Kimberly Jo Dotts was murdered at the young and innocent age of 15 by her own friends and classmates. She was a sweet young girl with some learning disablities and desperate to be accepted and fit in. That desire to fit in ended up being responsible for her demise. She found herself at a popular party spot in the backwoods of Clearfield County with a group she thought were her friends. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I will keep this story short because I don't know exactly what happened that day and I don't think the whole story ever came out. I will also not mention names but if the readers are curious they can do a search online and find that information very easily.
So what happened to Kimberly? Apparently there was a group of kids that called themselves the Runaway Gang that had planned on heading to Florida just for something more exciting than their life in Clearfield County. As they planned, there were a couple kids present that were convinced that Kimberly was going to snitch on them. That just didn't set right with them and they decided to do something about it. They put a noose around her neck and dragged her around the clearing. When that wasn't enough to fulfill their evil appetites they threw the rope up over a overhanging branch and proceeded to lynch her. First her body went into convulsions but then went limp. They let her down but it was too late it seemed. When suddenly there seemed to be some sign of life one of her supposed friends repeatedly bashed her skull with a large rock until she was dead. At this point they hid her body under brush and limbs and left her alone and lifeless in the forest. And where did the kids go after that? Believe it or not they caught a ride to Florida and laughed and carried on as if none of this had ever happened.
And so the search began. Where had Kimberly gone and why can't she be found? Nine days later her body was found by searchers and she was barely recognizable. In very short order arrests were made and two of the main perpetrators were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Others were sent to juvenile detention centers. Kimberly's parents were left to deal with this tragedy. To make matters even worse, Kimberly was bludgeoned on Mothers Day. This is such a tragic story but I felt it needed to be told again in remembrance of Kimberly Jo Dotts and those that suffered the pain of this tragedy. The scene of this tragedy happened at a place known as Gallows Harbor named because of a 19th Century hanging that happened there.
You may be wondering why we make this entry at this time. Well ever since we learned of this tragedy, we felt compelled to visit this spot. It's not an easy place to find and requires 4 wheel drive to get back in there. It pretty much took us an entire day to find the spot. As we made our way back to the location we spotted the monument and knew we had finally arrived at the spot where Kimberly had lost her life. The horror that this poor little girl had to experience is actually too awful to even think about. We just ask that maybe you will remember Kimberly and her parents the next time you close your eyes and bow your heads in prayer. Here is a picture of the makeshift monument that sits deep in the woods at Gallows Harbor.
I guess I need to have the words Whoda' Thunk to make this a legitimate post on this Blog. Here's my futile attempt at including these words. Whoda' Thunk there could be so much violence and hatred in these young people to commit such a horrible crime. Whoda' Thunk a place that should be so peaceful could be so disturbing to visit. Whoda' Thunk something so horrible was going to happen that day. Kimberly certainly never suspected that. She was just doing what whe so desired to do and that was be with friends.
1 comment:
This is so sad. Thank you for bringing awareness through your blog.
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