Friday, November 20, 2020
“The dead cannot cry out for justice.
It is the duty of the living to do so for them.”
Lois McMaster Bujold
The Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Department has re-opened an investigation into the unknown “Man In The Well,” according to Sheriff Aaron Mitchell. The cold case is 34 years old and Investigator Chris Abrahams is leading the charge. The victim was never identified.
It was April 18, 1986 when Charles Pilcher looked into an abandoned well on his place located on the Recknor Road, a mile or so south of Hwy. 6 west of Many. He was thinking about using the well as a source of water for his cattle and when he looked into the well he saw a big sheet of polyethylene plastic wrap. He fished it out and found that it had covered a body. Pilcher’s son told officers he had seen the plastic in the well before Christmas of the previous year, but thought someone had dumped trash in the well. The well was 27 ft. 3 in. deep and the water table was 13 ft. “We feel that whoever dumped the body knew in advance where the well was,” Chief Deputy Brad Walker said.
Sheriff Alfice Brumley had the well drained and the remaining bones recovered. The remains were that of a white male. At the time, Dr. George McCormick, Caddo Parish Coroner, estimated the age to be 50-60 years old, but later Mary Manheim, forensic anthropologist and director of the LSU FACES lab in Shreveport, said the age was between 30 and 45. Medical examiners estimated him to be 5 feet 8 ½ inches tall. It was found that the body had a shotgun wound in the hip and some of the pellets were still lodged in the body, so it is assumed he might have walked with a limp. The victim was dressed in a light blue shirt, blue knit pants and a light blazer jacket. In his possession were found a Snoopy night light, several small keys, a black comb with several teeth missing and a urine cup. And the victim had extensive dental work.
The remains were kept in Shreveport for 30 years. When Dr. McCormick died, the remains were sent to Ms. Manheim in March 2006.
It was determined that the victim died a violent death. Dr. McCormick ruled that the victim died from blunt force trauma, with several blows to the head causing bond and tissue destruction. In addition, it was determined that he had been possibly stabbed in the back twice.
The Louisiana Repository for Unidentified and Missing Persons Information Program will now be used to assist in the case, according to Deputy Walker. The program, started in 2006, has the goal to create biological and DNA information database for unidentified and missing people in the state.
It is hoped that DNA can now be extracted from a tooth and that a genealogical profile can be created to identify the victim.
Chief Walker said, “Investigator Chris Abrahams has been assigned this case. We hope to go back in the well and see if there might be more items there. We will try a Genealogical DNA profile test. The issue is getting quality DNA from the victim’s body in order to do a test. We have a sample DNA from the late brother of a missing person from South Louisiana that we are looking at. The person went missing about the same time our victim was found.”
And there’s another guy who has never given up on identifying the body in the well: Teddy DeLacerda of Many continues to be a man on a mission. He has been working to identify the remains of the man in the well for 15 years. He is a retired Investigator for Sabine District Attorney Don Burkett, an investigator for the Zwolle Police Department and worked for the Many Police. He is driven to identify the victim. “Why?” I asked, and he responded with the quote shared above by Lois McMaster Bujold.
He said, “It is my hope that someday his remains will be eventually identified and given a proper Christian peaceful burial.” Even in retirement, the case continues to be on DeLacerda’s mind and he has not lost hope that the victim can be identified. He has kept splendid records of the case at every turn and has allowed the Sheriff’s Office to use them. Of course, he will be of assistance in any way possible.
Now, hopefully some member of the general public can help. If you know of anything at all about the case, or if you think you know something, please give that tip to Detective Abrahams at the Sheriff’s Office. Call him now at (318) 590-9475. If you wish to remain anonymous call Crime Stoppers at (318) 256-4511.
Sheriff Mitchell announced that on Nov. 19 the Sheriff’s Office transferred to an automated telephone system. Citizens who call will be required to select a number for the department with which they wish to speak. This will reduce the call volume to Dispatch so Dispatch will be able to focus more on Emergency 911 calls and radio traffic. Sheriff Mitchell urges citizens to please be patient as the transfer to the new system is made. As always, emergency calls should be made to 911.
It is interesting to note that Sheriff’s Dispatch is manned by two employees around the clock 365 day a year. They take all the calls for service in the parish, not only for the Sheriff’s Department, but for the municipalities. They handle fires, medical emergencies, accidents and so on. By installing the phone system, citizens may actually get help quicker. Rather than having to be filtered through Dispatch, citizens now will be transferred directly to the department needed.
A summary of 911 calls for September shows: EMT calls, 124; fire calls, 35; other calls, 458; and police calls, 172, for a total of 789 calls. The summary for October shows: EMT calls, 120; fire calls, 19; other calls, 580; and police calls, 176 for a total of 896.
And Sheriff Mitchell and Deputy Walker continue with much needed improvements at the Sheriff’s Department. They are almost ready to put into use a new Sabine Sheriff’s Office app, which will provide much needed information to the general public.
The app will be free of charge and can be downloaded from your App Store on your smart device. It will provide information regarding sex offenders in Sabine Parish, a way to submit tips to the Sheriff’s Office, and other items of interest, such as Most Wanted, News/Events, COVID-19 information and Inmate Info.
One feature of the app is that info about arrests and such can be released so that the public is made aware, but it does not offer a format that allow users to post opinions or comments related to arrests.
We trust they will start posting photos and information about those who are arrested for public awareness and safety. People want to know who has been arrested and why. Other Sheriff’s Departments do it, why not Sabine?
The 2020 Young Achiever for the Many Christmas Parade on Dec 19 is Shelly Haigh, the owner of The Gypsy Boutique.
Shelly is a self-made entrepreneur. She had always dreamed of owning her own business. She decided to quit her office job in 2016 and make her dream come true by opening a dress shop.
Shelly had this to say about her efforts: “When I opened, I had no idea of what I was doing. Everyone made owning a business look easy. I am here to tell you that there is nothing easy about owning a small business. It is stressful and a lot of work for little to no pay. My business struggled for a long time, but I learned from my mistakes and every day I got up, showed up, and NEVER gave up.”
She had to close her boutique in 2017 because of complications with a pregnancy. She spent several hard months on bedrest. Her only goals were to have a healthy baby and then get back to work on her storefront business. In February 2018, she gave birth to a healthy 10-pound baby boy. A month later Shelly had heart surgery.
After a two-month recovery, Shelly once again started up her business. She moved into the old Hitching Post store on San Antonio Avenue in the heart of Many’s Cultural District. She had only a small amount of inventory but she was determined to fill up the store with merchandise. She spent one year pouring every penny back into the business in order to grow it.
Soon the young business woman outgrew the 4,000-square-foot location on San Antonio Avenue and decided she wanted something bigger with more parking. She moved the Gypsy Boutique into Wright’s Shopping Center (the former Sears Store) in September 2020. The Gypsy Boutique now offers 8,000 square feet of stylish clothing, shoes, accessories, and gifts. It’s a must-stop shopping place in Many.
When Shelly started her business, she worked alone. She cleaned people’s houses in the mornings just to make ends meet. And then she went to work at the store. By July 2018, her business had grown enough that she could hire some part-time help. She hired Savannah Anderson who became such an important part of the business that Shelly later promoted her to manager.
Since then, Shelly has added two more girls to her team at the Gypsy Boutique. She said, “I don’t consider them to be ‘just employees.’ We are a team — a family. We work together every single day to meet our goals, improve our store and offer our customers the very best service possible.”
Shelly said she did not have an easy childhood. Her family did not have money. She watched her parents and grandparents get up every day and work hard for the family.
She said, “We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we did have all we needed, plus some. If there is one thing I would like to be an example of, it’s hard work.”
She summed up her beliefs this way: “You don’t have to be given everything to be successful. Dreams don’t work unless you work for them.” Shelly’s dream has come true because of her hard work. The Gypsy Boutique is successful and reason enough for people to shop local.
Shelly Haigh would like everyone who reads this to know: “Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.”
Shelly is the wife of Josh Haigh of Foy Motors, who has been extremely supportive of her desire to become a successful small business owner. She is the mother of daughters Savannah and Maci and son Grayson. This all-American family is an integral part of Many and Sabine Parish.
A special thank you to Mary Brocato for the above article.
That is all for Friday lagniappe. Best wishes for a great weekend, and as always, thanks for reading.
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