Posted on 01/22/2005 4:22:17 PM PST by Graybeard58
Sometime the night of Jan. 5 as Janelle Hornickel and Michael Wamsley made call after call to 911, a Sarpy County sheriff's deputy discovered footprints in the snow.
The footprints were near the gate to the old Lyman-Richey gravel pit in western Sarpy County.
The deputy followed the tracks, which were filling with snow, onto the gravel pit property until they disappeared near a frozen pond, said Sarpy County Chief Deputy Jeff Davis.
The deputy walked a quarter of a mile around a machine shed on the property and around a trailer. But he found no sign of the couple, who authorities said Friday were under the influence of methamphetamine when they froze to death in the snow.
Deputies even positioned cars at either end of the gravel pit and turned on emergency lights and sirens, hoping that if Wamsley and Hornickel were there they would hear the noise or see the lights.
"There's four different sand pits, they were just guessing on the one they might have been at," Davis said. "And that's only at Sarpy County."
Douglas, Saunders and Cass Counties have sand pits as well, he said.
After about 20 minutes at the gravel pit, the deputy returned empty-handed and the search was focused elsewhere, he said.
Sarpy County deputies would learn later how close they had come to the couple.
Discovery of the footprints is noted by dispatchers on 911 tapes that were made public Friday, along with the toxicology tests that indicated the presence of meth in Wamsley and Hornickel.
During their ordeal, the couple took refuge in the cab of a dredge at the gravel pit. Their bodies were discovered within three-quarters of a mile of the cab.
Meantime, after conducting dozens of interviews over the past week, investigators served a search warrant Friday in Kearney, Neb., and arrested two people whom authorities link to the lost couple. Click To Enlarge Judith Morel
According to Davis, the night before Wamsley and Hornickel got lost, they stayed at the Kearney home of Judith Morel, 48, and her son, Mica Morel, 19. The Morels were arrested on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine and appeared Friday in Buffalo County Court on charges of felony possession of meth.
Davis declined to say whether investigators believe the Morels supplied Wamsley and Hornickel with the potent illegal stimulant.
Kearney Police Chief Dan Lynch said the Morels had been under investigation but police hadn't had enough information before Friday to make an arrest. Information that Sarpy officers provided to Kearney police allowed them to obtain and serve the warrant.
Mica Morel is involved in two other pending felony drug cases.
Also, Wamsley was in a traffic accident Jan. 3 near Kearney while driving Hornickel's black 2000 Ford Ranger pickup.
Wamsley was alone in the pickup about 6 p.m. when he swerved in front of another pickup as the two vehicles were headed west on Highway 30 about 11/2 miles east of Kearney, according to the accident report.
The driver of the second pickup slammed on his brakes but struck the left rear of Hornickel's pickup, which then hit a sign post. Damage was most severe at the left rear of her pickup. No tickets were issued.
Wamsley and Hornickel, both 20, froze to death Jan. 5 in rural Sarpy County after her pickup got stuck in snow.
Hornickel was found wearing high-heeled boots, blue jeans and a hooded T-shirt. Wamsley was wearing blue jeans and a hooded sweat shirt. Temperatures that night dropped to 4 degrees below zero.
Urine tests performed by the Creighton University Medical Center revealed that methamphetamine, amphetamine and marijuana were in their systems.
Authorities also confirmed the discovery of meth in Hornickel's stranded truck. The meth found, 0.3 of a gram, is high-powered crystal meth, also called ice.
The results, along with recordings of the couple's 911 calls, help provide an explanation for Hornickel and Wamsley's disoriented phone calls as they wandered lost in rural Sarpy County.
Henry Nipper, director of toxicology at Creighton Medical Laboratories, said the two young people were impaired by the levels of meth, which can cause confusion, anxiety and hallucinations. It also might explain why they wore only light clothing despite bitter cold, he said.
"Mentally, it's understood that an individual would exhibit irrational behavior," Nipper said.
Hornickel, a student at Creighton University, had known Wamsley since both attended high school in Ord, Neb. Wamsley and Hornickel shared an apartment in Omaha.
Hornickel's family released a statement: "Janelle had a beautiful life. She touched many lives in her short time here. Her death is a tragic loss to us. We want to thank all of those who helped in the search and gave up their time so our daughter could come home. We want to use our experiences from this tragedy in a positive way to help benefit others."
Sarpy County Sheriff Pat Thomas appealed to the community for assistance with the fight against illegal drugs.
"There's going to be a big emphasis on technological improvements with the cellular telephone, and we encourage that," he said. "But if people could come forward and help us with this war on drugs, we may be able to win.
"As it is now, we're losing."
Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said he could not pin down the times of death for Hornickel or Wamsley, but Thomas said he believes it was shortly after their last 911 call at 4:20 that morning.
According to toxicology tests, Hornickel had 495 nanograms per milliliter of meth in her system. Wamsley had 127 nanograms.
"So she did have a lot more in her system," Nipper said.
He said the tests don't show when the meth was taken, the frequency with which it was taken or how it was ingested
20 years old. How sad. There are a lot of crystal freaks down here in Florida, and I honestly cannot understand what motivates them.
terribly sad.
And the gene pool breathes a heartfelt sigh of relief.
I listened to them. dreadful.
The 911 operator was a b
"So she did have a lot more in her system," Nipper said.
The sad thing is: everybody probably considers this guy to be a "professional"...
Very sad.
Very sad. I didn't know that about the operator.
One of my daughters was a paramedic for a few years, and 911 operators could be a serious problem in terms of relating the seriousness of a problem.
Yeah. . .I've seen that problem years ago (in a previous life) when I was a police officer.
Seems a chance that this couple might have been rescued in time. . .perhaps. . .if this '911 lady'; had been doing her job; instead of trying to be judgmental; if not almost vindictive.
There were using a cell phone; maybe they could have traced the signal . . .I don't know; seems a few reference points were offered (Did not listen in entirety. . .too much).
I do hope this tape becomes a learning opportunity. . .used in high schools, et al. . in drug education programs. . .to show these kids; just how far out. . .drugs take you.
And as in this case; and many others; there is no coming back. . .
Really sorry for these two. . .but some mistakes are more final than others.
They traced the cell phone to the tower the signal was bouncing from and that gave them a very big general area.
I don't know that the technology exists that would allow them to get any closer than that.
I didn't listen to the recording, I only read the transcripts. Rudeness or an uncaring attitude from the 911 operator did not come through on the transcripts but I guess it was there to be heard in the recordings, according to other posters here.
Thanks for info re cell phone. . .Interesting re the transcripts vs the 'voice'. . .if you listen to her responding; she seems hostle.
She IS annoyed, first perhaps; because the girl is making little sense (explaining the 'cars in trees etc.) She may have thought it was a '911' prank call.
But. . .drugs create emergencies; and this kind of response cannot be dismissed. The was a blizzard. . . It WAS clear; they were freezing and were afraid of freezing to death.
I am sure; this woman is upset by the turn of events as well.
Yeah, if only she located the people putting the car parts in the trees...the folks that didn't speak English.. the dogs... the "toll booth"...
They were high as kites and obviously hallucinating... and paid for it with their lives.
I agree with you completely.
And for all that woman knew, that girl could have been a diabetic having a serious insulin reaction, or someone that took an overdose in a suicide attempt. I'm diabetic. I've had insulin reactions in the past where I'm sure that I've sounded like I was on drugs or drunk, but I've never had a 911 dispatcher talk to me that way. She was a cold, heartless witch.
I did add that. . .' She IS annoyed, first perhaps; because the girl is making little sense (explaining the 'cars in trees etc.) and that. . .'she may have thought it was a '911' prank call.'
. . .but as I mentioned also. . . .'drugs create emergencies; and this kind of response cannot be dismissed. There was a blizzard. . . It WAS clear; they were freezing and were afraid of freezing to death'.
But the I know the bottom line is theirs. . .This couple made a huge. . .mistake and have paid dearly for it.
I did add that. . .' She IS annoyed, first perhaps; because the girl is making little sense (explaining the 'cars in trees etc.) and that. . .'she may have thought it was a '911' prank call.'
. . .but as I mentioned also. . . .'drugs create emergencies; and this kind of response cannot be dismissed. There was a blizzard. . . It WAS clear; they were freezing and were afraid of freezing to death'.
But, of course. . .the bottom line is theirs. . .This couple made a huge. . .mistake and have paid dearly for it.
They also asked for help; and I am sorry they did not get it; in time.
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