I was not completely able to confirm that they sold the property. The Casteel family moved to Georgia not long after the murders. This would be an issue in question at some point later. In the area of a seemly freshly used fire pit investigators found the remains of what appeared to be a blue tarp. Frank's brother in law and his wife were supposed to join Frank and Susie but claim they never "made it." The area in which Frank claimed to be that evening camping was also searched. Absent were Richard and his companions names. However, others had made it into the log, ones to which declared Frank was less than polite. These two people did not seem to have made it into the log that day. He claimed to have seen two trespassers earlier in the evening as he was headed down to the area and in his words, politely told them they could not use the area since he and Susie were planning to. When questioned Frank had said that he and his wife were celebrating their anniversary on the evening the men disappeared and that they were in fact using the swimming hole themselves and had camped there overnight. Ballistic tests were taken on a 12 gauge shot gun Frank owned but it could not be confirmed or denied as to being the gun used. The Casteel property and home was searched and while suspicion rose (suspicion that Casteel later claimed as being prejudice against him) there was nothing completely solid that could be used against him or prove that he had in fact been the person who murdered the three men. ![]() Frank would later deny being armed and threatening trespassers. Some claimed that he all but held watch at the end of his property to find trespassers waiting to confront people. Also, dozens of people claimed that within the few months of Frank Casteel owning the property that when entering the area they soon met Frank, who was armed, angry and would threaten them. I am also unsure what information the police told him to log but he would insist on ID's and apparently take all the information he could from those. It does not seem that he would log the names and information and then inform the police because the log was later found after the murders of the three men. He apparently did this, but I am unsure what he was supposed to do with it after he had their names or what was going to be done. They told him to create a log of all those who came on his property. ![]() Once he bought the property he had gone to the local police department asking what he could do about people entering and using his property. Others claim that was not even an option. Those same people claim that Frank was willing to work with people in making a deal in having them help him clean up that area and still be able to use the swimming hole. Defenders of Frank Casteel would later claim that trespassing was not the issue Frank had with people entering this portion of his land but with the trash they left behind. It appears although the previous owner probably did not like it he tried very little to stop it and knew there was little chance of that. The Blue Hole had been a local hang out for decades. In fact, he knew before buying the land that there would likely be some issues. He had bought his new 116 acre land a few short months prior but he had already had several run ins with locals. They had all been shot.įrank Casteel immediately came under suspicion. ![]() Five days after their disappearance, and 12 miles in the other direction past The Gate, at another illegal dumping site the bodies of the men were found. Around the area that local people called "the Gate" (although a Gate was no longer there as it had been in the past and this path led to The Blue Hole) on property recently bought by Frank Casteel and his wife, Susie, seemed strangely "clean." It looked as if the dirt and leaves had almost been "swept." The area around was searched and there were large pools of blood found and off to the side somewhere someone found Richard's pocket knife. Their trail to the swimming hole was followed and something else suspicious was found. ![]() There was blood and brain matter all over the ATV's so everyone knew something bad had happened. The following day the ATV's were found at a local illegal dumping site. A search party was formed that was continued into the next day. As night fall came they knew something was wrong and went to the police. They had intended to return by dinner but when that did not happen his wife and daughter became worried. On Jnear Chattanooga Tennessee, Richard Mason, his son in law, Ken Griffith and Ken's friend Earl Smock left Richard's house on ATV's for a ride and to go to a local swimming hole known as The Blue Hole.
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