Pennsylvania State Police - Groves Memo #4277

Pennsylvania State Police Department

Narrative For Officer Brian P. Groves

August 12th, 1985

Ref: 25-70627-OF

                                                                                 

Groves #4277

  On the evening of Aug 10, 1985, officers responded to an emergency call at 53 Silver Bear Rd, Camp Silver Bear. Upon arrival, we initially found no staff or campers on the grounds. After further investigation, we discovered the majority of the campers in a confused state at the camp amphitheater. On the stage, Officer Conlon was first to discover the decapitated head of staff member Hedgrew.
  As the investigation continued along the lake side, we discovered Kasabian and the five male campers: Hollis, Barnes, Quinn, Fellberg and Dillard. Kasabian was partially nude and in shock. Appoximately 100 ft from their location was a burnt-out semi-cave construction, still smoking from the fire that had just died out. There were several burned corpses strewn about the area.
  According to the five boys, a Charles Lewis--a native of Hopestown--kidnapped them over the span of the previous two weeks in an attempt to rescue them from what he described as "an evil presence". He kept them where he lived, in a self-constructed cabin three miles east of Vandez Bridge. On the morning of the 10th, Lewis and the boys embarked on their plan to rescue the remaining campers and staff at Camp Silver Bear. The six individuals hiked out down East Manning Road and into Brownsville--a fifteen mile distance--where they used a payphone to contact the State Police. Lewis contacted an associate in Brownsville that provided food, drink and a few items to the group. According to the boys, the items were bibles, vials of holy water and a revolver(.38 Smith and Wesson Special). The group then returned to the camp on stolen bicycles.
  When the individuals arrived at the lake-side scene, Lewis had the boys arm themselves with vials of holy water as they approached the cave construction. They responded quickly to screams from Kasabian. As they entered, they found three naked males surrounding Kasabian, who was tied to a rock slab. At this point, Kasabian was unconscious and one of the males was on top of her. Lewis entered firing the revolver and shot the three naked individuals. According to all five of the boys, the three men seemed unfazed by being shot and that is when Lewis recited a passage from the bible and the boys all doused the naked men with holy water. According to the boys, the men combusted into flames. The one man on top of Kasabian grabbed hold of Lewis as Barnes and Quinn pulled Kasabian free and out of the area. Lewis then screamed at Dillard, "Do it, now", and Dillard, Hollis and Fellberg emptied the rest of the vials onto the burning man. At that point, a fire blazed throughout the construction and the remaining boys fled the scene and onto the lake-side area where they were later found.

Pennsylvania State Police Interview Transcript - Nancy Kasabian - Sunday, August 11th, 1985

Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol Department Transcript

INTERVIEW

Q - Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol Officer Brian Groves
A - Nancy Michelle Kasabian

Sunday, August 11th, 1985
                                                                      

Groves: I am Officer Brian Groves of the Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol and, uh, I will be interviewing...Nancy Michelle Kasabian, um, the time is now 10:50am. Alright...now, it's alright, I just need you to say and spell your name for me. Can you do that?

Kasabian: (inaudible) Nancy Kasabian. N-A-N-C-Y, K-A-S-A-B-I-A-N.

Groves: Thank you, Nancy. What was your position at Camp Silver Bear?

Kasabian: I was a counselor--an assistant head.

Groves: And who was your immediate supervisor?

Kasabian: (inaudible)...Dave.

Groves: David Haggerty.

Kasabian: Yes.

Groves: Alright, I know this is hard, but I need...

Kasabian: (inaudible)

Groves: ...I need you to tell me exactly what happened on the evening of August 10th, 1985.

Kasabian: Please...

Groves: Nancy, I just need it one more time, okay? Can you do this?

Kasabian: (inaudible)

Groves: Nancy...

Kasabian: Okay...(inaudible) I need a cigarette.

Groves: Of course. Here.

Kasabian: Thanks.

Groves: Some water?

Kasabian: Yeah. (inaudible)

Groves: Can we get some water, please? Just a second, Nancy.

Kasabian: (inaudible)

Groves: Thanks, here you are, Nancy.

Kasabian: Thank you.

Groves: Feel better?

Kasabian: Yes.

Groves: Nancy...what happened when you walked to the performance?

Kasabian: It was...the end of the summer play, so...uh, I couldn't find them and went ahead.

Groves: You couldn't find who?

Kasabian: The staff. None of the counselors. The ones that hadn't, um...hadn't been sent home. I walked up the trail to the amphitheater and...I looked down at the seats and all of the kids were there. They were...(inaudible)...they were all just...staring at me. God, it was so cold up there. They didn't say a word and I couldn't move. I wanted to run away, but I couldn't. Then Walt came out on stage.

Groves: Walter McAlister. He was the head of maintenance at Camp Silver Bear.

Kasabian: Right, yeah...yeah, he came out with...(inaudible)

Groves: Nancy...

Kasabian: He had a mop and bucket. Like he was about to mop the stage. God, he smiled and was nice. It made...(inaudible)...it made me feel good for a second, like it was the beginning of summer again...he waved at me.

Groves: And what did he say?

Kasabian: He said, "Hi, Nancy...it's time to clean up." Then...he pulled out the mop, but...(inaudible)...it was all bloody. And he smiled at me again. Then he reached into the bucket...and he pulled out...(inaudible)...a head. Oh God, it was Zagnuts...

Groves: Zagnuts. That was Mitchell Hedgrew?

Kasabian: Yeah, (inaudible)...everybody called him Zagnuts...oh God...

Groves: It's okay, Nancy.

Kasabian: I wanted to throw up. That's when somebody grabbed me. It was Phil and he--

Groves: Phillip Mantel.

Kasabian: Yeah, he...he grabbed me and drug me down the steps to the stage. God, I couldn't get away. (inaudible) I screamed for the kids to help! But...they just stared...their eyes...they...(inaudible)like their eyes were dead. (inaudible) Phil pulled me on stage and threw me down. God, Walt still had Zagnuts' head in his hand. (inaudible)...Walt asked me if I had ever met his son, then that's when this guy came out. He was...he was dressed in a robe and had a hood on. I--I couldn't see his face at first...then he took off the hood...and...(inaudible)...my God, it was Matt.

Groves: Matthew Harrison. The bus driver.

Kasabian: Yeah, he...(inaudible)...then Walt laughed and threw that head at my feet...(inaudible)...Oh, God, the blood...I screamed...then that was the last thing I remember before--

Groves: You passed out.

Kasabian: I must've. 'Cause the next thing I know I'm under the bridge tied to that fucking thing!

Groves: The rock altar under Vandez Bridge, is that correct?

Kasabian: Yes...(inaudible)...I looked around and I'm naked...Oh my God, they...(inaudible)...then I see them...they were all dead. Brenda, Joey, Tyrone...Dave...(inaudible) Dave!--

Groves: Nancy...

Kasabian: Sonny was just strung up like a...Oh God, there was blood everywhere...and Sam...poor Sam. She was...all chewed up...(inaudible)...what did they do to her?

Groves: Samantha Pugh.

Kasabian: It's like they cut her fucking heart out!

Groves: Nancy...

Kasabian: Phil just stood there, staring at me. (inaudible) Walt, Matt...they just stared and wouldn't say a word. I begged them not to hurt me. They...(inaudible)...they just stared. Then he walked in, Dansby.

Groves: Sheriff Miller Dansby.

Kasabian: He came in and told me they wouldn't hurt me...(inaudible)...he said he wouldn't let them. He told me I was very lucky...because I was going to...(inaudible)...

Groves: Please, Nancy...

Kasabian: (inaudible)...I was going to carry the child of darkness and light...(inaudible)...then he took off his shirt...(inaudible)...he had a tattoo of a demon across his whole front...my God...(inaudible)...I looked at Phil and begged him. Then Dansby said I shouldn't look at Phil because he couldn't help because he was just a soldier...That's when Matt walked over to Phil...(inaudible)...and pulled out a knife...he put the knife to Phil's throat...(inaudible)...Dansby nodded and...(inaudible)...Matt cut his throat...Phil didn't even try to fight back...he just stood there and let Matt cut into his throat...God...Phil just stood there and bled...until he fell down.

Groves: Then what happened?

Kasabian: Dansby said Phil was never one of them. That he was just a dog. I screamed...and I tried to get loose...then the three of them took off their clothes. (inaudible) They were going to rape me...(inaudible)...Dansby crawled on top of me and...(inaudible)...God, he was drooling...but...I don't know what happened, I just--I blacked out. When I came to...I was at the lake with those boys.

Groves: The campers who had been missing, correct? Isaac Hollis, Hobie Quinn, Theodore Dillard, James Barnes and Steven Fellberg.

Kasabian: Yeah...I couldn't...say anything, I didn't know if I was dead...(inaudible)...are they...

Groves: They are safe and they're okay.

Kasabian: They...they saved me, didn't they?

Groves: Yes, Nancy. It appears they did.

Kasabian: (inaudible)

Groves: Thank you for your help, Nancy.

Nancy's Last Request

8/10/85

  The staff is missing. I don't know where anybody is. The play starts soon. But it won't because there's no Tyrone. The children...I have to protect them. I just don't know from what. I have heard voices, I keep hearing them. Screams. Am I going crazy? Please, tell my parents I love them. Oh God, please...

Teddy and Jimmy's Discovery

8/9/85

  I KNEW something bogus was happening here! Okay, last night we found out some crazy shit. The plan was for Hobie to draw Phil out of his cabin and down to the lake. He used his flashlight like he was some stranger walking around the camp. Phil went for it and as soon as he followed Hobie, me and Jimmy snuck in. Jimmy was lookout while I went through everything. The only things I found were old clippings about the murders in '79 and an old map of the area. Jimmy said Hobie's light turned off like we planned when he hit the lake. That was our signal to scram, so we did. We got back to our cabin with the map and clippings and checked them out. Real weird stuff. The map was definitely old and it showed the area before the camp was built. There were weird markings all over it and Jimmy swears up and down that it looks like a burial site. If that's true, Silver Bear is right on top of it! The really strange thing is, nobody's seen Hobie OR Phil all day! I don't know what the fuck to do and I'm freaked out. I hope Hobie is okay.

Teddy, Jimmy and Hobie

8/8/85

  I'm fucking right about this place! Something bad is happening here and I think Phil is behind it. As soon as I tell Joey about what we found under the bridge, he gets fired from camp?? No way, NO FUCKING WAY. I bet Joey went down there and Phil caught him and did something. I don't want to say it, but...this is total bogus shit. We found out that Sonny and Amber are gone, too. The counselors are saying the same thing. Phil sent them both home early. And I totally don't believe it cause we've got less than a week left! Tonight, we're gonna do something. Me and Jimmy are gonna sneak into Phil's cabin. We got Hobie Quinn to help us. He's gonna distract Phil somehow and get him outside while me and Jimmy sneak in and try to find out what we can. I'm not sure what we're looking for, but I think we'll find something. Fuck this place.

Zagnuts Needs a Meal

August 7th, 1985

Man, this place is freaking me out! Dellamusa's gone, Sam, Rudy, Ike and Stevie -- it seems like everyone is disappearing! And now Phil dismissed Sonny and Amber yesterday cause he caught them porking in the kitchen and we've still got nearly a week left! How are we gonna eat?! I don't know anyone that can whip up one of Sonny's tasty recipes, especially his beef stroganoff. Worst thing is I've been here almost two months and the only things I have to show for it is a blow job from Brenda that I can't remember and a constant smell of piss on my clothes from cleaning the bathrooms. This summer hasn't turned out like I thought it would. It's been royally fucked. Man, I wish Dave was here. Phil gives me the creeps and I think he's not all there, if you know what I mean.

Jimmy Has the Nerve(Sunday, August 4th, 1985)

Bogus! Tomorrow is the start of the last week of dress rehearsals before we do the play on Saturday. All of a sudden I feel nervous as shit and with that creepy stuff we found under the bridge, I keep feeling worse. There's only one cure I can think of...Beaver Cabin Boobs! Tonight I'm going over there and gettin me a huge dose of hooters! I really need some Tina titty action. That'll definitely make me feel good!

Joey the Hero

August 3rd, 1985

  Strange thing, I just talked to that Teddy kid. Little dude laid some totally mental story on me, but I'm gonna check it out. He says there's some weird shit going down under the bridge, like satanic shit.  He swears up and down there's bones and ripped clothes that look like Walt's uniform. Fuck that's weird. He's got this whole story about it being connected to those murders back in '79 and probably to Sam and Rudy. I told him I'd take a look. Funny thing is when he left, I started thinking about that Crazy Charlie fucker and about what he was screaming that day. He kept saying something about demons in the trees and evil under the bridge. Maybe if I can get a few pieces of that clothing, I could show Phil and we can get the fuck out of here.

Teddy and Jimmy's Discovery

8/3/85

  Holy shit! Me and Jimmy hiked down to that creepy fucking bridge yesterday and we found some weird stuff! There's an entrance underneath the bridge that goes into a small room. The walls are painted completely black and there were bones all over the place. I think just animal bones, but Jimmy was sure one of them was a human femur. There were some ripped up clothes that looked just like that Walt guy's uniform. It even had the same patch that he had, the one that said "Smile if you got some last night". And then this rock slab that looked like some kind of altar or something. I've seen shit like that in the horror movies that play late on channel 9. In the movies, that thing is used for sacrifices! Craziest thing was the weird carvings all over it. Gnarly Devils with gigantic horns and naked people. It made me think about those stories about the murders back in '79. Maybe this was wear they did it? Thing is, I only heard one thing about any kind of devil worship or whatever. My brother told me that guy who killed that family might've been into Satanism or something. I don't know. Anyway, we thought we heard somebody coming so we ran away. Jimmy didn't want to tell anyone. I think he wants to make sure he gets to do the play. Dickhead. I had to tell somebody, so I went to Joey. I think he kind of believed me. He said to keep it quiet and he would check it out. This is fucking crazy.

Crazy Charlie Is Born

June 10th, 1983

  To whom it may concern...
I have written these letters in vain for three years. I know now that no person will read them. These words are purely for my own insanity. For I am surely sliding into madness. My relentless search for the truth has led me to this breaking point. Do you hear the cries? I do. I hear their cries around me every hour on every day. An evil resides in Hopestown. Underneath the smiling faces and warm demeanors. It has a face, but I cannot see it. My vision is blurred by terror. I have spoken of cults, but it's not that simple. It's evil, I have seen EVIL! In the woods, by Vandez Bridge. There are people in town who want to believe me, but they are frightened. They understand that the darkness will come for them if they listen to me. Deputy O'Fallon paid that price. I told him everything: the sacrifices in the woods, the altar under the bridge, the strange hooded people at the camp...my God, he believed me. And he paid the price. Now, he's dead and the evil is after me. I can hear their cries turning into screams! When I sleep, it comes for me. I am terrified, but I'm not going to run. I can't. There is only one true beacon of goodness in Hopestown. Dansby. I can only pray he's too strong for it. Because it will come for him.
  Someone is trying to open the camp. I won't let that happen. I can't. I will warn them and if that does not sway them...I will destroy the camp. Forgive me. God save us all.
           Charles Whitford Lewis

Nancy's Fear

8/2/85

  I am sure something is wrong. I know it deep down. Dave has been gone too long. He would never abandon us or this camp. I don't give a shit what Phil says about "family issues", I know Dave too well. He wouldn't do this. And I'm scared. All of the tires on the vehicles left in camp have been flat for days now. Phil said they can't be repaired and now two campers didn't check in this morning. Stevie Fellberg and that sweet Ike Hollis. They've been missing all day and the weekend is here and I don't know what to do. We can't go into town and Phil won't allow us to form a search party for them. It's like he wants them gone or something. The staff has been great keeping it together, although I think it has more to do with their fear of Phil. He freaks everyone out.
  I wouldn't say this to anyone, but I think Phil is responsible for all of this somehow. Dave, Sam and Rudy, the campers, maybe even Walt. I'm fucking scared.

Brenda On Edge

August 1st, 1985

  This is total dweebo bullshit! I can't believe Sam and Rudy are still gone. I figured they ditched us for the Springsteen concert up in Oakland Falls, but never coming back is bogus to the max! I've had to pick up their slack and that's meant double the fucking workload. I'm on the verge of quitting this camp, myself. With Dave gone on his whatever he's doing, I thought it was going to get relaxed. No way. Phil is a total choad. He's up all night watching over the camp. I saw him outside our cabin last night. Lame-o was probably bopping his baloney. Pervert!