TRUE STORY: Donna, The Bandit, and "The Map"

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Posted by Southwest Chuck on April 13, 2004 at 19:10:48:

Back in the Late 1970's and early 80"s, I fequented DV often in my '70 K5. I loved the place, especially the Panamints, Saline Valley etc. Somewhere along my travels,(memory gett'in the best of me)I accuired (among others) a map of DV and the Panamints. It was mostly hand drawn with old roads that don't appear on many modern maps. It did have the major roads on it and the hand drawn boundaries of the old Monument on it. Anyway, I ended up taking a 25 year break from my travels but DV was always in my heart. The history, solitude, beauty and thrill of exploration finally brought me back.

Anyway, I re-accuired a copy of this map last spring (most of you who regulaly post here know of the map I'm speaking of). Kristina, my fiance', had two copies of the Map laminated ... one that could stand up to the abuse of travel, and one for reserve. On my next trip out last Fall, we stopped in Ballarat, as we often do, and donated our reserve copy to Donna. Little did I know that our gift may have inadvertatly aided the Bandit in the comming months.

I already knew of the break-in at Ballarat when we stopped there again last month, however Donna informed us that the laminated map we had given her last Fall was one of the items stolen by the Bandit.
I told her we would be glad to laminate another one for her to replace the stolen one. After a nice visit, we went on our way and continued our trip through the Panamint and Slate Ranges.

Here's the kicker, though. Before we had the map laminated, we made afew changes to it, which, for obvious reasons, won't be posted here. They are very, very suttle, though, and cannot be recognized easily. Indeed, it would (in my opinion) be extremely difficult. Only a person who was extremely familar with the original map could recognize the changes. Thus, the reason for this post.

If the Bandit is eventually caught, and has this map in his possesion, (or finger prints on it, etc.)it can be directly tied to the break-in at Donna's place (Ballarat Store) without question. Only two exist. Kristina and I can attest to it, produce ours and identify the map and devulge the changes to the authorities.

If you run into someone with a laminated map as I have described, it will either be Kristina and I or........well, you figure it out.

Sorry for being long-winded. I have been accused of being a little slow sometimes, also. I guess that true since the significance of our laminated map and it's tie-in with the Bandit case just hit me today of all days (it's my birthday) and I felt compelled to share it with you all ASAP.


Southwest Chuck

P.S. Before I replace Donna's map, I will make some alterations in it to differentiate it from the two originals above.




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