“If there was a witness, wouldn't that be included in the case files?” Xavier asks.
“Yes. But here's the thing, the information is redacted. In everything. The police files, the Bureau files. All identifying information is removed.”
“Why would they do that?” Xavier wonders. “Unless the witness couldn't legally be identified?”
“It was a minor,” I explain. “They couldn't release personal information.”
"Does the file have the interview? What did the witness say?" Xavier asks.
"Most of it is redacted, so I don't have all the details. But from what I can read, it seems this person was at the campground that day. He or she was in the woods and was found by police during the initial investigation. The witness had blood on him or her, but explained it was from a fall.. It wasn't until Violet was found that the witness mentioned being chased and seeing someone dragging Violet through the woods. Apparently, though, the statement wasn't considered exactly credible."
"But that must be fairly easy to verify, shouldn't it?" Xavier asks.
"How do you mean?" I ask.
"You okay?" Dean asks, coming into the room with Xavier. "I'm going to make lunch. Are you hungry?"
"Yes. Say hello to your cousin."
Dean leans to the side slightly and looks into the screen, then waves.
"What are you up to?" he asks. "I thought you were coming here tomorrow."
"I am," I tell him. "But I've been looking into Arrow Lake Campground, and I wanted to tell Xavier about it since he was interested in it during the investigation last night."
Dean nods, the expression on his face hard to read.
"You look tired," I observe.
"I am. I didn't get home until really late last night," he says.
“Another date?”
This time, it’s Dean’s turn to roll his eyes.
"Anyway, I noticed that. It was almost sunrise when you texted me."
"Xavier wouldn't let me go to sleep until I did," he says.
"Thank you, Xavier."
"He kicked the side of my bed until I got up and did it," Dean says.
"Thank you, Xavier."
"All right, I'm making food," Dean says.
"Is there anything in any of the other interviews that might give some hints about who this witness is?” Xavier asks.
“What witness? Do you know? What are you talking about?”
“On the investigation special, Ken Abbott was talking about the different ideas about what might have happened to Violet Montgomery. He pointed out that a lot of people think that it was just an accident, but there are conflicting reports. And one of those conflicting reports is that apparently there was a witness,” I say.
“A witness?” Dean asks. “I thought nobody knew what happened to her.”
“Well, therein lies the conflict. There was a witness. I have the reports, the interviews. This person existed. The question is whether he or she actually saw anything. I don't know exactly what the testimony said because the pages are redacted, but there's some information in there. The witness was a minor, so we don't know anything about him or her,” I say.
“It was a pretty horrible situation. I can't imagine why anyone would want a kid involved in that,” Dean muses.
“Seems the rangers agree. They won't allow any identifying information to be available and nothing in the case mentions any specifics about the witness. Of course, there are notes that the statements weren't considered reliable at the time, too,” I say.
“But that makes it even more interesting,” Xavier says. “That makes me want to know more about the witness. Who was it? Why would someone make something up about something like that? Why would anyone go through interviews with the police if he or she wasn’t going to get any notoriety for it and was still not believed? And if maybe the person was just exaggerating or elaborating a story, what did he or she actually see?”
"I haven't found anything from the other people who were interviewed that said anything about the witness specifically. The guy who was staying next door, Adrian Slatton, didn't have much to say after they interviewed him at his cabin. I mean, he was cooperative. He talked to them every time they wanted him to and was apparently totally forthcoming with them. He just hadn't been there long and didn't get out and do any searching like some of the others did. He was there doing a photography project, and apparently got really wrapped into that."
"I'm surprised they let him continue working on it while they were searching the area," Dean points out.
"I am, too. But with no specific evidence of a crime, I guess they couldn't really just say no one was allowed to use the park. The campground was still open. The rest of the park was still open," I say.
"Who else did they talk to?" Xavier asks.
"Laura Mitchell is a woman who was at the campground with her children. The first interview described her as frantic. She was absolutely terrified that there was some child snatcher running around the campground while her two boys were there."
"Did either of the boys know Violet? Maybe they played with her?" Xavier asks.
"No. They were thirteen and fifteen at the time. So, not exactly the same age range as Violet. But Laura was freaking out anyway. Said as soon as her boys heard about the little girl going missing, they insisted on going out to look for her. She was terrified something was going to happen to them."
"Did the police ever talk to either one of them? If they weren't witnesses, the case files might not protect them because of their age."
"I don't think so. I'm guessing she scooped those boys up as soon as she got a chance and left. The police talked to a few other people who were at the lake and in the area when Violet went missing. There was a married couple who were celebrating an anniversary a couple of cabins away. They think they might have heard the scream that Adrian was talking about. But they interviewed the family that was down on the beach near the lake and they didn't mention a scream
