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The Krystal Search
March 2000
At about 6pm on Sunday, March 19, 2000, those of us who were monitoring our radios started hearing indications that something was going on, but there were few details because the report originated from the Stateline area so it was Douglas County's call.
From the traffic we did hear, we gathered that it was regarding a lost child, so when we heard Dep. Fleck requested for K-9 assistance many of us started to get our gear together in anticipation of a mutual aid call. It was getting dark, it was very cold, and we knew that a child lost in those conditions would be at high risk.
Terry was soon was on the air requesting Lisa Whatford and her dog Schatzie, and shortly thereafter, a tone-out for the rest of the Unit. The radio checkbacks came fast and furious and soon 18 people had shown up at the ICP at the Douglas Co. substation at the bottom of Kingsbury Grade.
Respondents that night were Butts, Kelly, Edwards, Peirera, Haen, Matikosh, Whatford, Gallup, Ranalla, Rogers, Truesdell, J. Anderson, Paiva, Maxwell, Partridge, VanWieran, B. Anderson, and Moore. In the absence of a coordinator, Robert Haen was assigned the role of IC (Fleck was thrilled to be in the field rather than in Command Post for once), and after setting up the repeater and putting our teams together (in the getting colder by the moment parking lot), we were invited inside to wait, and wait, and wait for our assignments.
A word of explanation for those wondering just why it took so long to deploy. In Douglas Co. the Sheriff's deputies do not act as the SAR coordinators, they have SAR members who are trained to be responsible for that duty. The volunteer/coordinator that night had to drive all the way from Smith Valley before we could finally, officially, begin this SAR.
Once inside, we began to learn some of the details regarding the night's events, and were told that there was evidence to suggest that Krystal may have been a victim of foul play. We were given copies of the bootprint of the suspect and a flyer with Krystal's picture and personal info, and only then did we learn that she lived in our neck of the woods and went to Meyers school. It seemed to make it personal and even more urgent.
We were assigned to grid search the nearby meadow/marsh/forest/ beach area adjacent to the apartments she had disappeared from, and as the members who have been around awhile were steeling themselves for what they knew they might find, some of the newer ones were coming to grips with the somber fact that they were involved in something they hadn't quite been expecting.
After some quick tips for those who had never participated in a grid search, we finally deployed and started combing the terrain for clues or other evidence..
A close grid search can be a mind-numbing exercise that requires even more concentration than usual at night, and the one mile distance from the highway to the beach felt like much more. In the bitter cold and wind it became a bone-numbing exercise as well, and by the time we swung around at the beach for the return sweep, the marshy areas we had slogged through on the way down had begun to freeze.
We left the ponds and canals for the DC dive team and, after the National Guard helicopter arrived with infra-red equipment to help, we finished our last sweep and were recalled for the night. It was about 2:30 AM when we left for home, with a 7 AM briefing scheduled for those who could return the next morning.
I could not be there for the second operational period so I was forced to monitor the activity from work. It struck me how much harder it was to wait than it was to actively search, and my sympathy for Krystal's family deepened ... I knew that they must have been going through hell.
What I didn't know at the time was that the Sheriff s office had received a huge break overnight, a woman who reported seeing someone dump something suspicious over the edge of Spooner just a couple miles shy of Carson City.
Those volunteers who could show up that next morning — Butts, Kelly, Haen, Peirera, Truesdell, Silvestri, J. Anderson, Whatford, and Partridge — were assigned the Spooner area roadsides and sideroads to search while deputies combed the area that they had been tipped off about.
When I heard all SAR teams being recalled at about 9:30 AM, my heart sank knowing that it would probably not be good news. That feeling was soon confirmed... Sheriff's deputies had found Krystal's body. A few hours later, the suspect from the night before was in custody, and Tahoe was in the news again, stirring memories of Jaycee Lee Dugard's disappearance almost 10 years ago.
It was a heartbreaking disappointment, and I think that everyone who put forth so much effort and invested so much hope towards a happier ending paid some emotional toll. EDSO SAR can be very proud of them all ... they did a great job in a tough situation.
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