UNSOLVED: PART 1: THE GIRL SCOUT MURDERS — THE FIRST NIGHT

CAMP SCOTT — Today, we’re going back nearly 50 years to 1977 to take a closer look at the tragic and infamous Girl Scout Camp Murders.

We spent almost two full days elbows-deep in research on this case, and let us tell y'all, we did some serious deep reading. From what we found, there are tons of theories circulating about what may have happened that night, and we feel like we looked at just about all of them. But our goal today is simple: we want to present the facts as they were reported, separate them from the theories, and let y'all decide for yourselves what you think really happened.

And, we’re probably going to have to split this one into two parts. There is a lot to unpack here, and we don’t want to rush through it or leave anything important out. So we’re going to take our time, lay out everything we found, and cover this case the way it deserves to be told. So grab a drink, settle in, and buckle up.

Let's get into Part 1.

We are going to start with a little history on Camp Scott. According to several reports, Camp Scott first opened its doors in August of 1928. Historical records show that the camp may have originally operated under the name of Camp Ma-Del-Co before later being changed to Camp Scott. Located near Locust Grove, the camp itself sat on 240 acres more or less and was owned by the Tulsa Scout Council. For almost 50 years, it welcomed Scouts every summer until 1977. Following the tragic murders, Camp Scott closed its doors and it’s been said that it was eventually sold. Today, the property is privately owned, so please don't go wandering out there trying to investigate it yourself. Trust us, a trespassing charge isn't the souvenir you want to bring home.

According to various reports, on June 12th, 1977, approximately 100 Girl Scouts arrived at Camp Scott for what was supposed to be a fun-filled two-week summer camp session hosted by the Magic Empire Girl Scout Council. The camp was located about two miles from Locust Grove, and most of the girls attending were from the Tulsa area.

And we're going to backtrack for just a minute to sometime earlier before the Girl Scouts arrived at Camp Scott.

According to a documentary we watched, the counselors came together to participate in a training session prior to the Scouts' arrival to prepare for camp. While they were there, some very strange things reportedly happened. One counselor reportedly discovered that one of the tents had been slashed open. Another counselor reportedly said her bag looked like it had been rummaged through, and a box of doughnuts that had been brought with her to camp was found empty except for a note inside. The note reportedly stated that three girls in a tent would be killed. At the time, it's said they didn't think much of it and chalked it up to being a prank. But sadly, that's exactly how the events would later unfold.

It's important to understand how the camp was laid out and where these events reportedly unfolded. Camp Scott was divided into four camping units: Kiowa, Cherokee, Osage, and Comanche. Each unit had its own group of tents and camp counselors. The events of this case would unfold in the Kiowa Unit, one of the camp's more secluded areas.

So, for the purpose of this story, we're going to focus on the Kiowa Unit only. The unit consisted of seven tents arranged in a half-moon shape around a campfire. Most of the tents had four girls each, except for Tent 7, which had three girls. And counselors slept nearby in their own designated tents.

Lori Lee Farmer, Denise Milner, and Michele Guse were the three Scouts assigned to Tent 7, although we did come across some reports online and a few documentaries that identify it as Tent 8. The majority of the sources we reviewed identified it as Tent 7 so we are going to stick with that. It's said that their tent was located toward the outer edge of the Kiowa Unit and was the farthest from where the counselor's sleeping area was. It was also partially blocked from view and closer to where the shower house was located. So, it's safe to say their tent was more secluded than the rest.

According to camp counselor Carla Wilhite, that evening, thunderstorms moved through the area. As the storm began to pass and the sun went down, the girls made their way back to their tents sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. She reported hearing laughter, chatter, and plenty of excited giggles as the Scouts settled in for their first night at camp. And before turning in for the evening, the girls all wrote letters to their parents to share stories about how their first day went. For a while, the sounds of excited campers filled the Kiowa Unit. Laughter echoed from the tents, conversations carried through the night air, and the excitement of the first day at camp was hard to miss. But as the night wore on, the laughter slowly faded, the conversations grew quiet, and one by one, the girls drifted off to sleep.

Then, sometime around 1:30 a.m. on June 13th, Carla was awakened by a strange sound she said she had never heard before. The way she later described it, it sounded like a low, guttural noise coming from somewhere in the wooded area beyond the Kiowa Unit. Carla reportedly said the closest thing she could compare it to was a bullfrog.

The sound was concerning enough to make Carla get out of her tent and go see what was going on. So, she grabbed her flashlight and walked out of her tent toward the wooded area of that camp unit. As she got closer to where the sound seemed to be coming from, she shined her flashlight into the trees. She said that as soon as the beam of light hit the trees, the noise suddenly stopped. As she stood there quietly observing the woods, she thought maybe it was nothing after all, so she turned around to head back to her tent. But the second she turned away, the sound started again. The same low, guttural noise echoed from the darkness.

So once again, Carla turned and shined her flashlight back toward the same spot, and just like before, the sound immediately stopped. Whatever was making the noise seemed to go silent every time the light was pointed in its direction. Carla later said she thought it was probably an animal moving around in the area. But even so, she still felt uneasy about it, so when she returned to her tent, she asked the other counselors if they had heard it. None of the other counselors had heard the sound and believed it was probably just an animal. Eventually, everyone went back to bed.

When Carla's alarm went off later that morning of June 13th, she stepped outside her tent to begin the day. As she looked around, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Off in the distance near the road, she noticed what appeared to be several sleeping bags lying on the ground. Carla began walking closer to investigate, and as she got closer, she realized something was very, very wrong. One of the sleeping bags appeared to contain a body, with half of it protruding from the bag while the rest remained inside.

She immediately began screaming for help, and it quickly drew the attention of the other counselors. As the reality of what had been discovered began to set in, the camp staff rushed to alert the remaining counselors and the camp director. As a result, a headcount was quickly done, and it was then that they realized three girls from the Kiowa Unit were missing: Lori Lee Farmer, Denise Milner, and Michele Guse.

One of the counselors went to check Tent 7. When they entered the tent, they were immediately met with a horrific scene. The bunks belonging to the three missing girls were empty, their sleeping bags were gone, and there was blood on the floor and on the mattresses. Authorities were notified immediately, and that's when the investigation began to unfold. When police arrived they began processing the scene and worked on evacuating the camp.

According to investigative reports, Lori and Michele were found inside sleeping bags, while Denise was found nearby on the road. They were reportedly about 150 yards away from their tent. According to investigators, all three girls had their hands bound and the preliminary evidence indicated that the girls were first attacked inside the tent before being moved or led outside.

Along the road where Denise's body was discovered, investigators reportedly located several items that had been stolen during the counselors training session before the Scouts arrived, including personal items such as eyeglasses and hairbrushes. They also found what they believed had been something left behind by the killer: a red 9-volt lantern with tape covering the lens, leaving only a tiny pinhole for light to shine through and pieces of a local newspaper from April of 1977. They also expanded their search beyond the camp and spoke with nearby landowners to see if anyone had heard or seen anything unusual that night. Investigators later learned that around 3:00 a.m., nearby rural residents reported hearing a lot of traffic coming from a remote road near the campgrounds.

But that was only the beginning of the investigation, and the biggest question of all still remained unanswered: Who was responsible for their murders?

In Part 2, we'll continue following the investigation, examine the evidence that was gathered, and take a closer look at the person who would eventually become the primary suspect in what is, in our opinion, one of Oklahoma's most controversial murder investigations.