Alferd Packer Massacre - Lake City, CO - Infamous Crime Scenes on Waymarking.com

February 1874. Six men set out across the mountains of southern Colorado. A cold snow storm strands the group in the wilderness. Only one man arrives on the other side of the mountains with an incredulous story.

Civil War veteran Alfred "Alferd" Packer was hired to guide a group of prospectors from Utah to the gold mines of Colorado. Although being advised to wait until spring to cross the treacherous mountain passes, Packer and five other men set out for the Los Piños Indian Agency near Gunnison. After getting lost and stranded in a severe snow storm, Packer alone arrived at the agency later that spring.

However, he arrived in very good condition for one who had allegedly spent several weeks in the harsh elements. Packer gave several conflicting testimonies claiming that one of the members, Shannon Bell, went mad and killed the others, roasting parts over a fire. Packer then stated that he shot Bell in self defense when he was attacked with a hatchet. A search party eventually found the remains of five men on a bluff above Lake City. Most appeared to have been brutally murdered in their sleep, but one showed signs of a struggle.

Packer escaped but was eventually spotted in Wyoming and taken to trial in Lake City in 1883. According to saloon keeper Larry Dolan, the judge stated, "ther' was sivin Dimmycrats in Hinsdale County an' ye et five iv 'em, goddam ye! I sintince ye t' be hanged by th' neck ontil yer dead, dead, DEAD, as a warnin' ag'in reducin' th' Dimmycratic popylachun iv th' state." Packer was in fact sentenced to "be hung by the neck until you are dead, dead, dead" [visit link], but the charge was later appealed and changed due to a legal technicality and he spent several years in the State Prison in Canon City. Packer was later released from prison on parole and spent the last few years of his life in Littleton, west of Denver, where he is buried.

Perhaps we will never know the truth or the full story of what happened that fateful spring. Nonetheless, Alferd Packer remains as a curious legend in Colorado history and has been immortalized in folk legend. In 1968, students at the University of Colorado established the "Alferd G. Packer Memorial Grill" [visit link]. With a touch of sadistic humor, they adopted the slogan, "Have a friend for lunch!"

Alferd Packer Massacre
memorial tablet

Sources: Sangres.com, Littleton Historical Museum, Solving the West’s Greatest Mystery & Historical Site Marker

Date of crime: 02/01/1874 Public access allowed: yes Fee required: no Web site: [Web Link]

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