WEBVTT 1 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:30.800 Welcome back to the Pathwind, Chile for part two of 2 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:34.600 our series on the unsolved murder of Gary Simmons. Robin, 3 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:36.119 do you want to catch everyone up on what we 4 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:37.840 talked about in our previous episode. 5 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.320 Well, this case took place in Oberland Park, Kansas, in 6 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:44.479 October of nineteen seventy four. The victim was a thirty 7 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:47.479 two year old businessman named Gary Simmons who ran a 8 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:51.679 petroleum corporation and he operated a series of gas stations. 9 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:54.640 One morning, Gary showed up for work and he had 10 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:56.880 a meeting with a forty two year old man named 11 00:00:56.920 --> 00:00:59.880 Tom Dixon, who also lived with his family in the area, 12 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:02.479 in what was supposed to be a transaction where he 13 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:05.879 was going to be purchasing a horse for thirty thousand dollars. 14 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:09.120 So Gary gave instructions to his secretary to make out 15 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:11.799 a thirty thousand dollars check for Dixon, and then later 16 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:14.400 that morning he instructed the manager of a bank to 17 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:18.400 cash the check. But Gary himself never actually showed up. 18 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:20.280 He just made a couple of phone calls from an 19 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:23.200 unknown location. He might have been at a horse ranch 20 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:26.239 looking at the animal he was planning to buy. But 21 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:27.959 even though he was supposed to show up for a 22 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.040 meeting with an oil company at representative for a one 23 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:34.079 hundred thousand dollars deal that afternoon at the bank. He 24 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:37.920 never did and was never heard from again. Tom Dixon 25 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.079 also after he cashed the check and got thirty thousand 26 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:44.319 dollars in cash, he never returned home. He was seen 27 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:47.640 at an auto salvage yard getting rid of Gary's car, 28 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.000 but he vanished the following day, and his pickup truck 29 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:53.560 would be found abandoned at a truck stop with the 30 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:56.480 keys in the ignition. Police began to suspect that this 31 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.200 might have been some sort of elaborate setup to scam 32 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:02.079 thirty thousand dollar dollars out of Gary, and six months 33 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:04.159 after he went missing, he discovered his car in a 34 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:06.680 river with a rock on the accelerators, so it had 35 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.759 been intentionally run in there, but no trace of Gary 36 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:13.520 or Tom Dixon could be found. Finally, in nineteen ninety one, 37 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:16.759 seventeen years after Gary went missing, a local bus driver 38 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:20.319 named Tyrone Rollins had what he described as a premonition 39 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:23.759 of a series of caves next to his bus yard, 40 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:26.439 and sure enough, when he started searching in there, he 41 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:29.120 found Gary Skelt's remains, and it turned out he had 42 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:31.960 been shot in the head, so it seemed likely that 43 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:35.319 Gary was murdered for his thirty thousand dollars, but Tom 44 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:38.960 Dixon could still not be found, so investigators have suspected 45 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:41.439 that he was just a cog in the wheel, that 46 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:45.479 some unknown third party had hired Dixon to perpetuate this scam, 47 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:48.639 but after the mastermind got the money, he also killed 48 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:51.639 Dixon and disposed of his body. Because there's been no 49 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:53.439 paper trail for him at all, and he has not 50 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:57.319 contacted his family in fifty years, so the cave continues 51 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:00.360 to remain unsolved and no one knows who who was 52 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:02.879 behind it all, what happened to Tom Dixon. And there's 53 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:06.159 also been suspicion about the fact that Gary was planning 54 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:08.400 to spend this thirty thousand dollars to purchase a horse, 55 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:10.919 because even though he loved horses, his wife said he 56 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:13.879 never would have spent that kind of money without consulting 57 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:17.039 her first, So there's been speculation that perhaps the money 58 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:19.120 was for something else, and that Gary might have been 59 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:23.120 involved in something illegal like black market Ghastly, but it 60 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:25.280 still remains a mystery to this day. 61 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:29.120 So we mentioned in our last episode that the story's 62 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:32.719 technically two mysteries rolled into one, since the murder of 63 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:36.319 Gary Simmons is still unsolved and Tom Dixon, the person 64 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:38.960 suspected of killing him, has not been seen at all 65 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:43.039 since nineteen seventy four. However, since there was no evidence 66 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:47.120 to conclusively prove that Dixon committed murder, all the authorities 67 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:49.159 could do was charge him with the auto theft for 68 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:53.280 allegedly stealing and disposing of Gary's car. Looking back, it 69 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.240 seems a bit odd that the Unsolved Mystery segment provided 70 00:03:56.360 --> 00:04:00.360 so little information about Dixon's background, as all they really 71 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:03.080 did was showcased an old black and white photograph of 72 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.360 Dixon and a's viewers to contact the authorities that they 73 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:09.800 saw him. This almost gives off the impression that Dixon 74 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:13.280 was some mysterious, enigmatic figure who was just passing through 75 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:16.959 the area to perform an elaborate con job slash murder 76 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:20.759 before he disappeared with thirty thousand dollars. In fact, you're 77 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:23.480 left wondering if Tom Dixon was even his real name. 78 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:26.519 But when Robin researched this case, it took him by 79 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:30.240 complete surprise to learn that Dixon was an established figure 80 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:33.120 in the community who had a wife and kids and 81 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:36.959 lived in Johnson County, only six miles from Gary's ranch. 82 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:40.360 The fact that Dixon broke off all contact with his 83 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.480 own family would seem to lend credence to the theory 84 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:45.959 that he was killed a short time after Gary was. 85 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.279 As far as I can tell, Dixon's family have not 86 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:52.399 spoken much to the media since he originally went missing, 87 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:55.879 and they were not interviewed during the Unsolved Mystery segment, 88 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:58.839 but it sounds like they have no idea what happened 89 00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:02.199 to him. The impression that Dixon was just an ordinary 90 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.560 blue collar worker who worked a number of different jobs 91 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:08.399 in order to support his family, and I haven't heard 92 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:11.800 anything about him having a criminal history prior to these events. 93 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:15.480 The authorities do not believe that Dixon was sophisticated enough 94 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:18.519 to dream up an elaborate murder plot, but it sounds 95 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:20.319 like he was in serious dead at the time you 96 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:23.600 went missing. So if he was desperate for money, I 97 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:26.680 could see Dixon being roped into something illegal by a 98 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:30.160 third party before this person subsequently got rid of him. 99 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:33.639 But who could have been the mastermind behind this whole thing, 100 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:34.959 and what was their motive. 101 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:37.879 Well, first, let's look at Dixon. When you see the 102 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:40.560 idea that he's desperate for money. I believe his homes 103 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:44.199 were being foreclosed on and all kinds of things. I 104 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:47.439 do believe he was desperate. And he also might not 105 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:49.920 have a criminal record or not that we know of, 106 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:54.879 but he definitely had access to people completing criminal activities 107 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.839 because he knew exactly where to go to ask his 108 00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:01.560 friend how to crush a car that was likely stolen, 109 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:05.079 or you know, come to find out involved in a murder. 110 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:09.600 And so I just feel like he definitely was involved 111 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:12.199 with CD character. So would it be that far of 112 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.199 a stretch to think someone would turn to them and say, Hey, 113 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:16.959 I need someone to do this killing for me for 114 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:21.560 thirty thousand dollars or you know, for part of that money. 115 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:23.759 And then you also think about who could it be. 116 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:27.399 Could it be someone who's in competition with him for 117 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:30.759 business because there is a black market going on in 118 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:33.399 the oil industry and so at the time, could there 119 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:35.759 have been someone else who was involved in the black 120 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:37.800 market and is competing against Dixon. 121 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:40.920 Well, we're going to talk about that later in the episode. 122 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:43.720 There is a compelling suspect who could have been the 123 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:46.839 mastermind behind the whole thing. But like you said in 124 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:50.000 our last episode, Dixon is the one like putting himself 125 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:53.120 out there who's being seen by Gary secretary being seen 126 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:55.800 by all these bank managers. And I'm sure like if 127 00:06:56.839 --> 00:06:59.399 he thought about it logically saying, hey, I'm taking all 128 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:01.680 the risk here, I'm going to become the prime suspect 129 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:04.480 when Gary turns missing, but he probably just never thought 130 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:06.720 to himself that whoever is hiring me to do this 131 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:09.240 is using me and is going to double cross me 132 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:13.360 and likely kill me afterwards. Well, I am definitely inclined 133 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:15.480 to believe that there's more to this story than Gary 134 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:18.279 simply being scammed out of thirty thousand dollars through a 135 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:21.920 bogus horse deal. I know Gary's friends and family always 136 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:25.079 portrayed him as an honest, hard working, self made businessman 137 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:28.199 who earned everything he attained, and that might very well 138 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.279 be true, but I think there's just something off about 139 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:34.000 how the events on the day of his disappearance played out, 140 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:36.639 and the timeline doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 141 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:39.480 After he went missing, Gary's loved one said that he 142 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:42.160 once told them he had the specific fear about being 143 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:45.759 kidnapped and forced to write checks against his will. Those 144 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:47.600 sound like the words of a person who would be 145 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:51.439 overly cautious about being manipulated and scammed by other people, 146 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:53.920 Yet it also seems to be at odds with Gary's 147 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:57.439 actions before he went missing. One key piece of information 148 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:00.360 not mentioned on Unsolved Mysteries was that Geary he had 149 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:03.160 a meeting plan with a representative from the McKee Oil 150 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:05.720 company that morning. He was said to be paid over 151 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:08.480 one hundred thousand dollars for a business deal they had made, 152 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:11.560 and according to Gary's wife Nancy, he seemed to be 153 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:13.639 in a pretty good mood over this when she last 154 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:17.560 saw him leave their house. The meeting was originally scheduled 155 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:20.800 for ten thirty am, a short time after Tom Dixon 156 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:24.040 showed up in Gary's office, and Gary would soon request 157 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.800 that the meeting be postponed until one pm. Now, from 158 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:29.959 what I've read about him, this sort of thing was 159 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:33.279 very uncharacteristic for Gary, as he was known for being 160 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:36.320 a very punctual and organized person, and if he ever 161 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:39.519 scheduled an appointment with someone, they could always rely on 162 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:42.480 him to show up on time. Yet when Tom Dixon 163 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:45.759 made his first appearance, Gary seemed to rearrange his entire 164 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:49.240 schedule to accommodate him, postponing a meeting where he was 165 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:52.120 set to receive one hundred thousand dollars in order to 166 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:55.360 pay thirty thousand dollars for a horse. Was there a 167 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:57.840 reason that Gary could not hold off on this until 168 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:01.679 after his transaction with the mkey O representative was completed. 169 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:05.679 Yeah, and remember that he ends up going to the 170 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:08.519 bank and all around twelve thirty or calling to say 171 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:10.679 that the check would be brought in around twelve thirty. 172 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.279 So why couldn't he have just done the original meeting 173 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.080 at ten thirty and then followed up and done the 174 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:19.399 check and the bank transaction and everything afterwards, because that 175 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:21.039 timeline would have worked for him. 176 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:24.720 Yeah, it just seems bizarre, as if maybe this was 177 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:27.159 an illegal deal or something like that, or maybe he 178 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:30.120 was forced to demand the check being made out to 179 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:33.759 Dixon under dress. But I mean, I know that Jody Miller, 180 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:37.440 Gary secretary, said that she didn't notice anything suspicious when 181 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:39.720 Dixon showed up at their office. There was nothing to 182 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:42.919 indicate he was being forced to leave against his will. 183 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:45.279 But like I just said, it just seems very out 184 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:47.679 of character for Dixon to show up at ten, and 185 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:49.720 then Gary suddenly decided, well, I've got a meeting in 186 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:52.120 half an hour, but I'm going to just postpone that 187 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:53.759 just so I can look at a horse. 188 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:57.080 Question for you both. I talked about this a little 189 00:09:57.080 --> 00:09:59.440 bit in part one, and we said, it seems so 190 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.600 extreme to kill Gary if your motive was to run 191 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:06.600 away with the money. But we have potentially an unknown 192 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:08.879 third party, and I think we can all agree that's 193 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:12.960 a likely scenario. What would be their motivation if nobody 194 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.919 knows who they are, their face, their name, or anything. 195 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:19.039 Gary's not tied to this person, why would you need 196 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:21.360 to kill Gary? Like I can understand why you would 197 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:25.960 kill Dixon, but not Gary, because if Dixon just disappears, 198 00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:29.720 then Dixon's absconded with his money, not this third party. 199 00:10:30.440 --> 00:10:32.799 Yeah, that does make sense, because Dixon can become this 200 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:35.639 wanted fugitive and take all the heat, and if you've 201 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:38.279 disposed of his body, you can ensure that he's never 202 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:41.559 found and that Dixon will take all the blame himself 203 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:44.399 and Gary can just go on conducting his business. So 204 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:47.039 unless the whole motive for this crime is that the 205 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:50.440 mastermind had a personal grudge against Gary. Maybe it had 206 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:53.960 to do with this petroleum company being a competitor or 207 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:56.720 something like that, But it seems like Gary was the 208 00:10:56.759 --> 00:10:59.840 primary motive and Dixon was the fall guy. But for whatever, 209 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:03.600 whoever did this felt that killing Gary was a necessary 210 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:04.279 part of the plan. 211 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.480 Yeah, that's very true. It wouldn't make much sense to say, hey, 212 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:11.480 we're gonna have two murders to cover up or at least, 213 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:15.399 you know, to bring attention to us. But man, oh man, 214 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:18.840 who and what could Gary have been involved in? The 215 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.799 oil industry could have been incredibly dirty back then. We 216 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:24.879 know that the horse industry can be incredibly rough. But 217 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:28.240 it doesn't seem like he was integrated in either of 218 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:31.120 those scenes to a point where he would be in 219 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:33.039 a life or death situation. 220 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:37.679 Well, Gary loved purchasing and raising horses. It sounds like 221 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:40.399 none of the ones he owned costs nearly as much 222 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:44.320 as thirty thousand dollars, which is like Ashley had astutely 223 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:47.200 pointed out earlier, around one hundred and ninety five thousand 224 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:50.360 dollars in today's money. An Nancy said it was very 225 00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:52.799 out of character for Gary to make such a large 226 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:56.200 purchase without speaking to her about it first. The money 227 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:59.679 was also withdrawn from a rarely used account which contained 228 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:03.120 exact exactly thirty thousand dollars, so you almost get the 229 00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:06.360 impression that Gary was keeping it there for a specific purpose. 230 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:10.360 The story provided by Gary's secretary is that the two 231 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:13.600 men left the office together at ten fifteen am, and 232 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:16.399 it was about fifteen minutes later when Gary phoned her 233 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:18.639 and asked her to draw up a thirty thousand dollars 234 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:22.200 check for Dixon. This is definitely a major red flag 235 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:24.679 for me, because it seems pretty odd that Gary would 236 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:27.840 travel to another location, look at a horse, and then 237 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:31.799 agree to purchase it within ISPAM only fifteen minutes. I mean, 238 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:34.679 I've personally never gotten through the process of purchasing or 239 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:38.240 selling a horse, but I've heard it's standard practice to 240 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:41.200 have a better trainer examine the animal in order to 241 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:44.159 make sure that it's in good condition before you decide 242 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.879 to plant down a large amount of money for it. So, 243 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:49.399 as far as I know, Gary had not seen Dixon's 244 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:53.360 horse before that day, and you'd expect an intelligent, experienced 245 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:56.799 businessman like him to perform a lot more due diligence 246 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.200 before agreeing to hand over thirty thousand dollars, so you 247 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.399 can understand why there's been speculation that this so called 248 00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:06.639 horse deal was a bogus cover story, and Gary was 249 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:09.960 paying all that money to Dixon for an entirely different reason. 250 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:13.039 I'll just have to tell you this. If my husband 251 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:17.440 wrote a check for thirty thousand dollars today, he'd be 252 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:20.399 in massive trouble, much less if it was nineteen seventy 253 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.480 four and this was two hundred and some of that, 254 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:25.240 you know, two hundred thousand dollars. So the fact that 255 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:27.519 the wife knew nothing about it, the fact that it 256 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:30.840 was pretty sudden, and we aren't one hundred percent sure 257 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:33.039 that he really actually showed up to the horse farm, 258 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:37.759 it's fascinating to me to think, Okay, is it actually 259 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:40.759 about a horse? If you believe the person who says 260 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:43.279 he was actually at the horse farm making phone calls 261 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:46.240 back about hey, I saw the horse write the check 262 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:47.879 for me, this is how it's going to go down. 263 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:52.320 I'm more likely to believe the horse scheme was used 264 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:54.720 to lure him out and to get the check, But 265 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:59.799 it can't truly be about the horse. I don't think, yeah, 266 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:00.559 I heard that. 267 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:02.759 Sometimes I'm off to see a man or going to 268 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:04.960 see a man about a horse is sometimes like a 269 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:08.080 code word that organized crime figures use when they're doing 270 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:11.799 something like purchasing drugs. I know, sometimes horse is kind 271 00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:15.559 of used as a euphemism for like heroin or something 272 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:18.159 like that, and that's just speculation. I mean, there's been 273 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:20.960 no evidence found that Gary was involved in the drug trade, 274 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:23.799 but that has a theory I've seen presented online that 275 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:26.320 maybe horse was a euphemism for drugs. 276 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:29.679 I mean, it's not unreasonable to think that he could 277 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.919 have been involved in something untoward. He was going through 278 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:36.360 really difficult financial times prior to this, and he had 279 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:38.919 to close a bunch of his gas station locations. I mean, 280 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:41.159 at the time he went missing, I think ten of 281 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:44.399 sixteen were operational, but there was a time when there 282 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:48.960 was even less that were operational. So desperate times sometimes 283 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:52.120 call for desperate measures. When you have a lifestyle to 284 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:54.879 uphold and you've got a family to support, and it 285 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:58.200 seems like this industry could be a little bit dirty 286 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:00.799 at the time, and there was all this legal gas 287 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:03.000 and it seemed like there was authorities looking into it, 288 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:07.000 So it is possible that somebody could be extorting money 289 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:10.720 from him or could be related to something illegal, you know, and. 290 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:13.120 Also you think about things like, oh, there's the horse 291 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.080 in your bed or a horse head or what all 292 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:18.360 that means? So I mean, is it mob related, because 293 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:20.399 if he's in the oil industry, could it be something 294 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.919 like that, who knows? Drug related? Mob related? Or is 295 00:15:23.960 --> 00:15:26.840 it someone who has a personal vendetta against Gary and says, 296 00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:29.120 I've got to take him out. He's competition for me, 297 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:33.200 he's crossed me. There's just so many explanations and without 298 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:37.399 having any any lead. It's almost like you could come 299 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:40.480 up with fifty thousand different routes that could be contributing 300 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:41.159 to his death. 301 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:44.879 And Robin, was it just a rumor that he was 302 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:45.960 going to be testifying. 303 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:49.759 Yes, they never found anything to confirm that. This is 304 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:51.279 like a rumor that I think that came out in 305 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:54.200 nineteen ninety one after his body was discovered. But you 306 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:57.000 would think that if he had gone missing that and 307 00:15:57.039 --> 00:15:59.639 he was like a witness and an important like federal 308 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:02.240 and beststigation, that someone would have said something at that 309 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:05.000 time and mentioned some urgency. So it just sounds like 310 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:09.759 that was a rumor and it was never conclusively confirmed. However, 311 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.919 what really complicates this situation is the story provided by 312 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:16.039 Roy Hilton, who claimed he saw Gary at the Whispering 313 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:19.039 Downs Horse ranch that morning. He even said that Gary 314 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:22.080 personally showed him the horse he was planning to buy. 315 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.679 I don't know much about Hilton's background, but I can 316 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:27.559 see how there might be skepticism about his story since 317 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:30.440 he did not come forward until seventeen years after the fact, 318 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:33.960 when he found out that Unsolved Mysteries was producing a segment. 319 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:36.879 This case got a lot of coverage in the local 320 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:39.720 media back in nineteen seventy four, so why wouldn't of 321 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:43.639 Hilton have shared this information back then? But if Hilton 322 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:46.000 was telling the truth, that opens up a lot more 323 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:49.960 unanswered questions and really muddles the timeline. The details are 324 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:52.639 a bit murky, but it sounds like Gary had spoken 325 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:55.519 to Dixon on the phone before their initial meeting, and 326 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:57.960 Dixon told them he was acting as an agent for 327 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:00.879 the horse's original owner and was planning to sell it 328 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:04.400 on their behalf. Even though Gary and Dixon remembers of 329 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:07.839 the same horse association and Dixon had owned some horses, 330 00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:10.079 he does not strike me as someone who would have 331 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:13.960 been wealthy enough to own a thirty thousand dollars thoroughbred Roy. 332 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:16.200 Hilton claimed that Gary showed him the horse he was 333 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:19.039 planning to purchase, but who did it actually belong to? 334 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:22.480 Was Dixon really acting as an agent for the horse's owner, 335 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:25.720 or did Dixon bring Gary to the Whispering Downs Horse 336 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:28.960 Ranch and show him some other person's thoroughbred in order 337 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:32.720 to trick him into handing over thirty thousand dollars. I 338 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.720 initially assumed that when Gary phoned his secretary and asked 339 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:38.200 her to drop a thirty thousand dollars check for Dixon 340 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:41.480 and then phone the Santa Fe Trail Bank to authorize 341 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:44.119 Dixon to cash the check, he was making both of 342 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:48.079 those calls under duress while someone was holding him hostage. Yet, 343 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.680 Hilton claimed that he witnessed Gary make the calls on 344 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:53.359 his own accord from a phone at the horse ranch, 345 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:57.559 and the bank president, Jay Thomas Bircham, also maintained that 346 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:01.039 he did not notice anything unusual about Gary's voice when 347 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:03.599 he spoke to him on the phone about Dixon cashing 348 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:07.519 the check. So this does suggests that Gary genuinely believed 349 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:10.200 the horse deal was legitimate, and. 350 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.960 Because he had such a good relationship with the bank president. 351 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:15.200 I feel like he could have done a lot of 352 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:17.359 things to draw attention to the fact that this is 353 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:20.200 something that's being done under duress, Like he could have 354 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:23.640 written something in the memo that was like, that's bizarre, right, 355 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:27.200 His signature could have been completely opposite from what it 356 00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:31.160 normally is. And because you know, the bank president knew him, 357 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:34.000 had done transactions with him, is going to be, you know, 358 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:36.799 taking in one hundred thousand dollars for him very shortly 359 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:41.240 later that day. He knows Gary and likely knows the 360 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:44.880 behaviors that he has financially, and so it would be 361 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:47.599 pretty indicative when you're sitting there talking about I'm going 362 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:50.039 to send a client to you to get thirty thousand 363 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:53.359 dollars with my check, that there would be a way 364 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:55.799 for him to communicate that this is against my will 365 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:58.079 if that was truly the case. So I'm with you. 366 00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:01.720 I think he absolutely believed this was real and or 367 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:03.960 he knew what the real purpose was behind it. So 368 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:07.759 if horse was code for something, Gary was very much 369 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:11.039 aware of what he thought he was getting himself into. 370 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:14.839 And couldn't both things be true? Couldn't it also be 371 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:17.319 about a horse, but be about something else as well? 372 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:20.640 Maybe you're way over valuing the horse, but it is 373 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:24.440 about something illegal or about money owed, and like say, 374 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:26.880 the horse is worth two thousand dollars. 375 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:28.880 Yeah, cover right, that the horse is something where it's like, 376 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:31.680 this is a legitimate transaction. I'm buying a horse that 377 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:33.880 I'm looking at. But like you said, what if the 378 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.519 horse is only worth two five ten thousand dollars and 379 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:40.799 that twenty thousand dollars is for something very different. 380 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:43.400 That would make sense. Why you wouldn't have a vet 381 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:45.960 come and check the horse if it was really not 382 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:47.319 about the horse. 383 00:19:47.640 --> 00:19:49.599 And it gives him a plausible cover story that he 384 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:52.759 can use for the secretary and the bank president, Roy Hilton, 385 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.519 so he doesn't look suspicious going to see this horse, 386 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:58.559 even though he's secretly working on something else at the 387 00:19:58.559 --> 00:19:59.039 same time. 388 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:04.160 But if Gary wasn't being held against as well, I 389 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:06.920 still find it odd that he wouldn't have accompanied Dixon 390 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:09.079 back to his office when he picked up the check, 391 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:13.839 since it required Gary's signature. Furthermore, why didn't Gary accompany 392 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:17.079 Dixon to the bank when he cashed the check, particularly 393 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:20.079 since his meeting with the McKee oil representative was supposed 394 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:23.119 to take place there right after the transaction was completed, 395 00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:27.279 dad even more confusion, there's also the eyewitness sighting from 396 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:30.000 the truck stop owner, who said that he saw Gary 397 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:33.079 there at around eleven thirty am, where he appeared to 398 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:36.559 be waiting for someone. Looking at the timeline, Gary's call 399 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:39.799 to his secretary took place at around ten thirty and 400 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:43.000 the call to the bank occurred shortly before noon. If 401 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:45.400