Euphemia Hill and the Forgotten Hill Ranch - Calaveras County

 

"From first glance at the beautiful shore of Lake Camanche, located on the borders of Amador and in Calaveras Counties, you would never guess that at one time a town stood in its place. In fact, there were other settlements such as Lancha Plana, Poverty Bar, and Limerick, which was later renamed Camanche, before the man made reservoir was completed in 1963.

Said to have been one of the biggest ranches in the area, the Hill Ranch spanned between 500 to 1,000 acres, and was run by a woman by the name of Euphemia Hill.  Widowed at the age of 31,  Euphemia picked up where her husband left off and carried on managing the ranch, all the while raising three minor children on her own.  The story of how she became a widow is an interesting and complicated one to say the least.

According to historical accounts passed down through the years, Euphemia’s husband, Hugh L.W. Hill, who went by his middle name, “Lawson,” suspected Euphemia of cheating on him with Marion Tate.  At the time, Marion was working and living at the Hill Ranch. The 1860 Census showed 35 year old Tate as one of the members of the Hill household, with his occupation listed as “farm laborer.”

Apparently Euphemia was not happy with her marriage to Lawson so she filed for a divorce on May 12, 1861, the very same day he died.  Although it was said to have been a neighbor who took Euphemia to the courthouse to petition for divorce, Lawson was adamant that it was Tate who influenced her to leave.  In a drunken stupor, an armed Lawson Hill confronted Tate and a shootout ensued.  After the dust cleared, Lawson was dead and Marion Tate was the last man standing. 

The Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History’s website index sources note that Marion Tate was acquitted of the murder of Lawson Hill on May 13, 1861, so it appears that his actions were accepted as  self-defense. Unfortunately, one Hill family descendant would disagree with the story entirely. According to an article from the Stockton Record, kindly provided to me by Danielle Ballard at the Calaveras Historical Society, there’s been some misconceptions about Hill’s death down through the years. 

Pleasant Hill III, the great nephew of Euphemia and Lawson Hill, was interviewed for the newspaper many years ago claiming that Lawson was murdered by Tate and that the inquest showed that Tate approached Lawson when the incident occurred. He was adamant that the newspapers had made Lawson look like the bad guy, when really he was the victim in the story.  Pleasant Hill also mentioned that Lawson’s murder occurred right when he was just starting a hog ranch on his property. He was only 35 years old and still in the prime of life.

It was believed that Lawson was buried at the small and forgotten Pioneer Cemetery  on the south side of Highway 12, about two miles east of San Andreas because his headstone can be found there. With time and the elements breaking it down, his headstone is battered and broken and now lays flat up against the hill and centered in a newer concrete foundation, no doubt to keep the stone from sliding down.

Although Lawson’s chapter in life was over, that was not the case for his former wife, Euphemia. By the mid 1870s, Euphemia had lost two of her sons. In 1874, Jesse passed away at the age of 25 years, while John died one year later at the age of 19.  Both young men were originally buried at the Dorsey-Holman-Ostermann Cemetery in Camanche.  As time went on, Euphemia kept busy, entering into a contract with businessman Giovanni N. Milco of Stockton in the 1870s. Cultivation of a natural insecticide made from dried Chrysanthemum (Pyrethrum) flowers began on her ranch. It was then marketed as “Milco’s Buhach, Universal Insect Exterminator.”

In 1910, Euphemia Hill passed away at the age of 81 years. She was laid to rest on the Hill Ranch in a private cemetery. Her last remaining son, Irving died in 1932, and he also was buried beside his mother in the family cemetery. By the early 1960s, when Camanche was deserted and plans to fill the area in with water to create a reservoir had started, the Hill family was exhumed from their original burial spots and reinterred at the historic Lodi Memorial Cemetery in Lodi, California.  What once was the Hill Ranch now lies at the bottom of Lake Camanche, forgotten and buried in a watery grave.

An interesting point I would like to share is that there is also a newer, separate marker at the Lodi Memorial Cemetery for Lawson Hill with his same birth year and death year, right next to Euphemia’s marker. I spoke with Isabel at the Lodi Memorial Cemetery who pulled the old archived records and the mystery deepened. Their notes state date of death as being January 1, 1861, and burial on October 25, 1861, which we know to be incorrect dates. She said there was no official record of him being buried at the cemetery.

It would have been impossible for Lawson to have been buried in that section at the Lodi Cemetery at the time of his death.  The section where these plots are located is not part of the old historic section, so there would not have been anyone buried there at that time in 1861. Even the marker itself is newer, and had to have been added around the same time Euphemia and her sons were reinterred there in the 1960s, as the cemetery staff stated.  Lawson Hill’s original grave, where I believe he is still buried, still rests on the steep hill at the Pioneer Cemetery off Highway 12.  He is literally a man with two graves.  

Fast forward to recent times, I was contacted by a Hill relative, Jimmy King, who was searching for Euphemia and Lawson's graves. After his own family research he discovered that Lawson actually is buried at the Lodi Memorial Cemetery after all. You see, according to Shannon Van Zandt at the San Andreas archives, Lawson was originally buried at Poverty Bar's cemetery, but around the time that the reservoir was being planned, his grave was dug up. The odd thing though was that his body went to Lodi to be buried, while his headstone went to the Pioneer Cemetery near San Andreas.  Since the Lodi Memorial Cemetery could not give me a definitive answer about one of their own burials, when I published my book in 2016, I was still unsure where Lawson was buried, so I left it up for debate. Now, once and for all we know Lawson is buried in Lodi, and has been there since the 1960's. 

In the recent years, the Calaveras Enterprise mentioned that the old television series, “The Big Valley,” which first aired in 1965, starring actress Barbara Stanwyck, was based on Euphemia and the Hill Ranch at Camanche.  The article forwarded to me from Danielle Ballard at the Calaveras Historical Society  also mentions this story reiterated by Pleasant Hill during his interview for the Stockton Record years before.

If you are ever in the small vineyard town of Lodi, California, please stop by the Historic Lodi Cemetery and pay your respects to Mrs. Hill, a true female pioneer of California’s old west. And please don’t forget stop by the grave of Lawson Hill, too, which ever one of the two that you choose to visit."----  From the book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered." (Chapter 11) - By J'aime Rubio, Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved. (ISBN-13: 978-1523981175)

To read more stories like this one, purchase your copy of "Stories of the Forgotten" on Amazon today!

(Copyright 2016 - J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

UPDATE: 5/7/2019  (THANK YOU JIMMY KING!!)
Photos: Copyright, J'aime Rubio

Sources:

U.S. Census Records, 1860, 1870; Find-a-grave; Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History, website index, #1736, P, Lawson Hill Inquest, May 13, 1861, Acquittal of Marion Tate, (Calaverashistory.org); Pacific Rural Press, July 23, 1892; Lodi Memorial Cemetery, Burial Records; California Death Index, 1905-1939; California Wills and Probate Records, 1850-1953; “Euphemia A. Hill, Rancher of Calaveras County, CA.”- Women of the Old West blog; “The Forgotten Cemetery– Pioneer Cemetery Established 1851”- Charity Maness, Calaveras Enterprise, February 10, 2015; “Memories Alive at Lode Cemetery”-  Kathy Geiszler, The Stockton Record (archived news clipping), courtesy of Danielle Ballard, Calaveras Historical Society.

History of the Hotel Léger - Mokelumne Hill

Mokelumne Hill is situated in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, between Jackson and San Andreas.  During the Gold Rush, Mokelumne Hill or "Moke Hill" as I have always called it, was a booming mining town surrounded by many other mining camps in the area. In this particular blog, I will be sharing with you the history of the Hotel Léger, and also debunking some of the "rumors" that have been circulating about this historic hotel for the past several decades. In a future blog I will go further in depth into the history of town of Mokelumne Hill itself, and some of its other intriguing tales.

To start, the Hotel Léger was founded and built by George Léger. But that wasn't the hotel's original name. In fact, this hotel has had several names over the years from the Hotel de France, Union Hotel, Grand Hotel, and of course its namesake, the Hotel Léger. 

The Léger Family

George William Léger was of French ancestry, although he wasn't a native of France. According to the 1860 Census he was born in Hesse-Cassel, a small state within Germany. During the time in which George was born, Hesse-Cassel was occupied by French troops and was actually considered to be a "French satelite state." I imagine that George's mother was probably a German woman who married one of the French soldiers who was stationed there and that is how George came to be a Frenchman who was actually from Germany. 

According to records, George was born sometime in 1815. It has always been said that he came to the U.S. in his mid-thirties, and that he settled in at Mokelumne Hill around 1851. The San Joaquin Valley as well as the Sierras had a large population of French, even in the early days when the French trappers arrived (long before actual settlements). During the Gold Rush, many Frenchmen came to "Moke Hill" as well as Germans, Scots, Irishmen, Chinese, Mexicans, Chileans and even Australians heading for California along with so many others.

It is interesting to note that the biggest rush I have found during my research about Moke Hill happened between the Spring of 1851 and the Summer of 1851. Soon after a huge portion of miners headed up to San Andreas to their newly discovered diggings. Still, many miners kept at it in Moke Hill and the population of the little mining camp continued to grow exponentially. This was around the time that George Léger set up his tent-like wooden and canvas hostelry on the corner of Main and Lafayette streets. At some point the hotel was built up, but was only a one story structure in the beginning.  

On August 21, 1854 around 3:05 a.m. a fire broke out in John Ward's restaurant on  Main Street. The fire swept through the main part of town from Franklin to Ravine, through Front street, Center street to Washington, to the bridge over the ravine and Lafayette streets. The only structures saved in town were Parker's stable, four houses, Hawkins store, Magnolia Hotel and about seven small buildings in total.

Of the structures lost, Léger's hotel was one of them (Union Hotel). Others included: Morris & Peyton, Root & Co., Cadwaller & Co., Halsey & Bro., S. Forman, Strouz Fountain House, United States Hotel, Dudley's Restaurant, Ford's Restaurant, Sturges & Co., Dr. Soyer, Wells Fargo & Co., Adams & Co., and the post office. 

Within a year the hotel was rebuilt once again.

George & Louisa's Marriage Record

On May 26, 1856, George Léger married Louisa Wilkin by Justice of the Peace, B.H. Williams. The three witnesses who signed on behalf of the marriage were Henry Krat, Henry Anhiser and Henry Mayer. 

The couple were to have three children: Albert Henry (1856-1886), Matilda (1858-1937) and Louisa (1860-?).

Their daughter, Louisa's birthdate was November 26, 1860 which sadly coincides with the death of her mother, Louisa Wilkin Léger, who apparently died the next day of complications after childbirth. Louisa was buried in the Mokelumne Hill Protestant Cemetery. Her headstone reads (as translated in English): 

"Here beloved wife and mother, Louisa Leger (born Wilkin), born on 25 of November, 1833, died on 27 of November, 1860, missing and grieved."

The loss of his wife must have hit him very hard, as it appears he never remarried. He continued to raise his children who all grew up into adulthood. Albert Henry Léger was listed as a registered voter on May 21, 1877 (aged 21 years). By April 21, 1886 though, Albert passed away for reasons I could not find; However, he did not die in the hotel or even in Calaveras County for that matter. He passed away in Fresno County and his body was brought to Mokelumne Hill to be buried at the cemetery where his parents are buried.

Matilda grew up and married William Todd in 1879. According to Wendy Cook on Find-a-grave, Matilda married twice and died in 1937 in Seattle, Washington. As far as Louisa, I could only find her mentioned on one document, the 1880 census where she is listed as running the hotel. They erroneously listed her age as 17 and year of birth as 1863, however we know she was actually 20 years old and was born 1860. 


According to Maureen Love-Allen Elliott on the "Motherlode Memories" Facebook page, she found Louisa listed in the 1885 census in Washington. At the time she was married to David Edwards, who was also a hotel keeper. Amador County Marriage Records also note that Louisa married David Bartlett Edwards on February 3, 1881 in Jackson, Amador County, which was only two years after her father's death. They apparently moved to Washington a short time later.

It appears the two separated and divorced, since Mr. Edwards is later listed being remarried to Ida Buck. Maureen believes she remarried to a George Wilson, in Ballard, Washington. The first document I could find of this marriage shows only that she listed her name as "Lou Edwards" but there was no listing of her maiden name or her parent's names on that particular document.  Maureen provided me with a second document where it does in fact state that Louisa's parent's were George Leger and Louisa Wilken, so we now know she did remarry. By the 1930 census in Washington, Mr. Wilson is listed as a widower, so she must have passed on sometime before.

I have since found a grave for a Louisa L. Edwards (not Wilson), born in 1860, who passed away in 1918. She was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. But it is highly unlikely she would have been buried using her first married name (Edwards) and not the second one (Wilson), so I am currently at a standstill in regards to locating Louisa's grave.

The county seat moved to San Andreas in 1866, which meant the courthouse would no longer be used, but the jail was still in use until March of 1868. Once the new county jail was built elsewhere and inmates were moved out, it was then that George wanted to purchase the empty courthouse located on the corner of Lafayette and Court Streets (now China Gulch). He then used the old courthouse as an addition to his hotel. In 1874, there was another fire that swept through Mokelumne Hill. The hotel burned again, but the part of the hotel that was stone (the former courthouse) survived the fire. The last rebuild of the hotel was the final one, and the hotel stands now just as it was in 1875. On April 26, 1875, George held a grand reopening of the hotel which included a Grand Ball. It was a big 'to-do' around those parts, and all of the county's most important residents attended.

Over the years the hotel ownership has passed through many hands. Here is a small list of previous owners of the past, which I am certain isn't complete but here you go:

George Léger
Louisa Léger (daughter)
George Muths
Kaufmann Hexter
John McLean
Nevil Magee
Myron Greve
Charles Pfeiffer
An Attorney from San Francisco (name unknown)
Bob Rosenthall
Alice & Roger Cannon
Ron & Joyce Miller
Joe Rohde & Marci Biagi

At George's grave.

George's Death

Contrary to the majority of people's opinions, written theories, and adamant statements in books, online or even on television shows, George Léger was NOT murdered. I really wish people would stop spreading that fabricated and completely false story. It is not only a disrespect to the history of the hotel but a personal insult to Mr. Leger himself. 

According to the Calaveras Chronicle, Mr. Léger had been ill for two days and passed away suddenly. He was mentioned as being the "oldest, most esteemed fellow townsmen." The Sacramento Daily Union stated: "George W. Leger, Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, a prominent Odd Fellow, and one of the oldest and most respected citizens of Calaveras County, died here this afternoon."

The Amador Ledger said this of their beloved pioneer: 

Amador Ledger (3/15/1879)

Obviously the paper had the wrong information about his native nationality, because it was his wife Louisa who was from Prussia, but other than that, his obituary was right on the money. This is an important piece of information that should be remembered as we get into this subject matter a little further on in this blog. 

George is buried at the Protestant Cemetery in Mokelumne Hill with his wife.

Debunking Local Legends and Lore

So if George Léger was not murdered in his hotel, then why on earth would this story have come about in the first place? I have my suspicions of just who may have started the rumors and why.  You see, I have been digging up as much as I could on the hotel's history and it wasn't until the 1980's when the rumor of George being murdered appeared on paper. Along with the story came some very unsavory accusations about George himself, claiming he was a "ladies man"which was unwarranted. 

According to a syndicated article that appeared in the Desert Sun (as well as many other newspapers all over the country) dated December 1, 1987, then owners of the hotel, Ron and Joyce Miller were quoted saying that George "was quite the womanizer" and that he was "murdered outside his room in 1881."  They were interviewed a couple of more times in 1987 reiterating the whole haunted aspect, again being very adamant that George was a "ladies man" and that the woman who haunts the hotel is probably one of his "old flames." 

The Millers obviously wanted to capitalize on their investment and bring in tourists with the interest in an historic and "haunted" hotel. Unfortunately, they didn't do their homework on the history of the hotel or they would have known George didn't die in 1881 and wasn't murdered. It is plain to see that they sensationalized the hotel's history to gain publicity which worked, and unfortunately, it worked too well, since their tall tales of the Hotel Léger's history has become one of those urban legends that have spun out of control. Now every book, every tv show and most writers and investigators repeat the same old yarn without actually doing the legwork to see it was completely fabricated.

There is absolutely no evidence or documentation whatsoever that has ever mentioned George Léger being a womanizer or sleeping around with women in town. In fact, he was one of the most respected men in town, as well as the county. Had he gained such a soiled reputation as that, surely there would have been something mentioned over the years, but instead, these accusations only popped up in the mid to late 80's which is a red flag that it was completely made up.

So, for the record, George Léger was NOT a womanizer, he did NOT sleep around with all the women in town, and he was NOT murdered by a jealous husband or any other person for that matter. He died from illness at the hotel, where he lived. 

So what about the other "ghost stories"? 

Again, the first ever mention in a newspaper claiming the hotel being haunted was in 1987, by the Millers. Although they claimed that the previous owners had told them it was haunted, the Millers were the first to publicize that there was an apparition of a woman seen going back and forth upstairs, or a boy sitting in a chair who played with a toy wagon. 

George W. Léger

The Millers also claimed that George was around, and that they, as well as their son, had seen him, too. The former owners before the Miller's, the Cannon's purchased the hotel back in 1971, after they read an ad in the Wall Street Journal for the old hotel. Alice and her husband Roger Cannon, who was a traveling appraiser for the forest service, purchased the hotel and moved their six children there in the beginning of 1971. They never mentioned the hotel being haunted in their interview for the paper, but instead they seemed delighted to have such a gem to restore. 

Prior to the Cannon's owning the hotel, I have found a newspaper article that stated an attorney from San Francisco had purchased it in 1960, with the mindset that he would restore it back to its former Gold Rush days. He planned to bring in authentic items to give it that old west flavor. By 1961, the hotel was planned to become a permanent museum to exhibit 19th century masterpieces of California paintings, but it appears that plan fell through.

And even earlier than that, the Greve family had owned the hotel for well over five decades, making them the family with the longest running ownership of the hotel. So as I dug further and further back into the hotel's previous owners, it was obvious to see that the slanderous story about George being a womanizer, or that he was murdered, along with the "ghost stories" seems to have all started in the 1980s, with the arrival of the Miller family. Again, it is possible that a local or locals could have told the Millers of this story and they just took it at face value instead of researching it themselves. Still, it appears the Miller family were the first to get publicity for it, by sharing their "ghost stories" which ultimately put the hotel on the map for paranormal investigators.

Old Jail Cells/Dungeon

What about the rumors of the "dungeon" under the hotel? The courthouse and adjoining jail were on the first level of the stone building which was constructed on the hill (corner of Lafayette and Court Street, now China Gulch). 

While researching the murder of B.R.C. Johnson back in 1866, just prior to the courthouse being moved to San Andreas, two of the three murderers were arrested and being held at the jail cells in Mokelumne Hill awaiting execution. On a stormy night, those two inmates made a daring escape from the jail.  According to records the convicted killers, John Ferguson and Jesus Miranda, along with another inmate Brian Fallon, made their escape by cutting their way out of their cells from the ceiling which was composed of boards without covering. The men managed to break free from their shackles, pile buckets on top of one another along with an old chair and Ferguson reached the ceiling and cut his way out with a sharp pointed instrument (the newspapers assumed it was a three-cornered file).

While cutting away, the other inmates made noise such as singing, clanking chains and dancing to distract the jailer from hearing Ferguson breaking the boards apart. The man working in the front room, Joe Douglass, was unaware of what was going on just behind him and when he took his break to get some dinner, the prisoners made their escape. At one point it appeared as if the men had contemplated murdering Douglass at first, since they would have had to climb over a partition into the front room where Douglass was working but he had left for dinner so his life was spared. 

Ferguson discovered a ventilation system during their escape, so they decided to crawl out of the building through there, and jumped down to the back jail-yard fencing area near the hangman's tree, and eventually made their way out of town.  They were eventually captured and they met their fate at the hangman's tree which once stood in the back property of the courthouse (more than likely near the pool of the hotel today). The point of this story is that the jail cell areas were on the first floor of the stone building in the back of the property. In fact, it said the jail area and the front room in the court house were only separated from a "partition." It wasn't dungeon-like, it was just a jail. (To read the entire story it can be found here: "The Murder of B.R.C. Johnson" )  As the years went on, the basement area would later be used as a storeroom and wine cellar for the hotel.

I do not believe the basement was used as any form of torture chamber for the inmates as the episode of Ghost Adventures implied. It was a storeroom.

During the time that the stone court house was still being used as a jail, the authorities held them, tried them, and if they were convicted, they were sent to prison or hanged. If they were acquitted or their cases dismissed, they were set free. 

Another point to make is about the alleged "tunnels" - Many times in the 1800's courthouses had tunnels where they would bring in criminals to be held until their trial or hearings. Instead of bringing the criminals in through the front of the courthouse where there would be an audience of people watching, they would sneak them in from another entrance or tunnel. A good example of this is the old courthouse in Auburn. There once was a tunnel that went across the street to the old "White House" and there are remnants of a closed up tunnel that can still be seen today. Again this was not uncommon. There is absolutely no proof that there was tunnel or that one was used for smuggling people, prostitution, or any other illegal activity and those types of assumptions or accusations are not based on facts, but instead on wild imaginations.

Who died in the Hotel (or on the property)?

Okay, so let's get down to the facts. Who do we have on record that actually died in the hotel?  It is more than likely that George's wife, Louisa died in the hotel, given the fact she died after childbirth and she lived in the hotel, so the doctor would have came to her to deliver her baby. So I think it is safe to say Louisa died at the hotel. We also know that George died in the hotel, given the fact that is documented. Another former resident, Mrs. Mae C. Suessdorf passed away at the hotel per the September 20, 1907 edition of the Amador Ledger which stated that she died very suddenly. She was only 34 years old. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and Daughters of Rebekah. Her father was a longstanding Justice of the Peace in Calaveras County, Patrick Kean.

Besides these people I have listed, there are countless others who were hanged behind the courthouse at the hangman's tree. Convicted killers, John Ferguson and Jesus Miranda were just two out of many who met their fate at the end of the hangman's noose. According to the March 14, 1868 edition of the Calaveras Chronicle, it stated that the jail closed that week when the last of the prisoners were removed from the jail and sent to the new jail in San Andreas. 

(Added note: previously on this blog I had noted that a person named Owen Fallon had been shot outside of the jail by someone named Boyd who had mistaken him for an inmate that escaped. This was a mistake. I had somehow mixed up the name of Owen Fallon with that of Brian Fallon, one of the escapees from the Mokelumne Hill jailhouse February of 1886. Interestingly, according to an article in the Calaveras Chronicle dated February 28, 1868, it claims that Owen was Brian's brother. As it turned out, because of mixing up the two people, and after reading page 331-332 in the "History of Amador County" by Jesse D. Mason (1881) which briefly read: "Owen Fallon, a respectable man, being mistaken for an escapee from Mokelumne Hill jail, was shot by William Boyd," I accidentally confused both incidents with one person. The only problem was that the shooting took place in Irishtown (Pine Grove area) not outside of the jail. I didn't realize this oversight on my part when I first published the blog, until it was brought to my attention recently. I apologize for the minor misinterpretation of that particular information on Fallon that I had previously published. I wanted to correct this error as soon as possible. So for the record, Owen Fallon DID NOT die on or near the property of the Hotel Leger or old Mokelumne Hill jail.) 

True Accounts that took place on the property

Besides, deaths that took place on the property, I found the story of a cook who assaulted a waiter at the hotel in June of 1900. Henry Daigel (the cook) got into a heated argument with Walter Luke over the consistency of his mashed potatoes. It was then that the cook threw his cast iron frying pan hitting Luke in the head. He was charged with assault with intent to cause great bodily harm, but claimed he really didn't mean to hurt him. He lost his temper and threw the pan. The cook's son, who was a dishwasher at the hotel took his father's side and the case was dismissed. 

Just earlier that month in 1900, the storeroom which I believe was located in the basement of the hotel, was burglarized with large amounts of rice, tea, prunes and soap being the provisions stolen. The chambermaid who lived in the room adjacent to the storeroom claimed she heard nothing, and the burglars made their way out a door that opened to the back yard on Court Street (now China Gulch).

I am sure there are other stories out there just waiting to be resurrected from the archives, but so far I haven't found any really crazy ones. We know that there was gambling and prostitution at Mokelumne Hill because I have found it mentioned in several newspaper clippings, but none have ever mentioned the Hotel Léger. I will continue to keep searching for more history of this fantastic hotel dubbed the "Gem of the Mother Lode" and I will update this blog with any future findings.

In ending, this blog isn't to rain on anyone's parade in regards to their beliefs of the hotel's history or whether the hotel is haunted or not. That is not for me to say. Not all historic locations are haunted, but with the same token, there are lots of places that have "activity," too. This blog isn't to touch on that aspect, but instead this is my way of enlightening those who truly love this hotel and want to know the true history of it. Not just the fabricated or sensationalized stories, but the documented facts. The most important part about learning is growing, and sometimes we find out that what we were told, or read, or watched on a television show was not accurate. It is up to us whether we want to accept that or not. I just want to provide the most accurate information as possible so that those earnestly seeking the truth about this location, can read about it and appreciate it.

Happy History Hunting!
(Copyright 2018 - J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Some of my sources:

Census: 1860, 1880

California Great Registers

Public Vital Records: 

Amador County Marriage Records,

California Death Records

History of Amador County, Jesse D. Mason

San Francisco Call – March 14, 1892

Amador Ledger – July 11, 1902

Sac Daily Union – August 21, 1854

Sac Union- February 14, 1916

Geyserville Press – November 25, 1960

Amador Ledger – June 29, 1900

Calaveras Chronicle – June 23, 1900

Healdsburg Tribune – November 17, 1977

Calaveras Chronicle – March 14, 1879

Sac Daily Union – March 14, 1879

Amador Ledger – June 1, 1900

Sac Daily Union – January 1, 1880

Redlands Daily Facts – April 17, 1971

Oakland Tribune- October 22, 1961

Desert Sun – December 1, 1987

Times Herald – August 25, 1987

Oakland Tribune – May 31, 1925

Calaveras Chronicle – March 14, 1868

Calaveras County Illustrated History

Sac Daily Union – March 14, 1879

San Jose Mercury Newspaper – October 26, 2003

Stockton Record – October 26, 2003

Calaveras Chronicle – March 15, 1879

Amador Ledger, December 1, 1911

Information from Maureen Love-Allen  Elliott

Alida Ghirardelli - The Chocolate Heiress' Tragic Death

Artist sketch as seen in S.F. Call, August 17, 1909

     The Ghirardelli family had its share of tragedies,  one of which was the death of Domingo Ghirardelli's granddaughter, Alida Ghirardelli. The eldest daughter of Domingo Jr., and his wife Addie Cook Ghirardelli,  Alida was born on September 3, 1879, in San Francisco, California.  The heiress of such a prestigious and wealthy family, Alida had all the luxuries one could ask for in her young life. She went to the best schools, she enjoyed the company of high society and traveled abroad in her study of fine arts.  

According to the book, “Carmel-by-the-Sea, The Early Years,” by Alissandra Dramov, Alida studied her art with her aunt and uncle, artists Angela Ghirardelli Jorgensen and Christopher Jorgensen, first in San Francisco, and furthered her studies in Paris. From 1901 to 1906, Alida lived in Paris, mastering her craft. The talented young artist drew acclaim in her own right,  which is shown through newspapers and various periodicals, including the 1907 issue of “Western Woman,” which gave her praise for her painting titled “Interior of a Barn.”  The article mention reads, “it is the best thing this very promising young woman has done. Mechanically good, the composition, tone, color, make it a notable little canvas.”

The tragedy that took her life, occurred on August 16, 1909, off the coast of Carmel-by-the Sea.  Just a few months earlier, Alida had returned to Carmel, where her aunt and uncle Angela and Christopher Jorgensen were living.  At one time Alida was living with her aunt and uncle at their stone mansion which is now part of La Playa Hotel, but the month prior to Alida’s death, she was actually staying at the Pine Inn about a half mile away. The Inn was known for accommodating eccentric writers and artists who came to visit and stay in Carmel during the Bohemian era.  Alida was known for taking a daily swim in Carmel Bay and was just continuing with her normal routine when the tragic drowning occurred.  Eye witnesses claimed that she had swam past the breakers. It had appeared as if her intention was to let the current take her towards Point Lobos , but that suddenly her hands went reaching upwards, in desperation for aid.

   It was then that two good Samaritans, Robert Mitchell and another man only known by the name Hitchcock, dragged a boat over from the shore near the Pine Inn and  launched it into the breakers. They“bent their backs to the oars,” but as the article mentions, “the feat was impossible.” Seconds after the two men had launched the row boat into the water, the waves heaved it upside down.  Hitchcock remained hanging onto the overturned boat, but Mitchell attempted to swim under the waters in search for Alida but eventually rose to the surface minutes later, having nearly drowned himself. 

       Alida’s aunt and uncle were vacationing in the Yosemite Valley at the time and were unaware of the tragedy that had just occurred on the shores near their estate. Her parents were notified within hours of the incident and made the trip from San Francisco in hopes her body would wash ashore.  The family, desperate to bring their daughter’s lifeless body back home to be buried, kept a vigil along the beach and other residents set up bonfires along the shore in aid to search for Alida.

        Reports showed that “the countryside, from end to end, is tramping along the beaches, hoping that each successive wave will return that for which they search, and the sea, satisfied with the sacrifice which it has taken unto itself, offers as its smallest consolation the inanimate form of its victim.” 

        It was said that Alida’s father, Domingo Ghirardelli Jr., sat on the beach all night, no doubt hoping and praying that the waves would bring his beloved daughter’s body in with the tide. It didn’t take long after the news got out about Alida’s tragic death for rumors to spread insinuating that her fatal drowning may not have been as accidental as previously thought.  Speculations swirled around various social circles, making its way to the San Francisco Call and Oakland Tribune, claiming that Alida may have purposely drowned herself over a broken heart. The Oakland Tribune dated August 29, 1909, stated, 

"It may be news to some of her friends, who heard the several rumors which followed her tragic death at Pacific Grove, that she had a hidden romance; that she had been in love with a well-known American of the United States in Paris. The young man was known to be in love with her and she with him. The smoothness of their love story was marred by the doubt of a parental consent on her part to a marriage. Their intimates in Paris knew the love story and knew that she came home to gain the needed, "God bless you, children," from her family."---

     As the article goes on it mentioned that the American with whom Alida allegedly fell in love, had proved unfaithful to his promise to marry her, and in turn, married another while she was away. It was speculated by the press that this was the reason she drowned herself. What is interesting to note is the fact that certain eye witnesses to her drowning came forward to mention that just two days prior to the fatal drowning, Alida had been pulled from the very same surf unconscious. Mrs. F.B. Signor, the keeper of the bathing pavilion on the beach stated that she "grew alarmed" after the first incident and trained her collie dog to swim after her, "fearing the accident which ultimately took place."

When asked for a statement for the press, Alida's brother, Edwin Ghirardelli declared, "It is folly to think that she committed suicide. All her letters to us radiated happiness and pleasure. She did not have a single care and no reason to take her life. How these rumors started I cannot imagine, but I wish to deny them emphatically. They are unjust to my sister and cruel in their origin."

Regardless of whether or not there was truth to the rumors, they still persisted for months, leaving many to wonder if there was some truth to their theories of why she died after all.  We will never know for sure, being that the young American suspected of leaving her for another was not named in the newspapers, leaving it an unverified rumor.

It took nearly a month before Alida’s body washed up on the coast within about 100 yards from where she had drowned.  The corpse was entangled in the kelp which kept it from washing ashore for so long. In every mention of her body being recovered, it is also brought out that her body was in an “unusual state of preservation” given the length of time it remained submerged in the sea.

 This was not the first story I discovered of a woman drowned off the Pacific Coast where her body washed ashore surprisingly intact and preserved.  I found the same oddity in my research on Agnes Jaycoax’s death as well.  It seems human remains at sea do not decompose at the same rate as human remains on land due to the fact that certain microbes and bacteria that break down the tissue are either not present or not able to reproduce at the same rate.  Also, the temperature of the water plays a part in the rate of decomposition. 

 Science shows that when a body is floating in water that is less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit, by the third week it turns into what is known as “grave wax,”  or Adipocere, virtually a soapy fatty acid that preserves the body in almost a wax like state.  This may explain why both Alida’s body, and that of Agnes Jaycoax were found in such a state of preservation after having been lost at sea for a period of several days to nearly a month in Alida’s case.

Alida’s well preserved body was brought back to San Francisco and her funeral arrangements were made.  Initially, I assumed she would be at Mountain View Cemetery with her family, or at Cypress Lawn in Colma, where her parents and some of her other siblings are laid to rest but early on I hit a brick wall.  According to funeral records available, I was able to determine that Alida’s funeral did take place in the Chapel at Mountain View Cemetery and she was originally interred in the Ghirardelli family crypt on September 13, 1909.  The cost of the funeral expenses was $618.85, paid by her father. 

But researching who is interred at the Ghirardelli crypt today, there was no mention of Alida being there. Thanks to help from Nichelle Sevier who works in the archive vault at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California, the mystery was solved. She was able to pull archived records showing that years later the Ghirardelli’s moved Alida, Edwin, Esperanza “Hope” and another member of the family with the initials M. Ghirardelli from Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, and reintered their remains in the family plot at Cypress Lawn in Colma, California.

     What is most intriguing is the fact that Alida’s funeral record states that she was not cremated, but instead interred in a pine casket at Mountain View Cemetery,  yet records Ms. Sevier was kind enough to find and share with me indicate that when Alida’s remains were later moved to Cypress Lawn with her siblings, all were noted as having been cremated.

     Alida was not the only Ghirardelli grandchild who met such a dramatic and tragic ending. Edwin Ghirardelli, Alida’s younger brother, committed suicide in 1913, while their cousin Aurelia Mangini died at the Ghirardelli home in 1878. To read more about Alida, Edwin and Aurelia, please pick up a copy of "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered," today on Amazon! 

From the book, "Stories of the Forgotten" by J'aime Rubio (ISBN-13:  978-1523981175)

Copyright 2018 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

Disappearance on the Delta

California Delta (J.Rubio)

One warm June evening back in 1980, along the sleepy tributaries of the California Delta, 30 year old Pat Malone of King Island was heading home after finishing up a repair on a houseboat that had been stranded at Snodgrass Slough, when he simply seemed to vanish into thin air.

Pat, who was a private contractor repairman working through the Holiday Flotels Houseboat Rental company on King Island had been dispatched earlier that day around 5 p.m. to repair one of their disabled rentals, but when neither he nor his work boat was seen docked the very next morning, Nita Jackson (owner of Holiday Flotels) knew something wasn't right. It was an employee of the company, Russell Crow, 21, who initially noticed that Pat's maintenance boat was missing so he headed out onto the Delta, retracing the route Malone might have taken back home thinking perhaps Pat's boat might have broken down on the way back the night before. When he discovered the vessel on the the south fork of the Mokelumne River, it was near Hog Slough. As Crow approached the boat, it was clear to see there was no trace of Pat. He immediately notified authorities, and before anyone knew it, Pat Malone's whereabouts were one big mystery.

All initial newspaper reports claimed that the vessel Pat was piloting was found in tact and undamaged. In fact, even the owner of the Holiday Flotels was quoted saying,

“It’s just as if someone reached down and picked him up,” said Holiday Flotels Delta Houseboat Rentals owner Nita Jackson. Malone, a private contractor, was returning from a houseboat repair  mission for the King Island rental firm when he disappeared. "His father and mother are still out there searching,” she said. “It’s such a mysterious situation, with the boat not damaged in any way.  You can’t give up hope. Everybody is in a high emotional state – he’s missing and there’s no evidence of anything.”-- Lodi News-Sentinel (6/21/1980)

When I first began researching this story back in 2014 it was a personal quest to get answers not just for me, but for my dad. You see, Pat Malone was a good friend of my father growing up in Anaheim back in the 1950's and 1960's. I grew up hearing about all the crazy shenanigans that they got into as kids growing up. Although they became adults and moved on in their lives, they both kept in touch every so often to see how each other were doing. I remembered as a kid hearing dad mentioning what happened to Pat, and how the whole thing didn't feel right to him.

Pat lived just down the way on North Street, the same street dad grew up on along with other close friends and fellow school mates. The Malone family's house, just across the street and several houses down from my grandparent's, became like a second home to dad in his younger years.

Dad graduated Anaheim High in '65 with Pat's older brother, Mike, while Pat graduated in '67. It was by chance that I discovered Pat's photo recently after looking through my mom's yearbook. I wasn't going to get my hopes up at first, but as I turned the pages through the Junior year photos, there it was. This person I have been researching for a good 4 years, now I have a face to place the name and the story to.

Back to the story....

"The 20-foot repair craft used by Pat Malone, 30, was found undamaged along the bank of the Mokelumne River’s south fork, near Hog Slough, Friday morning. The boat’s ignition key was on but the motor was not running, the throttle was three-quarters open and there was plenty of fuel in the gasoline tank, according to Sheriff’s reports. Malone’s dog was discovered on a nearby island......Nothing on the deck of the boat, including the pilot’s chair which is not tied to the craft, was disturbed. All the boat’s life preservers were still on board, so apparently Malone was not wearing a life preserver, according to reports. But he has been described as a good swimmer, and as being familiar with the Delta....The boat is not equipped with running lights, and under Holiday Flotels policy, was not supposed to be used after dark."  -- Lodi News- Sentinel (6/21/1980)

According to Pat's fiancee, Gail Skelton, who lived with him on their houseboat on King Island, Pat had called her Thursday night around 7 p.m. to let her know he finished the repair and was heading home. The trip from Snodgrass Slough to King Island by boat was about an hour long, and when Pat didn't come home she began to worry.  The houseboat renters who had seen Pat the night before when he repaired their vessel, mentioned that Pat left around the same time, confirming Gail's story.

One thing that was mentioned twice in the newspaper was that Pat may have stopped by Wimpy's Marina near Walnut Grove. The bartender stated that someone who fit Pat's description was there between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. No one ever confirmed that it was actually Pat, just that someone who fit his physical description was seen there. It was also mentioned that the person seen at Wimpy's "did not appear intoxicated."

A spokesperson for the Sheriff's Department stated several times in the newspapers that followed day by day, that the search was continuing and that they dispatched boat and ground crews in the area, as well as calling in the U.S. Coast Guard air and boat units to aid in their search efforts.

Suddenly by June 25th, the newspapers oddly changed the narrative of what might have happened to Pat. They were now claiming that the boat had been damaged. Remember, for several days each statement given by the owner of the rental company (who owned the boat) and by authorities who had made official statements all said the boat was "in tact" and "undamaged," which was why the mystery behind Pat disappearing was so strange. Initially there was no trace of evidence that anything happened. No accident, no struggle, nothing. He had simply vanished. Now, the story seemed to have changed.

“There was a hole underneath the bow of the boat,” said Sgt. Wilbert Vierra, chief of the Sheriff’s marine division. “It (the craft) did hit something, a rock maybe. He could have been thrown off and hit his head.” The circumstances surrounding Malone’s disappearance remain largely a mystery, but authorities do not suspect foul play.  The search for Malone, a private boat repair contractor, will continue indefinitely, said Vierra. Four men, working two shifts during daylight hours, are dragging the river. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is aiding the search periodically, he said, and farmers and boaters are being alerted.Vierra said that on Monday he flew over the area in a plane rented by the Sheriff’s Department.  Friday, U.S. Coast Guard air and boat units aided the search. “We get some strange disappearances in the Delta,” said Vierra. --- Lodi News-Sentinel (6/25/1980)

After an 8 day search of combing the Delta, the newspapers reported that the body of Pat Malone was discovered about 200 yards from where his "intact but deserted craft was discovered June 20." The newspaper dated June 28, 1980 claimed that his cause of death was "drowning."

"Everything has been found to be consistent with drowning," said a spokesperson for the Coroner's office. They also mentioned that extensive tests were going to be carried out to determine the exact cause of death. Continuing to go with the later theory that Pat's craft had ran into some obstacle on the river, they also continued to adamantly assert that Pat had to have fell overboard and hit his head in the process.

You have to remember again that the reports showed the vessel had no indication that anything had happened to it. It had no damage to it and nothing seemed out of place on board. It wasn't until later that the theory that the boat suddenly had damage to it, and they believed he was thrown from the craft and drowned came into the picture.

It gets worse, much worse.....

According to the newspapers later published in January of 1981, it claimed that Pat's cause of death was drowning because of being drunk.

"Malone had a high level of alcohol in his system at the time of his death, according to the coroner's report, and authorities theorize that his drowning was an accident." -- Lodi News Sentinel (1/29/1981)

This is a red flag that there is something terribly wrong with this case. You see, when our bodies die, they naturally start producing ethanol in order to start the process of decomposition. The production of ethanol within the body begins shortly after death. As the hours go by, the bacteria begins to grow within the body and the bacteria itself produces the ethanol by converting it from sugars such as glucose. Another thing to consider is the fact that alcohol distributes itself unevenly through the body after death. Because of the fact that alcohol production in the body after death is the same as that from drinking, the blood-alcohol level alone cannot determine precisely whether or not the deceased was actually intoxicated at the time of death.

Blood plasma has a higher water content than whole blood, therefore it can show as 10 to 15 percent higher in an alcohol level test. The most accurate way to differentiate between the levels of consumed alcohol in the system and the postmortem produced ethanol, would be by testing the vitreous humour (gel-like substance inside the eye.) Testing that part of the body shows to be most accurate due to the fact that the vitreous humour collects little to no postmortem alcohol (the kind the body produces on its own). Still, this must be done within 48 hours after death.

Clearly 8 days would be long past the point of getting an accurate reading, thus it is my own opinion that Pat Malone was not drunk when he died, and there really is no way of proving that he was.

I have written the Sacramento Coroner's Department requesting copies of Pat Malone's coroner's report under the California Public Records Act. I haven't heard back from them yet, but I hope to add another blog in the future with the coroner's report findings.

Pat Malone and Gail Skelton, a couple very much in love, would have been married on St. Patrick's Day that following March, but sadly that never came to be.

So does the story end here? Sorry to tell you the answer is "no."

The Plot Thickens....

 Gail Skelton (Galt High School)

Just three months after Pat was declared dead, and his name disappeared from any further headlines in the papers, another disappearance took place along the Delta. This time it was further south, within San Joaquin County on the Delta at the western end of Eight Mile Road, and it was none other than Pat's fiancee, Gail Skelton.

On September 26, 1980, Gail was attending a party at Herman and Helen's Marina on Empire Tract when she also vanished without a trace, literally, along with her 1978 blue two-door Toyota (which was never found). The few witnesses who had seen her claimed that she was seen in a heated conversation with a man that they had seen earlier in the evening and again just before she went missing.

According to the January 29 issue of the Lodi News-Sentinel, detectives were able to make a break in the case after the last person who had seen Gail underwent hypnosis in order to help produce a composite sketch of the man that was seen arguing with Gail just before she disappeared. Even with the sketch, none of the detectives on the case could seem to identify the man.

Several times in articles about Pat's disappearance, authorities stated that the cause didn't seem to be from foul play. Although the newspaper managed to bring up in the article about Gail's disappearance that "there was no reason to connect the cases", they admitted the two incidents were "surrounded by a lot of strangeness." (quote by Detective Nancy Sumers.)

 (Unidentified Person of Interest
White male, 25-30 years old,
with dark hair, over 6 feet tall and thin build) 

Gail's family searched tirelessly for years, especially Norma, Gail's mother. She would often spend days searching the river by car and by boat and would use bamboo poles taped together to poke the water hoping to find Gail's car or something that would lead to finding out what happened to Gail. Norma and the detectives on that particular case believed it was possible Gail had lost control of her car and plunged into the water, but since they never found her car or her body, they could never say for sure.

Norma continued searching and hoping that one day her daughter would be found, but eventually a marker at the Galt Cemetery was placed  with Gail's name on it. Although it doesn't actually say she died. It only mentions Gail as "Missing since 1980." I am unsure when this marker was put in, but it might have been around the time Norma passed away in 2013, since they share the marker along with Gail's other sister who is buried there with Norma.

So the question now is "What Happened To Gail?"

There has never been any trace of Gail over the years. No body, no car, nothing. It truly is like she vanished off the face of the earth. Originally when I was looking into Pat's death, I had no idea who Gail was, let alone that she had vanished, too. When I found the case about Gail going missing, it really bothered me a lot. It seems too strange to be a coincidence that both incidents happened 3 months apart to two people who were engaged. Both scenarios didn't fit to me, so I decided to start digging. I emailed the San Joaquin County Sheriff's "Missing Persons" page on Facebook to see if Gail was still missing, and they confirmed that she was. They didn't offer any further information though.

But during my research into her case, I found an oddity,  a public records search that listed a residence in Stockton having Gail's name as a resident there from 1995-2004. Was it possible that it was some sort of clerical error when the information was uploaded into the public records database? Or was it possible that someone was using her identity (since she was never legally declared dead)?

I have since notified the Cold Case Division in San Joaquin County, leaving them a message about this information I have found in the hopes they might do a follow up.

Over the years there have been other rumors or gossip floating around about possible reasons for Pat and Gail's disappearance (and or death) besides Pat accidentally drowning and Gail possibly driving her car into the river. Although there is absolutely no evidence to support these theories I thought I would list them down here for you to see anyway.

1)   DRUGS & ALCOHOL—

One theory thrown out there claims that Pat had been engaged in illegal activities that involved drugs. That he was drunk or under the influence when he fell off the boat, hit his head and drowned. 

*Note: Those who really knew Pat, claimed that he was NOT involved in any drug activity or illegal activities of any kind, and that was a made up excuse to make Pat and Gail look bad.

 2)   MURDERED-

Another theory claims that Pat pissed off some unidentified people in high places and he was silenced. Then possibly later on Gail was threatened by someone and she too disappeared. Bottom line, the theory is that they were murdered. 

3)   WITNESS PROTECTION-

One more theory, although it sounds a tad 'off the wall', was that Pat had some serious dirt on some heavy hitters and that he was going to turn states evidence on them, so in exchange he was offered to be in the witness protection program. It was theorized that Gail’s disappearance just 3 months later was when Pat had sent for her.  (We do not know who these alleged "heavy hitters" were, so there is no person(s) to point the finger at.)

Again, I have to reiterate that these following "theories" are just that. Whether you want to call them rumors or gossip, they are what they are. And although it is always possible that one of them is true, or none of them, as of now there is no way to prove any of them, so they will remain just that, "theories."

Something that I have to mention because it stuck out like a sore thumb to me was that the article about Gail mentioned that Pat and Gail were ardent foes of the Peripheral Canals (the original plan for the Delta Tunnels). Could circumstances surrounding Pat's death and Gail's disappearance have anything to do with their staunch opposition to the tunnel project, and any enemies they might of made because of this?

It seemed the Malone family were planning to open a huge resort (costing an upwards of $6 million to construct) on the Stockton channel of the Delta in San Joaquin County and were constantly dealing with opposition of their own. The May 5, 1978 issue of the Lodi News Sentinel stated that a project planned by Bob Malone and his two sons, Pat and Mike, had seen a lot of 'red tape' because of the Delta Advisory Planning Commission. Supervisor Norm Shumway voted against allowing the resort, claiming that it would "upset that fragile (ecological) balance within the Delta."

The proposed resort was to develop the north Headreach and north Tule Islands into a resort.

"Irish Isle” will provide boaters with a two-story-tall marina facility containing a restaurant, bar, dancing and live entertainment, and several shops. Spaces for 20 “boatels” with 100 units, 103 berths for motor boats, 26 houseboat spaces and camping, picnic, and swimming areas are also included in the plans. People who do not own boats will also be able to use the facilities, the Malone’s have said. Arrangements for shuttles to the island from the Port of Stockton are being negotiated and shuttle service from Uncle Bobbie’s Houseboat Haven at the western edge of Eight Mile Road are being planned, Mike Malone said." - Lodi News Sentinel  (5/5/1978)

Unfortunately that plan never made it to fruition. Too much bureaucratic red tape eventually led to the plan being abandoned completely, and the "Irish Isle"project was soon forgotten.

In ending, Pat Malone was born on September 5, 1949, in New Mexico, to parents Bob and Sue Malone. Pat died on June 19, 1980 on the Delta near Hog Slough. Gail Skelton was born on January 28, 1954, to parents Norma and Kenneth Skelton. Gail went missing as of September 26, 1980 and was never seen again.

Although it appears that Pat's death was ruled as an "accidental drowning," I don't know if I believe that. Those who knew him were aware that he was a great swimmer, and the story that he hit an obstacle and was thrown or fell overboard after the reports had originally stated the boat had no damage sounds very sketchy to me. I am simply unsure about it all to be quite honest. When I get a copy of his coroner's report I will post a follow up blog on my findings and any updates I may have then, along with my conclusion of what I believe really happened to him.

I reached out to the San Joaquin County "Cold Cases" Division this week, and left a message about Gail asking if they had looked into her case and if they would follow up on the public records address I found listing her in Stockton between 1995-2004. If I learn anything else I will post about it on another follow-up blog. Until then, we are left here endlessly searching and hoping one day there will be answers to what happened to Gail Skelton that September night at the marina at the Empire Tract.

Pat's parents have long since passed on, just as his brother, Mike. I haven't been able to locate any place of burial for any of the family members, including Pat. Gail's mother, Norma is buried at Galt Cemetery where you can see Gail's name on the marker stating she has been missing since 1980.

I cannot help but keep asking myself:  Was Pat's death truly "accidental"? Was Gail kidnapped and later murdered? Was it possible that she was so distraught by the loss of Pat that after one too many drinks she drove herself into the Delta waters that she and Pat loved so much? Or were both Pat and Gail murdered for reasons that we may probably never know? Too many questions and not enough answers, but it seems to me that Pat's death and Gail's sudden disappearance are related.

With all the talk of the "Delta Tunnels" going on, I often wonder that if that passes (which by the way will spell the end of the Delta and our agriculture in the Valley and Delta region), it will also open up a whole new can of worms when that river bed drains so low that all sorts of secrets that might have been lying at the bottom resurfaces after all these years.

Will we find Gail Skelton's car, and possibly her remains at the bottom of the river?
Will we find others who disappeared over the years, too? We have no choice but to wait and see. Although I hope that the Delta Tunnels don't go through, I do hope one day we find out what happened to Gail.

(Copyright 2018 - J'aime Rubio - www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Thanks to"Rats" on websleuths.com for reaching out to me about Gail, and for all your efforts trying to research her case as well. Thank you also to "Folieadeuxnola" for finding Gail's high school photo.

Sources:
Lodi News Sentinel Archives:  5/5/1978; 6/21/1980; 6/23/1980; 6/25/1980;
6/27/1980; 6/28/1980; 1/29/1981
Anaheim High School Yearbook, 1966
Galt High School Yearbook, 1972 (c/o folieadeuxnola on websleuths website)
United States Public Records, 1970-2009
Find-a-grave
Lodi Sentinel (7/20/2013)

Scientific Sources:

Alcohol Metabolism After Death 
Forensic Science: Fundamentals and Investigations (2010 update)
Blood Alcohol Scores After Death Can Be "False Positive."
http://www.atlantainjurylawblog.com/uncategorized/blood-alcohol-scores-after-death-can- be-false-positive-up-to-0-2-html
Postmortem Blood Alcohol Concentrations -Are They Reliable?
http://www.wigmoreonalcohol.com/single-post/2013/01/11/Postmortem-Blood-Alcohol-Concentrations-Are-they-Reliable