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Search and rescue effort locates Loch Lomond woman lost in forest
COBB, Calif. – A nine-hour search and rescue operation coordinated by the Sheriff’s Office last Sunday night resulted in the safe recovery of a 32-year-old Loch Lomond woman.
On Sunday July 15, 2012 at approximately 11:00 pm, sheriff’s deputies responded to an area owned by Calpine Corporation off of Cold Water Creek Road, for a report of an overdue hiker, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks.
It was reported that Aiyana Hickman had accessed the Calpine property through the geothermal gate on Bottle Rock Road earlier in the day at about 11:00 a.m. Brooks said she was attempting to hike to an area known as the “Big Falls.”
Family members said Hickman had called them from her cellular telephone at approximately 5 p.m. The reception from her phone was very poor, but family members believed something was wrong, according to Brooks’ report. Hickman was told to call back when she was able to get to an area where her phone had better service.
At approximately 10 p.m., she was able to place another call to family members and said she was lost. Brooks said she also reported she had lost her shoes and was scraped up from falling and trying to find her way through the dense brush. Family members told deputies that Hickman did not have any food or water and was not prepared to spend the night in the woods.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Central Dispatch Center was able to obtain Hickman’s general location from a 911 call she made. Brooks said deputies responded to the area in an attempt to locate Hickman.
As the deputies were checking the area, Hickman was able to contact Central Dispatch using her cell phone and advised she could see the lights from the patrol cars. Brooks said deputies attempted to make their way up to Hickman but were unable, due to the dense vegetation. They were able to make voice contact with Hickman by yelling and told her to say at her current location.
At approximately 11:30 p.m., the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SAR) coordinator began calling in resources for a SAR mission. Brooks said man trackers, K-Corps members and four wheel drive teams were summoned to the area.
Once on scene SAR members were able to contact Hickman by yelling back and forth to each other, Brooks said. A compass bearing was taken and two search teams were established. Both teams were sent from different starting points to locate Hickman.
On Monday at 4:30 a.m., Hickman was located by one of the search teams and was treated for shock, dehydration and numerous lacerations. Brooks said the search teams provided information that they would not be able to bring Hickman out without additional resources, due to the dense brush and steep terrain.
At approximately 7:20 a.m., a California Highway Patrol Helicopter from Redding arrived on scene and prepared for the extraction, Brooks said. At approximately 8 a.m. they successfully extracted Hickman to a meadow located off of Coldwater Creek Road. Cal Fire paramedics were already on scene and examined Hickman. It was determined that there was no medical urgency and Hickman was released to waiting family members.
Sheriff Frank Rivero commended all of the SAR volunteers and K-Corps members for their response and successful conclusion of another search and rescue operation.
The sheriff also thanked Cal Fire and CHP for responding to assist with the rescue.
Two arrested, nearly 400 marijuana plants eradicated in Thursday operation
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Compliance checks of several marijuana grow sites in the Middletown area on Thursday resulted in two arrests and the seizure of 399 marijuana plants.
Michael Joseph Simon, 30, and 41-year-old Peter Jefferson Wainwright, both from Santa Rosa, were arrested in the operation, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force, along with personnel from Lake County Code Enforcement, conducted the marijuana compliance checks on six locations in the Middletown and Lower Lake area, Brooks said.
As a result, 399 marijuana plants were eradicated and seized. Brooks said the seized marijuana was located on property with no structures.
Three other residences were warned that they were out of compliance. They were given a 48-hour notice by Lake County Code Enforcement to remove the excessive plants, he said.
The first residence had 84 marijuana plants, Brooks said, while the second residence had 80 marijuana plants and the third residence had 90 marijuana plants.
Brooks said detectives located Joseph and Wainwright at an address on Saint Helena Creek Road in Middletown. Both men said they were growing medical marijuana for patients from the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, as well as for themselves. They told detectives that they had approximately 300 marijuana plants growing on the property.
There was no residence on the property and both suspects appeared to be staying in a motor home, Brooks said.
Detectives located 303 marijuana plants inside a large metal fenced compound. A water line was followed from the compound several hundred yards to a well, which had been illegally drilled next to a spring, Brooks said. A large hole was located near the motor home where the suspects had been dumping human waste.
Both Simon and Wainwright consented to a search of their motor home, where detectives located a 40-caliber semi automatic pistol and a substantial amount of methadone, for which neither Simon nor Wainwright had a prescription, Brooks said.
Both subjects were arrested for possession of a controlled substance, cultivation of marijuana and being armed while committing a drug offense. Both were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
Bail for each of the men was set at $15,000. Jail records indicated both posted the required percentage of bail and were released.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.
‘Speed Freak Killer’ points to Cow Mountain area as burial site for additional victims
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – New information supplied by a death row inmate may soon lead investigators to Lake County in search of the bodies of 14 murder victims.
The latest development in the “Speed Freak Killers” case also has raised concerns that – in addition to the two men who ultimately were convicted of the horrifying series of murders – there may be two other suspects who were involved.
Wesley Shermantine, now 46, and his partner in the crimes, Loren Herzog, were dubbed the “Speed Freak Killers” because the killings they carried out – which took place over a 15-year period, ending with their arrests in 1999 – had been fueled by methamphetamine.
Since the start of this year, information Shermantine has supplied to authorities has led to the discovery of the remains of what are believed to be numerous, previously unknown victims of the pair.
Originally it was believed the men were responsible for about 15 murders, but officials now estimate the pair’s victims could number more than 70. A March San Francisco Chronicle article, quoting an inmate who claimed to have spoken to Herzog in prison, put the possible victim count as high as 112.
Within the last month, Shermantine revealed that the bodies of another 14 murder victims are located in Lake County’s Cow Mountain area.
Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla – who has been working with Shermantine on the release of information – said Shermantine brought up the Cow Mountain area about four weeks ago, but offered no specifics about where in that area the bodies were located.
Padilla told Lake County News that he called Sheriff Frank Rivero on Tuesday about the situation.
“I contacted the sheriff and said, ‘Hey, here’s what I got,’” Padilla said.
Sgt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office told Lake County News that the agency had received some information about the case, but the sheriff’s office has not made any other details available so far.
New legislation aids the search
The public revelation about the possible burials on Cow Mountain came in tandem this week with Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of AB 2357, a bill authored by Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), whose district had been home to several of the pair’s murder victims.
Galgiani’s bill, in effect until next Jan. 1, allows for the secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to temporarily remove an inmate from prison “for the purpose of permitting the inmate to participate in or assist with the gathering of evidence relating to crimes,” according to the bill’s language.
It took effect as an urgency statute immediately upon the receiving the governor’s signature.
“It’s a lot to take in all at once,” Galgiani said of the case during an interview with Lake County News on Thursday.
She said she was working to connect with state Sen. Noreen Evans and Assemblyman Wes Chesbro – who represent Lake County in the state Legislature – as well as county leaders, in the wake of the newest revelations that bodies might be found here.
“I don’t want to have families in your area going through what we’ve been going through,” she said.
Padilla said he’s not sure what happens next, but he believed the matter is now in the hands of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as to whether it takes the initiative. He also suggested he could seek a court order to move forward the possibility that Shermantine is brought to Lake County.
Jeffrey Callison, press secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the agency had no comment on whether or not Shermantine was set to be transported to Lake County to aid the investigation.
“If it were happening it would be an investigation and we don’t comment on any ongoing investigation in that way,” Callison said.
The Ukiah office of the Bureau of Land Management oversees the Cow Mountain Recreation Area, where Shermantine and Herzog reportedly used to go hunting.
David Christy, a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management’s Central California Unit – which includes the Ukiah office – told Lake County News that by midweek the agency hadn’t received any requests to excavate in the recreation area.
However, he said the BLM would cooperate if it did receive such a request.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office – which has been the lead agency pursuing Shermantine’s information and recovering evidence of additional murder victims based on his directions – did not return a message seeking comment on Thursday.
So far, no possible identities have been offered for the victims said to be buried in Lake County – with which Shermantine and Herzog weren’t previously linked. The information offered by Shermantine so far hasn’t made clear if the victims he claims are buried there were from the county or were brought here from other areas.
Galgiani said numerous jurisdictions around the state are reassessing missing persons cases as possible homicides in light of Shermantine’s revelations.
The California Attorney General’s Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit database lists six Lake County residents.
Two of those individuals – Steven William Branston, 20, who was last seen in Lakeport in August 1996, and Robert Blair Sturgill, 30, last seen in Lucerne in 1990 – disappeared during the time frame of the murders Shermantine and Herzog committed.
However, in previous interviews with Lake County News about local missing persons cases, local law enforcement suggested Branston actually was spotted out of state at one point after he was last seen locally.
Local authorities have not yet reported if they will try to link any local missing persons cases to Shermantine and Herzog.
A destructive trail around California
Shermantine and Herzog were arrested in March 1999.
Shermantine was convicted of killing four people – Paul Cavanaugh, Howard King, Chevelle Wheeler and Cyndi Vanderheiden. He received the death penalty in May 2001 and was sent to San Quentin State Prison.
Herzog was sentenced to 78 years in to life in December of that same year for three of the murders. However, in 2004 an appeals court overturned Herzog’s conviction, finding his confession was coerced.
He later reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead to voluntary manslaughter in Vanderheiden’s death, and being an accessory in the murders of Henry Howell, King and Wheeler, besides drug charges. Altogether, he received a 14-year sentence, with credit for six years he already had served.
Herzog was paroled in 2010. He had been scheduled for release back to Galgiani’s Central Valley district.
Galgiani worked to stop Herzog’s release from High Desert State Prison in Susanville, but after exhausting all recourses to stop his parole she was able to force his release to a trailer on prison grounds.
Herzog died in January at age 46. He hung himself after Padilla informed him that Shermantine was about to release the locations of some of the additional murder victims for which they had not been tried.
Galgiani credited Padilla with helping get Shermantine to divulge the information about the additional murder victims. Early on, Shermantine was asking for money, and Padilla provided him with a reported $33,000 to cover restitution and some other expenses.
Shermantine has written Galgiani several letters. In one she received May 30, Shermantine told her that between three inmates – including himself, with the other two not being named – there were 14 victims that he could help locate, in an area where he used to hunt.
She said he didn’t specifically mention Cow Mountain in that letter. In the weeks since, however, that was the area where he told Padilla the 14 bodies would be found.
Asked if she thinks that Shermantine and Herzog had accomplices, Galgiani said yes. “I’ve always believed that.”
Padilla said Shermantine named two men – whose first names are Jason and Marcus – who were accomplices to him and Herzog.
Like Padilla, Galgiani believes Shermantine is telling the truth, pointing out that the maps he’s drawn and the letters he’s written have helped lead authorities to human remains, including 1,000 bone fragments and pieces of clothing and jewelry found in February in an abandoned well near Linden.
Galgiani said one of her constituents went to visit Shermantine in San Quentin, with the woman asking about the location of her child’s remains. “He promised her he would return her baby to her, and he did,” said Galgiani.
“No family member should have to beg to have their child back because law enforcement won’t act,” she added.
An appeal for federal assistance
Galgiani’s issues with law enforcement are particularly pointed at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She said the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, which had concerns over security issues, halted attempts to take Shermantine to burial sites.
The murders ultimately could involve 21 counties around California as well as communities in Nevada. Galgiani said authorities in Reno are investigating the possibility that a young woman who disappeared in 1996 was one of the pair’s victims.
Because of the multiple jurisdictions involved, in February and March Galgiani personally appealed to FBI Director Robert Mueller, asking that the FBI reopen its 1999 serial murder case on Shermantine and Herzog, and provide support from its Evidence Recovery Team in the search for victims.
“I request that the FBI, as evidenced by its history, exercise its leadership and expertise in these cases to address the continuing suffering of the victim families in Northern California. I believe it is the domain of the FBI to step in and assist, and work collaboratively with local law enforcement agencies, particularly given the complexities of this case, so that families may finally bring their loved ones home,” she wrote in the February letter.
In March, she followed up in another letter, pointing out to Mueller that Congress granted the FBI the authority to investigate serial killings upon the request of a law enforcement agency “with investigative or prosecutorial jurisdiction.”
In April, Galgiani received a letter from Jayne Challman, chief of the FBI’s Violent Criminal Threat Section.
Challman told Galgiani that a representative from the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office attended a Jan. 20 meeting at the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, at which time it was determined that the jurisdiction remained with local law enforcement, “as no federally predicated offense exists at this time.”
Challman continued, “At the time of this letter, no change has occurred in the legal status, and the jurisdiction of the case remains with local authorities within California.”
The letter stated that the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office had requested support from the FBI’s Evidence Response Team, “and plans are underway to provide the proper assistance in terms of both manpower and equipment.”
Galgiani said she doesn’t believe Shermantine is going to stop trying to give information to bring the victims home.
She said family members of missing people all over the region are being left to wonder if their loved ones are among the victims.
“This is not going away,” Galgiani said. “I’m not letting it go.”
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Anderson Marsh State Historic Park celebrates 30th anniversary Aug. 11
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Anderson Marsh State Historic Park turns 30 years old this year and the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association is hosting a celebration to honor this milestone.
Everyone is invited to attend the event which will be held on Saturday, Aug. 11, from 8:30 a.m. until noon at the park, which is located off of Highway 53 between Lower Lake and the city of Clearlake.
AMIA has planned a number of activities to commemorate the anniversary of the park, which was officially dedicated in October of 1982.
Starting at 8:30 a.m. a guided nature walk will be held for those wishing to enjoy a moderate summer walk through the park. Participants are asked to meet in the parking lot at 8:15 p.m.
Then, at 10 a.m. enjoy “Music on the Porch,” and a Ranch House open house.
Don Coffin, an AMIA board member and local musician will be “pickin’ and singin,” and AMIA volunteers will be in the Ranch House to share their knowledge about the history of the historical ranch house and those who lived there.
At 10:45 a.m. Sector Superintendent Bill Salata will open the ceremonies, followed by AMIA President Roberta Lyons, who will present certificates of appreciation to outstanding donors, volunteers and members.
Dr. John Parker, who was instrumental in the founding of the park, will give a history of the park and why it is so important that we preserve and maintain this Lake County treasure for future generations.
There will also be an update on the efforts by AMIA to keep the park open and accessible to the public.
Then, from 11:15 a.m. until noon there will be more music, refreshments and an anniversary cake.
This will be a chance to get together, talk with park supporters and enjoy a morning at the park.
