The Ore Knob Mine Murders

How could the peace and quiet of Ashe County, North Carolina (in the mountains, at the Virginia-Tennessee corner), turn into a nightmare of crime and drugs, and the old copper mine itself become a dumping ground for the dead? In 1982, two bodies had been chipped from an icy grave and brought up from the 250-foot mine shaft where they had been thrown while still alive. Now, there were rumors of 21 bodies still down there. If the mine was ever re-opened, what would they find—copper or bodies? Murder, drugs, prostitution and gangs come together in the history of the Ore Knob Mine. A small Appalachian community became the heart of a vicious drug ring ruled by the Outlaws motorcycle gang from Chicago. Ashe County made national headlines when a police informant came forward confessing that he had pushed a man alive into the Ore Knob Mine shaft. This book is the full story.

Rose M. Haynes has written for the Wilkes Journal-Patriot, Jefferson Times, Winston-Salem Journal and State Magazine. She lives in Hays, North Carolina.

Rose M. Haynes
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 248
Bibliographic Info: 28 photos, 1 map, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7316-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0443-5
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword by Barbara Moore Pless 1

Preface 3

Introduction 5

List of Persons 9

Timeline 13

1. Christmas Eve 15

2. Working Undercover 21

3. Murder at the Mine 29

4. Acceptance 33

5. The Tale of Murder at the Mine 37

6. Investigation at the Mine 46

7. Callahan in Chicago 56

8. Forester’s Murder 65

9. The Murder Trial Begins 73

10. Sharon Gamboa’s Testimony 87

11. Vines’ Testimony 93

12. Vines’ Testimony Continues 106

13. Fugitives Captured 135

14. The Chicago Trial 138

15. Vines’ Trial 145

16. Ore Knob Mine History 154

Appendix A: Official Sworn Statements 163

Paul Wilson Bare [1] 163;

Paul Wilson Bare #2 164

Richard Barton 164

Mildred Bowlin 164

Darlene Callahan 165

Thomas Chapman 170

Donald R. Cole [1] 177

Donald R. Cole [2] 179

Jay Fagel 181

Captain Eugene Goss [1] 184

Captain Eugene Goss [2] 185

Sgt. Lockwood 185

Bobby Wayne Miller 185

Gary Miller 186

J.D. Parsons 188

Charlie Powell 188

Danny Oren Roberts 189

Captain Melvin Roberts 190

Patricia Watson Simmons 191

Joseph Eugene Vines 193

Sheriff Richard Waddell [1] 203

Sheriff Richard Waddell [2] 210

Appendix B: Forester and Gamboa Autopsies 212

Chapter Notes 223

References 229

Index 233

• “Compelling”—Appalachian Heritage
• “Haynes maps out an intricate, toxic regional topography…interesting…documentation of life in the southern mountains”—The Journal of Southern History
• “Haynes brings a unique perspective to the narrative as a local resident familiar with this history and culture of the area”—ProtoView

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