AL AL - J.B. Beasley, 17, & Tracie Hawlett, 17, Ozark, 31 July 1999 #3

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Did Tracie's mom change her story? If you are going to meet someone else or other people that changes when you will be expected home compared to being lost and coming home. It also changes where you are going.

Assuming that the story about getting directions to Midland City is true and then J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett go to a party in Skipperville, before then stopping at the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL so Tracie can tell her mom they are on the way home and asks her if they can possibly stop to say hi to two guys, we can at least come to one conclusion:

J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett stopped or were stopped by someone before they got to Midland City, AL.
 
Wow.... oh wow.... the last part with Tracie asking her mom to stop and see 2 boys is a gamer changer if it is true informarion. Digging way back into my memory bank that is always short lived..... recall at one time discussion of 2 boys without shirts chasing them cannot recall if it was debunked.
 
Wow.... oh wow.... the last part with Tracie asking her mom to stop and see 2 boys is a gamer changer if it is true informarion. Digging way back into my memory bank that is always short lived..... recall at one time discussion of 2 boys without shirts chasing them cannot recall if it was debunked.

The 2 boys without shirts in a pickup truck was related to JB and Tracie looking for the Haleburg field party. I believe the way it was told was, they made a wrong turn looking for the Haleburg party and the 2 boys appeared and followed them. But I can't remember the source of this info and don't know if it was ever confirmed.
 
TY SavageMarkill, For some reason I thought that they were suppose to meet the 2 boys before the field party and had seen them before they ran in Bookie at the gas station? My memory is vague about the 2 boys it may have been from the Wiregrass forum discussions.

Interesting that the boys are being re-discussed and if they were not interviewed shame on LE
 
Assuming that the story about getting directions to Midland City is true and then J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett go to a party in Skipperville, before then stopping at the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL so Tracie can tell her mom they are on the way home and asks her if they can possibly stop to say hi to two guys, we can at least come to one conclusion:

J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett stopped or were stopped by someone before they got to Midland City, AL.

BBM

I have never believed they ever made it out of Ozark that night, so that wasn't the revelation for me. The revelation for me was that they were never lost that evening and they did have somewhat of a plan for that evening.

In the beginning, the first year or so after news reports and Thread #1 here, there was a hole in the order of events i.e. how and why did they get from Headland to Ozark?

Now as more info and sources have come out, some of the how and why has been answered.

Someone posted on Thread #1 or Thread #2, before we knew some of this additional info regarding the timeline and events of the night in question. Since she was female, she said she remembered being the age JB and Tracie were and in that time before cell phones and social media. You went out and drove around and you had a loose idea of where you were going to go and who you wanted to see. And sometimes this would pan out as you thought and sometimes you went off track based on who you ran into on your way and what info they had about what was going on that night and who was at what party. I can also relate to this, because I lived in Dothan and graduated from Northview about a decade prior to JB and Tracie. I had nights similar to this of going to field parties and parties at people's houses and just not really having a plan until you were already out driving around and running into people on your way.

I think she hit the nail on the head. I have always believed JB and/or Tracie had a few specific things they wanted to do that night besides the Haleburg party. And that has panned out in wanting to meet up with the 2 boys in Midland City. I think they might have known about the Skipperville party before they went out that evening but maybe didn't know if they would make it or not. I think they just didn't know when specifically they would make it to Midland City to meet the boys or when the boys would be able to meet them. Again you have to remember everybody at that time was pretty much relying on home landlines and payphones then, so meeting up with people after everybody was already out and about was not easy.
 
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TY SavageMarkill, For some reason I thought that they were suppose to meet the 2 boys before the field party and had seen them before they ran in Bookie at the gas station? My memory is vague about the 2 boys it may have been from the Wiregrass forum discussions.

Interesting that the boys are being re-discussed and if they were not interviewed shame on LE

I just want to make clear that the 2 boys without shirts, which may or may not have happened, are not the 2 boys they were trying to meet up with in Midland City.
 
BBM

I have never believed they ever made it out of Ozark that night, so that wasn't the revelation for me. The revelation for me was that they were never lost that evening and they did have somewhat of a plan for that evening.

In the beginning, the first year or so after news reports and Thread #1 here, there was a hole in the order of events i.e. how and why did they get from Headland to Ozark?

Now as more info and sources have come out, some of the how and why has been answered.

Someone posted on Thread #1 or Thread #2, before we knew some of this additional info regarding the timeline and events of the night in question. Since she was female, she said she remembered being the age JB and Tracie were and in that time before cell phones and social media. You went out and drove around and you had a loose idea of where you were going to go and who you wanted to see. And sometimes this would pan out as you thought and sometimes you went off track based on who you ran into on your way and what info they had about what was going on that night and who was at what party. I can also relate to this, because I lived in Dothan and graduated from Northview about a decade prior to JB and Tracie. I had nights similar to this of going to field parties and parties at people's houses and just not really having a plan until you were already out driving around and running into people on your way.

I think she hit the nail on the head. I have always believed JB and/or Tracie had a few specific things they wanted to do that night besides the Haleburg party. And that has panned out in wanting to meet up with the 2 boys in Midland City. I think they might have known about the Skipperville party before they went out that evening but maybe didn't know if they would make it our not. I think they just didn't know when specifically they would make it to Midland City to meet the boys or when the boys would be able to meet them. Again you have to remember everybody at that time was pretty much relying on home landlines and payphones then, so meeting up with people after everybody was already out and about was not easy.

Very true SM, lol... I remember those days on many occassions we were told brief directions sometimes never finding the party and if we did and it was dull we would move on to the next one. Recall a couple that were in timbuktu central alabama that we never found and became lost ran out of time and went home.

I thought there was some ill rest with one of the girls from the dance team

Young Street is not that far of a walk ..... but then again there are several places that are not far
 
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At one time there was discussion that the truck appeared to have a logo from a railroad company that was based out of Delaware do not recall if it was proved as true or false.

Dime Detective, Thread #1, Post # 860

The white pickup truck captured on the Big/Little Store surveillance video that night has been a hot discussion topic throughout this thread. Even after the discovery of a blurb in the original Chronology of Events dated July 18, 2004 which stated, "The driver of the white truck shown on the security camera at the Big/Little store has been identified and cleared of any involvement," many posters here at WS still didn't feel comfortable letting go of the notion that the occupants of the white truck may have been somehow involved, whether as perpetrators or witnesses. One major sticking point was that, apparently, the white truck and its driver were not identified until nearly five years after the murders.

This evening, as I was reading through the full weekly Ozark news archive just discovered here, the story of the white truck seemingly became a little clearer:

From the August 5, 2001, edition:

Ozark Alabama News - August 5, 2001

So the white truck connection was eliminated by LE approximately two years after the murders instead of five, calling the accuracy of the Chronology of Events into question. Given the scarcity of details presented in regards to the lack of evidence here, however, we just have to trust that LE was satisfied with what they found (or didn't find).

Keep in mind: we still don't have a link to MSM confirmation that the white truck was indeed eliminated. But this new information helps.
 
BBM

I have never believed they ever made it out of Ozark that night, so that wasn't the revelation for me. The revelation for me was that they were never lost that evening and they did have somewhat of a plan for that evening.

In the beginning, the first year or so after news reports and Thread #1 here, there was a hole in the order of events i.e. how and why did they get from Headland to Ozark?

Now as more info and sources have come out, some of the how and why has been answered.

Someone posted on Thread #1 or Thread #2, before we knew some of this additional info regarding the timeline and events of the night in question. Since she was female, she said she remembered being the age JB and Tracie were and in that time before cell phones and social media. You went out and drove around and you had a loose idea of where you were going to go and who you wanted to see. And sometimes this would pan out as you thought and sometimes you went off track based on who you ran into on your way and what info they had about what was going on that night and who was at what party. I can also relate to this, because I lived in Dothan and graduated from Northview about a decade prior to JB and Tracie. I had nights similar to this of going to field parties and parties at people's houses and just not really having a plan until you were already out driving around and running into people on your way.

I think she hit the nail on the head. I have always believed JB and/or Tracie had a few specific things they wanted to do that night besides the Haleburg party. And that has panned out in wanting to meet up with the 2 boys in Midland City. I think they might have known about the Skipperville party before they went out that evening but maybe didn't know if they would make it or not. I think they just didn't know when specifically they would make it to Midland City to meet the boys or when the boys would be able to meet them. Again you have to remember everybody at that time was pretty much relying on home landlines and payphones then, so meeting up with people after everybody was already out and about was not easy.

I agree and disagree. I agree that after trying to drive the route on Google maps, it is hard for me to understand how J.B. Beasley could have gotten "lost" after getting the directions from Ms. Merrit at the Big Little gas station.

However I disagree that when J.B. Beasley asked Ms. Merrit for directions she was not "lost." It really depends on how she asked Ms. Merrit. Did she say, "Do you know how to get back to Dothan from here?" Or did she say, "What's the quickest way to US 231 from here?" How she phrased the question is important. Either way I think she had lost her bearings and was looking for clarification as to where she was. And with U.S. 231 being straight down the street they were on(Broad St.), that makes me think she was, at least a little lost when they stopped at the Big Little gas station.

At 17 years old, it would not come as a surprise if she did not completely know her way. When she was traveling into Ozark, AL, the road signs that she passed would have read 27 SOUTH even though the "real" direction she was heading was west. Many times people do not realize that the direction on road signs is the overall direction of the route. This only means that if you continue to follow 27 it should take you south somewhere which may be southeast or southwest, but the overall direction will be south(or reverse north).

For example I did not know for a long time that odd numbers denote north/south routes and even numbers denote east/west routes with the caveat again being that the numbers only describe the general OVERALL direction of the route.

I can only guess from driving on Google Earth that it seems hard to understand how J.B. Beasley would have gotten "lost" after leaving the Big Little gas station. But you have to look at it from the context of being 17. I got lost driving when I was 17. So it is hard to conclude for sure whether or not they got lost after leaving the Big Little gas station. It is only important in understanding the main question in this case: Where did they stop later and why?
 
You are correct about Hwy 27. There are a lot of portions that you are traveling east/west on it but overall it takes you north/south.
 
I agree and disagree. I agree that after trying to drive the route on Google maps, it is hard for me to understand how J.B. Beasley could have gotten "lost" after getting the directions from Ms. Merrit at the Big Little gas station.

However I disagree that when J.B. Beasley asked Ms. Merrit for directions she was not "lost." It really depends on how she asked Ms. Merrit. Did she say, "Do you know how to get back to Dothan from here?" Or did she say, "What's the quickest way to US 231 from here?" How she phrased the question is important. Either way I think she had lost her bearings and was looking for clarification as to where she was. And with U.S. 231 being straight down the street they were on(Broad St.), that makes me think she was, at least a little lost when they stopped at the Big Little gas station.

At 17 years old, it would not come as a surprise if she did not completely know her way. When she was traveling into Ozark, AL, the road signs that she passed would have read 27 SOUTH even though the "real" direction she was heading was west. Many times people do not realize that the direction on road signs is the overall direction of the route. This only means that if you continue to follow 27 it should take you south somewhere which may be southeast or southwest, but the overall direction will be south(or reverse north).

For example I did not know for a long time that odd numbers denote north/south routes and even numbers denote east/west routes with the caveat again being that the numbers only describe the general OVERALL direction of the route.

I can only guess from driving on Google Earth that it seems hard to understand how J.B. Beasley would have gotten "lost" after leaving the Big Little gas station. But you have to look at it from the context of being 17. I got lost driving when I was 17. So it is hard to conclude for sure whether or not they got lost after leaving the Big Little gas station. It is only important in understanding the main question in this case: Where did they stop later and why?

Was it clear if Mrs. Merrit was in the background as Tracie was on the phone with her mom and was J.B talking to the woman? It seemed like J.B might have lived in Ozark AL, that might not mean anything. Dark roads for a 17 year old driver are still confusing. Could the boys Tracie mentioned to her mom have been an excuse or not the actual boys they were meeting. At 17 I don't think I had curfew and I drove. It seems like posts suggest Tracie had to call her mom so she could go to sleep without worrying. They left late if 10 pm is right, to make it anywhere far or to a party before 11:30. Was calling her mom something she did to ease her mind? I'm not judging Tracie's mom for whatever she had to say to get the police officers attention. But now it's about arresting someone.
 
You are correct about Hwy 27. There are a lot of portions that you are traveling east/west on it but overall it takes you north/south.

Traveling the roads on Google Earth will never be the same as traveling the roads in person. One thing I wondered was whether police ever tried an experiment by finding some other 17 year old girl who does not know the area and having her try to drive the suspected route and places that J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett might have gone that night, July 31, 1999. The variables will never actually be totally the same since driving the area today is probably different than in 1999 and there is no one who can think exactly the same as J.B. Beasley and make the same driving decisions. But it would be interesting to see how that person would interpret the roads.

I guess there is not much I would not do to solve a murder case.
 
Traveling the roads on Google Earth will never be the same as traveling the roads in person. One thing I wondered was whether police ever tried an experiment by finding some other 17 year old girl who does not know the area and having her try to drive the suspected route and places that J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett might have gone that night, July 31, 1999. The variables will never actually be totally the same since driving the area today is probably different than in 1999 and there is no one who can think exactly the same as J.B. Beasley and make the same driving decisions. But it would be interesting to see how that person would interpret the roads.

I guess there is not much I would not do to solve a murder case.

They don't need a 17 year old they just need to remove technology. They should reenact that night with the stops and no cellphones and try and figure out if they made it to a field party. Now 17 year olds wouldn't get out of their cars for phone calls. Their parents might be tracking their cell phones. I don't really know if that's a positive thing. Cell phones now charge easily, you don't run out of minutes and they are basically small computers, and now both girls would have had one. It would be interesting to know how many places they might have stopped at.
 
At one time there was discussion that the truck appeared to have a logo from a railroad company that was based out of Delaware do not recall if it was proved as true or false.

Dime Detective, Thread #1, Post # 860

The white pickup truck captured on the Big/Little Store surveillance video that night has been a hot discussion topic throughout this thread. Even after the discovery of a blurb in the original Chronology of Events dated July 18, 2004 which stated, "The driver of the white truck shown on the security camera at the Big/Little store has been identified and cleared of any involvement," many posters here at WS still didn't feel comfortable letting go of the notion that the occupants of the white truck may have been somehow involved, whether as perpetrators or witnesses. One major sticking point was that, apparently, the white truck and its driver were not identified until nearly five years after the murders.

This evening, as I was reading through the full weekly Ozark news archive just discovered here, the story of the white truck seemingly became a little clearer:

From the August 5, 2001, edition:

Ozark Alabama News - August 5, 2001

So the white truck connection was eliminated by LE approximately two years after the murders instead of five, calling the accuracy of the Chronology of Events into question. Given the scarcity of details presented in regards to the lack of evidence here, however, we just have to trust that LE was satisfied with what they found (or didn't find).

Keep in mind: we still don't have a link to MSM confirmation that the white truck was indeed eliminated. But this new information helps.
Did that seem odd to you? It's like, "the killer had problems getting it up and btw the people in the white truck aren't suspects anymore". I would think the eliminating the truck and it's occupants should be more than a sentence at the end of a statement about a sexual disfunction. I'm not convinced the semen couldn't be from a consensual encounter. If it didn't transfer to anything else she was wearing it seems odd. Hopefully they used more than DNA to eliminate people.
 
The two guys with shirts off.... Jacqui Burgoon (JB's sister) said that the girls were looking for a field party (Jana Hare's party, I believe) took a wrong turn, ran into 2 guys with their shirts off, JB got scared and took off, and the two guys followed, the two guys pinned them in (not sure where), the guys saw that they scared JB and quickly left the scene. -Jacqui thought they told Bookie this, but Bookie said he didn't remember.. it may have been another person at the Midland City gas station to whom they told this story before continuing to Ozark- (as far as I know these guys have not been identified).

The two guys in the girls were seeing.... (I'm getting information from Veronica Silver, who interviewed the Roberts {Tracie's parents}). These were 2 guys that the girls knew (at least somewhat) and were sort of double dating. They were waiting for the girls at a gas station that was on the way home, but the girls never arrived. According to Cambron... the PI friend of Patti's that posted under Nicodemus on Wiregrass.com... these guys were never interviewed by investigators.

I too have come to believe that the girls didn't leave Ozark (or the Ozark area) that night. Either it was a random abduction and killing by someone not known to the girls. (the hardest type of homicide to solve)
Or the girls knew someone in or around Ozark, went to meet this person(s), and was killed. If that is the case, then there is investigative misconduct or incompetence.
 
I wonder if the semen could've come from one of the two boys the girls met earlier that night...
Their timeline is confusing. Police need to figure it out and interview or reinterview everyone that they supposedly saw that night. They were found less than 24 hours after their last reported sighting and hours after being reported missing. That's the kind of thing that would stick in people's minds. People or kids at the time will remember where they were when they found out about J.B. and Tracie's deaths. They will probably know what they were doing that night and if they saw them.
 
I wonder if the semen could've come from one of the two boys the girls met earlier that night...

They never met in person any boys that night, neither the 2 shirtless boys nor the 2 boys in Midland City.

The incident Bulldog describes above, the 2 boys were in a truck and JB and Tracie were in JB's car.
 
The two guys with shirts off.... Jacqui Burgoon (JB's sister) said that the girls were looking for a field party (Jana Hare's party, I believe) took a wrong turn, ran into 2 guys with their shirts off, JB got scared and took off, and the two guys followed, the two guys pinned them in (not sure where), the guys saw that they scared JB and quickly left the scene. -Jacqui thought they told Bookie this, but Bookie said he didn't remember.. it may have been another person at the Midland City gas station to whom they told this story before continuing to Ozark- (as far as I know these guys have not been identified).

The two guys in the girls were seeing.... (I'm getting information from Veronica Silver, who interviewed the Roberts {Tracie's parents}). These were 2 guys that the girls knew (at least somewhat) and were sort of double dating. They were waiting for the girls at a gas station that was on the way home, but the girls never arrived. According to Cambron... the PI friend of Patti's that posted under Nicodemus on Wiregrass.com... these guys were never interviewed by investigators.

I too have come to believe that the girls didn't leave Ozark (or the Ozark area) that night. Either it was a random abduction and killing by someone not known to the girls. (the hardest type of homicide to solve)
Or the girls knew someone in or around Ozark, went to meet this person(s), and was killed. If that is the case, then there is investigative misconduct or incompetence.

Good to see you Bulldog23 you filled in what I was trying to recall about the girls running into 2 boys w/no shirts and being chased but as it is were unsure whom exactly provided that information. Wasn't ever positive on whom Nicodemus was figured it was the PI but there were a couple of different one's involved over the course of time...but I do know whom Veritas :mad: was/is

Going back thinking .... the car was driven around for sometime that night and if I recall correctly the car was nearly empty the perp would not want to run the risk of being seen putting gas in the car at a station to get it out of town so one would need to go somewhere close to drop the car off and be able to walk to their residence or be picked up somewhere close. I have often thought Barretine knew this person and had picked the person up that night.

My thoughts keep changing more often now than ever
 
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