One of the most popular spots in Placer County that is rumored
to be haunted is Dyer Lane. Just on the outskirts of Roseville, this road
tucked away in the middle of farm land isn’t much to look at, but seems to
attract many in the paranormal field over the years. There has been all sorts
of stories claimed to have originated from that area. From a barn where
teenagers were said to have been butchered, to a secret meeting spot or hangman's tree for
the KKK, a Satanic cult and witches coven or even various unexplained deaths.
Some even claim to see a ghost cop driving up and down the road, only to
disappear.
I decided to reach out to the police department in Roseville, to see if they had any record of these events taking place. The person I corresponded with at the Roseville P.D. claimed they had no information at all, prompting me to contact the Sheriff's department instead. According to Dena Erwin at the Placer County Sheriff's office who I corresponded with back in 2014, there were no records of any officers dying on Dyer Lane, nor was she aware of any of those other events ever happening out there.
After searching various archived newspapers and speaking to the Roseville Historical Society about this, it was
interesting to note that 99% of the stories circulated are false. However, within recent years there have been several deaths tied to that particular area. The most recent deaths have been related to drug or gang affiliated crimes.
The former curator of the Roseville Carnegie
Museum, Phoebe Astill, had mentioned a murder of a family in that general area years
ago.
“I’m not sure what year it happened, but I remember the story,” she
recalls. “It was a Russian family, the father killed the mother and one of the
older children, but took the youngest child, a boy.”
According to Astill, after
the bodies of the wife and older child were discovered, the authorities later
found the youngest son’s body in the field near one of the towers by Dyer Lane.
Records indicate that on August 20, 2001 Nikolay Soltys murdered
six of his family members. One of the victims, his three year old son was
brought to an empty field near Dyer Lane where he murdered him. The rest of the
murders took place in North Highlands.
There is one other story regarding Dyer Lane that we do know for a fact occurred, the murder of William Mullen.
According to the Press Tribune
archives, on March 23, 1985, there was a huge fight at Dyer Lane between the
“Punkers” and the “Aggies” (Agricultural/Western) from Rio Linda High School.
The newspaper reported that nearly 100 young people showed up to the melee. Out
of all the people involved, two were stabbed, and William Mullen was one of
them. Although his friends tried to save him, he died on his way to the
hospital. He was later buried at the Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery.
As I stated above, in recent years there have been a few gang affiliated
deaths on or nearby Dyer Lane but there is no evidence to prove that any of the scarier urban legends that surround this road have any basis in fact. In reality, the urban legends are just that, legends, and local folklore.
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(Copyright 2015 - J'aime Rubio www.jaimerubiowriter.com)
--Note: In recent years, as stated above in the original post, there have been other bodies found on the corner of and on Dyer lane, all of which were linked to drug or gang affiliated crimes. This blog was to cover the history of Dyer lane and any rumors, urban legends or stories about deaths associated with it in the past. --
--Note: In recent years, as stated above in the original post, there have been other bodies found on the corner of and on Dyer lane, all of which were linked to drug or gang affiliated crimes. This blog was to cover the history of Dyer lane and any rumors, urban legends or stories about deaths associated with it in the past. --
