"Herzog's Boneyard": KCRA 3 on the Search of the Linden Well, February 2012
In February 2012, San Joaquin County Sheriff's investigators dug out an abandoned well near Linden that Wesley Shermantine had marked on a map. KCRA 3 reported live on the search and the calls from families. Shermantine is not heard.
- Subject
- Wesley Shermantine
- Recorded
- about February 2012
- Runtime
- 2:07
Content warning: Concerns the search for the remains of murder victims; no graphic detail.
The Report
This is a 2-minute-7-second KCRA 3 news report from Sacramento, posted on the station's YouTube channel on February 15, 2012. Reporter Melinda Meza reported live from French Camp, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's base, on the search of an abandoned well near Linden for the remains of victims of Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog. A sheriff's spokesperson, named in the report as Les Garcia, is heard briefly. Shermantine and Herzog are not heard.
Historical Context
Wesley Shermantine was convicted in 2001 of four murders and sentenced to death. An appeals court overturned Loren Herzog's convictions in August 2004; he then pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the Vanderheiden case and was paroled in September 2010 to a trailer outside High Desert State Prison in Susanville, where he died by suicide on January 16, 2012. In early 2012, after bounty hunter Leonard Padilla promised to pay him for information, Shermantine drew maps of places where he said victims were buried, including a well on Flood Road near Linden. Digging began on January 27, 2012; remains believed to be Cyndi Vanderheiden's were found in Calaveras County on February 9, and on February 11 remains were found in a well on Flood Road near Linden.
Circumstances
KCRA's report came a few days into the well search. The station's helicopter had filmed the dig the day before. The sheriff's spokesperson had just briefed reporters on the number of calls received from families.
What the Report Covers
The reporter says there is "more evidence to sift through, more piles of dirt, more human remains" and that the dig had been under way since Friday. She says Shermantine sent a map of the well and called it "Herzog's Boneyard," and that sheriff's deputies told KCRA they believed "there could be at least 30 bodies inside." The spokesperson says the office had received 65 phone calls "from various different years" and that callers were "desperate and hopeful that we can bring closure." The reporter adds that investigators had found various items, including a ring with initials, that a toll-free number was being set up for out-of-state families, and that families might be asked to give DNA samples.
What Makes the Recording Significant
The report captures the 2012 well search as it happened, including the scale of public response from families of missing people across many years.
Archival Importance
A KCRA 3 news report on the station's own channel.
Important Caveats
Shermantine and Herzog are not heard. The figure of "at least 30 bodies" is KCRA's report of what deputies told it; it is not established. Sources give other figures: "as many as 25" (CBS13, 2012), "at least 19" (Wikipedia), "as many as 19" (local authorities, January 2013), and up to 72 in a later Shermantine statement. Remains of five people (Hobson, Billy, an unidentified victim and a fetus among them) were eventually reported from the well, not 30. The reporter's and spokesperson's names are as heard from machine transcription and are not verified. No captions exist, so the transcript rests on machine passes only.
Anchor: Sheriff's investigators have resumed their recovery efforts near Linden, in a well, looking for more human remains. KCRA 3's Melinda Meza, live from French Camp, where [unclear: "local County" (Whisper; possibly "San Joaquin County")] Sheriff's deputies spoke a short time ago about the investigation.
Melinda Meza: Well, they have more information now. We just finished talking to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's spokesperson, who says there is now more evidence to sift through, more piles of dirt, more human remains to tell you about. Now, you can go ahead and see that we have these pictures we're bringing to you from our LiveCopter 3 HD. This was shot yesterday, to give you an overhead look of the dig and the search in this well near Linden. It's been taking place since Friday. Sheriff's investigators are looking for more victims of the so-called Speed Freak Killers, Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog. Shermantine sent a map detailing this well. He calls it "Herzog's Boneyard." Sheriff's deputies now tell us they believe there could be at least 30 bodies inside.
Les Garcia: Thus far, we've received 65 phone calls, and they're from various different years. And everybody that we're speaking with, I mean, they're desperate and hopeful that we can bring closure.
Melinda Meza: Now, investigators are working around the clock sifting through evidence. They can't tell us much information. They could only tell us they have found various items, including a ring with initials on it, but they are staying in contact with possible family members, so they would be the first to hear if their loved one was put in that well by Wes Shermantine and Loren Herzog. Again, there is a hotline number that many people are calling. Les Garcia said 65 calls have come in so far, and now they're trying to establish a toll-free number if any families are from out of state. Now, those families may be asked to submit DNA tests in order to help with the investigation here. Now, tonight at five, we will talk to some of those family members who are hoping that these findings will bring some closure to their family. Reporting live here in French Camp, I'm Melinda Meza, KCRA 3 reports. [02:06: speech ends; clip runs to 02:07.] ---