ZODIAC'S LOST HIS BOTTLE

10/29/2019

Unearthed by Michael Morford in 2013, here is an unusual addition to the Zodiac Killer communications featured in the Modesto Bee newspaper on May 11th 1973. A bottle was discovered floating in the Delta by Paradise Point near Stockton, California, containing a purported message from the Zodiac Killer. It stated "The war is over, thank God. Please help me. Am still the Zodiac and going to kill a baby. P.S. Help! Save the world". It was self dated February 2nd.

Paradise Point is 44 miles from the Carquinez Bridge (and Interstate 80) which runs from Vallejo to Crockett, and about 10 miles from Lodi, California. The San Joaquin River flows west from the high elevations of the Sierra Nevada Range to the valley floor and then heads north to Vernalis where it flows into the Delta. The area where the bottle was discovered is punctuated by the White Slough Wildlife Area - 880 acres of man-made ditches, canals, freshwater marshes and grassland. It is highly improbable a bottle dropped into the water by Vallejo would find itself here three months later, and every chance the bottle was thrown or placed into the water in the vicinity of where it was found, or east of this location.

Click image to enter Google Maps

On January 15th 1973, the United States, North and South Vietnam and the Vietcong signed a peace agreement and so ended direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam war. Therefore, we know that the message in the bottle declaring "the war is over", was very likely dated February 2nd 1973 and placed into the water around this date. It must have sat in the water for just over three months before being discovered if this was the case. Of course, it could have been backdated and placed in the water more recently - but there seems little to be gained by such subterfuge.

The author of this note can easily mimic previous Zodiac communications, so very little can be done to prove its authenticity or otherwise. The phraseology of "please help me" is identical to the wording on the Melvin Belli Letter mailed on December 20th 1969, and similar to the "I just need help" on the December 7th 1969 Fairfield Letter. To give some form of timeline to this communication - it was likely placed into the water six months prior to the Albany Times Union Letter mailed on August 1st 1973, stating "You were wrong, I am not dead. I am alive and well and I'm going to start killing again".

There would be a devastating number of murders in Lodi, California that year (10 miles from Paradise Point) when on November 9th 1973 Willie L. Steelman (28) and Douglas E. Gretzler (22) were arrested for the massacre of nine people in a family home. Walter Parkin, his wife and two children, along with five friends had been bound and shot in the head. Stories of the Forgotten.

Desert Sun: November 9th 1973. Click image for full article.

Thanks to Michael Morford and Zodiac Killer Site forum.

34 Comments

10/29/2019 06:52:48 pm

I certainly can see Zodiac doing something like this, although the uncertainty of someone actually finding the message might make it a less desirable use of his time. I also can see someone doing it for a sick prank. Intriguing that it was located at "Paradise" point, along with the phrasing of the message.

10/29/2019 07:04:00 pm

I hope you don't mind me going off topic again, but since Halloween is upon us, and I've come across something unusual, I would like to share it with a post. This has to do with the Halloween card. I don't know where I read the original idea, whether on this site or someone else's, but comments were made regarding the formation of the skeleton's hand, whether the "ok" sign could have stood for either number "26" or "30." There were ideas about "14" and "26," which may have been good ideas. I had one of my own, and while I didn't find what I was looking for, I did find something else highly unusual. While it may be a wild coincidence, I certainly don't know what the odds would be on finding something like this. In order to make this easier to read, I'm going to break it up into a few different comment postings. I hope you will not be mad at me for doing so.

SULLY link

10/31/2019 12:11:52 am

JD - Take a look if you can on YouTube - zsolved14 - He only has 3 videos but his breakdown of Zs Halloween postcard is the best I've ever seen 🎃 🎃 🎃

Roger

10/31/2019 06:10:45 pm

I found the videos interesting too and although some of the ideas seem convincing at first glance, it is not hard to find many flaws in the methodology, especially in the solution he proposes to the MyNameIs cryptogram. Not many people with professional training in forensics and reasoning are going to buy this solution, except perhaps those who are already sold on the idea that LK was the Zodiac. But sadly their grasp will be a tenuous one. And there lies the problem.

I am always wary of any presenter who shows a suspect's name and his personal details first and then proceeds to show us a clever way he has found to make the name and numbers fit the cryptogram. I think I have seen some very convincing a priori solutions to this cryptogram for just about every suspect to date. Of course if I were to post on YouTube all of the thousands of alternative solutions that reveal names that are not currently on the suspect list, very few people would be interested.

The Zodiac was so eclectic that the name of just about anybody alive in the world at that time, together with a part of their address, or their phone number, or their criminal record number, their social security number, their car registration, or birth date etc. etc. could be fitted to the Zodiac puzzle.

Before posting anything as a "solution" we should first ask ourselves "Does it pass the basic tests of logical reasoning?" Unfortunately when it comes to the all too numerous Zodiac solutions on offer, the vast majority fail. Here is a good starting point: https://kreativcopywriting.com/10-logical-fallacies-know-spot/

Richard

11/1/2019 02:34:58 am

Having examined the Halloween Card myself, it is so easy to create these "astounding" solutions. The sheer fact that hundreds of solutions to the Halloween Card exist, shows the card's ability to be manipulated. He gets 3241 from the hand only because he already has the identification number and knows in advance what he's looking for. It's a classic case of having the answer first and working towards it. The same with pet suspects. The problem begins because he deliberately chooses to read the 14 on the hand backwards. It could easily read 3214 or 3014 or 1423 etc. We could add it up, multiply it etc. You can literally make the Halloween Card sing the national anthem. In his 408 cipher "solution" he just ignores the number 7 because it's not convenient. If the author of the 408 was really creating the number 3241, why doesn't he just do that instead of creating 32417. And how would a clue such as this ever be unearthed by investigators. If I trawled through countless other documents, no doubt I would find this exact number. Despite what he says, he is making things up, because he is throwing around numbers and making them fit. This form of number play is extremely easy to do, especially with so many variables on offer in these communications. However, I have learned that trying to convey to people the massive flexibility of interpretation that can be achieved with numbers, is usually met with the indignant "how can you not see that I am correct, are you a fool". The reality is, the number manipulation exhibited in these videos is not difficult to achieve given a little patience. The videos are interesting and require a degree of intellect, but unfortunately anybody who says they have solved the Halloween Card by throwing numbers around is leading you on a wild goose chase. The answer to anything usually requires no manipulation whatsoever.

Roger

10/29/2019 07:13:04 pm

Crazy stuff! I wonder what the handwriting on the note looked like?

Richard

10/30/2019 02:46:32 am

That is the million dollar question Roger. I doubt they even still have it.

10/29/2019 07:14:59 pm

What if the Zodiac was alluding to someone specific by using the clues in the Halloween card, be it a neighbor he didn't really know, or a friend he was close to? This would certainly be in line with his brand of word play and humor, perhaps a Trick-or-Treat on a certain family in Vallejo. Maybe, it was even a false clue as suggested in recent comments.

The "14" on the skeleton's hand is prominent. I wondered if it might refer to an address. My primary choices were 1426 and 1430, secondary choices 2614 and 3014. Since Richard thought Vallejo stands a good chance of being Zodiac's home base, possibly close to the payphone at Tuolumne and Springs, I hoped to find something fitting the bill. I had a specific name in mind, but did not find what I was looking for. However, I was stunned when I came across another name. Again, it could just be a coincidence, but if so, it is an odd one. This person lived 0.5 mi driving distance from the payphone. Not sure if "walking/shortcut" distance would make it less so. More coming...

10/29/2019 07:31:17 pm

Reciting past observations re: Zodiac:

1) Possibly a resident of Vallejo
2) Possibly travels for his job
3) Possibly in the military (past or present)
4) Possible connection or interest in aviation
5) Most likely can't resist providing his name, directly or indirectly
6) Uses imagery and wordplay
7) Enjoys misspelling words

We have a card with a skeleton telling us: "I feel it in my bones, you ache to know my name, and so I'll clue you in..."

Q: What do you get with a skeleton wearing a mask?
A" A skeleton in disguise.

Richmond H Skelton lived at 1426 Rice St, Vallejo, 0.5 mi from the payphone. He was in his 60s in 1969. He was a Lieutenant in the United States Navy, an Aviation Structural Mechanic (Aviation metalsmith), and an ROA speaker in the San Francisco North Bay chapter of Retired Officers Association.

His son, Richmond H Skelton Jr. was born in 1931, making him approximately 38 in 1969. He lived at 611 Virgina St, 1.2 mi driving time from the payphone. He served in the US Marine Corps in Korea, and was a plant operator and refinery worker who traveled, at least in 1963, from Vallejo south to a plant in Richmond, CA. According to his obit in 2010 he enjoyed reading, history, sky diving, traveling (went to Egypt) etc.

I wonder if Zodiac shared a neighborhood residence with Richmond Sr., or worked with Richmond Jr., or was a family friend. Of course, I may just be seeing objects in the clouds, but it is an odd coincidence just the same.

Happy Halloween

Richard

10/30/2019 02:42:05 am

Approaching the Halloween Card from this angle would certainly be a good "trick or treat" JD, and another interesting take regarding location. Zodiac, always safe in the mind that something like this could never incriminate him in a court of law, yet sitting in the card for someone to unearth. I know only too well about "objects in the clouds" and the Halloween Card, so here is another one especially for Halloween. Zodiac, when he murdered somebody, added them to his victim count. On July 26th 1970 Zodiac was claiming 13 victims (if we take only the consensus view of confirmed communications, and viewing the 13 Hole Postcard as a repeat because his Little List Letter had yet to be published), then we have the October 27th Halloween Card claiming 14 victims. The only victim beteween these dates (that he claimed} was Donna Ann Lass.

Take the symbol, just split it up and spin it round. We have L, four dots and F. Look Four Fourteen (ie: Look for victim 14). Why do we have to look for victim 14 (because Donna Ann Lass hasn't been found). Then look at the eyes. Zodiac added 8 eyes to the tree (one in knothole already on card), he added four big eyes outside the tree and wrote 4-TEEN above the skeleton's head. The 8 eyes denoting LOOK, the 4 eyes denoting FOR, and the 14-TEEN denoting FOURTEEN. Again we have "Look For Fourteen".

But what other reason did Zodiac arrange the eyes in the 8 and 4 formation (he could have added 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 9 eyes to the tree, but settled on 8). DONNA ANN = 8, and LASS = 4 (outside tree). "Look For Donna Ann Lass" = "Look for Fourteen" = "Donna Ann Lass 14". Two names unearthed in the Halloween Card JD. We can share the clouds now.

The Halloween Card is so flexible it actually works against us, because if we ever had found the correct "solution", proving it above the numerous ideas already suggested is nigh on impossible. We both have now presented our Halloween treat, so any more are welcome. But the "you ache to know my name" (as you stated) should lead us to a name in the solution and Skelton is certainly in keeping with Halloween JD.

10/30/2019 09:22:43 am

Lodi-ac Zodi-ac
The Z resembles a cursive letter L
Lass could be his Last
The Zodiac may have wanted to make-up for pattern of couples
since Paul Stine's did not come a female victim.

10/30/2019 05:48:12 pm

In both cards and letters sent;
the Zodiac was fixated on eyes and the number of eyes.
Don Harden had surgery on his eye.
The Harden's also used the "i" to break their 408.
The Zodiac splattered eyes and i's with hidden meanings throughout.
Sometimes not dotting the i and sometimes even double dotting to make the i look like eyes. Sometimes a real small "o" is used instead of a dot.

YouTube
Zodiac Killer Identified: Zodiac Killer Harden Dotted i's

also here is seen a strange curiosity
Zodiac Killer Identified: Zodiac Killer Salinas Ca article signed Zoe D. Ack

Roger

10/30/2019 06:23:57 pm

Hi BB,

I have often wondered about the potential for embarrassment among law enforcement if ever a DNA test should link Donald Harden to the crimes. One would assume that Donald Harden was asked to submit a DNA test at some stage in the past, as is customary to rule out those who had any involvement in the case. We can also presume that his fingerprints were taken shortly after he solved the 408 cipher. Anybody who interacts closely with an investigation are routinely fingerprinted.

Even so, Bettye Harden did write a lot of strangely Zodiac-like things. Her use of grammar is often eerily similar to that found in the Zodiac communications. The Zoe. D. Ack letter from the newspaper is certainly written in a similar grammatical style, and here we see the use of the word "meemies", which is strikingly similar to the Zodiac's word "meanies".

If she was the author of the Ack letter, just what was she trying to say exactly, or was she merely trying to ride the Zodiac's wave of media notoriety?

Bettye also allegedly wrote those strange and sinister handwritten entries in the copy of Graysmith's book in Salinas Library, stamped Jun 20 1986.

The first hand-written page reads:
"This is my story. I started the Zodiac case, and ended it.
The last half of this book is theory. When I write the true ending it will shake the earth! Betty Harden"

The second hand-written page reads:
"The author use to drive around Salinas to pick our brains --
all we told him was already public news that made headlines 5 inches long. Our code-solving. Bettye"

This is also interesting in light of what Richard proposed as the solution to the "#" number left out of the Zodiac's Mt Diablo communication. As Richard stated: "The reason for 5 inches is self explanatory, because 4 or 6 inches from Mount Diablo to San Francisco would fall into the sea on the east and west side."

https://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/category/radians

Cheers,
Roger

10/31/2019 09:10:36 am

Roger - Good points
If you are positive that Bettye Harden's DNA clears her of licking the stamps and envelopes then the Hardens should be publicly cleared.
As this suspicion is not going away because of an assumption. Peace

11/1/2019 03:43:30 pm

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtKwXObtB5q-X3xny8faHFA

Zodiac Killer Identified

YouTube

Zodiac Killer Identified: Zodiac Killer Harden I think the Naysayers are DOOMED!

DOOMED I TELL YOU, DOOMED!
The Hunters Point social uprising (also known as the Hunters Point Riot or Rebellion) broke out in the Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco on the night of September 27, 1966, after San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) officer Alvin Johnson shot and killed Matthew Johnson, a teenager who was fleeing the scene of a stolen car. The National Guard and California Highway Patrol (CHP) were deployed late that night by Governor Pat Brown, and martial law was imposed until October 1.
" But there is more glory in killing a cop than a cid because a cop can shoot back."

The Widow's Son
5 months ago
The thing that baffles me the most is just how busy Don was.

School teacher
Cryptographer
President and minister of the Universalist Church
Serial killer
International Man Of Mystery

I agree Don was very busy. And we must let the
clues lead us. Also, we must keep an open mind.
I wonder who were some of the members
of the Unitarian Universalist Church?
And could anybody remember the Harden's?

The beliefs of individual Unitarian Universalists range widely, including atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, panentheism, deism, Humanism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Taoism, Omnism, Bahá’i, and neopaganism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And relying on the sepulchral traditions of the Hospitallers. Is a line
from Wikipedia talking about all the different symbols they use. Some of which look like the Zodiac's.

Rubislaw 32 link

10/30/2019 10:04:33 am

The war is over,thank God.
Please help me.
Am still the Zodiac and going to kill a baby.
P.S.Help ! Save the World.

The date on the message was Feb 2nd.
The bottle recovered,May 11th 1973.

The fall of Saigon,was April 30th 1975...so unlikely to have referred to the Vietnam War.