Thread: Dozens of dismembered bodies found buried in Texas HOAX

Jun 07, 2011

Reports: Dozens of dismembered bodies found buried in East Texas

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY
Updated 2m ago

Texas authorities are reporting that 25 to 30 dismembered bodies -- perhaps children -- have been found buried in Liberty County, according to local media.

Update at 7:27 p.m. ET: At a news conference earlier, Liberty County Sheriff's Capt. Rex Evans said that so far, authorities have "no evidence of deceased persons."

"We have found some circumstances that have raised some questions and we have requested a search warrant. As soon as that warrant arrives here at the scene, we will further our investigation," he said, KPRC-TV says.

Update at 7:22 p.m. ET: KTRK-TV has aerial footage of the property.

Update at 7:08 p.m. ET: Law enforcement sources tell CNN and CBS that bodies have been found. A federal source tells CNN at least 20; CBS' source says "a lot of bodies."

Liberty County sheriff's spokesman Capt. Rex Evans said that as of 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET), officers had not exhumed any bodies, the Houston Chronicle reports.

"At this time we have not recovered any bodies," he said. "We only received information of a possible crime scene here at this location. Upon our arrival we determined that there was a need for a search warrant. Once that warrant arrives at the scene we will further our investigation."

The paper also spoke to the property owner, identified as Joe Bankson, who was reached in Dallas while traveling with his wife.

"I haven't killed anybody," he said. "And I have a lot of friends, but I haven't helped anybody bury any bodies."

Update at 6:45 p.m. ET: Liberty County sheriff's officials said they found blood on the property. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the tip came from a psychic. Here's what a state law enforcement source told the paper:

"All we know is the sheriff department received a call about a mass grave, or something like that, with several bodies," the source said. "They went and checked it, and there was nothing there. The caller went back and said, 'No, you went to the wrong house.'

"They go back out and go to the house and see something dark that could have been blood, and do a persumpting test that [it] was human blood."

The FBI is participating in the search.

Update at 6:34 p.m. ET: Authorities have brought in cadaver dogs to search a property in Hardin, The Cleveland Advocate reports. They acted after receiving a tip about bodies and a possible mass grave.

The property is at the intersection of County Roads 2049 and 2048 between Hardin and Daisetta, about 50 miles northeast of Houston.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... in-texas/1

20 bodies found in Texas home, official says

June 7th, 2011
06:40 PM ET

At least 20 bodies, including those of children, have been found at a home in Hardin, Texas, a federal official told CNN. Officers are securing the scene, the official said.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/07/20 ... cial-says/

June 7, 2011 6:56 PM PrintText

Mass grave with "a lot of bodies" found in Hardin, Texas, says police source

By Crimesider Staff Topics Daily Blotter
Have Your Say Email Story
(Credit: CBS)

(CBS/KHOU) LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas - A law enforcement source has confirmed with CBS affiliate KHOU that a mass grave with "a lot of bodies" has been found by police on a property in Hardin, Texas, approximately 50 miles northeast of Houston.

Liberty County sheriff's deputies are currently on the scene at the home where a tipster reportedly told them 25 to 30 dismembered bodies are buried

Some of the bodies are children, according to the source, reports KHOU.

The tip came in to police Tuesday afternoon, and the tipster claimed that dozens of dismembered bodies were buried in the grave, according to local paper The Cleveland Advocate.

About 15 sheriff's department vehicles and at least one cadaver dog are on the scene.

The Beaumont FBI office has also been asked to assist in the investigation.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162- ... z1OdXBK25V

**BREAKING NEWS** 20 Bodies Found In Texas Home!

By GlobalGrind Staff

A law enforcement source has confirmed that a mass grave with "a lot of bodies" has been found by police on a property near Hardin, Texas, approximately 50 miles northeast of Houston.

Liberty County sheriff's deputies are currently on the scene at the home where a tipster reportedly told them 25 to 30 dismembered bodies are buried

CNN reports that a federal source confirmed to the cable network that 20 bodies have been found.

Some of the bodies are children, according to the police source.

The tip came in to police Tuesday afternoon, and the tipster claimed that dozens of dismembered bodies were buried in the grave, according to local paper The Cleveland Advocate.

About 15 sheriff's department vehicles and at least one cadaver dog are on the scene. The Beaumont FBI office has also been asked to assist in the investigation.

Police are waiting to obtain a warrant to further search the property.

http://globalgrind.com/news-politics/br ... z1OdjhD1uJ

Jun 07, 2011

Police, FBI probe report of mass grave in east Texas

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Update at 8:27 p.m. ET: KPRC-TV talked to a neighbor who said long-haul truck drivers often stayed at the farmhouse on the property with the owner's 16-year-old daughter and her 19-year-old fiance. The neighbor said that the girl moved out Sunday and that the neighbor never saw anything suspicious.

The Cleveland Advocate, which carried the initial report of the bodies, spoke with a 16-year-old neighbor who was friends with the teen. She said her friend moved out last week.

Update at 8:10 p.m. ET: The property owner tells KHOU-TV that his daughter lives there and that blood on the porch is from a suicide attempt a couple of weeks ago by her former boyfriend, a U.S. soldier who was AWOL and is now in a military psychiatric ward in Killeen.

The owner, whom KHOU identified as Joe Bankston, did not name the boyfriend. He said a sheriff's reported was filed after the suicide attempt.

"He got drunk and cut his wrist," Bankston said. "It took me all day to clean the inside of the house. I'm not sure I got it [the blood] all."

"This is like something out of a novel," he said.

Earlier the Houston Chronicle identified him as Joe Bankson.

Bankston said he's owned the property for a little over three years. He admitted his son, Joe, is a convicted sex offender, but said he hasn't lived in Hardin for over a year.

"He lived with us for a little while, but had to go to Michigan about a year ago for a court appearance and never came back," Bankston said. "Last I heard, he was in Ohio."

Earlier, The Cleveland Advocate reported that the owners of the farmhouse were long-haul truckers.

Update at 7:34 p.m. ET: USA TODAY's Oren Dorell reports that the search warrant is expected to arrive about 8 p.m. ET and that deputies will begin searching then.

"The details provided to us indicated there may have been a violent crime scene here," Capt. Rex Evans said.

Sheriff's deputies also observed signs of possible violence, Evans said, though he would not elaborate, saying he is not at liberty to discuss factors that led deputies to request the search warrant.

"At this time no bodies have been observed, recovered or identified," he said. "There have been no bodies observed at the scene."

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... in-texas/1

So far I see nothing in the story that connects it to illegal immigration or a drug cartel.

Psychic's mass grave tip proves false Authorities converged on a residential property near the Liberty County town of Hardin on Tuesday night after the sheriff’s office received a phone tip from a self-professed psychic that 25 to 30 dismembered bodies were buried there.

By 8 p.m., Liberty County Judge Craig McNair said that no bodies were found inside the house. Cadaver dogs were inside and found nothing.

A preliminary search by law enforcement officers earlier in the day found evidence of what they believed was blood, but no sign of anything else, leading them to suggest the call may have been a hoax.

A search warrant was obtained and a quick look around revealed nothing out of order. A state law enforcement source confirmed that DPS officials had obtained the warrant and entered the residence, after making a fruitless search of the property.

A foul stench emanating from the house was found to be coming from piles of rotting garbage. And the blood found at the residence was related to an earlier incident, the source told the Houston Chronicle.

"At the moment, there’s no validity to the report," the source said. "There’s nothing that matches what the psychic said."

Col. Steve McCraw, head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, echoed that judgment.

"There’s nothing been confirmed … and we don’t have any confirmation that bodies have been buried," McCraw said. "We’re working with our local partners, and anytime there’s a report of this nature we have an obligation to work with our local partners to determine if it’s factual or not."

McCraw confirmed that the initial report to local authorities of the mass grave came from a tip provided by a self-professed psychic.

"There was a tip, but no bodies have been found," McCraw said.

Texas Rangers and other state investigators rushed to the scene to assist Liberty County sheriff’s deputies late Tuesday evening, after officers found what looked like dried blood at a residence the tipster claimed was the site of a mass grave containing dozens of bodies, including children.

The resident of the house, Joe Bankson, said nothing will be found and that he has no idea what the tipster was referring to.

"It’s very serious," said Bankson, a 44-year-old long-haul trucker reached on the road in Dallas. "Finding out that the police are in my yard for dead bodies? That’s kinda panicking me. I ain’t killed nobody. We’ve had the cops out at our house, but never for nothing like that. Somebody called the police on my dogs one time."

Bankson told the Chronicle that he and his family have lived at the house for three years. He and his wife left Sunday for a haul to Georgia.

"I haven't killed anybody," he said. "And I have a lot of friends, but I haven't helped anybody bury any bodies."

Bankson said the blood that officers noticed on the porch of his home came from his daughter’s former boyfriend, whom Bankson said cut himself intentionally a couple of weeks ago.

"He got drunk and cut his wrist," Bankson told KHOU-TV. "It took me all day to clean the inside of the house. I'm not sure I got it [the blood] all."

He said the boyfriend was an Army soldier who was AWOL and is now in a military psychiatric ward in Killeen. Bankson told KHOU that a police report was filed with the sheriff's department after the suicide attempt.

Shortly before 6 p.m., Liberty County sheriff's spokesman Rex Evans said officers had not found any indication of bodies on the premises. Cadaver dogs were brought to the site to assist in the search. The Beaumont FBI office along with the DPS and the Texas Rangers also were asked to assist in the investigation.

"At this time we have not recovered any bodies," Evans said. "We only received information of a possible crime scene here at this location. Upon our arrival we determined that there was a need for a search warrant."

McNair said the calls from the self-professed psychic supposedly came from Hays County. The caller chose to remain anonymous, McNair said.

The first call came in Monday night. After nothing was found by deputies, the tipster called again and said they had gone to the wrong place. The house is near the intersection of County Roads 2048 and 2049.

"I do hope and pray this is a false alarm," the county judge said, "but in this day and age you never know. I’m hoping it was a hoax from the very beginning. This is Liberty County. We are not used to these kinds of things."

McNair said local prosecutors might pursue charges against the tipster if there proves no foundation for the


Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... z1OdxvdkXW

FALSE ALARM

"At the moment, there’s no validity to the report," the source said. "There’s nothing that matches what the psychic said."

Wow, there is a lot of confusion here on ALIPAC with this story. Related stories have been posted in several places, some say there are bodies and others say no bodies have been found. I guess that's what happens when posting before an investigation has been done. One things for certain though, there hasn't been one mention of an immigrant.

. . . Evans says authorities took the tip seriously in part because the caller had details about the interior of the house that only someone who had seen it could have known.

He says authorities now have a name and number for the caller and are working to track them down . . .


Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/ ... z1Oe1xe78T