Every Town - Mystery On The Rails: The Strange Case Of The Boys On The Tracks

Episode Date: June 7, 2024

16 year old Don Henry and Kevin Ives who was 17 were best friends who did everything together and in the early hours of August 23, 1987, they also died together. 👀 Watch This Episode On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/scarymysteries 🎧 Our Other Podcast Scary Mysteries: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZooEZMoZ421WdsOVJhVkT 💀 Exclusive Videos, Podcasts & Perks: https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries  👁 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew.fitzg 👁 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewfitzgerald 👁 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficial 🗣 Business Inquiries, questions and comments hit us up at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Every town has a dark side. 16-year-old Don Henry and Kevin Ives, who was 17, were best friends who did everything together. In the early hours of August 23rd of 1987, they also died together. The conductor of a freight train noticed two bodies lying side by side right on the tracks and trying to stop, but there was nothing he could do. What seemed like a horrible tragedy at first, quickly turned out to be a disturbing mystery. involving the U.S. government and drug trafficking. How far up the chain of command the story goes is hard to say for sure. That's how they designed it, although it's pretty damn high.

Hey guys, it's Andrew, and thanks for tuning in to another episode of Everytown. But today we're digging into a horror story that remains unsolved to this day. It's become well known as the tale of the boys on the tracks. This one truly uncovers the dark side of a town in Arkansas when where corruption and drug money sent this case in many directions, none of which led to the truth, as the authorities in charge tried to cover up what really went down. Did they succeed? Not really.

But when it's just two dead local boys from down south, and do they even care? Kevin and Don were typical teenagers growing up in Bryant, Arkansas, small town that sits right in the middle of the state. The boys love fast cars, hunting and hanging out with their girlfriends at the Cineplex on double dates on the weekends. The Ford recently just gone and seen the Lost Boys, which famously has a scene with the main characters hanging from a railroad bridge as a speeding train passes by seeing who could

hold on the longest. Kevin and Don had been best friends since they were younger. Back in the summer of 87, they were headed into their senior year over at Bryan High School. liked and popular, Don had a great sense of humor, and Kevin always appreciated his jokes. And on that faithful August night, they met up with a group of friends in a secluded parking lot, a popular hangout spot for the teens in town. As you can imagine, there wasn't a ton to do in terms of entertainment there, especially for high school kids, so they had to create their own fun. Just before midnight, the boys stopped by Don's house to pick up a hunting rifle.

I had a brief chat with Dawn's father who gave them to go ahead to go hunting near the train tracks, something that may seem strange, but was entirely normal and common in that rural area. They'd already had some experience with spotlighting for night hunting. This technique involves using a very bright light to make animals' eyes reflect intensely after dark, making them easier to locate. It was a fun little adventure for two enthusiastic young hikers like them. and going out at night, scouring those landscapes for smaller prey. It was a nearly ritualistic tradition for many local teenagers,

and Kevin and Don undoubtedly felt right at home doing it. Unfortunately, that early morning in August would mark a grave turning point for the Henry and Ives families, as it would be the last time that the best friends since childhood were seen alive. While it was officially ruled an accident, many don't think it adds up, And that's something else happened, which is why this story still remains a mystery that has talked about today more than 35 years later. On that August night at 4.25 a.m., a 6,000-ton Union Pacific train was making its usual nighttime journey headed towards Little Rock. The train, over a mile long and traveling at 52 miles per hour, was running smoothly as engineer Stephen Schroyer approached the small town of Bryan, Arkansas. Suddenly, he spotted something on the tracks ahead, but it couldn't quite make out what it was.

As the heavy train continued on at full speed, the Schroier realized with horror that it was two figures on the rails. In two shapes, partially covered by a large green tarp, and they looked like teenagers. The engineer reacted desperately, slamming on the emergency brakes as fast as he could. Troyer blasted the train whistle that rang out into the darkness. The wheels screeched on the rails, sending up sparks, but the massive train couldn't be stopped in time. Despite the frantic efforts to halt it, and the train dragged the bodies along for what seemed like an endless half a mile. When it finally did come to a stop, by then the bodies of Kevin and Don were horribly mangled. And from that moment on, nothing about this case lined up correctly.

The shadows of doubt began to loom over this situation. Despite evidence pointing to something more sinister, local authorities hurried up to label it a tragic accident. But that was the turning point towards a dark path filled with irregularities and cover-ups. The first signs of turbulence surfaced immediately. That green tarp covering the youth's bodies mysteriously disappeared, along with the belongings that they had with them. The gun and flashlight they were using were found nearby, but later on they went missing. The investigation, far from thorough, was later claimed by Saline County Sheriff Jim Steed, was riddled with negligence from the outset. So much so that even Kevin's severed foot

was left abandoned on the tracks, undiscovered until two days later. And Schroier and other crew members saw that green tarp, but later on, police would dispute its very existence. As the train roared towards them, the vibrations of the tracks would have been intense. The sounds of the brakes and the whistle would have jolted them had they been alive, and so Don and Kevin had appeared might have been dead before the train ever even hit. So that means they were placed on those tracks by somebody. But who and why? What initially seemed like just a bungled case out in the stick soon morphed into something much bigger,

a meticulously orchestrated cover-up. A dark plot where officials at all levels of government, state, federal, and local, played prominent roles over decades, covering up Kevin and Don's murders in a shroud of silence and lies. And that manipulation began with the autopsy, carried out two days after the bodies were discovered. As you would assume that if in fact they have been murdered before being put on the track, surely, they'd find that out here, only they didn't. Following the autopsy, Fami Malik, Arkansas's state forensic pathologist, concluded that the boys had started. smoke the equivalent of 20 marijuana cigarettes. Thus, they were in a deep sleep and the train approached,

which explains why they didn't hear the train's whistle as it neared. It's hard to know for sure where studies on the effects of marijuana were back then, but this was logical to them. And 20 joints seems almost impossible to physically smoke, but even if they did, for many people, and that just doesn't seem to explain why they would lay down on those tracks and never move. We've also come a long way since 1987 in understanding the active ingredients in marijuana and how they affect the body. We found that in the case of severe injuries, even though sustained post-mortem, they can actually artificially elevate THC levels,

the psychoactive component of cannabis, by dissociating it from the body's fat reserves where it's stored. It turns out that THC is fat soluble, and it was a suggestion that severe, trauma, like the impact of a train, could release additional amounts of THC stored in fatty tissues, distorting toxicology results. Additionally, modern varieties of marijuana, selectively bred often contain higher THC doses than what would have been found back in the 80s. With millions of global consumers nowadays, their experiences show that cannabis is unlikely to induce a state of complete unconsciousness, let alone two people.

people at the same time. And by the way, no other drugs were found in the boy's systems. While cases of intoxicated individuals or those looking to leave this world via train are not all that uncommon, it was highly suspicious to find multiple people lying motionless, showing no signs of attempting to move. And furthermore, I must reiterate that making sense of this proposed scenario is hard to do. Who would consume such a large amount of marijuana with a friend and cover themselves with a tarp and lay down on the tracks. And what's more, these boys were among the most popular and lively students of Brian High. Known for fully embracing life in their small town, the notion that they would be soundly sleeping on the railroad tracks was simply unimaginable

to those who knew them. So over time, the townsfolk got to talking. Don and Kevin's families were pushing for the case to be re-examined. In feeling the trust of their community waning, The police decided to reopen the investigation five months later, as it had been officially closed as just an accident. And Kevin and Don's bodies were exhumed. New autopsies were conducted, and a grand jury convened. Dr. Joseph Burton, nationally recognized forensic pathologist from Georgia was tasked with performing the new autopsies. The thought here was that if there were corruption afoot, then someone from so far away would be the best chance. of getting a fair shade.

And his findings? They revealed that the boys had only smoked between one and three cigarettes total, not even three apiece. But that wasn't the only shocking discovery, of course. The new autopsies also found that one of the boys was in fact already dead by the time the train struck him, and the other was unconscious. In other words, close to dead.

If that sounds like a nightmare scenario, signs of stabbing, having taken place, were detected undone. shirt, as if he had been stabbed in the bat. In Kevin's face, it appeared had been shattered by the butt of a rifle. Perhaps his own, which, as mentioned earlier, disappeared from the evidence room when it was picked up the night of the tragedy. And all this happened before their bodies were placed on the tracks. These findings strongly suggested that the boys were severely injured, rendered unconscious, or even deceased before the train ran over their bodies. Burton's autopsies

revealed that Malik, the doctor who did the first one, had mutilated Kevin's skull by cutting in in so many directions that it was impossible to determine the original fractures. He even completely disassembled the bones of his jaw. And Burton, a seasoned veteran with thousands of autopsies under his belt, admitted he had never seen anything like it. It seemed as though Malik was purposefully erasing traces of what had actually happened. According to a former employee later came forward. They said they saw evidence of a stab wound in the original autopsy. When mentioned to Malik, well, they were told not to worry about it. Malik has declined to comment since then, but other experts who reviewed the case are convinced these were not accidental deaths.

These boys met their end at the hands of others, victims of injuries inflicted with intent. The final conclusion was to change the ruling to homicide. And so it happened. The cause of death was officially changed from accidental to probable homicide. As the case gained even more recognition, once that happened, as it was a pretty huge mess up by the local authorities to think this was an accident, an investigator uncovered that a similar incident occurred in 1984 and Hogan, Oklahoma, which is less than three hours away from Brian. But once again, two young men, 21-year-old Billy Hainline and 22. 26-year-old Dennis Decker were found lying on the railroad tracks in a nearly identical position to the boys. Both have been officially killed accidentally, according to the county coroner,

with the same idea that they had fallen asleep on the tracks because they were drunk, and yet their BAC was just about the legal limit. In their case would also be reopened in 85, just about a year later, but they determined that the official manner of death is now unknown. and that case still remains unsolved. Further digging, it was then found out that this wasn't an isolated case for Dr. Femmy Malik, where he was involved in potentially suspicious practices. In fact, there were numerous cases across the state where Malik deliberately falsified evidence and incorrectly determined causes of death.

And take the case of Rayne Albright, who shot five times in the chest. Incredibly, Malick ruled these as something he did. did to unlive himself, or the case of James Dewey Millam, whose body was found decapitated. In this instance, Malik claimed that the cause of death was a gastric ulcer, and that the family dog had bitten off and eaten the head, subsequently regurgitating skull and brain fragments. And these stories, fabricated by Malik, were utterly absurd, and just like the boys on the tracks. The media coverage of Malik's scandalous ruling sparked massive protests, demanding his removal. Yet strangely, both Governor Bill Clinton, the future U.S. president, and the chairwoman of the Forensic Commission, Jocelyn Elders, insisted that not only he remained in his position, but they even gave him a $32,000 raise.

This all really happened, and it's so ridiculous you have to wonder how far up the chain this whole thing goes. Why was Malik being protected so strongly? And he should have been tried as a criminal. Well, because for one reason, or another, there were powerful interests involved here that for some reason didn't want the true cause of Ives and Henry's deaths to come to light. And then another intriguing lead emerged in all this. Just a week before the boys were killed,

a man dressed in a military uniform was seen near the train tracks where the boys were found. His behavior raised some suspicings. among the locals. On the same night that Kevin and Don died, witnesses again reported seeing a man in the area in military uniform. This time he was walking along the road less than 200 yards from where the boy's bodies were found. However, the police were unable to locate him. One thing became very clear. Something was brewing in the area, and the government was involved in some way. In order to figure this out, you need to take a step back and look at a much bigger picture.

In the remote mountains of western Arkansas, a dark secret lurked among the lush pine forests and thickets of the Aachita wilderness. That secluded region, known as MENA, had been a haven for generations of outlaws, bootleggers, and marijuana growers. But in the early 80s, something much more sinister began to take shape there. Just 70 miles from the Fort Chaffee military base, a small Mena airfield became a hotbed of covert activities involving the CIA and DEA. It was the error of Governor Bill Clinton in Arkansas.

The mysterious operations emanating from that remote location were an open secret. The name on everyone's lips was Barry Seal, a notorious drug smuggler who had set up shop in Mena back in 1981. And Seal didn't play small. He boasted of making up to $50 million per month by selling 1,000 pounds of cocaine from Columbia. A true narco empire in the heart of Arkansas, they even made a movie about him that starred Tom Cruise. Meanwhile, local residents reported strange sightings that were hard to ignore.

Gunfire from automatic weapons in the middle of nowhere. Men of Latin American appearance lurking in the woods with assault rifles and clandestined plane landings. And clearly something very shady was happening in Mayna. IRS agent Bill Duncan from state police officers. Russell Welch tried to investigate Seale's connection to the town, suspecting a large-scale drug smuggling and money-laundering operation. However, both of their careers conveniently were abruptly cut short directly due to those efforts. But what does any of this have to do with Kevin and Don?

Well, it was precisely one of the key drug drop-off points from Mena, known to pilots as A-1, where the brutally mutilated bodies of the teenagers were found in 87. Coincidence? Probably not. Many believe that both boys might just have been accidental witnesses to a drug exchange and were killed to prevent the secret from spreading. Much more was at stake than just Barry Seale's drug trafficking in Mina. If Kevin and Don were indeed witnesses to some drug delivery,

they had to be silenced at all costs. Because what they possibly witnessed was a vast covert operation with connections. reaching the highest levels of state government. In 1983, the DEA caught SEAL for drug trafficking, but he mysteriously became a valuable government informant in exchange for immunity. Was SEAL perhaps involved in some secret intelligence operation in MENA? If the two teenagers hadn't covered these murky links

between the drug trade and government agencies, their lives would certainly be in serious danger. This could be the key to understanding why Governor Clinton was so determined, determined to keep the forensic pathologist Femmy Malick in his position, despite his scandalous irregularities. Perhaps Malick was another piece of the cover-up, someone corrupt and controllable enough to manipulate the autopsy findings of Ives and Henry. This way, the details that could expose the festering manna plot implicating high-ranking officials were silenced. There was simply too much at stake and too much money to leave loose ends. And that pair from Oklahoma,

Billy and Dennis, who were found in 84. It was discovered that there was a methamphetamine lab, not much further than a mile away from where their bodies were found. Was this tied to the Mena area in some way? It's possible, but we don't know for sure. In the woods, though, drug labs and dealers will conceal vehicles and property they don't want found with green tarts so that they blend in with the woods. since Don and Kevin's case was officially turned into a homicide, you have to wonder who would

just have a green tarp with them out there in the middle of nowhere. It's only speculation, but maybe the drugs were even covered in that tarp. The boys spotted it with their flashlight when they went to investigate. Whoever was there to pick them up, came across them and took them out. They then figured they let the train do the dirty work, covered the boys in the tarp to further conceal them from the train conductor's view, ensuring that by the time he saw it, it would be too late to stop. Officially, the investigation into who committed the crime closed in 1995, without ever identifying the perpetrators.

But the chilling theory that they were killed by drug traffickers has never faded away. Kevin and Don's murders were a great tragedy, and their only mistake was being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and the powers to be, as they have, since they have since they were a great tragedy. And the powers to be, as they have since the beginning of mankind, we're able to hide their story away in plain sight. There's not a damn thing anybody can do about it. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown. Hope you all enjoyed it.

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Because you never know. Maybe your town will be next.