90s. She died because she choked on her broken jaw. Talked about a lot, but I never saw any articles on the matter. I know she was real, as my grandmother was teaching her when it happened.
It sounds like Alabama is knee-deep in murder, I know. And I don't want to ruin the Southern Gothic vibe, but people should know this isn't limited to the South. Rural towns throughout the country have these stories just sitting beneath the surface.
>Commenter: This sounds like some Higurashi shit. Your landlord doesn't pray to any obscure deities do they?
>OOP: Anheuser of the Busch realm
>Anyone tries our house is getting plugged like a period at a tampon convention
I snorted at both of these. OOP has a good sense of humor, particularly considering the nature of this experience. Gallows humor is often the funniest.
EDIT: Just saw OOP's comment about the no kill shelter he volunteers with. As a volunteer at my now local no kill for going on 13 years now, I like him even more. Thank you for being an all around good human, sir.
For OOP and those who may not know: In this situation you can contact the FBI. They have jurisdiction over any kidnapping in the US, and in the case that a victim's remains are found and estimated to be under 12, they will almost certainly open an investigation.
They have more resources than the local cops, and they'll also double check that the locals aren't just burying the case.
Hey y'all I wanted to ask op about this but I think I asked her too late so I'm gonna go ahead and post this here in the comments. I'm not used to having this many people paying attention to me, and while y'all are I'd like to take a moment and say that this is a very dark story for our community however we try to do good where we can. Our household volunteers most of it's free time to our local no kill shelter "Animal Tails Rescue" between parvo outbreaks, rampant milling, and the cruel nature of man in general, our resources are stretched very thin. We try to do good where we can with Medicating, housing, transporting, spaying, and neutering any animal in need we can reach, 100% of our funding comes from donations, and online auctioning of donated things like vases, old clothes, and miscellaneous neat nick nacks. If you happen to be throwing out anything like that maybe consider donating it? We would really appreciate any and all help. We try to be the best we can but sometimes we need help too. I personally give you my word that every bit of everything we have and are goes towards these animals, or towards food to give to households that are struggling to feed their animals in these turbulent times. We personally ensure that your donated nick nacks, and paddywhacks will in fact give a dog a bone! And if not our locally loved animal tails, then maybe take some time to find a trustworthy no kill shelter in your local area. As far as I am aware they will probably need help too 😁
Or if you happen to be a local maybe consider coming and adopting a new best friend? My cat Trouble is a handicapped rescue from Animal Tails and let me tell you....he thinks he's people. Can't beat adopting an animal who thinks he's people
Thank you for your kindness! The Facebook page is pretty good about showing where everything goes and keeping updated on major events with the animals being housed! Highly recommend following it. Especially if you like puppies
My heart dropped to my ass when I went to the original post after reading. Jesus christ. The anatomical nerd in me is curious about the bones but my heart goes out to the family of the child. The bracelet is just another level of twisted.
Jesus. Poor OOP, to make that discovery with their history of having a deceased child of their own.
I wonder if this will show up on one of my true crime subs
Me, too. Plus, my husband has covid so he’s sleeping in the guest room. I was going to go to the original post and look at the pictures, but I’m all alone and … naw.
Yeah someone else asked about this in another thread and it's like, shit man almost everyone I know here has either been around, seen, made, or found a body out here. It's really not even all that wild of a story to locals. Just more gossip out here
yeah i live in the heart of appalachia, there's plenty of stuff that doesn't make the news. I love true crime stuff so i was hoping there were articles to read or something, quickly realized it's probably not going to make the news down there unless the body is identified
Cause shit like this doesn't make national headlines til there's a protest to investigate, even if it's fresh, with clear evidence of who committed the crime. I mean, in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it didn't become a national story until 2 months after the shooting, 25 days after the autopsy report, about 3 weeks after the original prosecutor cited Arbery's family's history of being prosecuted as a reason why his murderers wouldn't be, and about 2 weeks after that prosecutor recused himself. And that's just the first national story on the case. It didn't really heat up til the public got the video showing how clear it was that Mr. Arbery was murdered in cold blood
If you go to oops profile and actually look at the pictures he has posted; dude is absolutely going to blow himself up accidentally. Homemade lighters, whatever *that* mess of wires and electronics (in this post) is supposed to be and advice on the homemade foundry.
I've seen my fair share of male made sketchy shit and his tops it. I fear for his life.
Success or Valhalla, either way I shall find glory.
Okay jokes aside. It's not quite as bad as it seems. The home made lighters are fine, and the foundry is just a propane brick box with a muffin pan I pour the metal into. The most dangerous stuff is just the gunpowder. Now the hydrogen days... Phew I still have shrapnel in my hand from that. I don't fucks with the hydrogen anymore. (I'm probably gonna at some point when I get steady income again though.)
Ah 😅 what I meant was I'm gonna try again when I can afford to do it with real materials instead of scrap I have pulled from the woods. Every one of my projects/builds is made with woodland scrap
This was refreshingly dark, but refreshing none the same. Not a bridesmaid, or cheating partner or affair baby in the entire post. Rest in peace small child.
Honestly, the rate of solving murders for the US is only something like 50%. But yeah, it's definitely not cool that they aren't even trying when it's clearly a child's body. I'd definitely contact the news to get pressure on the cops.
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I don't really have a whole lot to say except I wish OOP the best and hope some form of justice can happen. But yeah. This is a unique but incredibly rough one.
I live in Alabama and the way he describes his landlord I was like up checks out.
I’m from East Texas and yeah, this is the sort of backwoods shit happens. Especially the bit about the cops going “…eh, let’s find a way to not investigate”. In small southern towns, it’s usually because someone in the force probably already has an idea of who was involved but the investigation would be damaging/damning. So, it just gets covered up.
Happens in big towns too. Was cleaning out an abandoned storage unit and found dozens of pictures of a dismembered woman along with dozens of patches from the sheriffs office. APD weren't even bothered. They just picked up the pictures and left even though I tried telling them about the rolls of plastic sheeting and rubber gloves and how everything in the unit was stolen. They just didn't care. What little faith I had in texas police was obliterated.
This makes me feel so sad. That poor woman.
I wish I knew who she was or if her family ever got any peace regarding her. Or as much as they were able. I've tried looking into it based on the year from the pictures but honestly I'm a coward and afraid if I look too far into it I'll wind up with long lasting trauma. I only saw two of the photos because I just stuffed them into a manilla envelope and waited for cops because I didn't want to see any more.
I'd be worried about more than just trauma, don't beat yourself up too much, I'm not sure there are many out there who could do what you couldn't. And anyway it's not on you, it's on the cops, you did what you were supposed to. Calling the authorities is the only option, maybe the news but that's not guaranteed to help.
Once the cops had the pictures, I had no proof to go to the media with anyhow :/
Fear not the perils of the journey. Fear what you might become if you don't rise to face evil. Shit I know exactly what you mean. I was terrified of calling the police for reasons I don't want to get into on here. But you might surprise yourself in what you will rise and become to do the right thing. I can't tell you what to do but I can say it sounds like you're the only one who has the power to change the ending of that story. I believe in you. And if this is how it was supposed to be well I'm proud of you for the trying you already did. 😁
The words "texas" and "police" together just sound really humorous. I can't imagine ever having faith in such an organization. And wasn't the elementary school shooting where the cops did fuckall in Texas as well? Even when an active shooter was endangering children, couldn't be bothered to do a thing.
When I say little faith, I more or less meant none to negative but try to avoid extreme 100% statements because their supporters are exhuasting. Ive been tailgated through a speed trap by a cop and then ticketed for not slowing down here. The cops refuse to answer calls half the time because they're protesting their "defunding" while having the highest budget in the history of Texas at a half a billion dollars. During the protests in 2020 I was helping with medical aid and photographing everything and have tons of photos of the cops on an overpass aiming at our heads. One picture is more or less looking up the barrel. Proud boys set a mattress on fire and the cops literally watched and did nothing and then turned and unloaded their "less than lethal" rounds into the crowd with people of color and children instead of the Hawaiian shirt fruit punch yahtzi boys. And having them ignore the fact that dozens of sheriffs patches were found with the pictures of the body just clarified it for me. They'd rather protect their own, or even the possibility of one of their own, before they would even consider investigating a dismembered woman. The possibility of a cop is more important than a very dead woman.
I was at the BLM protest in Portland Oregon and the brutality I witnessed from the police was insane. I went once or twice a week for nine months and I’m pretty traumatized by what I witnessed the cops doing, night, after night, after night.
Howdy from a Seattle Street Medic! Fr tho, I've been at this since Occupy days and 2020 was intense, even for a shit bag department like SPD.
Thank you for all that you’ve done. I was at the Occupy protests too. It’s amazing to me that things have only gotten progressively worse since then. I know social progress takes a very long time, but it’s still incredibly frustrating.
Same, but here in texas and just. Yeah. They ruined the brain of a teenager with a close range head shot with a bean bag. They shot up a pregnant woman with beanbags. I wound up losing a chunk of tattoo on my knee from hitting the ground so hard when they were hitting us with rubber bullets and tear gas.
They shot a kid in the head here too. Donovan Labella. I was there. I saw the whole thing. His skull got crushed in and there was blood everywhere. I’m deeply, deeply traumatized by it. The kid was just standing near the curb, holding a boom box, he wasn’t threatening anyone. He will never get any justice either. I hate our cops and “justice” system so much. https://www.koin.com/local/judge-portland-protester-cant-sue-u-s-marshal-who-shot-munition-into-his-face/ When I think of the protests I can still smell the tear gas and feel the rubber bullets hitting me, the sheer noise of their blasts knocking me off my feet, the LRAD machine piercing our eardrums…I shouldn’t even be talking about it because I get worked up. I have hours of videos of the crazy stuff the cops did, but I hate watching them because I just end up feeling sick. All we wanted was some accountability, but all we got was a BIGGER budget for those pigs. Makes me want to scream. Thank you for going to the protests. It’s scary. Most people wouldn’t do it. But you stood up for what matters, even though it was scary to do.
I lived in Minneapolis during the protests and the cops in real time fucking up the city far more than the protesters. That whole experience just solidified what I already knew from growing up in small towns in Texas: all cops will abuse their power to protect power. Anyone who aligns themselves with cops, I automatically distrust on a soul deep level. Even though I didn’t participate in the protests, I still feel traumatized by the cops and the National Guard’s response. A journalist lost her eye because she was shot with a rubber bullet, they seemed to specifically target journalists/news crews, and people trying to give first aid. When that sort of thing happens elsewhere in the world, the US is quick to condemn it because they’re literally war crimes. Here though? People who spew leftist jargon ham strung a prime chance for show that police reform could be done. It was also crippled by Mayor Frey and the city council being too lily livered. Talking to other white people up here in Minnesota during and directly after the protests was wild. The ones from here couldn’t conceive of feeling fearful of the police. Transplants from elsewhere, especially from the south, shared their own experiences with crooked cops. That period did crystallize a shared political belief with libertarians: freedom from government oppression due to political beliefs. We should be able to gather without fearing that the government will mobilize military forces (including the police) in response. Even though it probably won’t happen, I never want to see the military stationed on my street corners again. Seeing the National Guard and military humvees stationed on the street corners in my neighborhood broke whatever remaining illusions I had about this country being “the land of the free”.
APD like Austin? If so, 0 surprise. They don’t solve cases. They’re still (afaik) claiming that all the dead bodies found in the river died due to accidents.
I am......aghast at this story. You found a killer's storage unit with evidence of a murdered woman alongside police badges, and the police were just like "Whateva 🤪🤙" ??!!!!!
What’s the saying — there’s like 35 active serial killers at any one time? They’re just killing people no one cares about.
>What little faith I had in texas police was obliterated. At least it wasn't a huge let down. Just a little one.
If it ever happens and involves a kid's remains, contact the FBI or your state BCA. The FBI have jurisdiction for kidnapping and they'll most likely want to know why the locals aren't investigating. If the child's remains are estimated to be under 12 years old, it's almost certain the FBI will open an investigation.
So if I'm reading the OOP correctly, the implication is that the "unidentified" bone was another human bone, belonging to someone else? And the cops don't want this to become a serial killer investigation?
More likely it's some kind of animal bone that got thrown in so they can say "Welp, this here isn't human remains. The rest of them bones are prolly hog or deer." And then move right along. As other comments said, the sheriff probably has a good idea of who is involved and doesn't want to kick that particular hornets nest. (Also, not trying to be an asshole with the accent, I'm from Birmingham and have definitely heard more stereotypical good ol boys in my time)
Didn't OOP find a human skull though, not to mention the medical bracelet. Local cops can be corrupt, but declaring one bone "unidentified" doesn't seem like it'd benefit them unless they're covering up there being more than one body.
The skull was shattered and the OOP himself said he thought it was from a deer at first. If you can find a way to justify writing off the validity of the skeletal remains, the medical bracelet becomes much less problematic. It's a piece of discarded jewelry in a burn pile that seems to contain the remnants of an entire house, no more inexplicable or ominous than the silver wear or appliances. Corrupt and lazy cops are much more prevalent than serial killers.
Yep, that's his working assumption and having known plenty of Alabama cops I'd say that guess is probably right on the money. They barely want to deal with the bones that obviously belong to the first victim, they sure as hell don't care enough to expand the investigation. If it's not tasing a minority for looking at you wrong or arresting someone for having a microscopic amount of pot on them the Alabama police do not even remotely give a fuck. OOP has done half of their jobs for them and they still can barely be assed to get involved.
Also bad wiring at a rental property in Lower Bama? Definitely checks out. Big city slumlords ain't got nothing on rural Alabama slumlords.
There is considerable overlap between the most backwoods rural areas of the USA and nicer parts of developing nations. I won't go as far as to say that someone living in rural Alabama is in the same conditions as someone in certain parts of Africa or SEA, but if we go by standard metrics for quality of life and indices of development, parts of the US are technically in "third world" conditions.
My fiance fell through the floor of the first house we rented here. That same house had a room where all of the wiring was completely shot and it also started pouring water in through the attic one day during a gnarly summer thunderstorm. A couple of months later a tornado spawned off a tropical storm and dropped a tree straight through the house like it was made of paper, which revealed previous severe fire damage in the attic. Hence why the tree went through the house instead of just landing on it. Honestly that tree was the best thing that could've happened to it. Now my previous slumlord can't rent it to anyone else.
oh yeah for sure, like places with no sewage pipes and not even septic tanks, just shooting raw sewage out onto the yards.
We use to have to travel 5 miles for potable water. Lived 3hrs drive from NYC. Got indoor plumbing less than 60 years ago. Had to steal wood to heat food and the house sometimes.
yeah… i’m in birmingham but my boyfriend lives out in the boonies and unfortunately this sounds all too plausible to me.
I knew somebody from Alabama who told me about a town you don't go to if you don't want to be murdered. Think there was a podcast about it.
Do you remember what podcast/episode be chance? I grew up in Alabama, and that sounds like a fun listen.
The burn pits too. Literally everybody I know that doesn't live in town has a huge burn pit somewhere on their property. I found a dentist chair once in my husband's grandmother's. For the record, we're absolutely not supposed to put any metal in there, but this story just confirms my suspicions that nobody's checking that shit.
I lived in Alabama as a child and have family still living there. My whole family is from Florida in the boonies so it all is plausible. The small towns and rural areas can be creepy without finding bodies. I find the landlord giggling about it to be the creepiest thing.
Yeah, I’m from Mobile and live in Bham. That area of the state is, imo, particularly “out there”. As OOP alluded to, there is very little money and just as few opportunities. People like OOP just trying to get by with the cards they were dealt.
The number of times my jaw dropped while reading this… Definitely a BORU-worthy post, and holy shit I hope they find the monster who did this. No one deserves such a cruel fate. Hope OOP has emotional support in all of this too.
Wouldn't the diabetes bracelet have a name on it?
I just googled them and it seems to vary? Some have names and some just state Type [1/2] Diabetes.
It does. My mom’s partner had one for his seizures and his did not have his name. Some have names, some don’t.
[удалено]
knowing that the victim has diabetes should narrow it down quite a bit though. Approximate an age for the body and compare it to children who went missing that long ago, and narrow it down to children who had diabetes. I'm not an investigator though so I might be wrong on how this works
You are assuming the police care.
In a small town, somebody may know the story and realize there's no justice to be had, or it was already applied. Say somebody killed the girl or allowed her to die from negligence, then somebody else took that somebody out and killed them and dumped the body elsewhere. Orrrrr the murderer has some blackmail on somebody important and they let that person flee the state. You can come up with all kinds of scenarios. I heard a story about a family who applied some backwoods justice to a person who murdered a kid. They just took the person off into the woods and that person was never seen again. Supposedly a true story, related to me personally (not something I heard online or read about elsewhere.)
Diameter of the bracelet could help as well. I found my childhood ID bracelet, from when I was 5 or 6, and I'd maybe be able to fit it around three fingers now.
I have a medical bracelet (that I don't wear often) because yay for allergies and anaphylaxis. It just lists what I'm allergic to and reaction, no name or contact info.
Same. Mine lists my allergies and that I have severe asthma but it doesn’t have a name or anything on it.
The two most common types are usually a fob design that unscrews to reveal a slip that you add all your details to and some that are like an old style ID bracelet, with a chain and a bar stamped with your condition (so T1 diabetes, epilepsy, narcolepsy etc). Some people get the reverse of the bar engraved with an identifying detail but (from what I've seen) most people don't. My money is on it being an ID bar bracelet due to their being no clue as to the identity and OOP being able to immediately identify them as diabetic. Plus there's quite a price difference between fob and bar bracelets so for a kid (who will outgrow it or possibly lose it) in a low prosperity area a bar is more likely due to the cost of replacing it.
Ah, okay. This is so sad - I wish law enforcement would make more of a push to identify her. I find it hard to believe that they couldn't extract DNA, even from her teeth.
The oop's post history is absolutely wild. As in its so wild its probably true. So wild you hope it's a troll
That editors note.... 😱😱😱😱
I lived the line though "anybody who tries this house is getting plugged like a peroid at a tampon convention"
So this one is Dark Shit, you alright after it?
Doing ok 💜 Definitely a rough one.
Oof. Thanks for compiling this. Hope you and OOP are doing okay. Pretty fucking speechless tbh. This is some awful shit.
Well. I read the title but still didn’t really expect to read a story like that. What an insane turn of events
Freaking horrible. I read the spoiler, but still nearly did a coffee spit take when I read the line, “thread is cancelled, I found a body”.
Mine was the chopped-up bones. I was hoping (to the extent it qualifies as hope) the kid had an episode and wandered off, but…nope.
The doll heads marking the body parts really gave me the chills. it's one of those things that doesn't seem that spooky in say, a story or movie, but when it's real life it's horrifying.
It being a child's body gave me chills. Any adult being found would be sad enough. But a child...it makes it ten times worse. I have children and I can't imagine the heartache and grief of not knowing what happened to your child when they were kidnapped or lured away.
Right??? I did the exact same.
What a horrible story to be reading while high
What a horrible story to read sober
I hear that and I raise you to ‘what a horrible story to read’
‘What a horrible story’
Horrible
Story
What
What a horrible day to have eyes.
I concur
> Anyone tries our house is getting plugged like a period at a tampon convention For some reason this made me lol
Yeah, that line got me too.
We need this as a new flair
I second this. Does the motion carry?
I read the warning and thought I'd be fine. I flew too close to the sun.
Right there with you! Not something I should have read at 6:20 am when I'm the only one awake in the house and it is still dark as all get out outside. Next time, I will heed the warnings and stay away!
The timeless tale of Spoiler Icarus...
Um... well, uh... so... I got nuthin'
When I was about 6 to 10 years old (in 1988 to 92) I lived in a very insular community in Kentucky called Smith Mills. It no longer exists. There was so much of people hiding things, trying to maintain a 1950s environment, that eventually the state shut it all down. I went to elementary school with 152 students. That's 4 times less than my kids. I had to sing My Country Tis of Thee every morning along with pledge and being asked to * run the flag * up the pole. If it rained the school would pull students to take it down because it's "disrespectful to the flag" to leave it up when raining. Indoctrination is real, but you can break it. Growing up rural means you overlook shit and nobody says anything because it would upset the status quo —what makes that community "perfect". The minute you do, you're a problem and they run you off just like they did the only two black kids I went to school with in 5th grade. I wouldn't be surprised if serial killers buried all sorts of evidence and people there. Place was insane. Edited for spelling
Oh wow, do you happen to have any information on that town? That sounds fascinating. We have Centralia here in PA and I love learning about old abandoned places.
I visited Centralia in the 80’s as a child. It was indeed very creepy.
Surprisingly enough I live in PA now! You can still live your country though and know it has flaws. . Make it better. That why we have the constitution. And why why we have amendment. I'm OK with how was raised but but im not ok with recent changes. At least political shit was least problematic in 1999 when we we kids. I appreciate open political discourse. But they lying. Everyone on politics is lying. Edit I started a new med I'mtrying
Sounds like there was at the very least illegal dumping of hazardous materials there (I mean, besides the human remains). When he said "old electrical box" I immediately was thinking "that's a call the EPA immediately situation". The chemicals they used to use in electrical equipment (transformers, etc.) are super dangerous and they were banned in 1979. Getting rid of that stuff involves a whole decommissioning process with soil testing and shit. For context - the cutoff for "toxic levels" for those chemicals (PCBs) is about 70 parts per billion...the fluids used in transformers were about 70% PCBs. Anyone who just dumps something like that could be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Yeah, had a transformer get hit by lightning on the farm back in the day, went out next morning and the grass around the pole was dead. Electric company came out and basically went “Oh Fuck” and asked us if we had any spare fencing because nothing should be walking around near the pole. They had a crew out there digging up all the dirt in a radius around the pole and replacing it with clean dirt and grass. Scary stuff.
>Getting rid of that stuff involves a whole decommissioning process with soil testing and shit. Yeahh... as a lifelong Alabamian, it don't work that way down here (usually). The answer is usually bury it or burn it. I'm not saying it's right (because it's not), but it's just how things are around here.
This is like the script to Hot Fuzz. I can hear “The greater good” mantra from blank faces.
Yarp
Kinda like the movie "hot fuzz". They wanted to maintain the vibe of the perfect town so bad that the cops and town council and everyone else pretty much did whatever it takes to maintain the facade. I mean I know that movie is a comedy (and a solid one at that), but that shit is fuckin real. Especially in rural towns. I grew up in what used to be a sundown town. It ended long before I was born..... Kinda. They wouldn't run non white people out anymore, but most in the area avoided it because of the history, and a lot of older folks didn't mind that view of the town one bit. Gave them the same benefits without having to do any of the awful shit. Small all white farming community where almost every family was middle to upper class, gotta keep a couple poor families around to look down on and use as examples to your kids, "they're dirty, don't associate with them. Get good grades and go to college or you'll end up like them.". Meanwhile they were the nicest people in town and genuinely fun to hangout with. They weren't even actual poor. Just lower middle class. But god help you for not trying to "keep up with the Jones's". Funny though, as we all got older we noticed the trashiest of people ended up being the upper middle/upper class bougie wannabe families. Dui's, hard drug use, domestic abuse, all seemed to come from the "rich" kids families lol. Rural shit gets weird and wild.
I am a smith mills tiger, i take pride in my home, my school and my community.
Ohdude when and did you know me? Was Mrs. Baker your teacher or Mrs. Powell?
I had mrs soaper Well, ms stacy and ms dee dee before the move, mrs soaper was my teacher before they moved us to chandler
Oh hey I did the flag at school as a kid! I can't believe I forgot that. Thought it was the coolest shit Saw a sub lose her fucking mind because a girl on crutches wouldn't stand up for the pledge once. Was dIsReSpEcTiNg HeR hUsBaNd apparently.
WHAT THE FUCK
That's what the mood spoiler said.
Wow. The armpit of Alabama sounds like a scary place.
it really is. i live in the closest thing alabama has to a major city but i’ve spent some time in the boonies and it is honestly harrowing. all of this checks out to me, especially the part about the local cops trying to sweep shot under the rug.
I lived in Idaho and when I mentioned wanting to visit certain parts of the state, all the locals instantly looked super uncomfortable. They started giving me warnings that sounded like a State Department travel advisory for a South American narco state. Some rural areas of the US really are *that bad*.
Yeeeeah...just a couple days ago, the Utah womens basketball team played in the NCAA tournament at Gonzaga. All the hotels were booked out closer to Spokane, so they ended up in a hotel in Idaho. They had to leave because [racist a-holes](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/mar/26/utah-forced-to-move-hotels-at-ncaa-tournament-after-racial-hate-crimes) made a point of harassing players. Idaho has [long had](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/mar/27/north-idaho-and-spokane-have-been-a-historical-hot/) a big issue with hate groups. :(
>Some rural areas of the US really are *that bad*. *Stares in rural Texan* (And is now creeped out bc my neighbor uses his burn pit an awful lot.)
You live in Op? You know Op started as "opportunity" Alabama but none of the citizens could spell it, so the governor changed it to op?
Yeah, I live in Huntsville, which is pretty nice for Alabama, but rural Alabama can be a very unfriendly place
Yeah my last girlfriend when I was living in Orlando would listen to me tell stories about "home" here and a big reason she broke up with me was because she couldn't look at me the same way. She thought I was a monster, but I mean I don't think she understood you just gotta do what you gotta do out here. I'm going home to eat tonight no matter what someone thinks they're gonna do to me. End of story y'know? But yeah it do be rough ouchea. Someone above commented about third world countries and described our house and I'm just like 😅 this is the nicest house we've had in my lifetime
Every day on r/samegrassbutgreener and r/frugal there are people saying you're stupid for not wanting to live in cheap rural areas and just uppity and full of yourself. No, I'm from the country. I live in a city because I'm queer and I want to live. In my town, it was people protecting pedophiles. I was the person who went to the police and got ostracized for it. I won civilly but I wasn't able to get him behind bars. I regret not killing him. I was his 7th victim and most of his other victims protected him when it came time to testify because they were protecting the town. In the 70s in my town, it was a string of murders of Latinos that the town covered up. From the news story "Chief Hayes said to Mr. Morales, “I have killed a Mexican before, and I'm fixing to kill another one.” This is not an aberration. This is what the rural areas are like in the South. But my town promotes itself as a quiet tourist town, mostly hunting tourism for deer and exotics. Got to protect that reputation. Shittown is a podcast about another small town in the South. It's a suspenseful but dark story. These are not exceptions. This is the culture.
I'm so sorry you went through that, and I'm glad you're out of there and building a better life for yourself. I agree with everything you're saying about rural small towns. When the Shittown podcast came out, my siblings and I all listened in shock, because if the town hadn't been actually identified in the show, we all would have sworn Shittown was our family's hometown. I never for a minute regret leaving that behind. My extended family who are still there are either 1) elderly and living in poverty or 2) younger than 50 and addicted to hard drugs. Drug addiction is rampant, which means theft and home robbery are also extremely common. Police are corrupt good ol' boys who enforce the law unevenly. And *all* the white people are extremely racist. They may be surface-level nice to Black people who live in the community, but they'll turn nasty on a dime if they feel anyone isn't "in their place." It is really weird to see people romanticize small-town rural life or daydream about making it part of their retirement plans. I think they're picturing something out of Andy Griffith, but there's a reason young people are fleeing rural areas.
I see people online constantly tell me "It's all fearmongering! Rural folks aren't all bad, I've lived out in the boonies my entire life and I haven't seen the kind of hate that people on the internet claim is common!" I presume most of those people don't see the hate because they're cis, gender conforming, white guys. I travel a lot for work and I've been to urban, suburban, and rural areas all around the midwest and east coast I am also nonbinary and visibly gender nonconforming. Rural areas suck ass. Sure, it's cool to hike through forests and stuff. But the people? I've had guns pointed at me while surveying land that's going to be developed, because they think the 1099 contractor digging holes is the one who's responsible for their neighbor's land being bought. I've had the stereotypical "We don't like strangers round these parts" when I got into a diner and try to eat alone. I've had to drive almost an hour to the nearest Walmart only to be called slurs and threatened when I go into the bathroom. I've had "nice" people try to strike up a conversation and then go "Oh yeah, it's really nice in Bumfucksville. We don't have any n\*\*\*\*\*s around here." like that's a completely normal thing to say. Sometimes I'm near an army base and people just assume I'm a female soldier, so my short hair doesn't get me asked if I'm "a queer" (Weirdly enough, I've met bigfoot hunters when I have forest projects, and they're the nicest ones.)
One of the benefits of being in the city is not getting shot at or have guns pulled on you. It hasn't happened to me once living in the city. Just a difference from my childhood
Alabama in general sounds like a scary place, depending on your melanin levels. The armpit of Alabama just sounds like hell, or at least a step above Mississippi. Edit: Clarification.
Wow. That is awful. I hope OOP is not too traumatized by this. I know that finding bodies is very disturbing and can affect the people for a long time. Sad that they will probably never see justice, by the way OOP talks about their county. The porcelain dolls are very creepy, however. Why would the killer mark where the bones are if not to check later? To see if they are still there, or to relive the crime.
Right??? And then why bury treasure like silver on top of it in a notoriously poor part of one of the poorest states in the union??? Like obviously it's gonna get dug up. We've been debating it since and we got nothin. They didn't even try to hide the burn pile either! Miles in any direction of nothin but forested fenced private property where no one would have found that shit! It makes no damn sense. My suspicion is whoever was the killer wanted that body found.
Heeyyy OOP, since you’re here…. Any chance it could be Sherry Lynn Marler?
MY FUCKING GUY. I'D HAVE TO GIVE UP MY ANONYMITY TO SAY WHAT I WANT TO SAY IS SO GODDAMN CREEPY ABOUT THIS. HOLY FUCKING FUCK Had never heard of this case. Holy fucking FUCK my guy
You can thank my teenager for their love of true crime podcasts, otherwise I never would have either.
How do we find out if she was diabetic??? I'm fucking on it my guy what is the next move
Messaged her missing page. Searching for more points of contact now
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/s/DGQUjY1f5I
So she was pregnant! That explains something I speculated on but didn't post anywhere. Would the fetus show up as unidentifiable to a coroner????
I've got choring to do real quick and then I'm gonna go back and dig up every fucking thing those bastards skirted around. There's too much here. I can't let this go. Gonna be gone for awhile. When I get back either there will be more I have and I'll be looking for answers to the above question or it's not her
UH MY GUY. ILL BE BACK
Hey OOP, I’ll be praying for you. This cannot be easy on you.
What is right is never easy and we may have just solved a 40 year old case. Will report back with my findings when I get in contact with the family. I can't say more yet but God is good.
All the time. Thanks dude. Your son would be very proud of you. You are making a huge difference in another family’s life.
Any chance you'd be willing to DM me a pic of the layout of porcelain doll heads? Don't wanna see any bones though haha
Sent
What a title OP :O The bit about the porcelain doll heads is so creepy ... The poor girl
Honestly I had no idea what else to call it. I needed something to explain wtf was happening while also not making it too wordy I guess? Best I could come up with
It's definitely attention-grabbing, I just wasn't expecting it when I checked BORU today 😳
You did try to prepare us with the title and the spoilers/warnings, which is appreciated. The WTF is off the charts with this one. That poor girl.
When this story gets turned into a true crime doc, they need to use your title! Seriously though, thanks for your work in sharing this. Must have been a really grim one to put together.
Marvelous summation OP. You truly captured it all. Any updates I ever have are going straight to you.
Hey OOP, I'm sorry things have been so rough for you. Please take care of yourself; I'm sure the past couple weeks haven't been easy. I hope things ease up soon (and your aunt experiences some fucking shame and brings your son's things back to you).
OOP himself! Just gotta say, crazy events aside, you write so well and with such a great sense of humor. *Anheuser of the Busch realm* got me cackling.
I'm always happy to put a smile on a face 😁
I really hope you and your mum remain safe! Well, that is to say, as safe as you can be, whilst heavily armed and trapped within the "armpit of Alabama."
Hey thank you! We're okay. One of our dogs is fairly traumatized from before her rescue and we are aware of anything larger than knee-high to a grasshopper farting in our yard let alone someone sneaking on the property to get us. We're probably safer than most people with their own security team.
Hey OOP. Reading the BORU, and your comment about the animal shelter you help with and adopted Trouble through, I just wanted to tell you that you seem like a gem of a person. I'm sorry you've been going through so much, and I hope that you can get to a place of caring for yourself/not being so "reckless" with your safety and stuff again! From one internet stranger to another, you deserve peace and happiness, and I hope you can find it! Good luck :)
Thank you very much. I promise to put that same warmth into everything I do. I appreciate it more than you know 🥲
Thanks for letting me share your story. 💜 Wishing you the best!
I'm literally **and** figuratively speechless.
Also from Alabama's armpit (more like the crotch for me, though, I suppose). Honestly, this reads exactly as I would imagine it to. Sounds right. My town had a teenage girl murdered by her father before being burned, back in the late 80s, early 90s. She died because she choked on her broken jaw. Talked about a lot, but I never saw any articles on the matter. I know she was real, as my grandmother was teaching her when it happened. It sounds like Alabama is knee-deep in murder, I know. And I don't want to ruin the Southern Gothic vibe, but people should know this isn't limited to the South. Rural towns throughout the country have these stories just sitting beneath the surface.
Yep. Everyone knows everyone so it's a vast chain of "not my monkeys not my circus" or covering for friends/fanily
What in the True Detective did I just read.
Whoever said "What in the meth is happening?" got it right. \*shudder\* even the part with the aunt robbing a dead child's ashes.
My thought was: diabetic + cost of insulin = dead child. Hidden in fear of repercussions.
That might make some sense but the part about the doll heads marking the location of the "pieces" definitely points to something more sinister.
... Aaaaand that's enough reddit for the day
I'm not glad for her passing, but I am glad that at least the person who found her cared enough to try and get her justice.
Wow that is completely wild. I wonder how old the remains are? Seems like the Red Cross bracelet should be a great clue
>Commenter: This sounds like some Higurashi shit. Your landlord doesn't pray to any obscure deities do they? >OOP: Anheuser of the Busch realm >Anyone tries our house is getting plugged like a period at a tampon convention I snorted at both of these. OOP has a good sense of humor, particularly considering the nature of this experience. Gallows humor is often the funniest. EDIT: Just saw OOP's comment about the no kill shelter he volunteers with. As a volunteer at my now local no kill for going on 13 years now, I like him even more. Thank you for being an all around good human, sir.
For OOP and those who may not know: In this situation you can contact the FBI. They have jurisdiction over any kidnapping in the US, and in the case that a victim's remains are found and estimated to be under 12, they will almost certainly open an investigation. They have more resources than the local cops, and they'll also double check that the locals aren't just burying the case.
Hey y'all I wanted to ask op about this but I think I asked her too late so I'm gonna go ahead and post this here in the comments. I'm not used to having this many people paying attention to me, and while y'all are I'd like to take a moment and say that this is a very dark story for our community however we try to do good where we can. Our household volunteers most of it's free time to our local no kill shelter "Animal Tails Rescue" between parvo outbreaks, rampant milling, and the cruel nature of man in general, our resources are stretched very thin. We try to do good where we can with Medicating, housing, transporting, spaying, and neutering any animal in need we can reach, 100% of our funding comes from donations, and online auctioning of donated things like vases, old clothes, and miscellaneous neat nick nacks. If you happen to be throwing out anything like that maybe consider donating it? We would really appreciate any and all help. We try to be the best we can but sometimes we need help too. I personally give you my word that every bit of everything we have and are goes towards these animals, or towards food to give to households that are struggling to feed their animals in these turbulent times. We personally ensure that your donated nick nacks, and paddywhacks will in fact give a dog a bone! And if not our locally loved animal tails, then maybe take some time to find a trustworthy no kill shelter in your local area. As far as I am aware they will probably need help too 😁
Or if you happen to be a local maybe consider coming and adopting a new best friend? My cat Trouble is a handicapped rescue from Animal Tails and let me tell you....he thinks he's people. Can't beat adopting an animal who thinks he's people
Is there a link I could use for the donation page? Found the rescue, but I got a 404 for the org page I found.
Here you go. We also have a Facebook! https://animal-tails-rescue.weebly.com/?fbclid=IwAR2t6Um7J6n88nwZ0ZdTwx9guS0QbnCzd3W61RNH_sTnaeMJqbId4FBR8BA
Worked! 😁
/u/LucyAriaRose Please add this to the post!!
Added!
Thanks, u/anunofmoose . I threw them $50. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Thank you for your kindness! The Facebook page is pretty good about showing where everything goes and keeping updated on major events with the animals being housed! Highly recommend following it. Especially if you like puppies
>OOP: It's a kid. The way my fucking stomach dropped.
My heart dropped to my ass when I went to the original post after reading. Jesus christ. The anatomical nerd in me is curious about the bones but my heart goes out to the family of the child. The bracelet is just another level of twisted.
Jesus. Poor OOP, to make that discovery with their history of having a deceased child of their own. I wonder if this will show up on one of my true crime subs
I read this while in bed. Big mistake. I'm wide awake and the lights are on. So awful. Poor child and poor OOP.
Me, too. Plus, my husband has covid so he’s sleeping in the guest room. I was going to go to the original post and look at the pictures, but I’m all alone and … naw.
I’m…I’m gonna go bother my housemates and their cats.
>Are we just glossing over the landlord being a murderer? Great flair quote rt
Why isn't this national headlines?
i googled "alabama news" just to see if they had anything on the news sites and lemme tell you alabama has plenty of other crazy stuff happening
Yeah someone else asked about this in another thread and it's like, shit man almost everyone I know here has either been around, seen, made, or found a body out here. It's really not even all that wild of a story to locals. Just more gossip out here
yeah i live in the heart of appalachia, there's plenty of stuff that doesn't make the news. I love true crime stuff so i was hoping there were articles to read or something, quickly realized it's probably not going to make the news down there unless the body is identified
What part? I'm originally a smokey native
technically I'm in the "Appalachian plateaus" but i currently live in Mothman territory
Aaayyy had your ass ate yet or what?
if this is in reference to the statue i've already left my offering of baked beans and mountain dew
what the actual hell is going on here 😭
This one made me cackle
Really makes you wonder how many things like this we never hear about
Cause shit like this doesn't make national headlines til there's a protest to investigate, even if it's fresh, with clear evidence of who committed the crime. I mean, in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it didn't become a national story until 2 months after the shooting, 25 days after the autopsy report, about 3 weeks after the original prosecutor cited Arbery's family's history of being prosecuted as a reason why his murderers wouldn't be, and about 2 weeks after that prosecutor recused himself. And that's just the first national story on the case. It didn't really heat up til the public got the video showing how clear it was that Mr. Arbery was murdered in cold blood
Brought to you by The Alabama Chamber of Commerce! Please relo your HQ or manufacturing facility here and help us dilute the crazies.
The absolute horror of this situation aside... his aunt *stole his son's ashes??*
Terrible chain of events, but man is it nice to have a non cheating story show up in this sub
I've been to Alabama a few times, and I've always been happy to leave.
"getting plugged like a period at a tampon convention" Well I know what the next sub flair should be!
If you go to oops profile and actually look at the pictures he has posted; dude is absolutely going to blow himself up accidentally. Homemade lighters, whatever *that* mess of wires and electronics (in this post) is supposed to be and advice on the homemade foundry. I've seen my fair share of male made sketchy shit and his tops it. I fear for his life.
Success or Valhalla, either way I shall find glory. Okay jokes aside. It's not quite as bad as it seems. The home made lighters are fine, and the foundry is just a propane brick box with a muffin pan I pour the metal into. The most dangerous stuff is just the gunpowder. Now the hydrogen days... Phew I still have shrapnel in my hand from that. I don't fucks with the hydrogen anymore. (I'm probably gonna at some point when I get steady income again though.)
Best OOP ever. I don't do this dangerous thing anymore, but I'm gonna!
Ah 😅 what I meant was I'm gonna try again when I can afford to do it with real materials instead of scrap I have pulled from the woods. Every one of my projects/builds is made with woodland scrap
Thank you very much! If you follow the Facebook page you can see where it all goes as it does 😁
I hope OOP sues their aunt for all that she stole.
Yeah, that 30 cents they have will take them real far in the legal system
"Getting plugged faster than a period at a tampon convention" Is this how they talk in Alabama?
Creepy ain't an indictment. If it were, Alabama wouldn't have made it as a state.
Honestly? Fuck that aunt
This was refreshingly dark, but refreshing none the same. Not a bridesmaid, or cheating partner or affair baby in the entire post. Rest in peace small child.
Honestly, the rate of solving murders for the US is only something like 50%. But yeah, it's definitely not cool that they aren't even trying when it's clearly a child's body. I'd definitely contact the news to get pressure on the cops.
I...I...that was surreal...
Yah that sounds like Alabama. Roll tide indeed.