School of Humans.
Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights from family and community members, their statements should not be considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has presumed innocent until proven
guilty in a court of law. Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening.
On Saturday, March twenty seventh, twenty twenty one, a hiker was taking her dogs through the woods in Hot Springs National Park near the intersection of Whittington and Black Snake Road. According to US News, Arkansas is a relatively dangerous state per capita. It's ranked forty seventh out of fifty on their list for lowest violent crime rate, one being the least violent, fifty being the most violent.
Some areas are safer than others.
Hot Springs Village, which is a gated community, has some of the lowest crime rates in the state. But Hot Springs, like a lot of small towns, has its dark side.
The Hot Springs.
Mineral baths and casino bring in a ton of tourists, which brings a transient population to the area, and like a lot of areas, there are disenfranchised people who.
Have drug addictions.
The most common crimes in Hot Springs aren't violent. They're crimes like theft, including a lot of larceny, petty theft, shoplifting, pickpocketing, etc. Followed by motor vehicle theft and burglary.
So the hiker.
Felt safe that day heading out to the woods on her own. She said she'd always love going to remote part to the woods, but on that day her perception of the woods as a place of peace changed forever. We got a chance to get her side of the story for the podcast. The hiker asked that we not identify her due to the horror of what she saw and the fact that a killer could still be on the loose.
Let's see, I had my dogs. I have three dogs, And so you can drive downtown Hawk Springs down Whittington and it's kind of like a little back road.
It goes zigzags.
It goes up over I think it's a music mountain in the past, and then you'd come back out on the Mountaine Highway and then you know, you can go on to Lake Hamilton. So I was taken that background.
I had my dog.
There are some trails on that mountain that this is not a designated trail. There's two places where you can just kind of pull over. So I pulled my car over, I let the dogs out, and we kind of rope around. And I had been to this place before.
She went to an area she had been to many times before in the National Park, a remote area that had served as a dumping ground for trash in the past.
It's part of the National Park property. I believe that one time they used to have it dumps, like way back thirties or forties. So there's bottles, there's bricks, and you can't see it from the rug. But when you get back in there and you walk the trail, there's a creek. You know, you can find kind of piles of rubble and things like that. So we're just walking around the dogs and I'm looking at my newest youngest dog barks and I'm like, oh, what you got Because
they're squirrel dogs, you know. And so I go over to where she's barking and I look, and I was instantly like, oh shit, like, oh my god, Oh my god, it's Annequin. What is that?
What is that?
And so I like crouched, I crouched down and kind of looked, you know, all around the woods.
That they've never said in the public release.
They never publicly acknowledged what type of remains or the state of their remains or anything like that.
They just said.
Remains were found. But she was just me and I only found two parts of hers.
Which parts did you see?
I found her legs from the knees down.
I'm Catherine Townsend.
Over the past eight years of making my true crime podcast, Helen Gone, I've learned that there's no such thing as a small town where murder never happens. I have received hundreds of messages from people all around the country asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, their families.
And their communities.
If you have a case you'd like me and my team to look into, you can reach out to us at our Helen Gone Murder line at six seven eight seven, four four, six, one four or five that's six seven eight seven four four six' one four or, five or you can send us a message On instagram At helen. Gonepod this Is Helen Gone murder. Line because the remains were found on federal, land officers from The National Park
service showed up at the. Scene so the way that it works with jurisdiction is that if the homicide occurs inside the park, boundary which is federal, land THE Us Park rangers are typically the first ones to. Respond The National Park Services investigation To branch leads the. Investigation these
investigators are federal agents and they're highly. Trained they have to deal with everything from homicides in the park to, poachers property, crime and also things like people growing or using drugs inside the.
Park their job has a lot of.
Challenges they have to deal with a lot of different types of crimes in very large. Areas if someone is arrested and, charged then THE Us attorneys. Prosecute very often in cases like, this THE fbi is brought in to, help along with state and local. Agencies when the hiker realized what she was looking, at she was.
Stunned SO i was.
Freaking, out, like oh my, God oh my, god oh my. God SO i gathered up the dogs AND i went and got them back in a. Car and the first THING i need IS i callised And i'm, like oh, shit oh.
Shit off to the. Barn she, said are you?
OKAY i said. Yes she, said go back real quick and take a picture and then call the. Police So ramball's back over, there AND I i didn't really want to, look BUT i took a. Picture and WHEN i first saw, them they were laying like side by, side as if you had just stretched your legs, out you. Know so they're like laying. Them BUT i think my dog may have grabbed one or touched it or smelled. It and so WHEN i went back and took the, picture the leg was a little.
Moved we're not going to reveal a ton of detail about the crime scene to preserve the integrity of the, investigation BUT i can say the legs were together and out in the.
Open they were on the surface of the, forest not.
BURIED i didn't really. LOOK i MEAN i didn't look, close you, know it just sort of looked. Bruising so that The National Park service police came because it's The national Park. LAND a very young officer asked me what was, up and then WHEN i was trying to be calm AND i feeled out my, REPORT i had a little.
Sketch The National park personnel did an extensive. Search it's not clear if they found more body, parts because this is technically still an open and active. Investigation though five years have passed and there appears to be little movement on the. Case photos of the tattoo on the victim's foot were released. Publicly you could see a tattoo of an anchor on her foot with some words next to. It in one image that was posted on web, slus you can see cursive print that reads and your feet
on the. Ground so that foot might have been part of a larger tattoo that continued on to her other. Foot given the limited amount of, photographs we can't be. Sure the witness said that after her initial, interview THE fbi called her to set up an appointment to come to her, house which they did a couple of days.
Later So sunday we go back home AND i tell my, Husband i'm going to go back over the mountain and, see you, know what's, up what's going on over.
There, well they had the mountain blocks.
Like you could not access that whole section of the highway BECAUSE i guess they were going to search, obviously but THEN i don't. KNOW a couple of days, later THE fbi called and said in a point and they came to my house and they interviewed, me you, know what happened and what did you see and all, that And i'm sure just to see IF i wasn't. Involved you, know at that, POINT i didn't know who it. Was i'm a, mother AND i was just, thinking oh my, god why DID i stop? There like WHY i found
her for a? Reason so that was my. Mission i'm, like no one would have found her HAD i not stopped that.
Day who would have, Known no one that would ever.
Known and so then this person's, missing And i'm, like someone is wondering who is this and what has.
Happened after THE fbi spoke to, her she said that she continued to be fixated on the young, woman what had happened to, her who could have done this to her and. WHY a few days, later the victim was identified as thirty two year Old Page Autumn. White Page white was born On august, thirtieth nineteen eighty. Eight we know that she lived in The Hot springs general, area though we don't know a lot about the time period before twenty. Fifteen that was when she started to get
arrested In. Arkansas she would have been around twenty two years old in twenty. Fifteen there were several agencies mentioned in connection with the investigation Into page's. Death The National Park service was in, charge though early in the investigation they announced they were receiving assistance from other, agencies including THE, fbi The Garland County Sheriff's, Office Arkansas State, police and The Hot Springs Police. Department we filed for your requests
with all of these. Agencies they came back and told us definitively The National Park service was leading the investigation, currently and The Park service had all of the records pertaining To page's case in their. Custody we did find several social media pages that appear to have been created By. Page in some of these, profiles she said she lived in other, areas Including, Columbia South, carolina And, circe but
we have no way of knowing if that's. Accurate we know that between around twenty fifteen and the time she died around six, Years page was arrested more than twenty, times mostly for petty.
Crimes according to court.
Records her, Mother, marcia also had a long criminal, record including multiple arrests for. Drugs several people who Knew page commented on social media That page also had a, Stepfather but, again we don't know much about her family set up or what she was doing during this. Time what we do know from her court arrests is that she was clearly someone who struggled with the law and with substance abuse.
Issues according to social media, Posts page had, children but we don't know how many children she, had what their ages, are who they were living with at the time of her, death or who they're living with. Now what little we do know About Page white we mainly picked up from social media tributes by friends or her court. Record In, arkansas beginning in twenty, Fifteen page was arrested multiple, times mostly for small things like public intoxication and drunken disorderly.
Behavior there was only one felony on, record for residential. Burglary, Typically page would be, arrested be sentenced to, probation and then either failed to appear or to comply with the conditions that the court had imposed on. Her then a warrant would be issued for her, arrest but for long periods of, Time page just. Disappeared she was one of so many young people who struggle with substance abuse and
slipped through the cracks of the. System according to court, Records page was five feet four inches tall and weighed around one hundred and fifty. Pounds, Also page had some other injuries that predated her. Death she had a missing right, eye but the injury to the eye had happened to her much earlier and was not something that her killer or killers could have done to. Her court records show she had an eye surgery back in twenty.
Nineteen now we have.
Heard through multiple sources that either someone Who page was romantically involved, with or possibly someone she was doing sex work, for or, both got into a fight with her and attacked, her and that as a result of the, Fight page lost her. Eye, again we have not been able to confirm, This so what do we know what happened In march of twenty twenty. One we are trying to build a timeline of what was going on In page's life during
that crucial period before her body was. Found as we said, Before page's most serious crime was in twenty twenty a. Felony she was arrested In april of twenty twenty for breaking and entering a. Residence this was after a witness saw her leaving a deer cabin in the. Woods she was seen walking down the road In, Delight, arkansas with a lot of possessions from inside.
That home in her.
Hands the officer noted that when he Approached, paige she was extremely intoxicated and, incoherent and she was. Arrested, Eventually paige was given a thirty six month suspended sentence and. Probation On november, nineteenth twenty, twenty state investigators conducted a home visit at the address That paige had given the courts In, Delight, arkansas and according to court, documents they were Told page no longer lived.
There according to the.
Conditions Of page's, probation she had to comply with several, rules including abstaining from drugs and alcohol and notifying the court if she changed her. Address so In february of twenty twenty, one her parole was revoked for violating these conditions and a warrant was issued for her, arrest but
again nothing. Happened authorities didn't really take action after That page fell off the radar again Until march, third twenty twenty, one When page was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and public. Intoxication this was WHEN covid was really ramping. Up page appeared in a video visit On march, fifth in front Of Judge.
Graham page ended up making a plea of no.
Contest she was set to appear again in court from mental health hearing On april, ninth twenty twenty, one but that mental health hearing never, happened and the last thing related To page in the court records was an article in The Hot Spring sentinel about her being found. Dead according to court, Records page was ordered by the judge to go to rehabilitation. Treatment page chose to go To Harbor,
house a rehab facility In Hot Springs National. Park this facility is located right off Of Black Snake, road the road her body was found off. Of so what happened To page after she went to that rehab. Center the next activity on the court document happened On march twenty, second twenty twenty, one When page left. Rehab according to court, Records page Left Harbor house that day against medical. Advice why did she check out early and leave against medical.
Advice who did she talk to while she was? There and did police ever go back to that rehab and check the phone? Records was someone with her when she? Left did someone pick her? Up there are many unanswered. Questions five days, Later page's.
Body was found in the.
Woods the person who Found page's remains took a picture of the legs before calling the, authorities which they have shared with. Us we considered very carefully whether or not to make any of this information. Public, obviously we don't want to put any information out there that only the killer would, know or to put our witnesses life in any.
Danger.
There it can be costs related to revealing, information and we take that very. Seriously but at some, point after five years with no progress on this, INVESTIGATION i believe there's also a cost associated with staying. Silent so we have to ask, ourselves as we often do on this, podcast are we actually helping to protect the integrity of the investigation by staying, quiet or are we.
Merely helping protect the.
SILENCE i believe that at this point the time has come to reach out to the public with more. Details law enforcement may or may not agree with, me so we're not revealing all the information that we. Have we're not making those photos, public and there are details from them that we are not sharing. Publicly so WHEN i first read about this, case given pages, HISTORY i was under the impression that she may have wandered into the woods.
On her own and succumbed to the.
Elements but THE fbi made it clear this is a. Homicide something else that the person who Found page's remains told us definitely points to a. Homicide there was lime found at the crime. Scene here's the hiker.
Again another thing that they did not relate to AND i haven't seen, anywhere and SO i only know, this pleasefully know this must supposed to people who did. It was they put lime on her, legs powdered, lime and that helps the. Composition it helps with fail like. THIS i use it in my barn like for a.
Pope you, know it gets for the.
Smell but it was powdered powdered, lime so it looked, chalky like they look.
CHALKY i believe that the lime could be a massive crucial. Clue, Again i'm not going to get into the appearance of the crime scene or where the line, was BUT i do believe the lime could help us figure out the identity of the. Killer lime is something that has been used in many high profile homicide, cases mainly because people mistakenly believe that it speeds up. Decomposition they're probably thinking of quicklime calcium. Oxide, now quicklime is very caustic and reacts with.
Water but the lime that you buy at.
The hardware, store which is the type of lime that appeared to be at this crime, scene is. Different this is powdered lime calcium. Hydroxide powdered lime can be bought at stores like home. Depot it can be used in gardening and, construction and it's often used a lot in, farming often to camouflage. Smells, again this type of lime does not make things decompose. Faster in, fact lime slows down the process of decay because it's. Alkaline studies show
that it preserves the body more than it dissolves. It, again neither type of, lime quicklime or powdered, lime dissolves bodies. FASTER i found a study In belgium where they buried pigs and human rem for six, months some in, quicklime some in powdered, lime and they found That in all, cases the decomposition was slowed, down not sped. Up rather than turning flesh into, liquid which is what we see
in a lot of, movies lime actually mummifies the. Flesh but lime does serve a purpose when dealing with dead. Bodies it can help conceal the body by reducing. Odor soldiers in battle used to use it on the field to mask the smell of death and make it easier to live. Around, today in, farming it's often used to mask odors in places.
Like chicken, coops pig, sties and.
Horsetalls so if someone knew that lime could mask, odor they might have chosen to use it in order to cover up the. Smell, this in my, opinion points to an inexperienced, killer someone who was somewhat. Panicked another question that comes up for me is did the killer put the lime at the crime scene when the body was dumped or could they have come back? Afterwards if, so was this someone, local someone who knew the. Area, well that's what THE fbi seemed to say in the very
limited information they have released on this. Case shortly After page's body was, found there were a lot of rumors spreading on social Media some people said her body was chopped. Up others said it was. Dismembered some people said parts of it had been found in a waffle, house dumpster or in other. Locations, again there's a lot we don't know about this, investigation since it is an, open unsolved, case but we can say there has been nothing publicly confirmed about any other remains being.
Found another rumor.
That went around a lot In april of twenty twenty one After page's body was found was could she have been the victim of a serial. Killer during that, time there were a lot of posts on social media talking about how there was a serial killer operating In Hot springs and alleging that the police were either under some kind of a gag order or covering up. Information but is there any truth to these. Rumors One facebook post stated five dismembered bodies had been. Found another post had
the headline five bodies chopped. Up but according to an article IN Usa today and other, sources police have stated there was no.
Evidence to back up any of these.
Claims they have stated That page's case was a quote isolated incident involving one victim end.
Quote my question, is how do the police know that that's.
True do they have evidence pointing to the fact That page was targeted for a specific. Reason PolitiFact contacted The Hot Springs Police. Department the news outlet spoke To Corporal Patrick, langley who told them there is not a serial. Killer, again we go back to the few hints that law enforcement had given us in the limited information they have.
Released On april, thirteenth twenty twenty, one THE fbi issued a press, release and in that press, release they did state the investigation Into page's death was a homicide, investigation and The National Park service referred journalists who called with questions about the serial killer or the investigation Into page's death to this SINGLE fbi press.
Release since THE fbi and.
Local authorities have stated publicly multiple times that there's no reasona believe this is a serial killer and the case is an isolated, incident what do we know about the? Killer in the press, release THE fbi said they were appealing to the community for help to figure out what
happened To. Paige the statement read, quote while we cannot share everything we know at this, time we do Know page is the victim of a. Homicide we are hoping to learn about the days leading up To page's death and are eager to hear from, family, friends, acquaintances and anyone else who may have seen her.
Recently end. Quote then they said something else that was.
Interesting they, said, quote there is a strong possibility the person who did this continue used to work and or live in our. Community this individual likely has familiarity with the areas in Which page was last seen and. Recovered then they went on to describe what members of the public should look for in connection With page's killer or.
Killers they, said anyone responsible for or who may have had knowledge Of page's death may have exhibited changes in their appearance or, behavior including altering a physical, appearance which they described as growth of a removal of facial, hair change in hair, color cutting their, hair cleaning of, vehicles changes in normal routine including missing, work classes or previously scheduled, appointments displays of, anxiety, nervousness or, irritability intense interest in
the investigation or a noticeable, disinterest or some type of unexplained knowledge of the, situation and, finally unexplained injuries such as cuts on hands or bruises they couldn't explain during the period When page was last seen. Again this would have been the time period between Around march fifteenth And
march twenty first of twenty twenty. One THE fbi statement read, quote every day we are gathering more information from the community to move this case, forward and the continued assistance is.
Appreciated end.
Quote they went on to acknowledge that quote sometimes people who may have knowledge do not initially come forward because of their relationships to people, involved concerns for their, safety or they may not realize information they have is. Important if you feel that you have information Regarding page and her, death no matter how insignificant you think it may, be please share it with The National Park service end. Quote so what happened To page and who could have dumped
her remains in the? Woods was this a plan killing or something that happened in the spur of the? Moment could it been some kind of accidental overdose and then maybe someone panicked and decided to dispose of her. Body, again THE fbi have made clear that this was a. Homicide and If page did die of something, else perhaps an accidental, overdose why would anyone feel the need to hide her remains in that way and potentially dismember. HER
i want to also appeal to the. Public please if anyone knows, anything if you were in contact With page during the last few weeks of her, life or you know someone who, was please contact The National Park service tip. Line their number is eight eight eight six five three zero zero zero. Nine you can also report online AT nps dot gov SLASH, issb or by EMAILING nps UNDERSCORE isb AT nps dot. Gov we will be putting links to this information On instagram and at the.
Bottom of the.
Episode The National Park service also says people who call in with tips can stay. ANONYMOUS i would also like to appeal to anyone who Knew page or spent time with her to please reach out to. Us we're specifically looking for people who spent time at The Rehab Center Harbor house In march of twenty twenty. One if you were, there if you know someone who was there during spring break twenty twenty, one please reach, Out or if you know of someone who was acting strangely in that area
during that, time, again please reach. OUT i believe that someone out there knows, something AND i want to say, again this wasn't just some drug addict who was just a case. Number no matter what Problems page had in her. Life she was a, mother a, friend and a beloved family. MEMBER i want her story to get out. THERE i want her family to know that there are people who
care and who are still trying to find. Answers, then who Found paige's body feels the same way she felt that something led her To page's remained in the woods that. Day neither of us feel like we can rest until we know who put her.
There you.
KNOW i just it just broke my heart Because i'm, LIKE i stopped here that, Day like that was. FATE i stopped. THERE i found. Her so it's LIKE i felt obligated to like advocate for, her you. KNOW i JUST i just wish that they would do. Something BUT i think because of her history and she was kind of a homeless, vagrant kind of.
Drug user that they just generally give a, shit you, Know and that makes me so.
MAD i, just you, Know god put me, there like he put me there at that place at that, time and so IF i, hadn't then she could have just been a missing, person you, know and then maybe no one would have even reported her, missing maybe nobody. Cared but LIKE i, MEAN i was so thankful when they said her, name and THEN i was, like, okay don't know who she, Are like her parents can know and and it will be, Okay and then you, know of course That.
I'm Catherine. Townsend this Is Helen Gone Murder. Line Helen Gone Murder line is a production Of school Of humans And iHeart. Podcasts it's written and narrated by Me Catherine townsend and produced By Etily's Perez special thanks To Amy tubbs for her research assistance And James wheaton for legal. Review noah camer mixed and scored this. Episode our theme song is By Ben, Sale executive producers Of Virginia, Prescott Brandon,
barr and. L. C. Crowley listen To Helen gone ad free by subscribing to The iHeart True Crime plus channel On Apple. Podcasts if you were interested in seeing documents and materials from the, case you can follow the show On instagram At Helen. Gonepod if you have a case she'd like me and my team to look, into you can reach out to us at Our Helen Gone Murder line at six seven eight seven four four six one four. Five that's six seven eight seven four four one four or.
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