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Active member
THE ENIGMA OF PETER HAUER
Fellow of the National Speleological Society and Treasurer/Secretary of the American Spelean History Association.
It is always a shock to find that a friend has died suddenly, but an even greater horror surrounds the disappearance of Peter Hauer. The F.B.I. were searching for a Walter T Smith, last seen in the Lobelia area. At Pete Hauer?s farm, they found a gruesome typewritten confession on the kitchen table to the effect that Hauer had killed Smith and hidden his body in a cave. That weekend 125 cavers searched the local caves and found the body of the 18 year old Watogo State Park Lifeguard ? Walter T Smith, carefully concealed beneath a pile of rocks and carved with cabalistic signs. He had been shot through the eye and behind the ears.
A search for Hauer which included diving did not reveal any trace. Some sources think he is still alive.
As well as the "confession? the F.B.I. also found Hauer?s Will on the table. There was a suggestion that Hauer had been taken in by a hippy coven hiding out in the nearby thick forest and would be a sacrifice and eaten by the next full moon. There are still many unanswered questions. Did Hauer type the ?confession?-? Or was he framed? Is he still alive?
References:
BC 58 12-17 for details of Pete Hauer?s farm and
Cleve-o-Grotto News 21 (6) 73 for the report of Hauer?s disappearance.
POSTSCRIPT
The last episode of the tragic tale occurred on November 25th 1975. Some hunters found a body, in an advanced state of decay hanging from a tree about 2? miles from Lobelia. Dental and skull x-rays confirmed identification. The bones were cremated and a close friend Jack H Speece, a caver who is a Mormon minister, conducted a committal service on Pete?s farm. The F.B.I. closed the case but still many questions remain unanswered. Where is the murder weapon? What was the motive? For several months before the incident Pete was known to have been fearful, of his life, so perhaps he was framed for this murder and hung to keep his quiet. Certainly all who knew Pete do not believe he could have committed this terrible crime and we all feel a very deep sympathy for the family whom have had to go through this terrible ordeal.
Reference:
The British Caver 64 55, August 1976.
Fellow of the National Speleological Society and Treasurer/Secretary of the American Spelean History Association.
It is always a shock to find that a friend has died suddenly, but an even greater horror surrounds the disappearance of Peter Hauer. The F.B.I. were searching for a Walter T Smith, last seen in the Lobelia area. At Pete Hauer?s farm, they found a gruesome typewritten confession on the kitchen table to the effect that Hauer had killed Smith and hidden his body in a cave. That weekend 125 cavers searched the local caves and found the body of the 18 year old Watogo State Park Lifeguard ? Walter T Smith, carefully concealed beneath a pile of rocks and carved with cabalistic signs. He had been shot through the eye and behind the ears.
A search for Hauer which included diving did not reveal any trace. Some sources think he is still alive.
As well as the "confession? the F.B.I. also found Hauer?s Will on the table. There was a suggestion that Hauer had been taken in by a hippy coven hiding out in the nearby thick forest and would be a sacrifice and eaten by the next full moon. There are still many unanswered questions. Did Hauer type the ?confession?-? Or was he framed? Is he still alive?
References:
BC 58 12-17 for details of Pete Hauer?s farm and
Cleve-o-Grotto News 21 (6) 73 for the report of Hauer?s disappearance.
POSTSCRIPT
The last episode of the tragic tale occurred on November 25th 1975. Some hunters found a body, in an advanced state of decay hanging from a tree about 2? miles from Lobelia. Dental and skull x-rays confirmed identification. The bones were cremated and a close friend Jack H Speece, a caver who is a Mormon minister, conducted a committal service on Pete?s farm. The F.B.I. closed the case but still many questions remain unanswered. Where is the murder weapon? What was the motive? For several months before the incident Pete was known to have been fearful, of his life, so perhaps he was framed for this murder and hung to keep his quiet. Certainly all who knew Pete do not believe he could have committed this terrible crime and we all feel a very deep sympathy for the family whom have had to go through this terrible ordeal.
Reference:
The British Caver 64 55, August 1976.