Found In The Car

Found In The Car
By Bill Smith

The property line between the Olsen and Hansen farms had once been a private wagon road running from the county road through the low area between the two properties and dead ending at the cedar swamp.

The last time it was surveyed was in 1946 when Eric and Nora Hansen gave their daughter Greta and her new husband Carl Olsen the West 160 acres of their farm, as a wedding present. The survey line had totally grown over in the years since, and the properties were fenced on both sides of the low land, to keep the cows in their own pastures, and out of the swamp.

Now the land surveyors had to hack and slash their way through decades of lowland underbrush and overgrowth, to cut the 1650 foot survey line through the center of it all.

Greta's twin brothers; Lars and Nils had inherited the family homestead and its 480 acres after Mom and Dad had died, and now their sisters farm too, as her only heirs. They had been farming it for her all these years since Carl had disappeared in 1959. and now it was time for retirement, and sitting in the sun. The brothers had bought a condo in Ft. Lauderdale four years ago, and now with both farms under contract for sale, the survey was the last requirement of the sale. Both titles were scheduled to close in less than two weeks.

The surveyors were more than 900 feet down the line and about ready to break for lunch. The transit man was Ed Haines, and he was signaling his younger brother Bill to move the survey rod a little to the right.  Bill held the rod in his left hand and with his machete in his right hand he slashed at the underbrush. Then suddenly, the sound of metal against metal. What the hell is this. He poked around with the machete and saw the bumper.  Jesus Christ Ed, he said into his walkie-talkie, there's a freaking car here.

Ed started walking up the line to see for himself. He couldn't see even a hint of the car until Bill banged on the bumper again for him.  Together they brushed away the dirt, debris and dead branches. Ed tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge, then he saw the door lock buttons were pushed all the way down. He used his sleeve and forearm to wipe the drivers door window cleaner. Holy Christ Ed said, there's people in there, two of em. Then Bill looked in, yeah he said and they're just skeletons. Bill cleared away some of the dirt and debris from the rear window to let more light in, took another look and said Jesus Christ, the driver has his arm around her.

Then Ed said wait, don't touch anything else, this is a crime scene. I'm calling the sheriff.  Bill said Yeah ! And gave one more Jesus Christ. Ed made the call, spoke with Sheriff Rutter himself, and told him exactly where they were and what they'd found.  The sheriff said not to touch anything and that he would be there with Deputy Gustafson in fifteen or twenty minutes. Ed said OK and closed his phone.

After a moment, Ed said Oh Geez, if this is going to become a crime scene, we won't get this survey done till God knows when, and we won't be able to make payroll this week.  Bill said: Oh Crap, now what are we going to do.  Ed thought for a minute then said: OK, we're going to strike a line due East for twenty five feet, then continue North for fifty feet, then west twenty five feet back to pick up the line.  I know its an extra fifty feet to cut, but we'll still finish before dark.

It took the sheriff more than twenty minutes to get there  They had finished the off-set when they heard him holler Ed ! Ed Haines!,  you down there?  Straight ahead yelled Ed as he looked back up the line and saw the red and blue lights flashing.

It took them a few minutes to walk in from the county road. The sheriff looked through the window, then tried the door, cussed under his breath, then climbed through the brush only to find the passenger door locked also.  He cussed again, and sent the young deputy back to the cruiser to get the Slim Jim.

While waiting for the Slim Jim, the sheriff checked out the car. Its a 1951 Mercury he said. Then wiped the debris off the tag and announced that it was a 1959 license tag.  “Damn” have they been sitting here for fifty years? He seemed to ask himself.  Then he went on to use his walkie-talkie to check on CSI's ETA and to have his office call the coroner and tell him where we were, and what had been found in the car.

The CSI crew arrived along with a reporter from the local newspaper, and walked back with young Gustafson.  The bodies seemed to be leaning against the drivers door, so CSI decided to make access through the passenger door.  Everyone waited anxiously to see the door opened. It was two skeletons, and yes, one did have his arm around the other one. 

Ed and Bill went back and finished the survey, and on the way out saw that the brush around the car had been cut and removed. CSI had taped off the area around the car with yellow Crime Scene tape, and two workers were hooking up a harness for the car to be air lifted out by helicopter.  I wondered how they were going to get that car out of here, Bill said. Ed responded; Yeah, I hope it holds together long enough to lift it out.

Back at the office, Ed began entering the days readings from the field book into the computer. Bill was cleaning up the equipment, and asked “So what do you think?”  Well Ed said, first of all, I think it was two guys for sure.  No answered Bill, it was a guy and a girl. Lots of girls on these farms wore jeans and flannel shirts, still do. Besides he went on; too much jewelry. Did you see it ? I mean she had three gold chain necklaces, one of them with a locket, and two or three gold bracelets on each wrist. Yeah said Ed, I saw it all, but what about the rings? I don't know Bill replied, I didn't notice the rings. Well, Ed went on, there were three, and they were all mens rings.  Really? Bill asked, you think they were queer? “  Well Ed said, the story will be in tomorrows paper, that's for sure, I guess we'll know more then. They agreed, and each went home for dinner.

Storms had moved in over night, and it was scheduled to rain all day, making it a perfect chance to catch up on the needed office work, and to see the afternoon's paper as soon as it hits the street, which should be about 3:PM  It did, and the article read as follows:


Carl Olsen and Jan Pedersen
Found Dead In 1951 Mercury

By: Jerry Redmond
Jefferson Twp. Wed. April 21, 2010

According to Sheriff Bob Rutter; Ed and Bill Haines were surveying a property line between the Olsen and Hansen farms off County Rt. 315 Monday afternoon, when they came upon a 1951 Mercury with a 1959 tag.  Bill Haines told the sheriff that it was so overgrown, that he didn't see it until he hit it with his machete while clearing brush to open up the line.

The remains of two bodies were locked inside. It was determined by identification found on each, that they were Carl Olsen, 38, the owner of one of the properties being surveyed, and of Jan Pedersen, 23, the youngest son of Rolf and Ingrid Pedersen, neighbors from just across the road. The Pedersens had lost their other two sons in World War II.

The Coroner's report said that death was probably caused by carbon monoxide poisoning that took place on or about Dec. 26th or 27th, 1959, that it was a double suicide, and that no note was found.

According to CSI disclosures submitted, when the car was air lifted out of there, they found a vacuum cleaner hose on the ground under the rear of the car. It contained evidence that it had  been used to connect the exhaust pipe to the rear wing vent. Later examination of the car, determined that the hose belonged to the new Hoover Constellation vacuum cleaner found on the back floor of the car.

Lars Hansen who still lives next door, said that Carl Olsen was his brother in law, and that he disappeared the day after Christmas in 1959. He said that Pedersen had been helping Carl on the farm, and that they were last seen together in town that day about noon, buying beer and gasoline. Neither of them or the car was ever seen after that. Lars' brother Nils added that a three day blizzard began that night, and that there was snow on the ground almost continuously for the rest of that winter.

Lars Hansen went on to say that he and his brother were fifteen at the time, that he remembers Pedersen as being somewhat effeminate, and that he seemed to idolize Carl. He said their relationship didn't seem proper, considering the age difference, and that their Dad referred to Pedersen as “that Fairy”.

Nils Hansen added that there had been some nasty gossip going around about them for several months. Both families assumed that they went off together somewhere, like Florida or California, and nobody seemed to want to talk about it. He said his sister was crushed, and never remarried.

Sheriff Rutter said this morning, that a fifty year missing persons mystery was solved, and as far as he was concerned, the case is now officially closed.


End
Copyright © by Bill Smith, 2010