r/UnresolvedMysteriesUnresolved Disappearance
Patti Krieger - Lost to Nature or Murdered by Boyfriend?
u/homehealthgirl301d, 18h
I was attempting to find a missing person's case that I had read about years ago about a woman who drove off with her dog never to be found again (hopefully still forthcoming!) and I discovered this more recent 2010 case of missing Patti Krieger.
As usual it's ridiculously long.
The Case
Patti Krieger went missing on October 2, 2010 from Skagit County, Washington, specifically Sauk Mountain.
She was with her beloved dog, Bear, who is described as a 100lb Rottweiler, her boyfriend, Larry Pressley, and five people who are described as friends/family. They were hiking on Sauk Mountain in order to spread the ashes of Pressley's recently deceased parents.
According to Pressley and their companions that day after the ceremony Krieger became very emotional. She and her dog separated from their group and started down the wrong trail. Accounts vary at this point; I've read a version that said the companions said nothing, assuming she knew what she was doing/where she was going, one account that said Pressley and the companions called after her and she ignored them, and one account where Pressley called after her, turned to acknowledge him and then kept going.
At any rate Krieger and Bear took a different trail and the companions assumed they'd all meet at the trailhead on the base of the mountain, so they continued on their way. Once they reached the trailhead they quickly realized Krieger was not there, nor coming down any of the incoming trails.
They waited for an undetermined amount of time before leaving without Krieger and Bear. According to Patti's son (unrelated to Pressley) he believes they left after only a few minutes of waiting. I've yet to find a source that provides any information on the amount of time they waited for her initially.
The following information is not from news sources, but rather from a website ran by Krieger's family and friends "Find Patti Krieger" (bolded parts by me for emphasis):
After Learning that their 65 year old Friend, Patti Krieger, had not made it back to the trail head, the hikers Patti was with decided not to wait for her and instead, LEFT THE MOUNTAIN. Larry Pressley (Pattis boyfriend) went with some of the other hikers to a local gas station and bought burritos and beer. Some of the other hikers went to a local supermarket and went grocery shopping. 4 hours later, Larry and some of his friends went back to Sauk Mountain and at that time, reported Patti missing.
According to her son he was not alerted to her missing status until the next day, a Sunday, when she didn't show up for her job. She had worked for Fred Meyer's for thirty years and when she was absent her boss immediately called her and then her emergency contact (her son). Her son after not being able to contact his mother went to file a police report and found that one had already been opened the day before.
Patti Krieger and Bear were officially missing.
Within 48hrs search teams for four counties arrived and by foot searched the mountain and trails with no results. The day after a helicopter search was started using Forward Looking Infrared Technology -- basically thermal imaging -- with no results.
Search and Rescue dogs were used at some point within the first 48hrs. They hit on the parking lot and on the main trail, which lead Police to believe she had in fact gotten off the mountain, perhaps after her group had left. By 10/4 the police had officially stated they did not believe she was on the mountain.
They quickly found that Krieger had no personal items on her except her hearing aids. Various members of the group turned out to have her personal items such as Driver's license, wallet, and car keys. Her cellphone was later found to be at Pressley's house.
26 days after she disappears Bear is found in poor condition, malnourished and emaciated in the area of Sauk Mountain, specifically at the 4mi mark on Sauk Mountain Rd. I could not find exactly where this mile marker was but here is a map that shows the Sauk Mountain Road where Bear was found, and the blue dot notes where the trail head was, the beige lines are the actual trail to the top of Mt. Sauk.
After her dog was found, police changed their theory, believing that she may not have left the mountain.
Her son, friends, and family of Krieger believe that she is deceased and still regularly search the mountain for her remains.
Theories
Nature or Hiking Accident
This is always the first theory that needs to be proposed when someone goes missing in the wilderness. Krieger was a marathoner and considered to be in excellent physical health but was not familiar with hiking.
From what I've gathered there is only one official trail up Mt. Sauk, and it is relatively easy however has a lot of switchbacks --- places where the trail zig zags because of a steep incline. If there is only one official trail, what trail did Krieger head off on?
The Washington Trails Association might hold the answer in their guide to Sauk Mountain:
The way is steep and narrow, and in some places eroded from hikers cutting the switchbacks. Please don’t, the switchbacks are there to prevent erosion and environmental damage to the trail.
It's possible that Krieger, unfamiliar with the trials and upset from the ceremony decided to follow a straight but steep path that had been stamped down by previous hikers. Taking a look at popular trail websites shows usevidence that it's pretty common. In that photo the dashed line is the "official" trail, and the blue is what the hiker actually did.
A clearer map shows that the hiker that submitted this seemingly followed the official trail (white) but obviously was able to cut through a major part in the bottom left.
Perhaps Krieger wanted a few minutes to herself and thought that she could handle the steeper path down the mountain. Like so many others before her she could have easily fallen and injured herself, eventually succumbing to the elements. I think it's quite common that many people who go missing in National Forests or while hiking only strayed a little off the beaten path and are then lost forever.
Since 1979 the county that Krieger disappeared in has had 70 reported Homicides, Attempted Homicides, and Solicitation to Commit Homicide.
Murdered by Pressley
This theory is one that is very popular with Krieger's family and friends, and have been since the beginning. I'm going to try to show the facts before we delve into some of Patterson's stories about Pressley.
Larry Pressley was, as mentioned, Krieger's boyfriend. It is mentioned several times in various news articles that Pressley is a felon, but only one source from K5 Newsstates that he had been sentenced previously for "child rape, drive by shooting, and assualt on police officers". We do know that he is one of the last people to see Krieger alive.
According to The Concrete Herald, Krieger's son, Alan Patterson, stated that two days after Krieger had gone missing he was aiding in the search when along Sauk Mountain Road (not the trail) he encountered Pressley, who thus far had not aided in the search of Krieger. He claimed Pressley was acting suspiciously.
The rest of the information that leads credence to this theory is supplied by the family and friends that run the official website for Krieger's disappearance. Larry Pressley has been very non-cooperative with the family; he was very upset when they started a Facebook page after her disappearance and confronted the family about it, when he found out a longtime friend/coworker of Krieger was running it he confronted him as well. He was also seen many times driving Krieger's luxury vehicles around town as opposed to his own vehicle.
The family was having a court dispute over their rights to Krieger's house and belongings. Rather than cooperate, Pressley decided to vacate the house. When the family finally gained entrance, Krieger's house and belongings were described as "trashed". Titles to her cars were left out on kitchen counters, her safe and safety deposit box had been opened and rifled through with items missing. The family moved Krieger's vehicles to another location where they were involved in a drive-by shooting, they believe Pressley to be behind this as retaliation.
Less than a year after Krieger's disappearance Pressley was married to another woman.
He is currently serving ten years in prison for charges unrelated to Krieger's disappearance.
Cover up
One of the more plausible theories is combination of the two above; perhaps Krieger did fall victim to an accident, Bear ran off and the group didn't know what to do. They went out bought some beer/groceries and decided what to do. They'd report her and the dog missing, say she went off down another trail.
The following is, of course, statements from family and friends about those involved in the group. I won't post their names on this forum, but they are visible on the "Find Patti Krieger" site listed above and below in the links section as well as on their facebook page.
A relative of Pressley was given Krieger's show-model Nova (a car) after her disappearance - it has been reported through the tipline that the relative has referred to the vehicle as "hush money".
A girlfriend to the above relative gave conflicting stories to the police and to news crews that interviewed her after Krieger's disappearance. She broke up with the relative shortly after Krieger's disappearance, and committed suicide in 2013, leaving behind a child.
A friend of Pressley; this is one of the friends that went grocery shopping in the four hour interim between Krieger's disappearance and the initial police report. He currently lives in Pressley's house while he is in prison.
There were two more people in the group that day that little to no information is known about.
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KikiCollins
•
301d, 2h
I'm from Skagit County, I personally think the boyfriend and the friends had something to do with her death. The fact that they acted so callously about her disappearance and treated her house and belongings with such disrespect and entitlement makes me believe they knew she wasn't coming back.
Her son still drives around with a huge sign in the back of his truck asking for information, and I've even seen him standing on the corner at major intersections in town holding it. It breaks my heart.
19
homehealthgirl
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300d, 21h
He's done a good job of keeping her name out there, I found recent articles commemorating her and urging people to go to the police.
He very much reminds me of Maura Murray's father who does the same thing despite thinking that she's more than likely deceased.
7
Cecilia_Tallis
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300d, 21h
I'm copying this from the -Information We Have learned Since Patti Went Missing- section of the Find Patti website.
" In 2012, Larry had given his power of attorney to his new wife, who was also in jail now. After being in jail for a bit and getting off of her drug addictions, she starts thinking clearly. She is MAD at Larry for letting her take a 12 year rap for things found in their house, a house they shared. Dawnica has lots of time to think. She gave her power of attorney to a friend of hers, Lori Struthers. . Lori, while looking for some of her personal belongings at the house that Larry and Dawnica shared in Concrete, Washington, found a backpack in Larrys attic. The back pack appears to contain some serious blood stains. It also appears to be the same back pack that Larry used during the hike in 2010, when Patti went missing. The back pack was given to Pattis Son and in turn he turned it over to the Skagit County Sheriffs Office for DNA testing. This new evidence brought some renewed media interest and again, Pattis name and story was on Tv. This has brought us some renewed hope once again. Larry found out his new wife was talking and co operating with FIND PATTI KRIEGER and he has since revoked her power of attorney. He gave his power of attorney to his family member, Matt Robinson, who was also on the mountain with them the day Patti went missing. Matt and the rest of Larrys relatives who were on the mountain have been less than co operative in our efforts to find Patti or her remains."
I can't seem to find any info of DNA test results or if they were even done.
Interesting the boyfriend (now in jail) has some rather telling tattoos. Tear drops on the face and the police code for criminally insane on his neck. And one of people that were on the mountain that day that wasn't a family member and who is not living in Larry's house rent free (while he is in prison), killed herself.
I think there should have been a more in depth investigation of the scumbag boyfriend. Before she went missing, Patti repeatedly found Larry to be in possession of a gun (he was a felon) and drugs. He blew up the second time she found his gun and requested he get rid of it. She also expressed to more than one person, she thought Larry would kill her instead of moving him and his criminal friends off her property.
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ittakesaredditor
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300d, 2h
The back pack appears to contain some serious blood stains. It also appears to be the same back pack that Larry used during the hike in 2010, when Patti went missing.
This implies either a seriously stupid criminal or it's not human blood. Or it is and he keeps souvenirs, in which case there are probably more skeletons in his closet.
Also, unless someone took the dog with them, tied it up and starved it. If it was found remotely near the site she was last scene, it's likely she fell off something, died and the dog stayed wit her till it couldn't anymore. Dogs like Rotts, Dobbies, GSDs, BMs don't take too kindly with people being aggressive with their human (most of them bond to just one person). And they're fiercely loyal which lends more credit to the theory that Bear stayed by her body till he couldn't.
Suicide can come from multiple reasons, not necessarily covering up a murder, it could have nothing to do with the case at all. As for Larry, it sounds like he's a career criminal but a career criminal is far from being a murderer and you know what they say. "The only way to keep a secret between 3 people is if 2 of them are dead." There's NO WAY, a group of 5 people could have kept a murder secret for more than a year.
And honestly, if the family were hostile with Larry from the start, that could have a big role to play in his lack of cooperation. No one likes being accused of murder publicly.
As for the way they treated her possessions, they might have known she wasn't coming back but they might not necessarily be responsible for her death. If a number in the group were sketchy creatures, they would likely not report an accidental fall, because given the type of witnesses the cops were dealing with, it would have turned into a murder investigation pretty quickly. And people with multiple run-ins with the law tend to not like police attention on them, period.
I say they witnessed her accidental death (she's fit but an inexperienced hiker, doesn't sound like she knew the area well...not necessarily well-dressed for the activity and outdoor survival...it just sounds like she either wandered off and died from exposure or fell off one of the switchbacks, it does look like some exposure is involved), knew if they reported it that it would look suspicious because of their criminal history, decided not to and basically lived life at large at the expense of a dead woman for as long as they could. Scumbags for sure, murderers maybe not.
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hectorabaya
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301d, 18h
I think it seems most likely that she fell victim to an accident. An inexperienced hiker who apparently isn't carrying any gear and is underdressed, upset about something, wandering off on a side trail (a game trail is also a likely possibility if there's only one trail up the mountain)...it's just such a perfect recipe for a wilderness accident.
The cover-up theory doesn't make sense to me, because what kind of accident would make them afraid to tell the police where she was? And the murder seems unlikely too, since everyone reports her going off alone and her boyfriend staying with the group. They'd all have to be accomplices. Plus they did report her missing (since the police already had a missing persons report from the day she went missing, it must have been the group), which seems like an odd thing for people trying to conceal a crime to do.
I think that people having her personal effects is a bit of a red herring. It doesn't sound like she was carrying a pack, and she was wearing jeans. If I was hiking in those conditions, I'd probably give people with more secure pockets/bags my license and keys to carry too, so I didn't have to have them in my pockets and be worrying about losing them. Especially if she planned ahead and didn't want to carry her purse, and like many women only had a larger wallet that doesn't fit comfortably in your pockets anyway.
Her boyfriend sounds scummy as hell, but her getting lost or injured and dying of natural causes just seems far more likely than murder in this case.
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homehealthgirl
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301d, 18h
I agree, especially considering it was a very large group to all be accomplices.
I think something that does make the murder theory more palpable is if you consider the four hour time gap. Two of them (Pressley and one of his relatives) went and allegedly got beer and burritos while the others grocery shopped. As far as I was able to find there was no official statement on where exactly the members were, and for four hours nonetheless.
Logically wouldn't you wait for someone you thought was separated from the group? Or even if you had someone who really had to go to the bathroom or needed to get something to eat, wouldn't you head straight back to the mountain? Why (possibly) leave her there for four hours?
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hectorabaya
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301d, 17h
That was a big sticking point for me too, but it could be explained by them being annoyed with her for heading off alone, not realizing the danger she was in and thinking she had her cell phone and would call when she gets back to the parking lot (assuming for a moment they didn't realize that her phone was back at the house). I mean, they don't seem like the most levelheaded or responsible people, so I could picture them heading off to get something to eat, drink some beer and then going, "Holy shit, it's been four hours! Where is she?" I've seen people do that before. It always kind of boggles my mind, but people can be pretty dumb.
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homehealthgirl
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301d, 17h
From some of the reports I got the vibe that cell phone may have been purposefully left; perhaps because they were spreading ashes and she felt it was the respectful thing to do?
but people can be pretty dumb.
Honestly, based off what I know about her boyfriend I don't find it that shocking that he would find it funny/acceptable to leave her there for four hours while they went off.
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hectorabaya
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301d, 17h
He definitely sounds like a terrible person. Normally I think that the family suspecting foul play in circumstances like this is really grasping, but in this case I totally get why they think he had something to do with it.
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WittiestScreenName
•
153d
Agreed.
1
savahontas
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301d, 13h
Honestly, based off what I know about her boyfriend I don't find it that shocking that he would find it funny/acceptable to leave her there for four hours while they went off
Yeah, absolutely, maybe he was mad and was punishing her for running off. Like, let her sit in that parking lot while we get beer/burritos and see how she likes it. Thank you for posting, this is a new one for me. If I have learned anything from this sub it is to take the woods VERY seriously.
9
zaffiro_in_giro
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299d, 14h
I wonder if the lie could be to do with why she left the group. If she had an argument with the boyfriend and stormed off, that would explain why he left without waiting for her, and why he took a while to report her missing - he thought she was just cooling off and would come back in her own time. Then, when he did report it, he didn't want to admit to the argument in case it made the police suspicious that he'd killed her. And the other people in the group might not have witnessed the argument, so they accepted his explanation that she left because she became emotional - explaining the whole 'five people can't keep a secret' thing and why no one's come forward with the truth since.
7
athennna
•
297d
Maybe they thought if she died they wouldn't get anything, but if she was ''missing" they'd have time to steal her belongings. It sounds like she was wealthy, multiple cars, etc.
1
BiscuitCat1
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301d, 18h
Very interesting. I'm not sure what to think as to what happened to her. Can't believe the boyfriend just left for all those hours without making sure she was ok.
6
jilliefish
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300d, 12h
Aw, I can't help but feel bad for the dog. He was likely with her when she died.
I really hope her family finds answers. I wouldn't doubt if it turned out she was murdered. Leaving someone on a mountain for 4 hours is really messed up, and if the boyfriend was separated from the group for most of that time, I can see him going back to find her.... Maybe yell at her for leaving the group and eventually kill her.
But still, even if that happened you wouldn't expect the dog to be lost for so long. Hm.
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hectorabaya
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300d, 7h
The dog being found in poor condition in that area actually was the factor that really topped me over into thinking this was an accidental death where the scummy boyfriend just took advantage, honestly. I've been on a few suicide/accidental death calls where a dog stuck by the body until it (the dog) was near death. I guess it's possible in a murder, but i figure Bear would follow someone he trusted (Pressley), or that a murderer trying to conceal evidence would remove the dog (and again this is a dog that knows the alleged murderer, so that should be easy). It just doesn't seem likely that someone could kill her, get what? 4-5 other people to stay quiet for years, and get her dog to stay out there without tying the dog up or something.
7
helenayo
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301d, 15h
Awesome post, OP!
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homehealthgirl
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301d, 15h
Thanks!
6
Meow__Bitch
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299d, 15h
I have to go with the most logical conclusion with this one. Patti most likely got lost and succumbed to the elements. It makes the most sense. Even if she was fit, even a small accident (sprained ankle, twisted knee) is much more likely to be life threatening for a 65-year-old out in nature. Also Bear being found on the mountain nearly a month later proves that even with searches, things are easily missed.
Even with that being said, her boyfriend obviously is a piece of work, who handled the situation completely wrong. Possibly their story about Patti walking off on her own isn't the whole truth... Maybe they walked way ahead of her because she was having trouble/going slow? They figured they'd go to the store and then return to the parking lot instead of waiting for her? That would imply some guilt on their parts.
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homehealthgirl
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299d, 13h
She was definitely not an experienced hiker, which would explain why she might have taken what she thought was a trail when it was just a worn spot from people avoiding switchback.
3
dragged2death
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296d, 10h
I hiked this trail about a year ago. All I could think of was, how can someone possibly get lost here? The trail is very obvious. It's a short hike on a fairly small mountain. The majority of the trail is in the open as opposed being in the trees. However, there is another trail that spurs off from it near the top though it clearly goes down the other side to a small lake below. I really don't think she's on that mountain.
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[deleted]
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300d, 7h
[deleted]
homehealthgirl
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300d, 7h
Thanks, I try to make the type of posts that I like to see myself.
3
luckylindyswildgoose
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301d, 8h
This is probably way off base, but could she have purposely disappeared/committed suicide? It seems unlikely considering that Bear was with her, but she was upset about her parents and her boyfriend sounds like a tool.Maybe she just gave up?
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homehealthgirl
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301d, 7h
It was her boyfriend's parents that they were spreading the ashes of, which is why the group was Pressley's family and friends.
I think suicide would be out of character for her; she was in no financial straits, she had plans to run a marathon with her grandchildren in Alaska, as well as her job that she loved.
3
asafoetida
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299d, 18h
It seems like calling Larry Pressley Patti Krieger's "boyfriend" creates a false impression regarding his immediate response to her not coming out of the woods. He was not a romantic partner as much as a much younger person who appeared to be exploiting Patti financially, and whose behavior she was increasingly unhappy about.
It would be interesting to know what they fought about on the trail.
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homehealthgirl
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299d, 18h
There are rumors about him exploiting her, but I tried to keep the post as close to the hard facts as I could.
I love wasn't aware of any article or report that said they argued on the trail.
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asafoetida
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298d, 5h
I'm reading that into the statement that appears on the family's website that the people who were on the hike claimed Patti "became emotional" and went off on her own. Anger is the emotion that is most likely to result in someone leaving a group.
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homehealthgirl
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297d, 22h
Wow, that's honestly something I never considered. It makes a lot more sense than being upset over her boy friend's parents --- although I get the feeling Krieger was an emotional person.
3
noebudy
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137d, 12h
There appears to be an interesting connection with this missing woman and this case in Skagit County:
http://www.skagitbreaking.com/top-story/sedrocouplesonarrested/
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WittiestScreenName
•
269d
I knew the girl who committed suicide and am an acquaintance of the former boyfriend. I'm friends of her child's uncle. I always wondered if the guilt got to her. She had problems already though.
Patti used to own a house near me and a friends house. Lotta land issues it seems.
1
playnstrate
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154d, 3h
Here is an interesting FACT!!! I am Patti's son and i had a conversation with someome less than 4 hours ago who's exact words were " he will kill me if I talk to you " . My mother was murdered and Larry Pressley was not the only one involved!! Two other people had a lot to lose if my mother chose to be the upstanding woman that life had enabled her to be... Nathan Evans and Travis Cabe. These two and Larry were robbing people and selling stolen goods for assault rifles. I have met the folks that they pistol whipped as well as have had posession of some of the stolen goods, recovered from my mothers property, before they were turned over to the police. When I, not if I, discover the full truth these men will wish they were back in prison getting bent over versus option "B" which will more than likely be the only one available!!!!!!