Unseen - The People's Temple Cult: The Disturbing Case of the Parks Family | UNSEEN

Episode Date: October 5, 2023

“He’s going to kill us all” -- On November 18th 1978, Gerald Park tells his 12 year old daughter Tracy to escape in the jungle, and stay hidden until it’s safe. As gunmen and helicopters close in on her, Tracy knows she needs to survive to avenge her mother’s death, and make sure Jim Jones would pay for what he did to her family, and 918 other victims. You might have heard about Jonestown, but this is the story of the little girl who lived. External footage from: "Return to Jonestown" (CNN), "Jonestown: The life and death of people's temple" (FireLight Media Inc.), "People Magazines Investigate: Cults", "Sunday Night: Return to Jonestown" (7News Spotlight), "Escaped" (Investigation Discovery). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This picture hides the most disturbing secret. It was taken in Guyana on November 18, 1978. Five people were shot dead, including a woman named Patricia Parks. During the attack, her daughter Tracy went missing in the forest, along with four other kids. One hour earlier, this footage shows the airstrip minutes before the attack. The woman with the red coat around her waist is Patricia. Her daughter Tracy has already boarded this smaller plane. the final images captured these three men with guns on the right.

Three hours earlier, the camera captures 12-year-old Tracy, wiping tears with her hat. As the Park's family are packing their belongings onto the truck, people from the commune show their anger, yelling at them. 24 hours after this footage was taken, 918 people are found dead, and Tracy is nowhere to be found. The events that led to the Jonestown Massacre would remain a mystery, Unless, by some miracle, someone can rescue its youngest survivor. Twelve-year-old Tracy Parks.

Today, the Jonestown story got much worse. 910 died in the poison ritual of the people's temple. They shot the reporters on the ground and the congressman. It's just nothing we can do to protect ourselves or to get anybody else out of there, you know? The possibility that children are alive has faded to very little chance at all. We have no positive indication here that there are people out there wandering through the jungle. Other relatives will not be satisfied until there has been a thorough aerial search of the jungle of northwest Guyana. The year is 1966.

In the quiet town of Redwood Valley, California, Gerald Parks moves in with his loving family. Worried about the Cold War and a possible nuclear disaster, Parks and his wife Patricia have driven all the way from Ohio with their three kids, their son Dale, their daughter Brenda. and their six-week-old baby girl, Tracy. The parks are among the hundreds of people who followed Reverend Jones to California. Redwood Valley is to be the perfect shelter for Gerald and his family, a great place to raise little Tracy. 1973, seven years later,

Jones announces that he's building a Paradise City in South America. He calls it the People's Temple Agricultural Project, but it will later be known only as Jonestown. This is to be the promised land, But contrary to Gerald and Patricia, Tracy is not at all excited. August 1, 1977. An article is published in New West magazine condemning the People's Temple, talking about allegations of abuse.

Still, more and more followers of Reverend Jones make the move to this so-called Paradise City. Families left behind are worried about loved ones. Months pass, and no one's heard from the Parks family since they left. November 17, 1978. Senator Leo Ryan from California flies to Guyana, with his legal aid and the NBC camera crew to investigate. The award we were getting was that there was an armed encampment. His goal was simply to go there

and try to determine if people were being held against their will, and if so, to try to get them out of there. The entire trip to the city of Jonestown is documented on tape. The images you see here will later be found, abandoned on this Guyana. I'm from the United States government. We're here to inquire into the health and the welfare of American citizens who are here. As he arrives at the camp, Leo Ryan is met with an unexpected scene.

Cheerful children playing and smiling, adults in colorful clothing, dancing, and singing. How could you not be impressed that out of the jungles of Guyana, they had carved out a community? Rice, black-eyed peas. More peas. We have different containers around the place. Couldn't go through all the tremendous inventory. They've built up the Kool-Aid. At first glance, Jonestown really does look like a great place to live.

Oh, it's really nice here. We're going on a scouting mission to get some barrels along with the leaves. They really love it here in Jones Town, as you can see. But something floats in the air, something hidden behind the eyes. Are all these people really happy? Some people have said they couldn't leave if they wanted to. Do you think you could? Yeah, if I really wanted to, I'll fit it out.

If I was really, if I really wanted to, I'll be able to fit it out. Well, I believe it. I've been here a few days and I have absolutely no complaints at all. It is really nice to. When evening comes, the townsfolk have prepared a celebration for the senator. It was a vibrant community. I would never have imagined that something was very, very wrong. I think that all you know that I'm here to find out more about,

Questions that have been raised about your operation here, but I can tell you right now that from a few conversations I've had with some of the folks here already this evening, that whatever the comments are, there are some people here who believe that this is the best thing that ever happened in their whole life. But behind this cheerful demonstration hides a disturbing reality. As one of the journalists passes along the pavilion, a man secretly hands him a note. The note reads, Help us get out of Jonestown. November 18th, the following day, at 11.30 a.m., Gerald's mother, Edith Parks, walks up to Senator Ryan directly and says, we're being held prisoner here. Taken aback, Senator Ryan asks Gerald if what his mother says is true. I said, we've been here seven and a half months. We want to go home. No one can imagine the horror Gerald and his family went through, but the next 72 hours will be the

worst 12-year-old Tracy will ever live. Tracy's story begins in Redwood Valley, years earlier. I think that my dad just truly believed that Jim Jones was a good man in the beginning. Being born in the People's Temple, Tracy has been taught her whole life that Jim Jones is a man chosen by God. Come forward. Stand out. Take that step. Bless your heart. Take that step. At one gathering, he asks a woman in a wheelchair to stand up. As she slowly begins to rise, the crowd is overcome with emotion. Then, he asks her to walk.

Step after step, he asks her to move towards him. Until... When I saw it with my own eyes, I thought, how can I deny it, you know? What Gerald doesn't know at the time is that the woman in the wheelchair who stood and walked among the crowd was actually one of Joan's secretaries,

hired for the spectacle. My personal feelings with Jim Johns were always good ones. I always thought he was handsome, just watching him. I would just be mesmerized. Some people see a great deal of God in my body. They see Christ in me, a hope of glory. But when I got old enough to realize the difference between good and bad,

I noticed that all of the meetings weren't happy meetings. Every Wednesday, Jim Jones offers a different kind of meeting to his followers. He calls them, catharsis. the purging of evil. If you got caught talking to people that were not affiliated with the church, then you would be in trouble for that. Members, even children, could be called to the front and be hit repeatedly with the paddle,

while the entire congregation is made to laugh at you. I would find myself looking around at all the adults, thinking to myself, you can't think this is okay. You just can't. I was scared to do anything wrong because I was scared I was going to be called up. up and be beaten. As the Park's family is getting ready to follow Jim Jones to Guyana, Tracy is deeply troubled.

I can't figure out for the life of me why my parents went when the red flags were here. I want to give you more than I have. I want you to be greater than I am. And if you don't want to row this route, then go to hell where you want to, but don't bother me. I remember landing in a little plane on the poor Kaituma airstrip that's not very far. from Jonestown. As Tracy gets off the plane with her family, the air is so thick and so hot,

she can hardly breathe. The family now has to board a tractor to be taken to Jonestown. We came up on them gates. They were standing there with guns. And at that moment, I knew I had just entered the gates of health. I said, I feel like I'm making

the biggest mistake of my life. Right away, Tracy and her family are stripped from all of their belongings, including their passports. Then, Tracy is separated from her parents. They told my parents right then and there, she's going to be staying in the kids' area, and you guys are going to be going to your own cottage.

I was devastated. According to Jim Jones, family bonds are selfish. But the truth is, he wants to turn family members against one another. And the best way to do that is to isolate them. Already, Tracy's father Gerald knows he's made a mistake. The next morning, while walking around the grounds, Gerald runs into his own cousin. And she said, how do you like Jonestown?

I said, I don't. That's all was said. But the power Jim Jones has on his followers is already very strong. That night at the gathering, Gerald is called to the front. His cousin has told on him. So my dad was up in front of all the people. One of the security guards came over and just started wailing on my dad. And I jumped out of my chair to go up there.

And I yelled, get that bee off my dad. And this person grabbed me and said, if you know what was good for you, you would sit out. Have it cares. Have the care. You can tell him his voice he cares. I had to act like as one of them, but I never give up hope. I thought somehow, somehow we'll get out of here. But acting like everything is fine won't be easy, especially not for little Tracy.

She discovers quickly that Jones forces his support. followers to work incredibly long hours. The day starts at 6 a.m. when the guards pass around yelling for people to wake up. Tracy jumps out of bed and runs to the breakfast table. In the morning, rice and milk with bugs in it, and maybe for dinner we had rice and gravy. After eating, Tracy would have to run to her post where she'd work the rest of the day until dark. By nightfall, she would attend mandatory meetings of Jim Jones screaming and preaching for hours, most of the time spreading fear, talking about threats outside in the jungle. I got a hell of a lot of weapons to fight. I got my claws. I got purposes. I got guns.

Listening to Jim Jones preached to whatever time in the morning he got done. It might be two, might be three. You'd get hit with a cane if you were falling asleep. The kids would just be laid all over the floor. They couldn't keep them awake. And then there are the White Knights, The most terrifying meetings of all. To test the loyalty of his followers, Jim Jones forces everyone to drink a fruit punch that may or may not be poisoned. Who in the hell wouldn't be ready for a white night?

How do you feel about you? They may die tonight. But Gerald Parks knows that for Jim Jones, this is a rehearsal. I knew those white nights he was having was fake at the time, but I also knew that one day, one of them

would not be fake. Since 1976, Jim Jones and his close crew have been buying cyanide in preparation for the mass murder of his followers. Gerald needs to act fast, but the Guyana forest is one of the most dangerous in South America. Jim Jones makes sure everyone knows this. He would often throw that in our face. Go ahead and try. Go ahead and try to run through the jungle.

The panthers and the snakes. See if you can make it to any railway. See if you can get to any passport. Try. I dare you to try. It's November 17, 1978. Jim Jones tells his followers that Senator Ryan is coming. Jones wants to prevent a possible crisis.

He takes certain precautions. I'll prepping everybody mentally for you better not get out of hand. You better be on your best behavior. I'm from the United States government. We're here to inquire into the health and the welfare of American citizens who are here. I had a big musical, singing, dancing. and everything to make him see how happy everybody was. Whatever the comments are, there are some people here who believe that this is the best thing that ever happened in their whole life.

When hearing this speech, Tracy's heart drops. If Senator Ryan could be fooled, no one else would come and save them. November 18th, the following morning, Gerald and his mother Edith walk up straight to Senator Ryan to tell him the truth. I said, we've been here seven and a half months. We want to go home. And he said, well, you'll be back in the United States today. But Gerald isn't so sure. Other families begin to come forward as well.

Soon, more than a dozen temple members have stepped up with the Parks family, wanting to defect. Jim Jones confronts Gerald's family about their intention to leave. Gerald wearing the white and blue top, his daughter Brenda standing behind him. Although Jones is obviously shocked by the news, he doesn't make much of a scene. I went into a state of shock, and I started crying. And I had my hat, and I was wiping my eyes. I was crying in utter fear. Although Senator Ryan thinks he can get these people home safely,

no one else is convinced. While the defectors are dragging their belongings onto the tractor that will take them out of Jonestown, chaos begins to spread. They were calling us names. The lawyer asked me, said, What's really going on over here? And I said the bastard's going to kill us all. That's what's going on.

The road to the airstrip is six miles long and in horrible condition. Tension is on everyone's face, but no one says a word. My wife was on the truck. Our eyes met, and I looked at her and she looked at me. Neither one of us said anything. As they finally arrive at the landing strip in Port Ketuma, 33 people prepared to board two planes, splitting the Parks family. The camera is still rolling.

You can see Gerald Parks approaching the plane with his family in tow. Then, behind them at the dirt road, a truck arrives with armed men. They were followed. The gunmen opened fire. Right away, Patricia Parks is shot dead. Four more people are killed on the airstrip, including NBC reporter Don Harris and Senator Ryan. The cameraman Bob Brown is also killed. Many more are gravely wounded.

But Tracy is on the other plane with her brother Dale. Gerald doesn't know if they're alive. I couldn't get my seatbelt off. I heard my mom hollered and look at my wife Patty. If I looked back, she was set slumped over with her top of her head on. Finally, the shooting stops, and the truck drives away. I just stood there for a few seconds, and it's like a bad dream, or this can't be happening. We were expecting at any moment for them to come back.

In the smaller plane, a man who pretended to be a defector has opened fire at point blank. After shooting one of the adults, he turns his gun toward Dale, Tracy's brother. The sound went off, sound like the bullet came out, and my brother's hands flew back. I got out of the plane, and I flew down that airstrip. God gave me wings because I don't think I touched the ground. Gerald sees Tracy running toward him.

He means to shield Tracy from the horrible sight, but she's too fast. I told myself she was faking, so they wouldn't shoot her anymore. I knew that I had to get her to safety, so I headed the girls towards the jungle. I said, go in there, don't go too far, go in there, so you can't be seen, and wait till we call you. We just started running straight out into the jungle. As Gerald and his mother remain on the airstrip, Tracy, her sister Brenda and three other kids are now by themselves. We just ran so far because of the fears of Jones and Stilling and us, I'll find you, you escape. See if you can make it to any railway. See if you can get to any passport.

Try. I dare you to try. So we thought he was probably looking for us. Before night came, we went back to the jungle and started all over the kids. And no response. That's when my heart dropped, because I knew Guyana's one of the most dangerous jungles in the world. When darkness falls, the kids find a bent over tree to climb and spend the night. As the world around them turns pitch black, they hear gunshots.

We thought that it was them coming back to finish them off on the airstrip. We figured, okay, now Dad and M's gone. So now we don't have anybody. and that was the worst night I could ever recall in my life. November 19th, day two in the jungle. Tracy starts to feel ill. Having nothing to eat or drink, her condition deteriorates rapidly.

Her sister Brenda, being the eldest, does her best to keep the children moving, knowing that Jim Jones men are probably out there looking for them. Night falls in the second day. A search helicopter flies overhead, probing the grounds with its light. The children find cover to avoid. being seen. They can't risk going back to Jonestown. That night, Tracy develops a high fever.

Everyone else starts to get sick as well. And I remember just beg in the creator of this universe to tape me. The feeling of giving up was like a relief that you didn't have to keep trying. November 20th, day three, all five children are laying sick and exhausted on the jungle floor. Brenda no longer has the strength to carry the group along. but she can't let her little sister Tracy down. I just remember thinking that if we don't get out of here today, we're not going to get out at all. I heard this music out here in the middle of a jungle.

Who or where would even be playing it? Where would it be coming from? My sister hit me. She goes, get up. It was like it had snapped me back to reality, which allowed me to think. And as soon as that happened, that music turned to the sound of a generator.

of a generator. The group follows Brenda through the wilderness. Brenda hurries them to run between the trees, stopping at times to listen for the sound, then running again. After a long while, they see a group of armed men patrolling alongside a river. I thought they're going to either help us

or they're going to take us back to Jones, and I was too sick to care. Police come and told me that the kids had been found. For the first time, first time I had something to smile about. Tracy and Brenda are reunited with their father, their grandmother, and their brother Dale, alive and well. I knew when I saw him, I'm going home. I'm going to be able to go home. That was the first time I had ever really felt that since the day I had hit the gates to go in. Although Tracy and her sister can finally breathe a sigh of relief, the joy of this heartfelt reunion is short-lived.

They learned the details of what happened inside Jones Town the day of the attack. November 18th, two days earlier. At 4.30 p.m., Jim Jones calls the members of the People's Temple to assemble at the pavilion. The area is surrounded by armed guards. The meeting is recorded on audio tape. Gather in, folks, it's easy. It's easy. Jones has ordered for the cyanide to be mixed with the Kool-Aid.

Then, he forces his followers to drink it. If we can't live in peace, then let's die in peace. The tape is 45 minutes long. In it, you can hear Jim Jones making outrageous claims, speaking of an army coming to torture them. Plain as I know how to tell you, I've never lied to you. I never have lied to you. When some of the members protest and wish to leave, he refuses.

No, you're not going. You're not going. You're not going. Some members take the deadly drink willingly, while others are forced at gunpoint, the scene turns to chaos and the recording becomes unbearable to hear. Die with a degree of dignity. Lay down your life with dignity. Don't lay down with tears and agony. Don't be this way. Oh, God. A total of 918 people are killed in Jonestown, the first of which was Patricia Parks, Tracy's mother. I've looked at several pictures of my mom on that day. I'll never forget the look on her face. She was a loving person.

She didn't deserve to die. I didn't see her get shot, but I saw her brains in the plane, and I saw her laying out on the ground. They shot the reporters on the ground, the congressman. They come from the pickup, the dump truck from the other side and got off and stuck the gun to their heads, point blank. Kids have to go back to nothing without a mom, start life all over again. I was thinking about what I was going to have to live with the rest of my life.

The world is shook by what took place on November 18, 1978, but few lost more than Tracy Parks. All her life, she lived inside of the people's temple, and at 12 years old, she now has to enter the real world, without her mother there to help her. I just drank because that's how I hit my pain as a teenager. For all the survivors, demons from Jonestown show up in the years to come in different ways. A pattern of violence comes back too often.

On October 24, 1983, Paula Jean Neustle and her child are shot dead by Lawrence E. Mann, the child's father. On February 24, Tyrone Mitchell opens fire on an elementary school in Los Angeles before ending his life. In 2014, Chris O'Neill, a boy who escaped with Tracy and Brenda in the forest, is shot down by police after a domestic dispute. But not all survivors turn to violence. Even after the tragic death of her sister Brenda in 2013, Tracy Parks remains a fighter, determined to honor her mother's memory. This is harder than I thought. Thirty years after Patricia Park's death, her daughter Tracy returns to that airstrip.

There, she lays down five roses, a picture of her mother, and a cross. I just wanted to say goodbye. As for Gerald, Tracy's father, he devotes his life to his family. After helping to raise his two granddaughters, he becomes a great-grandpa to six girls. His family means everything to him, and he always makes sure to put them first. I think about my wife very often, whether she hears me or not, whether there's a hereafter or not. I go to bed at night, I tell her I love her. Gerald dies on November 1st, 2022.

In Jonestown, there was a sign hung up on the wall. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. Tracy didn't know what it meant back then, but today, this sign is the reason she shares her story. She says, if I keep quiet, Jim Jones wins. A tragedy of that magnitude affects you the rest of your life. Either you flail or you succeed, and I chose to succeed because I wanted my mom to be proud of me. Emergency, which says? A fire.

March 4th, 1980, the city of Stevenage, England, is rocked by an infringe. at the house where Susan Losen lives with her four-year-old daughter. Amanda, a passing milkman rushes in and is able to rescue the child.