On the evening of November 17, 1973, fourteen-year-old Dana Baade was among five teenagers gathered around a campfire at Gitchie Manitou State Preserve in Iowa. The group included Dana’s eighteen-year-old brother Stewart Baade, seventeen-year-old Roger Essem, fifteen-year-old Michael Hadrath, and thirteen-year-old Sandra Cheskey.

Three brothers—Allen, David, and James Fryer—who were in the park illegally and armed with shotguns approached the teens, posing as narcotics officers. The Fryers opened fire; Roger Essem was killed immediately and Stewart Baade was wounded. Dana Baade, Stewart Baade, and Michael Hadrath were marched away from the campsite and shot to death. The four bodies were found the next day. Sandra Cheskey was taken from the scene, sexually assaulted, then released at her home and later provided the key witness account that identified the assailants.

Within two weeks authorities arrested Allen, David, and James Fryer. The three men were tried, convicted of multiple counts of murder, and sentenced to life in prison. Did anyone who knew the teens or was in that area that night see anything that might still help clarify what happened?