The story

Investigators delicately dug with shovels in the desert heat Tuesday in a painstaking hunt for possible victims of Charles Manson and his followers at a ranch where they hid after a 1969 killing spree.

The scientists and crime scene investigators working at Barker Ranch started by slicing thin layers of dirt off the top of a 3-by-6-foot area -- trying not to disturb any evidence of human remains.

The spot was chosen for the exploratory excavation after forensic technology and a cadaver-seeking police dog indicated disturbed soil and evidence of decomposition, said Sgt. Jeff Hollowell of the Inyo County Sheriff's Department, which was overseeing the investigation. Read full article »

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All About Charles Manson • Death Valley