Nine scouts went missing at training in Chicago in 1989. This park ranger is found 22 years later. William Hayes stopped his pickup next to the trail marking that was overgrown. He had worked at Forest Glen Preserve for 22 years and had learned to notice things that others missed.
The fall cleanup today found something that shouldn’t be there. Hayes on Trail 7, Bass. He used his radio to talk. I need Detective Chen to come down here. found something she has to see. The answer crackled back. What kind of thing, Bill? Hayes looked at the thing that was sticking out of the eroded creek bank.
A piece of faded blue cloth, which was plainly made of plastic, was wrapped around something that appeared like metal that had been buried for a long time. Detective Lisa Chen and the crime scene team got there 30 minutes later. Hayes guided them through the bushes to the place where severe rains had swept away decades of sediment. “Right there,” Hayes said, pointing. Saw that while on patrol in the morning. That blue thing drew my attention. Chen squatted next to the thing that was out in the open.
It looks like a backpack. Old-fashioned. Look at this frame made of metal. Jake Morrison, a crime scene photographer, started taking pictures of the scene. Backpack with an outside frame. I haven’t seen these since the 1980s or early 1990s. Chen told them to bag it. Let’s check out what else is down there.
Chen gently opened the backpack that had gotten wet in the evidence room back at the station. She found a wallet inside, wrapped in cellophane that was falling apart. The name on the driver’s license was plain enough, but the rest of it was hard to read. Michael Thompson, given out in 1988. Chen told her partner, Detective Mark Stevens, to get her whatever we have on missing people from 1989. At that time, this Michael Thompson would have been 18.
Stevens came back with a big file. Nine boys from Troop 347 went missing on July 15, 1989, while camping at Forest Glenn for the weekend. There was no sign of them. The case became cold after six months. Chen opened the document.
Along with David Rodriguez, Steven Anderson, Christopher Wilson, Matthew Johnson, Daniel Brown, Robert Davis, James Miller, and Anthony Garcia, Michael Thompson was one of them. All of them are 18 years old. Detective Frank Morrison was the first cop to look into the case. He is now retired. Lives in the same town. Stevens said, “Bring Morrison down here, and I want to know how to reach all the families.” After 22 years, they should know we found something. The first contact went to Mike’s younger sister, Sarah Thompson.
Sarah, who is now 35 and a teacher, has never stopped looking for answers. Detective Chen from the Chicago Police Department is calling about your brother, Michael Thompson. Sarah’s voice broke. Did you find him? We found the backpack he was carrying. I’d like to talk to you about revisiting the case. Sarah got to the station in less than an hour.
For more than twenty years, she had preserved newspaper clippings, police records, and her own notes from her investigation. She told Chen that Mike had been gone for 12 years. Five years later, our parents died in a vehicle crash. Ever since then, I’ve been seeking him. Chen laid out the original case files. Tell me about the travel to the camp.
It was intended to be their last scout event before college. Nine of them had been friends since they were in elementary school. On Friday, July 14th, they headed to Forest Glen. Thomas Blackwood, the scout leader, was meant to be in charge, but he said he became sick from food and left on Saturday morning. Blackwood didn’t bother the lads. He said that.
He drove back to Chicago and instructed them to pack their things and come home. Parents started calling each other after they didn’t come back on Sunday night. We realized something was wrong by Monday morning. Detective Morrison showed up just as Sarah was finishing her story. The former investigator, who is now 71, still remembers every aspect of the case. Morrison stated it was the biggest case he had ever worked on that wasn’t solved.
Nine teens don’t just go without a trace. We looked for months in those woods. How about this, Blackwood? Chen asked. Morrison’s face got harder. Thomas Blackwood. There was something about that man that didn’t sit well with me. His story contained gaps, but we could never prove anything. He had a reason for not being home on Sunday night when the boys were supposed to be driving home. What is he doing now? Head of the City Parks department. For 15 years now.
Sarah moved forward and said, “Ironically, he is in charge of Forest Glenn Preserve and other places.” Do you think he’s involved? Morrison said, “I always thought so.” But proving and thinking are not the same thing. His anecdote about becoming sick from eating was helpful. There were no witnesses to when he really left the place. Chen took notes.
What physical proof did you first come across? Their cars were still parked there. People set up tents at the campsite. There were personal items there, but their bags and hiking gear were missing, as if they had gone on a day trek and never come back. Sarah responded, “But now we have Mike’s backpack.”
Found a quarter mile from the original campsite submerged under creek sediment. Chen said yes. The question is how it got there and what happened to the other eight youngsters. Morrison looked at the pictures of the proof. That place makes sense. There is a natural dip there that looks like a bowl. Things would wash downstream when it rained heavily. Chen decided that he wanted to interview Blackwood.
We also need to look farther away from where the backpack was located. Sarah got up. I’m going with you. Miss Thompson, this is an investigation by the police. I’ve been looking into this longer than anyone else. There are things I know about these boys from that weekend that aren’t in any file. You need me. Chen thought about this. You can watch the interview, but you can’t talk unless I tell you to.
They drove to the parks department offices the next morning. Thomas Blackwood, who is now 52, still had the strong presence that made him a good scout leader. There were certificates and pictures from different community events all over the walls of his office. What can I do for you, Detective Chen? We’re starting the investigation into the scouts who went missing in 1989 again.
Nine boys from your group. Blackwood’s smile went away a little. A long time ago. Sad circumstance. I’ve always felt bad that I wasn’t there when they needed me. The narrative of how you got sick from food. Not a tale. Fact. I was very sick on Saturday morning. I had to drive myself to the hospital. The lads had hiked before. I thought they would be secure for one day. Chen put the picture of the evidence on his desk.
Yesterday, we found Michael Thompson’s backpack. Blackwood looked closely at the picture. His hands stayed firm, but Sarah saw a small flicker in his left eye. Where? Forest Glenn Preserve, which isn’t far from where they were last seen camping. That’s great news, right? Finally, some proof.
What kind of hike did you let them go on Sunday morning? I didn’t give anyone permission to go on a trek. I urged them to pack up and go home. They were expected to leave by noon. Chen took notes, but their cars were still there on Sunday night. That’s why I was so astonished when the parents phoned me. I thought they had done what I told them to do.
Sarah moved in her chair, trying not to argue with his story. Blackwood’s tone made it sound like he had rehearsed his answers. Chen said, “We need your medical records from that weekend.”” From 1989. “I don’t think they still exist. We’ll take a look. What place did you go to get treatment? The emergency room at St. Mary’s Hospital. But it was 22 years ago. Chen and Sarah didn’t say anything as they walked to their car after the interview. Sarah finally said, “He’s lying.”
About what? To be more specific, all of it. Mike never said anything about Blackwood being sick, and they wouldn’t have gone trekking without notifying someone. These boys were in charge. They have been scouts for a long time. We need proof, not guesses. Let’s discover it now. That backpack is only the start.
Detective Chen spent the morning going over hospital records with the help of a subpoena. The search found exactly what Mary expected because her hospital has computerized its emergency room logs from 1989. There is no record of Thomas Blackwood getting therapy on July 15, 1989. She told Stevens on the phone that his alibi had just fallen apart. No treatment records, no trip to the emergency department.
He lied about being ill. Sarah Thompson, on the other hand, had set up a meeting with the other families. The Rodriguez family still lived on Palmer Street in the same house. Maria Rodriguez, David’s mother, who is now 68, cried when she saw Sarah. Maria said in English with an accent, “We never stopped believing they would come home.”
“David was heading to Northwestern to study engineering. He had everything planned out for his whole life. Next came James Wilson, Christopher’s father. The retired mechanic had changed a lot since Sarah last saw him at her parents’ burial. James remarked, “When the detective called yesterday, I thought I was dreaming.” To believe that there might be answers after all these years.
They came to Maria’s living room one by one. The parents who stayed, the siblings who had grown up with this mystery shaping their lives. Patricia, Daniel Brown’s sister, is now a nurse. Mark, Matthew Johnson’s twin brother, became a private investigator in part because of his brother’s abduction.
Sarah started by saying that the cops found Michael’s backpack. And they found out that Thomas Blackwood was lying when he said he was sick that weekend. Patricia Brown remarked, “We always knew something was wrong with his story.” If something changed their intentions, Dany would have called home. He was responsible that way. Mark Johnson took out a folder.
For years, I’ve been doing my own research. Take a look at this. He put pictures and papers on Maria’s coffee table. Over the past 20 years, Thomas Blackwood has been involved in three different events. In 1995, a scout got hurt while camping in a way that seemed strange.
A kid who was volunteering for the parks department went missing during a cleanup in 2003 and was found dead three days later. And last year, someone filed a complaint against him for acting inappropriately with a child. Where did you acquire this information? Sarah asked. There are benefits to having a private investigator license. The family never believed that the 2003 case was an accident.
James Wilson looked at the pictures and said, “The complaint about the bad behavior was dropped when the family suddenly moved out of state.” “This man has been around kids for a long time. “What if our boys weren’t the first or last people he killed?” Patricia added with a frown. The phone rang for Sarah. The screen showed the name of Detective Chen. “Sarah, I need you to come to the station.”
“We found something else.” At the police station, Chen took Sarah to the evidence room, where more things from the backpack were spread out on a metal table. Chen said that these were wrapped in several layers of plastic inside the backpack. This, along with a journal and some pictures.
She pointed to a small digital camera, the kind that was popular in the early 2000s. Sarah said, “That’s not from 1989.” Mike didn’t own a digital camera. That’s right. At some point after 2003, this was put in the backpack. Based on the camera model, someone buried this backpack with more proof. Chen turned on the camera.
The LCD screen came to life and showed a video file from July 18, 2004. Sarah figured out that it had been 15 years since they had gone missing, but only 7 years since they had been found. The video started out shaky, with a close-up of a man’s face. It was definitely Thomas Blackwood’s voice, even if he appeared younger than he does now. Blackwood said on the tape, “If you’re watching this, something has happened to me.”
I can’t stand what I did anymore. The guilt is killing me. Sarah held on to the edge of the table as Blackwood spoke. The month of July 1989. I led nine boys into those woods. They had faith in me. I was trusted by their parents. It wasn’t supposed to happen, what did. It wasn’t on purpose. But then the video stopped all of a sudden.
That’s all? Sarah asked. After that, the file seems broken. Our tech team is working to get more info back. Next, Chen opened the journal. The pages were wet, yet you could still read them. Blackwood’s scrawl filled up page after page with what seemed like confessions and reasons. Hear this. Chen read out loud. 15 July 1989. They learned about the money.
Michael came right up to me. They said they would tell someone about me when they got back to Chicago. I couldn’t let that happen. Everything, including my career and reputation, would be ruined. Sarah was unwell. What cash? Chen turned more pages.
It seems that he was stealing money from the scout unit and utilizing it for his own needs. The boys found mistakes in the financial records while they were on the vacation. He killed them to hide the theft. Keep on listening. The 16th of July, 1989. Had to make a decision. Let them kill me or keep me safe. The cave system behind the waterfall looked like it would be great. No one ever goes back there.
I brought them in one at a time and told them I had something spectacular to show them. Sarah’s hands shook. He killed all nine of them. Chen kept on reading. I never wanted to hurt them, but they wouldn’t listen to what I had to say. Michael kept saying they had to tell someone what they had uncovered. The other people agreed with him. They were going to ruin me for a few thousand. “A few thousand,” Sarah said again in contempt.
Nine lives for a few thousand. There’s more. The 20th of July, 1989. I used explosives I got from a construction site to seal the entrance to the cave. It seemed like a rockfall that happened on its own. There will never be any bodies found. I informed the cops that they went hiking on Sunday morning. Made the timeline unclear.
Chen put the journal down. This is a full confession, but we need to uncover proof in the real world to back it up. the cave. He talks about being behind a waterfall. Do you have any idea where that could be? There are a lot of waterfalls in Forest Glenn. We need to carefully look around the place. A text message made Sarah’s phone vibrate. The message was apparent, even if the phone was blocked.
Stop digging or go with them. She held out the phone to Chen. Chen stated with a gloomy look on his face, “He knows we found the backpack.” We have to hurry. They asked Detective Morrison to come back to the station. His face became white when he saw the journal entries. I remember now. He added that during the first investigation, Blackwood talked about a rockfall that had happened not too long before. It said that it blocked access to some of the back routes.
At the time, we didn’t think much of it. He was telling you not to go to the burial site. Chen understood. 22 years too late. But sure, that guy played us perfectly. Sarah got up quickly. We will find all of those boys. And we will make sure that Blackwood pays for what he did. Sarah, this is not safe.
He previously said he would hurt you. This enigma has been with me for my whole adult life. Now that we’re finally close to the truth, I’m not backing down. Chen made a choice. Okay. But we follow the rules. Full inquiry and following the rules. I want enough proof to make sure the person is found guilty. What about the families? Sarah said.
We tell them what we know, but we also get them ready for what we might find. I know those lads, but their families need closure after 22 years, no matter what it looks like. As they were getting ready to depart the station, Chen’s companion Stevens came up to them with important news. I just got a call from Forest Glenn.
People saw Thomas Blackwood near the preserve this morning. The maintenance team saw him off the trails he was supposed to be on with a shovel. Chen said he was getting rid of evidence. Send units out there right away. The Forest Glenn Preserve was made up of 300 acres of thick woods with streams running through them and little waterfalls here and there. Detective Chen led the search from the ranger station while teams went to the places where they thought they may find the missing person. Sarah insisted on joining the search even though Chen didn’t want her to.
I know what Mike was thinking. I can predict which places would have caught their attention if they were exploring. Park Ranger Hayes took one group to the northern waterfall, which could be reached by an old maintenance trail. Since the 1990s, when budget cuts made the preserve’s active management sections smaller, the walkway hadn’t been used often.
Hayes then pointed to the disturbed ground near the base of the 20-foot waterfall. New digging. There has been someone here recently. Chen looked at the cliff face behind the cascading water while the crime scene crew meticulously dug up the area. What seemed like natural rock formations had small clues that people had changed them.
Chen said that these stones don’t fit with the geology of the area. And check out the mortar that holds them together. They built this wall. Detective Stevens called from a different place. There were tire marks near the service road. There was a shovel left behind around 50 yards from here not too long ago, possibly this morning.
Sarah strolled around the edge of the waterfall area, trying to picture how nine 18-year-old lads may have been drawn to this secluded spot. They would have liked the natural beauty, but the fact that it was so far away made it a good place to hide crimes. Detective Chen called one of the people who was digging. We found something.
A second backpack was found buried three feet below the surface in plastic that was falling apart. The name tape said D. Rodriguez. David’s group. Sarah spoke something in a low voice. They found David’s wallet, notebook, and a few pictures from the camping trip inside. The pictures showed all nine boys setting up their tents, chatting around a campfire, and getting ready for what they thought would be a wonderful weekend trip. Chen said, “Look at this,” as he looked at David’s journal. This entry is from July 15, 1989.
I found some strange things in Mr. Blackwood’s money records. Mike says we should tell someone when we come back. The numbers don’t add up, do they? It seems that he has been stealing money from the troop account. Sarah looked at the pictures. They seem so cheerful, young, and innocent. Hayes came up to them with news from another search team.
Found proof of an old dig around 200 yards upstream. It seems like someone excavated a big hole and then filled it in. Ground-penetrating radar shows a lot of strange things. The radar operator verified the results. There is clear proof that the ground has been disturbed. There was something big buried here. After that, the area was hidden on purpose. Chen had to make a hard choice. Begin digging, but be ready for what we might uncover.
As the afternoon went on, the digging team found definite signs of human bones. Not whole bodies after being buried for 22 years, but bone pieces, personal items, and clothes that matched what the boys had been wearing.
Sarah recognized Michael’s unique class ring, which their parents gave him after he graduated from high school. His initials and the year 1989 were carved onto the ring. Chen whispered softly, “We need to call the families.” “Before this gets out to the press, they should know.” At the same time, there was a manhunt for Thomas Blackwood across the county.
His parks department vehicles had been left at a mall, and his credit cards hadn’t been used in a while. The phone rang for Sarah. The name on the caller ID was Blackwood. “Answer it,” Chen said swiftly, asking the call to be tracked. Blackwood’s voice sounded soothing, almost as if he was talking to Sarah. “I know you’ve been busy today.” “Where are you, Tom?” “Somewhere safe.”
Somewhere I can plan my next move. Give yourself up. It’s done. Is it? Chen muttered urgently, “After 22 years of carrying this burden, I’m not sure anything will ever be over.” “Keep talking to him.” “Why did you do it?”” Sarah inquired. They were simply kids. They had faith in you. They were going to ruin my life over money that I was going to pay back.
I owed money from gambling. My wife had to pay for medical care. I was in a lot of trouble. So, you murdered nine people who were not guilty. This wasn’t how it was meant to go. I took them to the cave to talk to them and try to reason with them, but Michael wouldn’t listen. He stated they had already talked about it and agreed to tell on me.
Sarah felt fury swelling in her chest no matter what I said. So, you killed my brother? I lost my cool and pushed him during the fight. He fell and smashed his head on the rock wall. They all went crazy when they saw what happened. They were going to flee back to camp and call the cops. You may have asked for help. Mike might have lived. My mind was all over the place. I was scared of going to jail and losing everything.
So, the line went dead. There was static on Chen’s radio as the trace team sent news. The call came from the Forest Glen neighborhood. He is still close by. All units come together at the preserve. Chen told them to. He’s coming back to finish what he started. As night fell, the digging crew had found personal items belonging to all nine missing scouts.
Michael Thompson, David Rodriguez, Steven Anderson, Christopher Wilson, Matthew Johnson, Daniel Brown, Robert Davis, James Miller, and Anthony Garcia are all here. Nine families would finally get answers and, hopefully, some peace of mind. Sarah stood at the gravesite’s edge, patiently awaiting the meticulous sorting and preparation of the remains before their transfer to the medical examiner’s office.
She told Chen that they had been here for 22 years. 22 years of wondering and hoping they might still be alive somewhere. At least their families will know what’s going on now. Their chat was cut short by a ruckus in the parking lot. Thomas Blackwood had come back to the preserve in a stolen pickup truck.
He parked close to the ranger station and strolled slowly to the dig site, where his hands were clearly evident. He told the officers who quickly surrounded him, “I’m here to give up.” “I’m tired of running,” Chen said as he walked up slowly. “Thomas Blackwood, you are under arrest for killing nine people in July 1989.”
Blackwood gazed straight at Sarah as the shackles clicked into place. “I’m sorry. I realize that doesn’t mean anything right now, but I really am sorry for what I did to those boys and their families. Sarah moved closer. You took 22 years from us. 22 years of not knowing, of false optimism, and of living with doubt. I get it. You don’t know anything. You’ll never know what you took from us.
Sarah stayed at the gravesite until the last evidence bag was put in the coroner’s van, even after Blackwood was taken away in a police car. Finally, her brother and his pals were going home. The next morning, new information came to light that made the probe much bigger than just one act of violent desperation.
Detective Chen got to the station and saw a pile of financial papers that Detective Stevens had gotten through emergency subpoenas. Stevens said that Blackwood’s theft was only the beginning. Check out these documents from the parks department from the last 20 years.
The papers demonstrated that several city departments were involved in systemic financial problems. Blackwood had been stealing money all the time by using his position to approve fraudulent maintenance contracts, fake consulting fees, and fake supply purchases. Chen said, “We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars.” “How did no one see?” “Because he had help.” Check out these signatures of approbation.
Stevens referred to paperwork that city administrator Robert Hartley, finance director Patricia Mills, and procurement supervisor Daniel Foster had signed. Almost every single questionable transaction had the same three names on it. Stevens said that Hartley had been the municipal administrator for 15 years.
Mills has worked in finance for 12 years. About ten years ago, Foster started working in procurement. Sarah got to the station just as Chen was going over the financial proof. She was resolved to see the investigation through to the end, even if she had only had a few hours of sleep. This is more than just stealing money.
“I’ve been thinking about what Blackwood said on the phone yesterday,” Sarah said. He talked about debts from gaming and medical bills. I looked into public documents. She put out printouts from different databases. Blackwood’s wife died in 1995. The expenditures for cancer treatment were huge, yet look at the dates. After he killed the youngsters, the costs were the highest.
Chen looked over the timeline. So, the medical bills weren’t what made him do it in the first place. Yes. The debts were from gaming. I uncovered records of civil judgments against him that go back to 1988. He owed money to a lot of bookies, and at least one had threatened to hurt him. Detective Stevens stopped looking at the money records.
These fake contracts began in 1990, the same year the scouts went missing. It seems that killing those youngsters made him feel more confident about doing other crimes. Or it provided his co-conspirators an advantage over him. Chen said that Hartley, Mills, and Foster could have made him take part in bigger schemes if they had known what truly transpired in 1989. Sarah’s phone rang.
The caller ID said that Patricia Mills was the city’s finance director. Chen told him to answer it. But watch what you say. Hello, Miss Thompson. This is Patricia Mills from the city’s financial office. I know you’ve been wondering about Thomas Blackwood and other stuff. Yes. I wonder if we could get together.
You should know certain things regarding Tom’s condition and what happened to your brother. Sarah looked at Chen, who nodded and started making hand signs to show where the call was coming from. Where do you want to get together? My office is at City Hall. What do you think about 2:00 this afternoon? I’ll be there.
Chen was already setting up surveillance for the meeting when he hung up the phone. This could be an attempt to scare you, or it could be someone else who wants to confess. No matter what, you won’t be going in there by yourself. Sarah came into City Hall at 1:30 with a hidden recording device and knowing that Detective Chen was watching from an office nearby.
Patricia Mills, a well-dressed woman in her 40s, cautiously said hello. “Thank you for coming, Miss Thompson.” Please take a seat. Mills’s office was full of civic honors and pictures from different local events. There was a picture of her with two teenage kids on her desk. Mills started by saying, “I know why you’re here.”
Finding your brother’s body has brought up some extremely painful emotions. What do you know about what happened to Mike and his buddies? Mills moved to the door of her office and locked it. More than I should know, but not as much as I want to. She went back to her workstation and opened a locked drawer to get a manila folder.
Tom Blackwood came to me with an offer in 1991, two years after the lads went missing. He stated he knew I had been lying on several expenditure reports to pay for my mother’s nursing home bills. He said he would help me cover the differences if I helped him with some money issues. Sarah leaned in.
What kind of plans? At the beginning, only little things. Giving the go-ahead to bills from businesses that weren’t real. Giving permission for compensation for services that were never done. The amounts weren’t too big, and I told myself I was just assisting a coworker who was having trouble with money.
When did you find out what he truly did? Mills opened the folder and took out several papers. The year was 1995. Tom’s wife had just died, and he was drinking a lot. Late one night, he came to my house and told me everything about the lads, the cave, and how he had been hiding everything for six years. Why didn’t you tell someone? Because at that point, I was too far in. Everyone was. Tom, Robert Hartley, Daniel Foster, and I.
For years, we had been stealing from the city. If one of us fell, we all fell. Sarah had a hard time keeping her fury in check. You knew my brother was killed, but you didn’t do anything. I didn’t do anything to aid him. That’s right. But I did something different. Mills took a metal lockbox out from under her desk.
There were pictures, papers, and what seemed like surveillance gear inside. I began writing down everything Tom told me, including every detail about what happened to those boys, every financial transaction we were involved in, and every talk we had about hiding the murders. She showed Sarah pictures of the gravesite from 1996, seven years after the killings but fifteen years before the official discovery.
Tom would go to the location every year on the anniversary. He stated he had to make sure the proof was still hidden. I followed him once and captured these photos. Sarah looked at the pictures. They plainly revealed the spot where the boy’s body had been found, but there were evident signs that it had been disturbed recently.
For 16 years, you have known where they were buried. Yes, and I’ve despised myself for it every day. Why are you telling me this now? Mills locked the box. Because Tom’s confession from yesterday wasn’t whole. That Saturday in 1989, he wasn’t alone. Sarah thought the room was whirling. What do you mean? There was Robert Hartley. He helped Tom take the remains to the grave.
He helped close off the cave entrance. He also utilized his connections to make sure that the police probe didn’t get too near to the truth. All of a sudden, the recording device felt heavy against Sarah’s chest. This was bigger than anyone had thought. Hartley has been in charge of the city for 15 years.
Sarah added that he is head of the department that looks after Forest Glen Preserve. For over 20 years, he has been responsible for that burial place, regulating who can get in, limiting maintenance, and making sure no one ever found what was buried there until Mike’s backpack was found in the recent flooding. Natural calamities have a way of bringing out truths that have been hidden for a long time.
Sarah got up to leave. Are you ready to say all of this in court? Yes, but there’s something else you should know. In 1989, Tom and Robert were still killing. Mills took another folder out of her locked drawer. the 2003 death of a teenage volunteer who was cleaning up a park. It wasn’t an accident.
He found out about some of our financial problems and wanted to know more. They also killed him. It seemed like he went off a cliff. Just like they made it look like your brother had gone missing. Sarah was overwhelmed by how big the scheme was. How many more? I’m not sure, but a number of people who might have found out about what we were doing have died in strange ways during the past 20 years.
As Sarah was about to leave Mills’s office, the finance director told her one last thing. You need to know about someone else. Someone who has been helping us hide the deaths and the financial misdeeds. What? Detective Frank Morrison was the first cop to look into your brother’s case.
Sarah felt like someone had hit her in the stomach. Morrison, the retired cop who had been helping with the current probe, had always been corrupt. He made sure that the 1989 probe never got too close to the truth. And he’s the one who’s been telling us to be careful about your current probe.
Sarah understood that Morrison knew just where to seek for more evidence because he had helped hide it in the first place. This needs to be told to Detective Chen right away. Miss Thompson, be careful who you trust. City government and law police are deeply involved in this scheme. Sarah felt like she was walking through a nightmare when she exited city hall.
Everyone she had trusted and everyone who had helped with the investigation could be in danger. She went straight to the police station, but instead of going to Detective Chen’s office, she called from the parking lot. Chen, I need to meet you somewhere other than the station. What is wrong? I can’t describe it over the phone.
Come to the Riverside Diner on North Avenue to meet me. Come by yourself. Chen found Sarah in a corner booth 30 minutes later. She seemed scared. Sarah swiftly told Patricia Mills all she had uncovered, including the claim that Detective Morrison was involved in the plot. Morrison helped hide the first probe. Chen took his time with the material. That would explain why the case got cold so rapidly.
Mills says that there have been such murders in the past. Anyone who went too close to finding out about the murders or the financial crimes in 1989 was killed. Chen thought about what that meant. If Morrison is dishonest, then he knows about the inquiry we’re doing right now.
Blackwood and his co-conspirators have known everything we’ve done because he’s been in on our planning meetings, seen our proof, and visited with the families. We need to be very careful about who we trust from now on, and we need to keep you safe. They will not hesitate to kill again if necessary to cover this up. Sarah’s phone buzzed with a text from a number she didn’t know.
Stop now, or you’ll be with your brother. Chen saw the message and quickly started calling to set up protective custody for Sarah and watch over the other family members. I’m putting you in a secure place until we can figure this out. No, I’m not hiding. We’re too near to the truth.
For more than 20 years, these people have been killing to keep their secret safe. They won’t stop now. Then we need to go faster than they can respond. Chen made up his mind. I’m calling in federal agents. This includes a lot of killings, conspiracy, and corrupt officials. The FBI needs to step in. What about Morrison? If you call other police, he will know.
I know someone at the FBI field office whom I trust entirely. Someone Morrison has never met and wouldn’t know how to corrupt. Two hours later, Agent Jennifer Walsh got to the diner. She had worked for the FBI’s public corruption branch for 20 years and had a lot of experience with conspiracies involving local government leaders.
Walsh stated, “From what you’ve told me, we’re looking at a criminal group that has been around for more than 20 years.” “This is a lot more than the first murders.” She opened up her organizational chart. Robert Hartley seemed to be in charge, but Thomas Blackwood pulled the gun.
He was in charge of all city operations and could manage the flow of information as the city administrator. “What about Morrison?” “Sarah asked. “Many retired police officers stayed in touch with active police officers. He could have been giving the conspirators information for years, not just about this case but also about other investigations that might put them in danger.
Agent Walsh talked about the plan for the federal investigation. We will plan to arrest all known conspirators at the same time, but first we need more proof to back up the charges. Chen added that Mills had been keeping records of everything for years. Pictures, bank statements, and recorded chats.
We’ll have to be very careful when we talk to her. If the people who are in on the plot think she’s working with the police, they might kill her before she can testify. Sarah offered to get in touch with Mills again. She has faith in me. I can get her to give me the evidence. Walsh made the choice that it was too dangerous.
These people have previously threatened you directly, so they are terrified. We’re close enough to show them who they are, and they know it. Agent Walsh said that Sarah could talk to Mills one more time, but only with a lot of FBI backing and surveillance. The meeting was set for the next morning in a public place where agents could safeguard them right away.
Sarah visited with the other families that night to tell them about the investigation’s progress. The Rodriguez family living room was once more full of parents and siblings who had been looking for answers for more than twenty years. Maria Rodriguez couldn’t believe it when she said, “The people who killed our children have been free and in charge for 22 years.”
Mark Johnson, the private investigator, had been looking into some of the same links on his own. Since 2003, I have uncovered three such deaths that seem strange. All of the young kids who had been asking questions about how the city spends its money or how the parks department works. Patricia Brown learned that they had been serial killers, using their jobs in the government to hide their murders. Sarah’s phone rang.
The name of Detective Morrison came up on the caller ID. “Don’t answer it,” Agent Walsh said over the phone. “He’s probably trying to figure out how much you know, but Sarah answered anyway. ” Hi, Frank. Sarah, I hear that your meetings today have been really intriguing.
What do you think we should talk about? About being careful about who you trust. Some of the people involved in this investigation aren’t who they say they are. Who are you talking about? Tonight at 10:00, meet me at the Ranger Station in Forest Glen. I’ll tell you everything. The line went silent. Agent Walsh was listening in on the call. It’s a trap. He’s either trying to cut you off, or he’s ready to tell you something and wants to do it in private.
You won’t be going alone anyway. You can have agents close while I wear a wire. But this could be our chance to acquire a confession from someone on the inside. They consented to the meeting nevertheless, even though Walsh didn’t want to. FBI officers would be watching Sarah closely, with agents stationed all throughout the preserve and backup ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Sarah parked at the Forest Glen Ranger Station around 9:45 that night. After dark, the preserve was closed to the public, making it a lonely and possibly hazardous place. Morrison was waiting by his car, and he looked older and more tired than she’d ever seen him. Thanks for coming, Sarah. I wasn’t sure you would.
What did you want to say to me? Morrison looked about with worry. Not here. Too open. Let’s go for a walk to the waterfall where you saw the boys. They strolled quietly down the dark path. Sarah’s heart raced as she thought about whether Morrison was taking her to safety or to her death. Morrison paused at the grave mound and turned to look at her. Sarah, I’ve been a police officer for 45 years.
I’ve seen and done a lot of things. But what happened to your brother and his buddies? I’ll never be able to forgive myself for that. You helped hide it. I assisted, but not in the way you think. Sarah was not sure what to do. What do you mean? Morrison took out a small recording device and put it on a rock nearby. What I’m about to say is being recorded.
Take it as both my confession and my testimony. Morrison’s revelation started with things that Sarah had never thought of. In July 1989. I wasn’t the only investigator who looked into your brother’s case. I was already looking into Thomas Blackwood for financial problems in the parks department.
Morrison told Sarah about 22 years of lies, but they weren’t the kind she had thought they would be. Before the camping trip, Blackwood had been stealing money for months. We knew he owed money to dangerous people and thought he would be desperate enough to do something crazy, but we didn’t think he would kill someone.
We are an FBI task force looking into corruption in cities. I was working undercover to find out about a group of local officials who had been stealing federal grant money that was meant to restore parks. What Morrison said didn’t match up with what Sarah had been informed. Robert Hartley was not Blackwood’s collaborator in the murders. He was the one who told us.
For months, he had been helping us keep track of the financial crimes. Why didn’t you stop the guys from being slain, then? We didn’t know Blackwood was going to kill them, so we believed he may try to scare them or pay them off to keep quiet about what they had found. He didn’t appear like he could kill someone. Morrison took out a folder he had been carrying.
The 15th of July, 1989. At 11 p.m., Hartley called me. Blackwood had just called him, saying there had been an accident and he needed help moving some equipment. Bodies of equipment. Blackwood told Hartley that one of the youngsters had died after falling. and he needed help getting rid of the evidence so he wouldn’t be condemned for being careless. Sarah got nauseated as Morrison went on.
Hartley agreed to help, assuming he was hiding an accident. But when he came to the preserve and found nine dead bodies, he knew what had really happened. Blackwood killed them all. He made each boy believe that he was just taking them to see something fascinating in the cave system, one by one.
It was too late to run or fight back by the time they figured out what was going on. Morrison gave Sarah pictures that Hartley had taken of her in 1989 without her knowing. The pictures were upsetting, but they clearly showed what happened at the crime scene. While pretending to help Blackwood, Hartley wrote down everything. Along with his testimony, these pictures should have been enough to condemn Blackwood right away.
So why didn’t they take him into custody? Blackwood knew Hartley was collaborating with the police three days after the murders. He said he would say that Hartley was involved in the murders if Hartley didn’t assist him in making an alibi. Sarah was having a hard time figuring out the complicated web of lies and truth.
Hartley was really attempting to solve the problem, not hide it. Correct. But Blackwood was cunning enough to make himself necessary for Hartley’s protection. If one of them fell, both would fall. Morrison showed more papers. Hartley has been helping us keep an eye on Blackwood for 22 years while also constructing a case against the bigger network of corruption.
Everything Blackwood did, from every financial transaction to every conversation to every motion he made, was recorded. So why wait so long? Why didn’t they arrest him years ago? Blackwood wasn’t the only one doing the financial crimes. He was part of a bigger group that included organized criminal figures, federal authorities, and state politicians. If they had arrested him too soon, the bigger offenders would have gotten away.
Sarah remembered Patricia Mills’s confession from earlier that day. What about Mills and Foster? Were they part of the network, or were they victims like Hartley? There is no doubt that Mills was a victim. Blackwood found out about her small-scale embezzlement and used it to force her to join the bigger plot. Foster was hired in the same way.
Morrison’s face went grim as he thought about the other murders over the years. Those were real. To preserve the conspiracy, Blackwood killed at least four more persons between 1989 and 2011. Every time, he made it look like an accident. What stopped you from stopping him? We tried, but it’s almost tough to prove murder when the fatalities look like accidents.
We needed solid proof that he was involved, which meant making him think he was getting away with it. Sarah understood that Morrison had been playing a very complicated and risky game for more than twenty years. You’ve been keeping the families safe while you develop a case against Blackwood and the government authorities who were truly in charge of the conspiracy.
Blackwood was merely a local criminal working for a larger crime group that operated in many states. Morrison showed her figures that showed how local embezzlement was linked to federal offenses. Your brother and his friends found something that could have revealed a criminal network stealing millions of dollars in federal money from many states.
the money records they found at the campsite. Blackwood was writing down every transaction in great detail because he was afraid that his bosses would cheat him. If the boys had been able to tell what they found, those records would have shown the whole network. Sarah now knew why the case had taken so long to solve.
You couldn’t solve the murders in your area without hurting the federal probe. Yes, that’s right. But now that the inquiry is over, we have proof against 23 people in six states. The arrest of Blackwood yesterday was the cue to start synchronized arrests all around the network.
There were updates on the FBI raids coming in over Morrison’s radio. Arrests were made at the same time in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and St. Louis. The whole network of corruption is being broken up. What about Mike and the other boys getting justice? Blackwood will be charged with nine counts of first-degree murder and a number of federal felonies relating to the financial crimes. Hartley, Mills, and Foster will all testify as witnesses who are helping the case.
There is enough proof to make sure that all charges are proven. Sarah was both relieved and angry. You could have told the families what was actually going on. For 22 years, we thought you were either incompetent or corrupt. I know, and I’m sorry for it.
But if any of you had known the truth, it would have messed up the inquiry and probably killed you. For years, Blackwood watched all of you, waiting for signals that you were getting too near to the truth. Blackwood’s government contacts have been threatening me, not him directly. They’ve been trying to scare you away from the probe because they knew we were close to making arrests.
Agent Walsh came out of the trees, where she had been listening to the exchange. It’s done, Sarah. The whole network is in jail. Sarah stared around the grave where her brother and his comrades had been buried for 22 years. Is it actually done? Walsh affirmed that the criminal conspiracy is over. But the families’ mending has only just begun.
Morrison told Sarah one last thing. You need to know one more thing. It wasn’t an accident that your brother Mike found the financial paperwork. What do you mean? The FBI asked him to assist in looking into Blackwood. As the senior patrol commander, we knew he was clever, responsible, and in charge of the troop’s money.
Sarah couldn’t believe it. Mike was informally working with you. We told him to write down any financial problems he noticed and tell us about them after the camping trip. He agreed because he wanted to make sure the younger scouts weren’t getting ripped off. So, he died because he was working with the police. He died because he was attempting to do the right thing.
In the end, his work helped her not only solve his own murder but also bring to light a criminal network that had been going on for decades. As daylight broke, Sarah finally learned the whole truth of her brother’s death and the 22-year investigation that followed. The scheme was bigger and more complicated than anyone had thought, but justice will ultimately be done.
Morrison said the federal inquiry was over, but what happened the next morning showed that the plot was bigger than anyone thought. At five in the morning, Sarah woke up. by Agent Walsh’s urgent phone call. During transfer to the courthouse, Blackwood got away from federal custody.
We think he’s going back to Forest Glen Preserve since two agents are dead. Sarah got dressed fast and went to the FBI field office to see Walsh. There were maps, surveillance cameras, and tactical people coordinating the manhunt in the situation room. How did he get away? Sarah wanted to know. Attacked while moving prisoners.
Three cars stopped the delivery van on Interstate 94. Military-style accuracy. These weren’t criminals from the area. Agent Walsh showed Sarah video of the incident from a security camera. Masked figures in tactical gear had quickly taken control of the federal officers, taking Blackwood and then departing in different directions.
We didn’t know how close the federal officials we arrested yesterday were to each other. Organized crime figures arranged and paid for this escape since they can’t let Blackwood testify. Detective Chen brought more awful news with him. Two hours ago, Patricia Mills was found dead at her house. One shot to the head. professional execution.
Sarah thought the inquiry was falling apart around them. They’re getting rid of anyone who can testify against the network. Daniel Foster is not in his apartment. There are no traces of a fight, but his automobile is missing. He is either running away or has been taken.
Agent Walsh worked with the police in the area to keep Robert Hartley and the relatives of the victims safe. No one knows these woods better than Blackwood. If Blackwood plans to have a final fight, it will take place in Forest Glen. Blackwood had been hiding his operations in those woods for 22 years, so he knew how to do it. The preserve was restricted to the public and ringed by FBI officers. He knew where every route, cave, and hiding place was.
Sarah insisted on joining the hunt even though it was clear that it was dangerous. I’ve been looking for this man for my whole adult life. I’m not going to back down now. Sarah, this isn’t about bravery. This is about staying alive. Blackwood has nothing else to lose. I don’t either. He took my brother.
My parents died thinking Mike may still be alive, and I’ve been looking for answers for 22 years. I’ll give him one last chance to fight if he wants one. Agent Walsh didn’t want Sarah to be part of it, but he did agree to let her do it as long as she had a lot of safety and communication gear. While Sarah gave advice on places that might interest Blackwood, teams of agents would thoroughly search the preserve.
The search started at the grave where the boy’s body had been found. New footprints in the mud showed that something had happened recently, and crime scene technicians uncovered proof that someone had been excavating in the area. Chen said, “He’s trying to get rid of the last pieces of evidence.” “Or maybe he’s looking for something he buried here.”
“Sarah looked at the patterns in the excavation. Morrison added that Blackwood wrote down everything he did wrong in great detail. “Maybe he buried more evidence here and is trying to get it back.” Ranger Hayes led one search party to the cave system beyond the waterfall. The entryway that had been sealed in 1989 showed signs of being disturbed recently, with pebbles shifted and marks from equipment in the earth around it. Hayes said over the radio that someone has been trying to reopen this cave.
New digging, perhaps in the previous 24 hours. The search crew found signs of a temporary camp inside the cave, which was only partially accessible. Blackwood had been planning this fight for a while, as shown by the sleeping bag, food, and various weapons he took with him. He has been living here since he got away.
Agent Walsh knew that using the cave system would help him stay hidden while he planned his next move. Sarah went down a side path in the cave and encountered something that scared her to death. Nine names were carved into the granite wall. Michael Thompson, David Rodriguez, Steven Anderson, Christopher Wilson, Matthew Johnson, Daniel Brown, Robert Davis, James Miller, and Anthony Garcia are all names.
She called to the others and told them he had made a memorial for his victims. But why? Agent Walsh looked at the sculptures. Do you feel guilty, obsessed, or like you have to accumulate trophies? This is how some serial killers go back to their atrocities. Blackwood had carved a message under the names. They discovered the truth. They died for what was right. There will be more.
Sarah understood that this was more than just a memorial. It was a threat. He wants to kill everyone who is part of the current probe. The search teams outside were sending her frantic messages over the radio. Gunfire near the ranger station. The agent is down. The suspect is armed and on the go. The teams all met at the ranger station, where they found Agent Stevens hurt but stable.
He had run into Blackwood in the parking lot and had a short gunfight with him before Blackwood vanished into the thick woods. Stevens said, “He’s not trying to get away.” “He is hunting us, moving strategically, and using the land to his advantage.” Sarah looked at the topographic charts of the preserve. “There is another cave system on the north side that is linked to this one by tunnels that go underground.
He could go from one place to another without being seen on the surface. The search squads divided up to cover a lot of different escape routes, but Blackwood stayed one step ahead. He was a formidable enemy since he knew a lot about the preserve and had what looked like military training from his ties to organized crime.
Sarah got a direct message from Blackwood on her radio as the afternoon went into evening. I know you’re listening, Sarah Thompson. Hey, Tom. You have made things quite hard for me in the last few days. You got yourself into problems when you killed nine innocent individuals. They weren’t innocent.
They were going to ruin professions, split up families, and destroy lives over a few thousand dollars that I fully planned to pay back. Sarah’s wrath was growing. You have a mental illness. For 22 years, you’ve been killing people to hide your crimes. I used to be able to keep myself and the people I care about safe, but now I can’t. Tom, turn yourself in. It’s done.
It’s over, but not the way you think it is. The radio transmission stopped suddenly, and then an explosion shook the whole preserve. Blackwood set off explosives he had planted all over the ranger station, which caught fire. While Agent Walsh was looking for Blackwood, he also managed the response to the explosion. He’s trying to make things chaotic, take away our resources, and get rid of proof.
Or he wants to focus on certain objectives. Sarah understood that the explosion split the search crews. He can now pick us off one by one. The manhunt turned into a lethal game of cat and mouse as night descended over Forest Glen Preserve. Blackwood had turned the place where he had committed his first atrocities into a battlefield where he planned to kill everybody who could testify against him. Sarah was on her own, apart from the major search crews.
With only a radio, a flashlight, and her determination to finally get her brother’s killer caught. Sarah walked slowly through the dark woods, only using her flashlight when she had to so that no one could see where she was. The explosion at the ranger station had caused so much turmoil that Blackwood was able to split up the search teams. Radio communication was also spotty because of the terrain. She got to the original burial place where her brother’s body had been located.
She felt drawn back to this place, as if the final battle would take place where the atrocities had started. Her gut feeling was right. Thomas Blackwood was sitting quietly on a fallen log near the excavation site, waiting for her. He seemed calm, almost at ease, even though a huge manhunt was going on for him.
Hi, Sarah. I had a feeling you would come here. Tom, it’s over. You’re encircled. Am I? Take a look around. Do you see any backup? Do you hear any radio noise? Sarah knew she was alone with a serial killer in a dark woodland.
The search crews were spread out over 300 acres, and her radio had been quiet for 20 minutes. “Why here?” she asked, attempting to stall. “This is where it started.” July 15, 1989. Your brother and eight of his mates found something that might ruin my life. Blackwood got up and walked to the place where the body was buried. One by one, I took them to the cave.
said to each boy that I wanted to show him something cool. A secret path, a hidden room, something fun, and then you killed them. I stood up for myself. Your brother was the first one. He brought up the money with me. They said they had already chosen to report me no matter what I said.
Sarah moved closer, but she was still trying to figure out what was going on in her brother’s killer’s head. So, you did kill him. During an altercation, I pushed him. He collapsed and hit his head on the wall of the cave. The hit killed him right away. It could have been an accident, but the other eight lads saw a murder.
They were crazy, yelling, saying they would run back to camp and call the police. Blackwood’s voice stayed calm, as if he were talking about normal things instead of a string of killings. I couldn’t let them tell what they had witnessed. An accident would terminate my profession, devastate my family, and put me in prison for the rest of my life.
So, you killed eight more people on purpose. I used the tools I had to keep myself safe. The cave system was a great place to get rid of the body, and my job with the parks department offered me access to tools to hide the evidence. Sarah tried to turn on the radio without Blackwood seeing her, but he was watching her closely.
Don’t bother asking for aid. I’ve been keeping an eye on what they say to each other. Agent Walsh and her team are looking in the northern part of the preserve. Detective Chen is looking into the explosion that happened at the ranger station. No one will think to look for you here for at least 30 minutes.
What do you want me to do? I want you to know the truth about what happened. Not the version they’ll tell at my trial or the one that will be in the news. The truth. Blackwood took out a little recording device that looked like the one Morrison had used the night before. Your sibling died because he was morally rigid.
He couldn’t believe that wonderful people sometimes make mistakes and deserve a second chance. Stealing money was not a mistake. It was a decision. A decision made when there was no other choice. I owed a lot of money to hazardous people. The medical expenditures for my wife were making us go bankrupt. I needed a short-term loan from the troop account, and I fully planned to pay it back in six months by stealing more money or finding other ways to get money.
The parks agency job came with chances to do consultancy work, sell equipment, and other legal ways to make money. Sarah saw that Blackwood had built a complicated case for why he had committed crimes over the past 22 years. He thought he was the victim of circumstances, not the one who killed a lot of people.
What about the folks you killed after 1989? Were they all also ethically rigid? They were threats to the safety and security of people I loved. Patricia Mills had two kids who needed her money to live. Daniel Foster was taking care of his aging parents. You killed innocent people to protect your co-conspirators because Robert Hartley owned a family business that hired 12 people.
I got rid of hazards to the well-being of several families. For the greater good, sometimes people have to give up their own lives. Blackwood’s twisted logic showed how much his mind had changed during twenty years of violence. He had turned into a serial killer who used utilitarian philosophy to explain what he did.
Marcus Williams, a 17-year-old kid, died in 2003 while working as a volunteer with the parks department’s cleanup group. He found financial paperwork in a storage shed that would have shown what we were doing. You killed a 17-year-old youngster. I stopped the annihilation of many families and important city services that depended on our independence.
Sarah felt nauseated as Blackwood tried to explain himself, but she had to keep him talking until aid came. And now you want to kill me. You did that because you wouldn’t accept the greater good. Your probe has already killed Patricia Mills and will also put several other people in jail or kill them. It wasn’t my inquiry that murdered Mills.
She died because she was too weak to tell you the truth. She would still be alive if you had been happy to find your brother’s body and let the matter stay closed. Blackwood came up to Sarah with a knife that he had hidden behind his back.
I don’t like killing Sarah, but I’ve learned that sometimes you have to do what you have to do to protect what’s most important. The most important thing to you is not getting in trouble for your misdeeds. The most important thing to me is keeping safe the people who have relied on me for 22 years. The financial plans I made helped Mills, Foster, Hartley, and their families. They fell for your blackmail.
They worked together in a structure that helped many families stay safe and make money. Sarah’s radio suddenly crackled with Agent Walsh’s voice as Blackwood got closer with the knife. If you can hear this, Sarah, please react. We have figured out where you are and are on our way there.
Blackwood heard the message and knew he didn’t have much time left. It looks like we have to terminate our talk sooner than I thought. He lunged at Sarah with the knife, but she was ready for this moment after 22 years of fury and determination. She avoided the attack and hit Blackwood with the heavy flashlight, which stunned him long enough for her to get away from him.
She spoke over the radio, “This is Sarah Thompson.” “I’m at the grave with Blackwood.” He’s got a knife and is trying to kill me. Agent Walsh’s voice came back right away. We have two minutes left. Keep your distance and try to stay where you are.
Blackwood got over the flashlight blow and chased Sarah into the bushes near the gravesite. Even though he was old, he walked with the assurance of someone who knew every tree, rock, and trail in the area. Sarah rushed toward the sound of cars coming, using her flashlight to let the FBI teams know where she was. She could hear Blackwood crashing through the bushes behind her.
Agent Walsh and her team got there just as Blackwood caught up to Sarah at the edge of the preserve’s main route. They were determined to finish his last murder. The FBI agents quickly surrounded him with their guns drawn. Thomas, put down the knife. It’s done. Blackwood stared at the agents, then at Sarah, and then at the grave where nine young people had died 22 years before.
He responded softly, “You’re right.” It’s done. He didn’t give up; instead, he held the knife to his own throat. Agent Walsh shot him in the arm with a non-lethal bullet, which made him drop the gun and fall to the ground. Sarah stood at the grave one last time while medical staff took care of Blackwood’s wound and FBI officers arrested him.
Finally, her brother and his companions could rest well knowing that the person who killed them had been caught. The arrest of Thomas Blackwood led to the biggest investigation into corruption in Chicago’s history. Federal agents went to city hall, the parks department, and a number of other places. As the details of the 22-year plot became evident, Sarah found herself in the middle of a media storm that she didn’t want to be in and wasn’t ready for.
The tragedy of nine boy scouts who were killed in 1989 and the cover-up that lasted for decades was getting a lot of attention from news outlets all around the country. She told reporters outside the federal courthouse, “The families deserve privacy during this process.” ” We’ve been waiting for answers for 22 years.” We need some time to think about what we’ve learned.
Detective Chen worked with FBI agents to talk to the other co-conspirators who were still alive. Daniel Foster had been found alive and hidden in a safe house by federal officials who thought that organized criminal leaders would try to kill any potential witnesses. Chen told Sarah that Foster’s testimony backs up everything we learned from Morrison and Mills.
Blackwood was blackmailing city workers in a planned way to get them to take part in the embezzlement scam. How much money are we talking about? More than $3 million taken away from government subsidies for park improvements over 20 years. False consultation contracts and false maintenance agreements were used to clean the money.
Agent Walsh gave more information regarding the larger criminal network. Blackwood was just one member of a group that operated in several states and stole federal money that was supposed to be used for fixing up the environment and infrastructure. The folks who helped him get away from the police.
The network’s bosses engaged professional criminals to stop Blackwood from testifying. We have arrested six people in connection with the ambush. Two of them used to work as military contractors. Sarah talked to the relatives of the other victims about the current legal actions. Again, the Rodriguez family’s living room was full with parents and siblings, but this time they were arranging memorials instead of investigations.
The district attorney said Blackwood will be charged with nine counts of first-degree murder and federal felonies relating to the financial crimes. Maria Rodriguez said, “Life in prison without parole is guaranteed.” Mark Johnson, a private investigator, had found proof that Blackwood was involved in six more murders between 1989 and 2011. We might never know the actual number of individuals he killed, but the pattern is evident. Anyone who said they would reveal the plot was killed.
“What about the families of his other victims?” Sarah inquired. They are suing the city in civil court because it didn’t safeguard their loved ones. The payouts for wrongful death will undoubtedly put a lot of city departments out of business. Patricia Brown showed off newspaper articles from 1989. Check out these headlines.
Nine scouts go missing without a trace. A huge search turns up nothing. Parents didn’t give up hope. Sarah stated in a low voice, “Our parents never gave up hope.” “Mine died thinking Mike might still be alive somewhere.” After 22 years, the burial arrangements for the nine boys were very difficult. The forensic scientists had found enough remains to give the families closure, but the evidence was in such bad shape that they had to have closed casket services.
Sarah and the other families worked together to create a memorial service that would remember all nine boys and respect the religious and cultural traditions of each family. St. Michael’s Catholic Church was big enough to hold the hundreds of guests who wished to pay their respects.
Sarah added in her eulogy, “Michael Thompson was going to Northwestern University to study journalism.” He believed in being honest, doing the right thing, and making individuals pay for what they did. ” His search for the truth about Thomas Blackwood’s financial crimes cost him his life, but it also started the inquiry that eventually brought his killer to justice.
She gazed out at the crowded chapel and saw faces she knew from 22 years of searching, as well as many she had never met before. Mike and his friends died because they wouldn’t let bad things happen. They could have kept what they found to themselves, gone home safely, and lived normal lives. But they did the right thing anyhow, even though it cost them everything.
Detective Morrison went to the burial even though he was quite old and not feeling well. His clandestine labor had finally brought about justice, but it had cost him a lot personally. After the service, he told Sarah, “I’ve been carrying the weight of those boys’ deaths for 22 years,” knowing they were buried in those woods while I appeared to be looking into their disappearance.
“I’ve never done anything harder than this.” But it was important to catch the bigger criminal group. For more than twenty years, I told myself that every night. “I hope it was true,” Agent Walsh told Sarah the last details of the FBI probe. We have found criminal conduct in six states that involves 43 people.
More than $20 million has been stolen from federal programs. What happens to the money that can be found? It will go back to the federal programs from which it was stolen, but the costs of the investigation and prosecution will be taken out. Some of it will go to funds to help victims and to city workers who were blackmailed into taking part in the prosecution.
People who were plainly victims of Blackwood’s influence will be immune from prosecution if they testify. Those who took part in the offenses will be charged. Sarah understood that the inquiry had shown how complicated corruption and victimization might be. Some people, like Patricia Mills, were forced to commit crimes through blackmail, but they also made money from them for a long time.
You should also know this. Agent Walsh said, “The federal investigation has completely changed how environmental grant programs are overseen.” Your brother’s killing has led to improvements in the system that will stop similar atrocities from happening. Three months after Blackwood’s arrest, Sarah got a letter from him in federal prison.
She knew better than to read it, but she did anyway. The letter started with “Ms. Thompson.” I know you’ll never forgive me for what I did to your brother and his friends. I don’t expect you to forgive me, and I don’t deserve it, but I want you to know that I have thought about those boys and the lives they should have lived every day for the past 22 years.
The letter went on to show what looked like real regret, but Sarah saw it as another attempt to control her. I made choices out of fear and desperation that hurt a lot of families, including my own. If I could change what happened on July 15, 1989, I would be happy to give my life for theirs. I can’t undo what happened in the past, but I will spend the rest of my time trying to make up for what I did.
“Sarah threw the letter away before she was done with it. When Thomas Blackwood chose murder instead of taking responsibility, he lost the right to talk to the families of his victims. The last court proceedings took 18 months, but the outcome was never in doubt.
Blackwood was found guilty on all counts and given nine life sentences in a row, with no chance of release. The district attorney said after the sentencing that justice had been done. This case shows that law enforcement will never stop looking for justice, no matter how long it takes or how complicated the plot is. Sarah didn’t agree with what the district attorney said.
Justice would have stopped the murders from happening in the first place. Nine young men would have lived complete lives, been married, had kids, and helped society if there had been justice. But responsibility had been reached, and that was perhaps the finest thing that could have happened after 22 years of unanswered questions.
Sarah Thompson was back at Forest Glenn Preserve two years after Thomas Blackwood was found guilty. But this time, she wasn’t looking for proof or solutions. She went there for the dedication of a memorial garden that was made in memory of her brother and his eight companions.
There were nine oak trees in a circle at the memorial, and each one had a bronze plaque with the name and picture of one of the dead scouts on it. There was a stone memorial in the middle that told their ages, the colleges they wanted to go to, and their hopes for the future. The plaque on the Michael Thompson Memorial Garden said that it was in honor of nine young men who died because they wouldn’t turn a blind eye to injustice.
The families had worked together to make a living monument that would grow and thrive throughout the years. Kids and teens could go to the site to learn about how important it is to have moral courage and what happens when people are corrupt. Maria Rodriguez, who is now 70, put flowers at the base of David’s memorial tree.
He would be 40 now, and he would presumably be married and have kids of his own. Sarah had spent a lot of time over the past two years thinking about the lives that had been taken. Michael would have made a good journalist. He probably would have looked into government corruption, just like he did when he was 18.
The other guys had the same promise, but it would never be realized. Detective Chen, who received a promotion to lieutenant upon solving the case, served as the official police representative for the monument dedication. Chen remarked at the event that these nine young guys showed the kind of civic duty that makes democracy possible.
They spotted something wrong and decided to report it, even if it put them in danger. There were several guests on the list that weren’t expected. Robert Hartley, who had been given amnesty for helping the federal investigation, came to pay his respects to the boys whose deaths he had kept secret for more than 20 years.
Hartley told Sarah in private, “I know I can never make up for what I did.” “But I want you to know that I think about those lads every day. I should have found a way to stop Blackwood before he killed them. You were being threatened and blackmailed. Blackwood is to blame, not his victims.
Daniel Foster, who had also been given immunity in exchange for his testimony, had moved to Oregon and began a new life there. He wrote a letter that was read at the memorial service. The letter said that I had been a coward for 22 years. Fear kept me from telling the truth about what happened to those guys.
I hope their memorial will remind people in the future that bravery is the most important virtue, especially when the stakes are highest. Agent Walsh was there to represent the FBI and give an update on the larger investigation. The federal task team has found $18 million in stolen money and given it back to environmental programs in six states. Forty-one people have been charged and found guilty in connection with the scheme.
What about the organized criminal people who told Blackwood to try to escape? Twelve people have been charged with conspiracy to kill federal officials and obstructing justice. Next month is when the trial starts. Sarah was requested to speak at the monument ceremony, but instead she opted to deliver a message that her parents had written before they died in 1994.
We know that our son Michael is gone, but we hope that one day his story will help other families find the answers they need. Mike stood up for what was right, believed in justice, and protected others who couldn’t protect themselves. Let his death encourage others to do the right thing.
Sarah strolled alone around the memorial garden after the ceremony, thinking about how long it had been since her brother was killed. She had spent her whole adult life looking for answers. And now that the investigation was over, she had to figure out how to move on. She had been given a job with the FBI’s victim services branch, where she would help families who had been affected by those who had been missing for a long time.
The job would let her help other people deal with the difficult feelings and practical problems she had to deal with during her long quest. As she stood next to Michael’s memorial tree, Mark Johnson, the private investigator who had helped solve the case, came up to her. “Have you made up your mind about what to do now?” he asked.
I want to help other families find the peace we finally found. There are thousands of cold cases in the US where families are still looking for answers. That kind of work would be excellent for the FBI job. Sarah gazed around the memorial garden and thought about how it might appear in ten or twenty years when the trees have grown and the plants have matured.
Mike would be happy with what we did. Not just solving his case, but also revealing the corruption that led to his death. After the Blackwood investigation, the city made changes that changed how federal grant programs were run in Chicago and many other cities.
It would be much harder to keep up comparable conspiracies if there were rules about financial openness, mandatory audits, and programs to protect whistleblowers. Mark said that the improvements to the system are probably more essential than the individual prosecutions. Those changes will keep future generations safe from the kinds of people who slaughtered our brothers.
Sarah went to the burial spot one last time as the sun sank over Forest Glenn Preserve. This is where Michael’s body had been found. There were no signs of the excavations that had taken place there, and the region had been returned to its original form. She put a single white rose where her brother’s backpack had been found.
The finding had finally broken a 22-year-old plot. “Mike, you did it,” she murmured softly. “You told the truth, just like you always said you would.” The investigation was over. The culprits had been caught and put on trial. The memorial garden would make sure that the nine scouts who were killed would never be forgotten.
But for Sarah, the end of the probe was truly the start of a new chapter in which she would help other families get the answers they needed. Thomas Blackwood would spend the remainder of his life in federal prison, but the good things that came out of his misdeeds would help keep other people from having the same problems. The boys who died because they wouldn’t turn a blind eye to wrongdoing finally got the punishment they wanted, even though it took 22 years.
Sarah drove home from the memorial ceremony, feeling good about keeping her word to her parents and brother. The truth had come out, justice had been done, and Michael Thompson’s faith in accountability had been proven right. The nine oak trees in the memorial garden would grow tall and strong, giving shade and beauty to future generations. They would also honor the memory of nine young men who died because they decided to be brave instead of easy.