Ever since writing my book I’ve been a little obsessed with evidence storage, and when I saw that the LAPD was live-streaming a recent dig I started looking around the LAPD TV section of their website and found a small promotional fill called Inside the LAPD Property Room .

It’s not objective, but it’s still interesting to get a peek inside.  I would love to write a book about evidence rooms in police departments across the country, but what an obstacle-ridden project that would be. Hmmm.  Still.  It might be worth a try.

And again I am cutting and pasting from one blog to another because I have been talking about it in both place. But if you’ve been following the story you know that the dig for Roger Dale Madison ended without finding his body. You can read an account in the Pasadna Star-News [link no longer active] here. Weston DeWalt described the scene to me. “A Ventura County Sheriff’s Department chaplain said a few words and the sister went around and shook the hands of the 50-60 detectives, dog handlers, volunteers” and Weston himself.

I wonder how many people had to fight tears when Roger’s sister shook their hand. It wasn’t ended because they didn’t think Roger had been buried there, but the dig had moved close enough to the highway to become dangerous to the recovery workers and the dogs. But “all three cadaver dogs on scene were continuing to alert in the pit and upon the last of the dirt taken from the pit and upon the equipment which had been in use.” Everyone believes Roger is in there.

His sister does. And in spite of the outcome, I could see her being extremely grateful to everyone who clearly tried as hard as they could to find her brother. Whenever anyone has tried to help me when I’ve needed it, it meant the world to me that they did what they could, even if they didn’t succeed. I could definitely see how this might be, in its own way, enough for Roger’s sister. And when she shook their hands, even if she felt disappointment, it wouldn’t have been with a single one of them. They must have been like angels to her.

Also, DeWalt said that because of all the media coverage, people “came forward and offered extremely important information. One individual had personal knowledge of how Mack Ray Edwards attracted victims, the methods he employed to gain their trust, and offered details about other criminal activity in which Edwards was involved.” This will be an enormous help to Det. Vivian Flores and others who continue to investigate Edwards for other cases of missing children. Maybe other families, who never got the answers they needed, will find similar comfort from the work of all these people (and the dogs) who are still out there trying.

I can’t believe it. In fact, I didn’t believe it when I heard this was going to happen, but you can watch law enforcement in California conducting the dig for Roger Dale Madison right now, live.  Mind blowing.  To see for yourself go here and click on the picture of the dig.  You’ll then be asked to register, which is free.

I’m listening to the engine of the backhoe now, as I type.  I can hear that “beep beep beep” every time it backs up.

Way to use new technology LAPD.  I’m impressed!!

I just wrote this on my other blog and I’m cutting and pasting it here, since I’ve also discussed the case here. 

I posted earlier about a six year old boy named Bruce Kremen who went missing on  July 13, 1960, in the Angeles National Forest in California. It is now suspected that Bruce may have been the victim of serial killer Mack Ray Edwards.  While researching Tommy Bowman, another boy who went missing in the same general area three years before Bruce, author Weston DeWalt found new evidence linking Edwards to Bowman.  Law enforcement took another look at the Bowman case, and to make a long story short, they are now looking at Edwards for up to 18 other children’s deaths including Bruce.

Investigators believe they have pinpointed the spot along the 23 Freeway in Thousand Oaks where Edwards buried Roger Dale Madison, another one of his victims.  It’s not Bruce, but anything that moves the case forward may one day lead to finding Bruce and the other missing children.  At 9am today, California-time, a press conference is going to be held at the site so perhaps more information will come out then.  I’m not sure who is holding it, so many law enforcement agencies are involved, but perhaps the FBI because I believe they are overseeing (and paying) for this excavation.  

There’s a great article in the Los Angeles Times [I had a link to it, but the page no longer exists on the LA Times website] and I know that NPR also plans to do a story. The picture of Mack Ray Edwards is from the LA Times piece.