"Time Heals All Wounds. It Doesn't.": Families on the FBI's Linden Search, KCRA 3, 2013

Name: "Time Heals All Wounds. It Doesn't.": Families on the FBI's Linden Search, KCRA 3, 2013
Uploaded: 2013-01-08T00:00:00Z
Duration: 2 min 48 s
Description: As the FBI took over the search near Linden in January 2013, KCRA 3 spoke with the mother of missing Gayle Marks and the sister of JoAnn Hobson, whose remains had been returned mixed with others'. Shermantine is not heard.

As the FBI took over the search near Linden in January 2013, KCRA 3 spoke with the mother of missing Gayle Marks and the sister of JoAnn Hobson, whose remains had been returned mixed with others'. Shermantine is not heard.

Subject: Wesley Shermantine
Recorded: about January 2013
Runtime: 2:48

Content warning: Concerns murder victims and the handling of their remains; no graphic detail.

The Report

This is a 2-minute-48-second KCRA 3 news report from Sacramento, posted on the station's YouTube channel on January 8, 2013, as the FBI began a new excavation near Linden. Reporter Melinda Meza (name as heard) spoke with relatives of two women linked to the case: the mother of Gayle Marks, named in the report as Sue Kaiser, and Michelle Loftis, the sister of JoAnn Hobson. Another relative, not named, is also heard. A studio timeline of the 2012 searches follows. Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog are not heard.

Historical Context

Wesley Shermantine was convicted in 2001 of four murders and sentenced to death; Loren Herzog died by suicide in January 2012. Acting on Shermantine's information, investigators began digging in Calaveras County on January 27, 2012, and later searched wells near Linden in San Joaquin County, recovering more than 1,000 bone fragments. On March 30, 2012, remains from a Linden well were identified as JoAnn Hobson, 16, and Kimberly Billy, 19. Gayle Marks, 18, disappeared in Stockton in October 1988 and has never been found.

Circumstances

In early January 2013, the FBI began excavating another well near Linden. JoAnn Hobson's mother had said her daughter's remains were returned to her mixed with bones from at least three other people. The FBI ended the search on February 22, 2013, without finding further remains.

What the Report Covers

Gayle Marks's mother calls her wait "a living nightmare" and says: "They say time heals all wounds. It doesn't." A relative asks why families had "to wait this long." The reporter says the Hobson family was glad the FBI was taking over and upset by the way the sheriff's department had handled the remains. Michelle Loftis says the way her sister was treated "makes me feel sick," and that "it's not all my sister. We have other people's remains with my sister." An unnamed relative says that knowing "for sure" means "we don't have to wonder," and that "none of the people that have suffered deserved what happened to them." The studio timeline recounts the 2012 digs in San Andreas and Linden and Shermantine's temporary release from prison to help the FBI; the clip ends mid- sentence.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records families' voices at the start of the 2013 FBI excavation and their criticism of the earlier handling of remains.

Important Caveats

Shermantine and Herzog are not heard. Gayle Marks is a missing person whom police told her mother they linked to the pair; she has not been found, and the pair were not convicted of her death. The names Sue Kaiser and Melinda Meza are as heard from machine transcription and are not verified; a name heard as "Dorian" at 01:37 is unverified and is left out of the page copy. The timeline says Shermantine was released "in August"; Wikipedia places his temporary transfer in September 2012. No captions exist, so the transcript rests on machine passes only, and two short phrases are unresolved.

Anchor: And some of the family members of victims who are still missing tell KCRA 3 that they have new hope now that the FBI is searching. KCRA 3's Melinda Meza continues our team coverage.

Sue Kaiser: It's just like a living nightmare.

Melinda Meza: Sue Kaiser has been waiting more than 20 years to find out what happened to her daughter, Gayle Marks. Police told Kaiser that they believe her daughter is a victim of Speed Freak Killers Wes Shermantine and Loren Herzog.

Sue Kaiser: They say time heals all wounds. It doesn't.

Melinda Meza: Now that some family members of victims have learned the FBI will continue search efforts in a well in Linden, they say they are hopeful.

Family Member: It's kind of frustrating, too, because why do they have to wait this long?

Melinda Meza: The family of victim JoAnn Hobson, whose remains were found last year in a well here in Linden, say they too are happy to hear the FBI is taking over. And they say it's upsetting to see the way their loved one's remains were handled previously by the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department.

Michelle Loftis: [unclear: "The season right now with that big thing" (Whisper) / "The season begin right now with that big thing" (fact-check second pass, 2026-10-11)] makes my stomach, that makes my heart [unclear: "beat back" (Whisper) / "beat fast" (fact-check second pass)]. It makes me feel sick, how they did my sister.

Melinda Meza: Michelle Loftis says her sister's remains were commingled with other victims.

Michelle Loftis: Finding out that it's not all my sister. We have other people's remains with my sister, and I [unclear: "think, God" (Whisper) / "thank God" (fact-check second pass)] my mom did not [unclear: "create her" (Whisper and fact-check second pass); possibly "cremate her"] at that time.

Melinda Meza: Some family members of victims say closure is a step to healing.

Family Member: Wondering if that's your loved one. You know, now that we know that for sure that was [unclear: "Dorian" (both machine passes); name not verified], you know, now we don't have to wonder. She didn't deserve what happened to her at all. You know, none of the people that have suffered deserved what happened to them. ("to them" from the second machine pass; Whisper "what happened in Linden" runs into the sign-off.)

Melinda Meza: In Linden, Melinda Meza, KCRA 3 reports.

Anchor: Let's show you a timeline now on this case. One year ago, back on January 27th of 2012, acting on a tip from killer Wesley Shermantine, law enforcement started digging near Shermantine's former home in San Andreas; that's in Calaveras County. On February 9th, on that property, investigators found the first remains tied to Shermantine and Loren Herzog's drug-fueled killing spree back in the '80s and '90s. They found more remains there the next day, and then they expanded their search to San Joaquin County. They searched several wells in Linden, finding more than 1,000 bone fragments. In early May, after getting new information from Shermantine, agents returned to Linden to search two more wells. In August, Shermantine was temporarily released from prison and brought to Linden by the FBI to help find more victims. We believe that he was likely brought to that location where FBI investigators are searching to... [cut off at 02:48, end of clip] ---