Arnold Archambeau and Ruby Bruguier: South Dakota

[whitneygh]

This is one of the cases featured on the DVD box set Unsolved Mysteries: Bizarre Murders. It has been haunting me ever since I learned about it, but I can't find any other information on it. Does anyone know anything further?


DAKOTA'S DOUBLE DEATH - (South Dakota) Three young friends found themselves in a terrible accident when their car jumped the highway and came to rest in a ditch. By the time help arrived, two of the victims, 20-year-old Arnold Archambeau and his girlfriend, 19-year-old Ruby Bruguier, had mysteriously wandered off.

For three months there were no signs of the young couple. Then, on March 10, 1993, the body of Ruby Bruguier was found floating in the ditch, just 75 feet from the crash site. The next day, Arnold's body turned up a few yards away. However, the two bodies were in very different states of decomposition. Police are convinced that the bodies were not there at the time of the accident.

A friend of the young couple came forward stating that he had seen Arnold Archambeau during the three-month period between the car crash and the discovery of the bodies. The friend successfully passed a polygraph examination regarding his claim.

[WhiteWolf]

I remember seeing this case on Unsolved Mysteries. Can you refresh my memory a little bit? Was it freezing on the night of the crash (ditch frozen)? Didn't they figure Ruby had been submerged in the ditch which froze and she didn't surface until it thawed?

I'll see if I can find anything about the case.

[WhiteWolf]

So far all I've found about the case is from Unsolved Mysteries. I'll keep looking.

[Angels_Not_Forgotten]

wow that is a really strange case. I hope more answers come to light.

[coco]

So whats the go here? Where was Arnold when the friend saw him and what was the situation?

[Angels_Not_Forgotten]

came across this old case wanted to bump and throw some questions out there in case someone has any information on this case!

How did they "mysteriously" wonder off? Who was the Third person in the car, what did that person say happened?

How far apart were the deaths according to autopsy, could the third person and one of the missing have conspired to harm the other person and then the third person felt threatened and got rid of the missing?

Just a very strange case, anyone have any other information??

[Mr. E]

My feeling about the friend's testimony is that he was mistaken. I believe that he believes that he saw Arnold after the accident, but I personally think he was mistaken. I think Arnold and Ruby died that night, and although it's odd that their bodies were in different states of composition, maybe that's just a natural phenomenon. One was covered more by ice, or something. Who knows? But although I always thought this was an interesting mystery (I remember seeing it on Unsolved Mysteries), I think this one is explainable.

[Sleuthster]

My feeling about the friend's testimony is that he was mistaken. I believe that he believes that he saw Arnold after the accident, but I personally think he was mistaken. I think Arnold and Ruby died that night, and although it's odd that their bodies were in different states of composition, maybe that's just a natural phenomenon. One was covered more by ice, or something. Who knows? But although I always thought this was an interesting mystery (I remember seeing it on Unsolved Mysteries), I think this one is explainable.


I concur. I think nature played a big part in it. If this accident happened in the winter it's quite possible that Ruby's body was frozen in the ditch and Arnolds was covered in a snow drift. Either way, depending on the condition and place the decomposition process could have slowed down because of the body being frozen.

[Stella]

I believe the accident was caused by an icy road and the car flipped over. Arnold and Ruby managed to get out; the third person, a female cousin of one of them, was trapped inside. She was rescued but had no idea what happened to Arnold and Ruby. I'm going by what I remember from the old UM show from years ago.

[Angels_Not_Forgotten]

Thanks guys!!

[KarlK]

I think Arnold and Ruby died that night, and although it's odd that their bodies were in different states of composition, maybe that's just a natural phenomenon. One was covered more by ice, or something. Who knows?

I agree, that's the most likely scenario. Rate of decomp between submerged corpses can vary a great deal especially in freezing conditions.It would be interesting to know if the victims had drowned.

[UMfanforever]

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[Mr. E]

I agree, that's the most likely scenario. Rate of decomp between submerged corpses can vary a great deal especially in freezing conditions.It would be interesting to know if the victims had drowned.

I wouldn't be surprised if they died of exposure. If I recall from the Unsolved Mysteries episode, they had been drinking. Alcohol + driving + a South Dakota winter = disaster. I used to live in SD. Even their mild winter weather is brutal.

[Laura_Bean]

I think this is a fairly simple case. Ruby had a son with the man in the car. When the cousin asks why Ruby got out of the car, that she would not have left Ruby in there the way Ruby left her in there, is simple. The cousin says the man was not in the car when it finally came to a stop. I think he was thrown from the car when it flipped, he probably wasn't wearing his seatbelt and was thrown. That being the man Ruby loved, that being the father of Ruby's child, I think she was very concerned about what happened to him. She probably realized rather quickly he must have been thrown from the car. If he wound up in the water, and she went looking for him, she may have found him in the water and tried to pick him up, knowing he would drown. The cold would have made her sluggish, the freezing water would have set in hypothermia, and it seems he was much bigger than she was. No way she could have picked him up and gotten him back to shore if he was unconcious or even dead. She would have passed out trying to get him back to shore. If she didn't find him, but kept searching in the freezing water, the same problems would have presented themselves. Hypothermia, numbness, exhaustion, etc. I think she drowned trying to save him. The really sad part about this is if she had gotten her cousin out of the car and the two of them had searched for him together, she would have had a better shot at finding him and/or getting him out of the water without losing her own life.