Case Chandy's stepfather, John Ackroyd, was the last person to have seen her prior to her disappearance. He pleaded no contest in her death and agreed not to seek parole for Turner's murder and to decline release even if he became eligible. These sporadic sightings extended not only through Oregon, but throughout a large chunk of the country; in particular, along the west coast, ranging as far south as California and as far north as Vancouver. We always believed Ackroyd had something to do with his stepdaughters murder, said Salsbery, who retired in 1996. So, lots of NKOTB, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Martika - you know, all the old school late 80's/early 90's goodness. He asked her if she wanted to go for a drive with him to go and take some pictures of deer in the nearby woods, but that she said no, claiming to have some chores to do around the house. "The settlement reached a point where we were able to have the certainty. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Rachanda's year-older brother, Byron Pickle, is still tormented that he hadn't hugged her the last time he saw her, and he feels like he should have done more to protect her from their stepfather. Two years later, at age 14, she married Beck. Sheriff Art Martinak supervised the search operation over a rugged 50-square-mile area in the Lost Lake, Hoodoo Butte and Potato Hill areas that are lined with jagged lava beds. He talked his boss into letting him drive 750 miles to California to find out. The television was on. An employee of Oregon's Highway Division, John had been away at a job that morning in Bend but had decided to come home during a break. John Arthur Ackroyd would remain one of investigators' top suspects in this case, and as a result, would be questioned several times alongside a friend of his (whom police considered a potential accomplice). Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. By early 1992, investigators were closing in on Ackroyd. In the case of Kaye Turner, he had guessed that the woman had been shot and stabbed to death. John then reportedly left the home by himself, and wouldn't return until approximately 12:30 PM (roughly three hours later). While I'd like to point out that he was already serving five life sentences without the possibility of parole, and was already in poor health at the time charges were filed, it is worth pointing out that this plea deal was agreed upon by Rachanda's living family members primarily, her brother Byron, who had struggled to come to grips with his sister's loss for decades. Story by Noelle Crombie Photography by Beth Nakamura Video by Dave KillenTHE OREGONIAN | OREGONLIVE. The next day, Hanlon hopped in a car with a Jefferson County deputy for a briefing on the search for Rachanda. They pressed him again and again about his interactions with Kaye. Linda Ackroyd and her young children moved around Springfield and Sweet Home before she settled down with Ackroyd in the 1980s. This was unusual and definitely out of the ordinary, but it wasn't enough for John to take notice at the time, it seems. If a jury. Rachanda's stepfather, John Arthur Ackroyd, is the last person known to have seen her. The home showed no signs of foul play. A lot of them are awful weird, but a lot are as nice as you can imagine.". Current Sheriff Tim Mueller was a deputy involved with the search and rescue team in 1990. Such a move is typically reserved for a national security-related case or oneinvolving sexual assault victims. Rachanda Lea Pickle - Brian Ladd's dream predictions 2020 - Worlds top A few witnesses would recall having seen her during her multi-mile jog, but their statements were unable to provide the missing piece of this puzzle. In 2010, Linn County sheriff's. She had double pierced ears and a scar on her forehead. He recalled that Rachanda was on the living room couch in her pajamas, watching cartoons, at the time. My children know they did have an Aunt Rachanda.. Her body has never been found. The more that investigators spoke with John Ackroyd, the more troubled they became. Her mother was at work at the time of her disappearance. Last updated April 1, 2021; clothing/jewelry description and details of disappearance updated. Facebook For some reason, however, the agreement had been kept confidential for over three years, until after Ackroyd's death. Friends described her as silly and goofy. The plea deal was immediately sealed as per Ackroyd's request, and it didn't become public until March 2017. She introduced the women to him and they climbed in. There, Rachanda would live alongside her mother, brother, and stepfather in a trailer at the junction, surrounded by dozens of miles of vast wilderness, becoming just one of a dozen or so families that called this mountain pass 'home.'. Ackroyd would recycle the same stories. Rachanda nicknamed Chandy and her brother, Byron, had gone to live with their biological father, Steve Pickle, in Medford. Linda and John Ackroyd left for work, she as a housekeeper at Black Butte Ranch, a resort community about 30 minutes away, and he as a highway mechanic. Since investigators had not yet uncovered any physical trace of Rachanda, they (along with prosecutors) were prepared to seek a case centered around a "no-body" homicide, which would require proof that the victim was no longer alive. Investigators had learned that while John had gone to work on the day of Rachanda's disappearance, driving out to Bend, he had only been there for about an hour before deciding to take the rest of the day off. As had been the case beforehand, nothing of any significance was found during these searches. There was Ackroyd, standing at the back of his Ford pickup. Maybe they just walked in, seen an opportunity and grasped at it.. On July 10, 1990, Rachanda disappeared from her home in Sweet Home, Oregon. During interviews, John had also told investigators that Kaye Turner had likely been stabbed and shot to death, which was later confirmed by tests conducted years after her murder. Linn County District Attorney Doug Marteeny said he wanted to ensure Ackroyd would spend the rest of his life in prison. He had his sisters image tattooed on his arm last year. Another time, they snuck her into their bedroom closet. While this plea deal provided some kind of closure in the case, John Arthur Ackroyd was not required to provide any kind of proof in the murder case of Rachanda Pickle. Former Detective Sgt. Maybe it was the girls development, he told police, that drew a predator to the junction. He said he came home during a break from work and asked Rachanda if she wanted to go for a ride with him. You do what you need to do to keep a dangerous person incarcerated.". In 2013, he was charged with murder related to the 1990 disappearance of 13-year-old Rachanda Pickle, his stepdaughter. He's never went out of hand or spanked my kids against my will. While the family's home was surrounded by dense wilderness, Rachanda quickly picked up on the area around them. One of John Ackroyds coworkers was working on Highway 20 the morning Rachanda disappeared. The girl who was good about leaving notes if she headed out to play Nintendo at a neighbors house hadnt left one. She was afraid to go home from school; as a . Unfortunately, any additional evidence would be hard to come by in this case, and it would remain stagnant for more than a decade until it was revived years later, in the most unlikely of ways. This includes the 1977 rape of Marlene Gabrielsen, who identified Ackroyd as her attacker at the time, but police chose not to pursue rape charges; instead, taking John at his word when he simply said their encounter was consensual. McAnulty, whod been promoted to detective just 10 days earlier, dutifully examined old newspaper articles and reports. After Rachanda disappeared, he and her mother separated, and her mother moved to California and remarried. In addition to some bone fragments, police were able to uncover the underpants, running shoes, and wristwatch she had been wearing at the time of her disappearance, in addition to pieces of her sweatshirt (which appeared to have been partially destroyed). Rachanda Lea "Chandy" Pickle (1977-1990) - Find a Also, it was determined that John's accomplice, Roger Dale Beck, had told friends and family about the killing and had threatened them never to tell or they would suffer the same fate. She did, and because of this wait, Rachanda wasn't reported missing until Wednesday, July 11th, and the search to find her wouldn't begin until the day after that, Thursday, July 12th. In the case of Rachanda, however, he told investigators that she had been, as recounted by the Oregonian in their "Ghosts of Highway 20" project: " dumped and buried in the woods or threatened with a knife, tied up and gagged, her body rolled in plastic". And now here he was, more than a decade later, having been the last known person to see his stepdaughter alive. Over the next several months, several court hearings would be adjourned to get rolling on the trial itself. We saw no human movement at all; no tracks, no nothing.". This is one of those things when you hope youll get a call from the family saying shes in Los Angeles or somewhere, Martinak said during the search. As police continued their search of the area around Rachanda's family's home, they would also continue an investigation of the people inside of it. While John had been married to and/or living with Rachanda's mother for approximately six years, he seemed to know very little personal information about the missing girl: he was unable to recall her birthday or other details like that. Lt. Darrel James, who had coordinated the search efforts, told reporters during a press briefing: "There's no reason to think she ran away, and no information that she just walked off playing around. Read the story Tagged: The Oregonian Support Longreads This had originally been discovered by a dog, but the dog's owner called police to the scene, leading to a full-scale dig of the area where the skull had been found, which uncovered some additional fragments of bone. Ghosts of Highway 20 - Portland Mercury When she was 12, Ackroyd tattooed his initials on her arm. Uniformed deputies, mounted posses, and members of the Explorer Post (a search and rescue group) would search the ground level of the neighboring woods, while a Linn County helicopter searched above them. She was a young teenage girl with hopes and dreams, he said. Later, the men told her that theyd mistaken Kaye for a deer and fatally shot her. To this day, this remains one of the few decisions in Bryon's life that he wishes he could change. Weeks after his death, prosecutors publicly acknowledged for the first time that Ackroyd had entered a plea in 2013 in the disappearance and presumed murder of Rachanda Pickle, his stepdaughter. Missing Date: Tue, Jul 10 1990. Linda Monville, Rachanda's mother, keeps this photo of Rachanda and Byron on a shelf in her home. SALEM John Arthur Ackroyd, who in 2013 was charged with the 1990 murder of his stepdaughter Rachanda Pickle, has died of natural causes at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. This search effort would be organized and overseen by the Linn County Sheriff's Office, who were augmented by members of neighboring counties over the next several weeks. She said no and he left. He would eventually move back, however, to be closer to family. She would eventually remarry and move down to California, where she resides today. Linn County Sheriffs detectives Mike Harmon, left, and Paul Timm talk about the arrest of John Akroyd on murder charges. This is about 150 miles southeast of Portland and about 80 miles northeast of Eugene. But Rachanda grew homesick and came back a few days before her disappearance. Linda Monville said she believes her daughter is dead, but shes still not convinced her former husband is responsible. Wasnt it strange that he was the last person to see Kaye and Rachanda alive? Who was the last person that saw her, do you know?the dispatcher asked the girl's mother. If you recall, John Ackroyd had been one of the last people to see Kaye Turner alive and had also led police to her clothing and skull approximately eight months after her disappearance. Ackroyd, too, hung out there. Eventually, this small group would be joined by members from neighboring police stations and sheriff's departments, with Linn County Sheriff Art Martinak telling reporters a week after the teenage girl's disappearance: "We're going back to the area around the residence We're going to do a pretty extensive search of the roads in the immediate area.". She feared him and often asked friends if she could spend the night. What were the odds of that? He was the last person to see both, exhibited troubling behavior at the time of their disappearance, provided investigators with both conflicting and troubling information, involved himself in the search parties and investigation, and then - when questioned - offered up troubling guesses for the victim's fate. Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Rachanda Pickle's brother, Byron Pickle, was consulted during the state's negotiations with Ackroyd, Marteeny said. He would be charged with two counts of aggravated murder and three counts of murder, accused of conspiring to kidnap, rape, and murder Kaye Jean Turner nearly two decades prior. A police photograph shows evidence from the investigation into Kaye Turners murder. And on the morning she vanished, Rachanda asked her mother not to go to work. In 1978, Kaye Turner disappeared while on a morning run during a Christmas visit to isolated Camp Sherman. John, Rachanda's stepfather, came home during a break from work, at around 9:30 AM. Years later, his ex-wife told police Beck and John Ackroyd told her to lie to police about their whereabouts the morning of Kaye's disappearance. The following spring, a grand jury heard testimony from 17 witnesses, most of them people who knew the girl and Ackroyd. Deceased/Not Found - OR - Rachanda Pickle, 13, Santiam Junction, 10 She asked if she could sleep over. She said he threatened to do to me exactly what they did to Kaye Turner., REMEMBERING RACHANDA (Photo 1 of 4): Byron Pickle is 42 and lives in Aumsville with his wife and two children. Despite them ruling out the theory pretty definitively within a day or so of her disappearance, investigators would be plagued by rumors of potential sightings throughout the area. In 1990, Rachanda Pickle lived with her mother, brother and stepfather, John Ackroyd. Two hours later, he was back, but this time he made sure she saw him. The girl told her mother she didnt want to return home after a visit to her grandparents. However, most are reasonably certain that the man who caused her disappearance - her stepfather, John Arthur Ackroyd - was thankfully taken off the streets a short time after her disappearance. She was calm as she told the dispatcher that her daughter, a homebody, had gone missing. In March of 1996, police would investigate the origins of a partial skull recovered near Crawfordsville, about fifty miles east of where Rachanda had last been seen alive. While the case would remain registered as open and/or unsolved in the Oregon state database, there was no movement to proceed with Ackroyd's trial for the murder of Rachanda Pickle. Didnt do anything to Channy? the cop pressed. In the months after Rachanda's disappearance, Rachanda's mother Linda would officially separate from her stepfather John, moving away to Portland. Rachanda Lea Pickle - Oregon Missing Person Directory Donations are accepted but not expected; the site remains free-access to all. Ackroyd was a prime suspect and he knew it. These bones very well could have been Rachanda's, but they also could have belonged to any other young woman that had been killed in the area. During the ensuing court case, defense attorneys would argue that John Arthur Ackroyd was slow-witted and mentally deficient, to the point of him being unaware of specific questions asked by investigators. Yet even in those types of cases, the terms of a plea agreement aren't generally secret. Despite the case officially being "solved", the loved ones of Rachanda are left with just as many unanswered questions today as they had back in 1990. Ackroyd stopped. She said no and he left. We just don't want people to forget that she's gone.". Ackroyds low libido was the source of such open conflict that Lindas teenage son, Byron, knew of their troubles.

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