She lives in San Bernardino, California, where she works at a medical supply company. The morning she disappeared, Pickles mother, Linda, had gone to work at Black Butte. Hed returned to Sweet Home to live with his mother and split for good with Linda. Photos of Ackroyd are posted with this case summary. Detective Jim Salsbery, who oversaw the case, later said that he believed he knew what happened to the missing girl, but he just didn't have the evidence to prove it. One of the major factors in this determination was that if she had run away, Rachanda had done so without any of her belongings. John then reportedly left the home by himself, and wouldn't return until approximately 12:30 PM (roughly three hours later). The investigation into Rachanda Pickle's disappearance would continue years later, with police having little evidence to operate with. Her mother was at work at the time of her disappearance. Her brother kept an eye on her. On 10 July 1990, 13-year-old Rachanda Pickle was last seen inside her mother and stepfather's home in Santiam Junction, Oregon. Brown hair; brown eyes. Rachanda Lea "Chandy" Pickle was a girl who went missing in 1990 in Oregon. A father, mother, and son disappeared from rural Wisconsin in - Reddit When it snapped, he smacked her repeatedly with his open hand. He asked her if she wanted to go for a drive with him to go and take some pictures of deer in the nearby woods, but that she said no, claiming to have some chores to do around the house. Her son, Byron, described Ackroyd as a violent man who once beat Rachanda over a broken clock. When Rachanda was about seven years old, her mother would remarry. He refused to disclose the location of Rachanda's body and his plea didn't require him to. The district attorney asked Byron if he supported a plea deal or if he wanted Ackroyd to stand trial. However, she agreed to go with him later to pick up Linda from work. John had also been one of the last people to see her alive, and - if you recall from the introduction - had led police to her partial remains eight months later (which he claims he discovered through mere happenstance). I did not do nothing. The following spring, a grand jury heard testimony from 17 witnesses, most of them people who knew the girl and Ackroyd. Ackroyd had been the lone suspect in his stepdaughter's mysterious disappearance from the home she shared with her mother and Ackroyd at a state highway compound at Santiam Junction. However, police were able to quickly eliminate this possibility - that she had run away to her father's home - and would eventually rule out Rachanda as a possible runaway entirely. Once, when a clock fell off a shelf, he beat her with a homemade paddle. I asked her what happened, Cook said, and she said, My stepdad did this. Cook is shown here with her two daughters. Missing Date: Tue, Jul 10 1990. If she was going to plan to run away, she would have taken her makeup and her clothes, but nothing was missing. He stated that a black duffel bag filled with clothes - which he had seen with Rachanda just days before her disappearance - was missing from her belongings at the time. John, Rachanda's stepfather, came home during a break from work, at around 9:30 AM. Byron was Rachandas companion and playground protector. She said no and he left. He was painting the tailgate. Her mother left behind a short list of chores. These sporadic sightings extended not only through Oregon, but throughout a large chunk of the country; in particular, along the west coast, ranging as far south as California and as far north as Vancouver. By now, investigators knew who they were dealing with. Weeks after his death, prosecutors publicly acknowledged for the first time that Ackroyd had entered a plea in 2013 in the disappearance and presumed murder of Rachanda Pickle, his stepdaughter. This was unusual and definitely out of the ordinary, but it wasn't enough for John to take notice at the time, it seems. When questioned about why he had taken the day off, he explained it away, claiming that he wanted to check in at home and see if some car parts he needed had arrived, having been delivered to the home. Linn County Circuit Judge David Delsman granted the request. (Mark Ylen/Democrat-Herald). Investigators were already familiar with John because of his history; in particular, his connection to the still-unsolved case of Kaye Turner, the jogger that had gone missing on Christmas Eve back in 1978. By then, Becks ex-wife had lost touch with Ackroyd but remained fond of him. Her disappearance set off one of the largest search efforts in Linn County history; her remains were never found. It was believed that the sweatpants might be hers, sparking another set of searches in that area, but would fail to come up with any additional evidence. Rachandas mother now says: So there was something going on there but I just didnt see it then., REMEMBERING RACHANDA (Photo 1 of 4): Byron Pickle is 43 and lives in Aumsville with his wife and two children. At the same time, a dozen investigators working the Turner case seized on Ackroyds shifting accounts. And he wouldnt leave her either. We must have laid 150 miles of string line laying out the grids, Mueller said. Rachanda Pickle, the 13-year-old daughter of his ex-wife Linda, went missing from her Santiam Junction home. John Ackroyd was her third husband. Noelle Crombie | The Oregonian/OregonLive. When the couple pulled into the compound that evening, Rachanda wasnt hanging around outside like she had the day before. That friend was Roger Dale Beck. He claimed he invited her to join him on a drive to photograph deer on back roads near the junction. McAnulty wondered if an ex-wife might see the events of the distant past in a different light. Last updated April 1, 2021; clothing/jewelry description and details of disappearance updated. In class, she counted down the minutes, a sense of dread rising as the end of the school day approached. In the autumn of 2013, Ackroyd reached a plea deal with prosecutors in Rachanda's death. NKOTB shirt: Asha Degree & Rachanda Pickle John Arthur Ackroyd, the longtime suspect in 13-year-old Rachanda Lea Pickle's disappearance, has been arrested and charged with her murder. There had still been no sign of the girl - who would have been a woman at this point - since July of 1990. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Linda and John Ackroyd left for work, she as a housekeeper at Black Butte Ranch, a resort community about 30 minutes away, and he as a highway mechanic. Brown hair, brown eyes. His wife, Pam, said the two men were around the trailer for most of the morning, which helped give Ackroyd an alibi. During their digging into this case, they would uncover a plea deal agreed upon by both prosecutors and John Ackroyd, which had been agreed upon back in 2013, after charges had been filed in Rachanda's murder. Murder suspect found dead in Salem prison cell - Albany Democrat Herald The more that investigators spoke with John Ackroyd, the more troubled they became. Unfortunately, police had been unable to uncover any evidence of the teenager's current whereabouts, so they couldn't speak beyond these generalities without mucking up their ongoing investigation. He knew it was Ackroyd who had eventually led police to her remains. She did, and because of this wait, Rachanda wasn't reported missing until Wednesday, July 11th, and the search to find her wouldn't begin until the day after that, Thursday, July 12th. Within weeks, Melissa and Sheila were dead. After all, she's a teenage girl.". Rachanda stuck close to her mother and rarely strayed from the family home at Santiam Junction. Please subscribe to keep reading. McAnulty, whod been promoted to detective just 10 days earlier, dutifully examined old newspaper articles and reports. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). The prime suspect in the disappearance of a 13-year-old Linn County girl pleaded no contest to murder three years ago as part of an unusual agreement unsealed Wednesday by a Linn County Circuit Court judge. It was during this period - the two years following Rachanda's disappearance - that investigators made a realization. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Facebook Kaye Turner's killing became a faded memory. He talked his boss into letting him drive 750 miles to California to find out. As police continued their search of the area around Rachanda's family's home, they would also continue an investigation of the people inside of it. From there, the search would be extended outside of the area around the maintenance complex that Rachanda lived in, to a roughly 50-square-mile area near Lost Lake, Hoodoo Butte, and Potato Hill. When speaking to news station KRWQ, Steven would state that he believed Rachanda had run away from home, citing some missing clothing from her bedroom. In the early morning hours of July 10, 1990 John and Linda Ackroyd left their residence at the Oregon Department of Transportation shops at the Santiam Junction in east Linn County, Oregon. Ackroyd, 67,. Take hot dogs out of the freezer. When he returned to the house at approximately 12:45 p.m., Rachanda had vanished. A sadistic killer goes around killing people, taking girls off somewhere? Rachanda was a good kid, helping around the house and taking care not to stray far. While they had never discovered what had happened to the missing teenager, there was another unsolved case that John Ackroyd was attached to On June 12th, 1992, John Arthur Ackroyd was arrested while at work in Corvallis, Oregon. What we're afraid of is that someone came up to the house, found her alone here and took her.". They continued to believe that Ackroyd was involved in his stepdaughter's disappearance, and began to go through his statements with a fine-toothed comb. She wouldn't lie.". Cook said Rachanda once came to school with a black eye. He was the last person to see both, exhibited troubling behavior at the time of their disappearance, provided investigators with both conflicting and troubling information, involved himself in the search parties and investigation, and then - when questioned - offered up troubling guesses for the victim's fate. After his stepdaughter went missing, investigators reopened the Turner case and charged Ackroyd. He wasn't required to provide the location of Rachanda's remains or anything like that; nor, it's believed, any specific details of the crime itself. Ackroyd was charged in Rachanda's murder in April 2013. In 1990, Rachanda Pickle lived with her mother, brother and stepfather, John Ackroyd. He wouldnt leave her for nothing.. Rachanda Pickle's brother, Byron Pickle, was consulted during the state's negotiations with Ackroyd, Marteeny said. His partner, Detective Will McAnulty, sat nearby. Didnt do anything to Channy? the cop pressed. While the family's home was surrounded by dense wilderness, Rachanda quickly picked up on the area around them. A dozen or so work crews called the junction home. Their clothes were spattered with so much blood that she got rid of Becks jeans and shirt. Rachanda Lea Pickle Missing Since 07/10/1990 Missing From Sweet Home, Oregon Age 13 years old Height and Weight 4'7, 90 pounds Clothing/Jewelry Description Pajamas or black sweatpants, a white t-shirt, sneakers and silver stud earrings. The Oregonian/OregonLive filed a motion in February asking that all documents in the case be unsealed. Police would begin to reach out to those close to Rachanda and learned that John had been abusive to Rachanda and her brother in the past. He loved her. But they were always short-lived, so I mean, me and my sister had to rely on each other, Byron said. Rachanda Leah Pickle. While I'd like to point out that he was already serving five life sentences without the possibility of parole, and was already in poor health at the time charges were filed, it is worth pointing out that this plea deal was agreed upon by Rachanda's living family members primarily, her brother Byron, who had struggled to come to grips with his sister's loss for decades. Rachanda and her brother regularly went to school with bruises, and Rachanda told her friends Ackroyd had caused the injuries. After Rachanda disappeared, he and her mother separated, and her mother moved to California and remarried. Linn County Sheriff's Office mounted extensive search for Rachanda Pickle in 1990. Ackroyd would recycle the same stories. 41-year-old John Arthur Ackroyd was suspected of involvement in this case very early on, simply because he was the last person to have seen Rachanda Pickle before she went missing. She seemed withdrawn and tired. Her mother, Linda, would add fuel to this fire by telling reporters with the Statesman Journal a week after her disappearance: "I really fully believe that she was taken without her will.". On Christmas Eve morning, Ackroyd showed up at the house. *Wiem, e le wymawiaam imi Rachandy, ale niestety musicie mi wybaczy*13-letnia Rachanda Pickle zagina ze swojego domu w Oregonie w 1990 roku. If a jury. Rachanda's stepfather, John Arthur Ackroyd, is the last person known to have seen her. Rachanda declined, citing the chores her mother expected her to finish, he said. Sometime after he moved, Ackroyd was in his truck with the daughter of an old friend. The couple married in the mid-1980s but divorced after a year. He dropped off Linda at the resort and continued east on Highway 20 to the state maintenance shop in Bend. Speaking to the Albany Democrat-Herald, in a few words, he stated: John Arthur Ackroyd, Rachanda's stepfather, had been the last person to see her on the morning of July 10th, 1990. He had his sisters image tattooed on his arm last year. Despite them ruling out the theory pretty definitively within a day or so of her disappearance, investigators would be plagued by rumors of potential sightings throughout the area. Another man was also convicted in Turner's death. "The settlement reached a point where we were able to have the certainty that he would be in prison forever," Marteeny told The Oregonian/OregonLive. This seemed to leave the case in an unusual spot moving forward since the victim's body had never been found, and now the only suspect had died without the case going to trial. In 1992, Ackroyd was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the unrelated murder of Kaye Jean Turner, who was abducted and murdered in 1978. While Rachanda would ask her mother not to go to work that morning, Linda - focused on getting ready for work - didn't really take notice of the request, later recalling to the Statesman Journal: "I woke her up at about ten after five to have her french-brain my hair. A spokesman with the Linn County Sheriff's Office would dispute this allegation, claiming that there was no evidence indicating Rachanda had run away from home and had likely become a victim of foul play. Rachanda had one older brother named Byron, who was a little more than a year older than her, and the two would grow up with their mother, Linda, but would remain close to their father, whom they visited regularly. SWEET HOME Rachanda Pickle was wearing a T-shirt, black sweat pants and tennis shoes when the 13-year-old on vanished on July 10, 1990 from her home at the state highway maintenance compound near the Santiam Junction. The highway worker had hurt Rachanda, stuffed her into a garbage bag and hauled her away, Linn County Sheriffs Detective Jim Salsbery said during one of their interviews. Rachanda's brother, Byron, would move to the nearby town of Sweet Home to live with some relatives, while her father, Steve, would eventually move away to Alaska to rid himself of the area. Looking over their notes from years earlier, investigators were disturbed by how close Ackroyd's involvement in Kaye Turner's case mirrored his involvement in Rachanda Pickle's disappearance. She didn't even have a telephone in their home.". None of the chores she had been assigned that day had been accomplished, but none of her clothing or belongings seemed to be missing (indicating that Rachanda had not planned to leave). In the case of Kaye Turner, he had guessed that the woman had been shot and stabbed to death. He wondered aloud if Rachanda had been dumped and buried in the woods or threatened with a knife, tied up and gagged, her body rolled in plastic. When she was 12, Ackroyd tattooed his initials on her arm. In signing onto this plea deal, John Ackroyd pleaded no contest to Rachanda's murder and agreed to not seek parole for Kaye Turner's murder and decline release even if he were to become eligible. She asked if she could sleep over. Rachanda was last seen watching television at her family's residence on the Santiam Pass in Sweet Home, Oregon at 10:00 a.m. on July 10, 1990. The men spent hours talking to Ackroyd. It was even alleged that John had been molesting Rachanda, although that remains mostly-unconfirmed years later. Hanlon, whod spent his career practicing law in rural Oregon, knew of Ackroyd from reading a slim three-ring binder stashed in a cardboard box left behind by his predecessor. I lied like hell back then, she told McAnulty. She was afraid to go home from school; as a . Dec 31, 2016. She had double pierced ears and a scar on her forehead. Linn County Detectives Arrest Suspect for 1990 Murder of Rachanda Pickle While this seems like more of an empty gesture than anything to me personally, prosecutors claimed that this deal - agreed upon in 2013 - would have kept John Arthur Ackroyd behind bars for the rest of his life. Her parents reported her missing the next day. The young man, who worked as a mechanic for Oregon's Highway Division, lived at a maintenance company about twenty miles west of Camp Sherman. Linn County District Attorney Doug Marteeny said he wanted to ensure Ackroyd would spend the rest of his life in prison. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Her bedroom did appear to be a mess, but as Linda would later tell reporters: "Her bedroom looked like an explosion hit it, but that wasn't unusual. Ackroyd had driven to a state highway office in Bend, but returned home after only about an hour. Yet even in those types of cases, the terms of a plea agreement aren't generally secret. Rachanda stuck close to her mother and rarely strayed from the family home at Santiam Junction. It was great, Ackroyd would later tell detectives. He would be charged alongside his longtime friend, Roger Dale Beck, who was living in Porterville, California at the time. Twenty-five years have passed since Rachanda's aunt made those remarks, and they remain just as true. "It was the best resolution for him, for the case, at the time," Barnett said. However, most are reasonably certain that the man who caused her disappearance - her stepfather, John Arthur Ackroyd - was thankfully taken off the streets a short time after her disappearance.
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