McFALL, MO, Mar. 9 – The three persons shown above were instrumental in connecting Gentry county and the McFall community with one of the most bizarre, bloody and grotesque multi-murder cases in the annals of this country.

It’s a fantastic story, really, spanning from Aug. 9, 1969, when the Sharon Tate murder cases occurred in the Los Angeles, Calif., area until late Friday, Feb. 25, 1972, when two of the persons above evaporated from their Youth for Life religious organization’s organic farming project at the south edge of McFall.

The hasty departure of the nervous, apprehensive pair came just two days ahead of the arrival in Gentry county of two Los Angeles county deputy sheriffs, William Gleason and Paul Whitley, who were anxious to question two or three of the former members of the notorious Charles Manson “family” in California.

Pictured, left to right, by the names they traveled under in Gentry county when they arrived in McFall in August, 1970, are Linda Baldwin, 21; the Rev. William R. Cole, 37; and Patricia Baldwin, 25, who actually left the Youth for Life farming headquarters in McFall for Memphis, Tenn., late last August, but who has not been seen or heard from since.

The investigating officers disclosed their fear that Patricia Baldwin may have met with “foul play” because “she knew too much.” Life apparently was and is dirt cheap to the Manson “family” and the motorcycle clubs with which they hobnobbed in California. Two of the cycle gangs closest to the “family” included the Satan Slaves and the Straight Satans.

It seems, according to written reports, that Manson provided the cyclists with the feminine members of his family — and they furnished him a mobile “infantry” force for his fiendish plans.

The pictures shown above, incidentally, were obtained from the official California files on the Manson “family,” compiled by Sheriff Benny Rainey of Albany and Deputy Sheriff Dallas Wright of Stanberry in co-operation with the visiting Los Angeles county deputies. The sweater worn by Cole in the picture taken in California is now in Sheriff Rainey’s possession. It was overlooked in Cole’s hurried get-away from McFall.

The three temporary Gentry countians were not directly implicated in the blood-curdling Sharon Tate case in which the lives of the attractive and pregnant movie actress and four others were abbreviated by a revolver and several knives handled by four of Manson’s “family” at his orders.

Involved in the actual murders at the Tate home were one man, Tex Watson, and three young women, Linda Kasabian, Patricia Krenwinkel and Susan Atkins.

Millions of words have been printed on the Tate case and the other murders in which the hippy “family” was implicated. So this newspaper will sidestep that aspect of the gruesome story that has shocked millions of readers for many months.

Our interest, naturally, is in the three members of the infamous “family” who landed in Gentry county after forming a new “church” in Kansas City and who attempted to eke out a frugal living for almost 18 months via organic farming at the south edge of McFall.

There is no doubt that Linda, Patricia and Cole were members of Manson’s “family” and resided at least part-time at the Manson headquarters on the Spahn “movie” ranch at Chatsworth, Calif.

Official police records show that Linda Baldwin, who also used other names including Claudia Leigh Smith, gave her address as the Spahn ranch at Chatsworth when she was arrested on a narcotics charge Sept. 20, 1969, in Los Angeles county. At that time she was listed as 5-foot-5, weighing 120 pounds, had brown hair and green eyes. She told officers she was born Aug. 11, 1950, in Culver City, Calif., and that her occupation was “baby-sitting in Topanga Canyon, Calif.” She was released on bond on that charge, the records show and the outcome on the “narco” charge is not listed in the file on Linda.

The records show that Patricia Joan Baldwin, also known as Little Patti and Madeline Joan Cottage, received several citations for traffic violations in the summer of 1968. Her file also shows that she was present when another member of the “family,” John P. (Zero) Haught, was killed at No. 28 Clubhouse in Venice, Calif., on Nov. 5, 1969. Little Patti also is known to have been driving a Volkswagen owned by another member of the “family,” Gary Hinman, on Aug. 1, 1969, which was just a few days before the Tate murders.

Patricia is listed in the files as 5-foot-2, weighing 110 pounds, and having brown hair and green eyes. She was born May 7, 1946, in Ohio Valley, Pa., according to the records.

William Rex Cole, who also used the names of William Van-Sickle and David Lee Hamick in his travels, had several nicknames, Duane, Bill, Vance and Buck, his file shows. He is charged with forging a check while residing at the Spahn ranch on Feb. 26, 1970, which was quite a time after Manson and many of his “family” had been apprehended. It is possible that the money derived from the forged check was used for “traveling funds” to get him to Missouri.

Cole is shown in his file to be 6-foot-2, weighs 175 pounds, has brown hair and eyes and was born at one of two places, Memphis, Tenn., or Kingston, Mo., on Apr. 17, 1935.

It was last July that this writer visited the Youth for Life Nubian farms in the McFall area and finally, after much coaxing, extracted a story on the organic farming project from Linda — after initially receiving very cold shoulders from both Linda and Little Patti.

Little Patti, as we vividly recall, mooched a cigarette from us, then entered the ramshackle farm home with pertinent advice to Linda: “If he gets too nosey, throw the S.O.B. out!”

We realize now, of course, why we had to talk so fast to get the story — and we’ll always wonder how we ever managed to get Linda to pose for a picture for us in the nearby tomato field. It was not easy, believe us. That story and picture, by the way, appeared in the July 22, 1971, issue of this newspaper under the heading, “They Work Too Hard to Be Hippies.”

The Rev. Mr. Cole was not present that day, but we later received a nice letter from him and Linda, describing how much they liked the article — and would we please send them 20 copies and bill the cost to the farm.

They also invited us to drop by and see them if we were in the McFall area, something we always planned to do until now that it’s too late. We have always wondered how they did on their 4,000 tomato plants. Obviously, they were hiding out in Gentry county, but they certainly put in a lot of hard work while “lying low.”

It probably was because Linda refused or neglected to tell us her last name during our interview that we missed mention of her and Little Patti in an article, “Charlie and the Devil,” written by Ed Sanders, which appeared in the November, 1971, issue of Esquire magazine.

It was on Oct. 9, 1969, that officers arrested a number of the Manson “family.” According to Sanders: “They arrested Linda Baldwin, also known as Little Patti, and Squeaky, using the name of Elizabeth Elaine Williamson. Some of the girls were nude.”

This indicates that Little Patti was using the name Linda at that particular time, which was about “par far the course.” They were reported at various times as being half-sisters. Anyway, Linda
was using another name at the time.

“Quite a few of the family members escaped arrest in the Oct. 10 raid,” Sanders reported in his article. “Among them were Dianna Lake and Claudia Smith, also known as Sherry Andrews. Both of these girls hid under a canvass not far from the front gate of the Barker ranch when the raid occurred.”

Claudia Smith, as mentioned before, was one of the nom de plumes used by Linda — and it could well be her real name, according to investigating officers.

Charles Manson, himself, was one of eight “dirty hippies” arrested the evening of Oct. 10 by officers, according to Sanders’ account, which apparently put a halt to his fanatical plans for more fiendish murders of certain persons he did not happen to like.

California authorities are not only interested in apprehending Cole, Linda and Little Patti, if she is still among the living, they are vitally interested in obtaining a king-size tape recording believed to be in Cole’s possession — the only such tape in existence.

On good authority, the tape is believed to have been recorded by Manson and members of his “family” between the date of the Tate murders and his capture on Oct. 10, 1969. It could shed new light on other activities of Manson and his faithful flock. One officer estimated the value of the unique tape at $50,000. Another officer’s conjecture is that the tape has kent and is keeping the Rev. Mr. Cole alive.

Thanks to Sheriff Rainey and Deputy Sheriff Wright, this newspaper has copies of two letters pertaining to Cole and members of his “flock.”

One letter apparently was received by Cole and Company from California. It was written Aug. 27, 1971. The letter is handprinted and the scrawled signature is impossible to decipher, although it apparently was written by a male.

The letter mentions the “family,” a “chick on acid,” and the following comments concerning Little Patti: “I got your letter yesterday. That’s really something Patti leaving. I sure as hell hope she keeps her mouth shut … Don’t take any chance with Patty. I don’t know the whole story but from what you wrote in the letter it doesn’t sound too safe … You take it easy. Be careful. I don’t know what Patty’s trip is. Don’t take the chance. She could (blank) you up.”

The second letter was written by Linda Baldwin and William R. Cole to Mr. and Mrs. Clare Clevenger of McFall, owners of the farm where the group lived for 18 months. The Clevenger letter, received on Feb. 28, three days after the pair left McFall, said:

“We suspected this for quite some time. I’m sorry that we cannot make personal amends. Clare, you have all rights distributing the property for debts owed by us. As soon as we are able, we will make things straight with you.

“Thank Popplewell, George Gist, Floyd Parks, Jim Bob Woodard and Clifford Pierce. We appreciate and love you all for everything you’ve done for us.”

That letter, written two days after Linda and Cole left the McFall scene could very well be Gentry county’s last connection with the Manson “family.”

It should be pointed out that while Cole and his “flock” were Gentry countians, as far as is known, they operated more or less as model citizens, according to most of their neighbors and the sheriff’s office.

Despite the venomous glances Little Patti aimed in our direction last July, we hope nothing drastic has befallen her. We also hope that Linda, who impressed us with her sincerity concerning her religion, comes out all right “in the end.”

By NEAL SHEEHAN