The ATVs were discovered several miles southeast, by Roberts Mill Road. The murder site was three miles north of the Mason home. Investigators tried to make sense of the evidence, which was scattered over a large area. Two days later, at a dump site eleven miles from the crime scene, their bodies were discovered. They were certain that the men had been killed. Brain tissue and bone fragments were found at the scene. Investigators were certain that the area near "the gate" was the crime scene. A pocketknife belonging to Kenneth was also found on the ground nearby. Then, they found a pool of blood which had been covered by some leaves. Nearby, they found what appeared to be drag marks on the ground. A short distance away, just off the road, they discovered a spot of blood on a fallen branch. These types of insects are normally attracted to decaying flesh. One of the investigators noticed that a green fly landed on his hand. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until they approached "the gate", an area posted with no trespassing signs. They found ATV tire tracks on the ground. The next morning, investigators searched the area where the shots had been fired. He said that he had heard the shots near an area known as "the gate". As they retrieved the ATVs, a Signal Mountain resident approached them and said that he had heard gunshots the night before. Investigators arrived at the scene and connected the discovery to the missing men. As he looked into a trash dump at the bottom of a nearby bluff, he noticed three ATVs covered with blood. Fearing foul play, their friends and families began searching.Ī few hours later, a local resident stopped to check a bad tire on Roberts Camp Road, five miles from the Mason home. Their families were concerned they were experienced ATV riders and two had rode in the Tennessee backwoods many times before. By the next morning, they had not returned. At 6pm, they left the Mason home on their ATVs. Richard's wife, Martha, recalled that they were eager to head out, as they still had a few hours of daylight left. Earl Smock, and his forty-nine-year-old father-in-law, Richard Mason, planned to ride their ATVs on the trails around Signal Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee. This was season 1 episode 3 titled "Signal Mountain Murders".On the evening of July 9, 1988, twenty-two-year-old Airman First Class Kenneth Griffith, his twenty-three-year-old friend, Sgt. Investigation Discovery portrayed the murders in the show "Bloodlands" on August 18, 2014.The title of the episode was "Dangerous Trespassing". A&E (TV channel) covered the murders in season 4, episode 9, of their City Confidential series.Unsolved Mysteries aired a segment regarding the murders in season 2 episode 13 which aired on January 3, 1990.In 2020, Casteel's son Franklin Trever Casteel authored a book on the subject. Death Ĭasteel died in prison in May 2019 at the age of 71. In 2003 Frank Casteel was found guilty again for the triple homicide and returned to prison. The attorneys said there was no hard evidence that clearly identifies Casteel as the murderer. An appeal was made and eventually given an opportunity to overturn Casteel’s conviction in 2001. Larry Sneed had taken possession of the logbook in 1988.Īlthough no physical evidence to support Casteel’s conviction, he was sentenced to life in prison. When Frank noticed more and more people intruding on his land he consulted a police officer who advised him to keep a logbook of everyone he witnessed.The men were later found dead and Casteel was a prime suspect. The owners of the land were Frank Casteel and his wife, Susie. The bodies were found off Big Fork Road near the community of Suck Creek by a resident while their All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were found down an embankment on the side of Roberts Mill Road. The men were missing and being searched for by their relatives when they did not return home. The three men had been riding the backwoods of Signal Mountain. The Signal Mountain murders refers to a widely publicized case in 1988 involving the shootings of Richard Mason, Kenneth Griffith, and Earl Smock near Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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