October 1, 2000
(Magdalena) It happened one week ago. A hunting guide discovered what appeared to be human remains…that of a woman…wrapped inside a blue tarp. Near Magdalena. Only about 15-miles from where Girly Hossencofft’s bloodied shorts, shirt and underwear were discovered inside a blue tarp a year ago along Highway-60.
Tests will determine if the remains discovered September 24, 2000, are that of Girly.
It has been an extremely busy day, starting with an anonymous e-mail that I received this morning. The e-mail simply stated a hunter had found human remains…possibly a woman’s…and that the Socorro County Sheriff’s Department was handling the case.
No one from the Sheriff’s department was available today. The Sheriff and undersheriff are off weekends. I called my contacts in Magdalena. They told me about an article in yesterday’s (Saturday, September 30, 2000) “El Defensor Chieftain” newspaper.
The article was about the hunter’s discovery and a possible connection to the Hossencofft case.
Unfortunately, no one was available at the paper and its web site isn’t up to date. So, the family and I hopped in the car bound for Socorro.
We picked up Saturday’s paper at the Chevron Redi-Mart in Socorro. There it was, front page: “Possible Human Remains Found”.
I immediately called my employer, KOB-TV (NBC), then FAXed the article to the station from the Holiday Inn across the street.
What followed were several hours of investigating in the Magdalena area. I’ll soon update the site with information about that investigation and several other key developments in the case.
If you’re reading this before 11pm on Sunday night, October 1st, please be sure to watch KOB-TV tonight following the Olympics’ closing ceremonies. KOB plans to top its newscast with seven minutes of team coverage on the Hossencofft case.
Thanks for checking in. Much more very soon.