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Viewer Comments: Theories, Questions and Leads

Rayson-Sonya
I can imagine while in the tunnels, that the kids will meet Dr. Lowery somewhere and there will be a confrontation almost like in "Tom Sawyer" when Tom met Injun Joe. Perhaps Mrs. Shegog will turn over the necklace to Beuchamp's relatives if she did not sell it yet. I am still concerned about the phrase in the poem about "you will die if my acadamy treasure disappears". It seems as though the area where the treasure is supposed to be maybe booby-trapped. That is why I am not sure that the whole treasure was found yet. It almost seems that if anyone disturbs the treasure that it will cause a cave-in of some sort. There will probably be skeletons down there, since the General disappeared before Grant's men reached the college area. Mrs. Shegog really needs to tell how she got the necklace, whether it was found in his house by his son and he passed it to his kin, or her husband gave it too her. I feel that if her husband gave her the necklace, then the treasure doesn't exist anymore, however if she received it by her ancestors, then the bulk of the treasure could still be in the Grove. I cannot wait for the conclusion, am sitting on needles and pins.

Just wondering when we will be getting more information on the investigation. Any ideas?

Thanks for your help.

Hi Rachael,
I would go back and interview the Professor whom may have dicarded the bones 4 years ago, in an area that he should not have.
One important question is. Does he have a wife? And where is she?

Thanks
John Monti

I dont know, but my instincts still tell me that there is oil under the Y building.
Sue

What happened to the Kudzu Kids updating on the bones found in the Y building. Last time I heard from you they had found the entrance to a tunnel. What is next? What I've received is a new case, the Daniels girl case. [From sue]

Why don't the others wait so you can go in the tunnels with them and jion in on the fun?
Caroline
C

Who is "you know who" in Stark's letter?
Did Beauchamp's brother Maxwell ever come to find the necklace?
Who is Shegogg's son that he refers to in his poem?
Did Mildred have any info about the necklace, etc. before moving? She said she had family there, and used to visit when she was little. She probably knows more than she's letting out.
Mildred also volunteers at the library-did she have any contact with Lowry at the library?
[from: Sheryl]

Rachel,
I think there is a link between the professor, O Brian,and the tresure? Do you think both of them knew the treasure was there and never told? Or do you think they have been working together?

Good luck,
Agent Brain

Rachel,
I think there is a link between the professor, O Brian,and the tresure? Do you think both of them knew the treasure was there and never told?

Rayson-Sonya
Did some checking again Pascagoula where Mrs. Shegog and Mr. O'Brian met and wed is 350 miles from Oxford. I forgot Mrs. Shegog didn't grow up in Oxford. I still wonder how she got the necklace. Did Mr. O'Brian grow up in Oxford? If so he still could have found the stash if he was involved with the new buildings being built on Campus. I think so because after they wed they went on archelogical digs for several years. Where did they get the money to do that. If I remember my history right, 1929 was the year the stockmarket crashed and was the beginning of the Great Depression. So I still think something is fishy.
Rachel: The O'Brian family had a drugstore in town back then. He may have found the treasure then because their store was know for its generoisity back then. They let people charge things or even gave theings, to poor people.

Rayson-Sonya
Well this is what we know. Lowery has been denied tenure,his book wasn't fit to be published. During the war a stash of valuables was hidden in the tunnels. Mrs. Shegog was seen wearing a red-heart necklace which seems to be part of the stash at one time. Mrs. Shegog left Washington because of financial instability, and loneliness(although her grown kids lived there). Kevin Stark had a leather map of the tunnels and some other old papers/pics.
What I suppose, Jerry O'Brian is Mrs. Shegog's grandson, and he has a criminal history. Professor Lowery bought and planted the bone to set up some big find (whether it is the treasure or someother civil war history).Since he made a comment in his letter about finding gold on the campus I am beginning to wonder if Lowery is using real life artifacts to retrace and plant a treasure on campus (which was found ages ago)to further his own career which is floundering as we speak.

Rachel: I agree that he is probably trying to seek glory. And probably planting things to find. Lowry isn't doing so well here. He was just exposed on TV. Some university students did a documentary for a class here--and it got shown on the public access TV channel. It made him look like a dangerous and crazy professor. The narrator even said he hated us for what we'd done to him.

Rayson-Sonya
Ok so the kids are in the tunnels, since they went into Farley Hall finding the treasure shouldn't be that hard if they follow the clues precisely as the poem said..go straight to Santo Spirito(which is the 3rd den) do not veer off to the left continue on until you go past the 4th den you will come to a wall which turns left..this is where you start walking the crucifix..L,R,R,L,R,R,L,R,R,L the should have found the treasure if it is still there.I do wonder because Mrs. Shegog does have the necklace. If the kids do not follow the directions they will end up in a dead end and lost. The revelation that Jerry is really Jerry O'Brian, tells me that he must be Mrs. Shegog's grandson. She must have had a falling out with her family in Washington because she left her son and daughter there, moved back to Oxford and changed her name back to Shegog(her maiden name). I wonder if she called her grandson to have him find out what Lowery was up to or how much he knew. It seems that since Farley Hall was built on top of the entrance to the tunnels, that someone would have investigated in 1929 when the building was built and that person would have been Mrs. Shegog's husband. So I'm not sure that any of the treasure still exists unless pieces were taken a few at a time as not to be suspicious since these would be pre-civil war pieces.

Rachel: They're still exploring down there. Its really wet. We are hoping the weekend of Oct 10, will be sunny. If so, the Kudzu Kids are going to find the treasure. I hope they wait for me, I'm getting back to town the afternoon of Oct 10.

You kids should leave the detectives like us at crimescene.com alone. We have murders and kidnappings to investigate. We have no time to help some bunch of kids learn about a bone that they found somewhere they shouldnt have been.
If u want that help READ A BOOK!!!!!!

feel free to email me at romeo61898@aol.com

Rachel: I'm sure you're joking. Thanks, I read lots of books.

hi im Melissa
i would like to say the janitor would be least suspected. in a case usually it is the person you least suspected. he could beleading you the wrong way

Rachel: He is not who he said he was. Det Armstrong sent us this.

{From: Tiffany}

I was just looking at the map with the diagram of the tunnels overlayed. If you look, some of the tunnels seem to form the shape of a cross. If you look at Santo Spirito and look to the left, the tunnel starting at Santo Spirito froms part of the cross. Maybe this means something, maybe not. Good luck.

Rachel: When we go back in, we'll try that route too. We think there are bound to be some tricks and traps down there.

Here's some items to look into. The Gen. was a scholar with known interests in the Bible, astronomy and architecture. In the poem, he mentions the Light, the Body, and the Bread, all apparent biblical references in regard to the chapel. Jesus is referred to as the Light. The communion bread is referred to as the Body. Where would the alter or communion table have been located in the old chapel?
Aslo, he speaks of marching the twice left path of old Santo Spirito. The Church of Santo Spirito in Florence was designed by Brunelleschi and its floor plan is in the shape of a cross. All four arms are the same, except that the nave is longer. Is the chapel or the observatory built in a similar manner? Also, Brunelleschi originated a novel, one-piece vault design for the domes of the churches he designed, beginning, I believe with San Lorenzo. The observatory, being what it is, is probably domed isn't it?
Finally, the clues in the poem seem to point to two entrances: One in the chapel, the other halfway between Goldstar peak and the Observatory.
[From Appomattox]

Rachel: I agree. Did you see the star on the map? Not all its points are visible. Zach noticed it.

Rachel...you mentioned that this bone may have belonged to a specific person, you need to investigate living relatives and suggest dna testing. If that is at all possible to get done you will have a definate answer as to weather this persons bone is the one that was found.

Rachel: I asked about DNA tests. It costs almost $1000 per test. They do DNA tests on Montel Williams show all the time, I didn't think it was so expensive.

Rayson-Sonya
Another question, how did Dr. Lowery get permission to do excavation in the first place. Dr. Lowery may have ordered the bone from Biolite and planted it to have an excuse to close the Old Chapel off so he and his team(need to find out who they are) could look for the treasure undisturbed. Since the poem was still in possesion Of Ms. Shegog I think they are just looking through as many of the tunnels as they can, since they are lacking the key which you have. I think it is time you show your daddy or Grandad what you have and see if either can help you gain entrance to the tunnels. Happy treasure hunting!!!

Rachel: Thanks, Grandad won't let us even talk about the tunnels. We might ask those students that told us about them to go with us. We think it'd be smart to go with a grown up. The plan is to enter the tunnels this weekend, Oct 10. I'm still out of town, but hope to be back then.

Rayson-sonya
o with help from my brother-in-law the treasure does seem to be located in dark circle in the middle between the chapel and Magnetic Observatory(Farley Hall). The area seems to be called The Grove. The only entrances I can realistically say are The Chapel and Farley Hall.
I do have a problem about the location of the Shegog house, we have been told that the house is located north of Goldstar Peak, however when I consulted a map at www.Mapquest.com it shows that Van Buren Ave is east of the college area, just past the train depot. I was trying to see if it was possible that a tunnel, from the 'basement' of Shegog house, could be dug all the way from the house to the diagramed area. If so then maybe you kids could look in her house for an entrance.But after seeing this I you should just stick to those two buildings, unless you happen onto a manhole that opens into part of the tunnel. Good luck,the shortest way there does seem to come from the Old Chapel building.

Rachel: The Shegog is way above Goldstar Peak--off the map. I didn't explain that very well. As for a tunnel in the Shegog house--she won't let anyone in. Hunter tried to go there and show her the web site on his laptop. She said she was sick.

Rayson-Sonya
You need to talk to to Toby Miller and see if there was a photographer who took pics at the pageant and see if you can get any pics of the necklace. I think she was told by Lowery to deny any knowlege of the necklace if anyone asked since it is apparent he has conversed with her at some point.He may have told her that her ancestor had hidden other people's property and she may not want that fact out in the open. Ms. Shegog may not know there is a secret basement under the house, all the digging was done while he occupied the house alone and since he studied architecture, he may have devised a way to make a hidden entrance. I think the 'Janitor' the kids talked to is either related to Beauchamp or Cleveland Jackson.

Rachel: Mrs. Shegog was wearing a Ruby necklace! Zach went to the newspaper and talked to the photographer. He didn't have any prints left, but he remebered the necklace. He spoke with her about it too, during the news interview. She called it her family treasure.

Rayson-Sonya
Where on Campus is the Shegog house located? Is it closer to the Observatory, the Magnetic Observatory or the Chapel.

Rachel: It's above Goldstar Peak and is not pictured on the map.

The treasure lies in at the terminus of a tunnel halfway between the Dead House and the Chapel. The tunnel that begins in front of the Chapel points to the treasure, site but doesn't connect directly to it. Read the line of the poem that says "He shall march the rest as a Crucifix" and follow the directions. The tunnels for a crucifix, with the X at the base of the cross.

[From: Appomattox]

Rachel: That'd be nice if you're right. The gang is looking for a way to get down there.

Rayson-Sonya
Ask Stark, I think, how he came to have possesion of the leather map in the first place. Did he find it with his family possessions or somewhere on Campus?

Rachel: Every time we call him he hangs up on us. When we saw him scan the map, it looked like he had some other things with him: pictures, letters and other papers. It didn't look like it was found stuff. It looked like stuff his grandparents put away in a box. Old stuff.

{From: Tiffany}


Remeber in your report on the University and the civil war you said the dead soldiers were stored in the mangetic observatory and they called it the house of the dead. In the Generals poem he said the treasure was under the house of the dead. Maybe you should look there.

Rachel: I won't be going anywhere near there. But once Zach and the others get down there, I bet they'll look around there. I noticed that clue in the poem too.

Rayson-sonya
Just a thought, I wonder if the guy who was possibly posing as a janitor, that the kids talked to, was really someone going thru the professors trash, and he mixed some of his own trash in with the professor's and that was what the kids found. Until we get another update or we get our comments answered soon that is about all I can say right now.

Rachel: We suspect him too. I'll ask my granddaddy, Detective Armstrong to do a background check. Thanks.

Rachel,
In a previous comment dated Sep, 9th someone said that the nearest building to the left of the observatory was buitl in 1929. about where the Magnetic observatory is. when was the Magnetic Observatory built? e-mail me at Krystle8@aol.com for a realy good theory.

Rachel: The Magnetic Observatory was built in 1860.

In Shegog's poem he says that he is in the basement of his house, but Mrs. Shegog tells the kids that she doesn't have a basement. (She is living in Shegog's house, right?) Also Shegog said that the "answer was written in the stars". I would say that this relates to the observatory. As someone else has already said, Mrs. Shegog needs to be asked about the heartshaped ruby necklace she wore for the beauty paegent. Since she is his great great grandaughter, she could have inherited it, or since her husband was an archealogist maybe he found it. The kids said that the janitor was a different person when they followed that individual to Professor Lowery's office. Possibly the first janitor wasn't a janitor at all, but was also going through Lowery's trash. The message from the investigator said the kids should have recognized the phone number from Lowery's trash, that they had seen it before. Does it belong to the Pizza place? Love those helpful hits! (from: Skeeter)
Rachel: Melody suspected Mrs Shegog was hiding the basement too. In the video interview of Mrs. Shegog, you can see Melody wrote the words, "Basement." As for the necklace, Mrs Shegog said the newspaper was mistaken. We'll check into the janitor. And--the phone number was Mrs. Shegog's.

Hi I have been tracking your case for a while now!! I have tried to find out what Biolite is and what they do but got nothing!! The map you have found looks like under ground tunnels!! You might want to locate the tunnels and see what you find out!! I have other Ideas but dont want to reveal them to the public!! Please email me at vince132@hotmail.com

Rachel: The Biolote company sells biological samples (live insects, dead frogs, protozoa slides, etc) for classrooms. We called them about the item number and it's incomplete. The last 4 digits are missing. The missing digits tell exactly what it was. Here is what we know: The item number #B428-F6331 indicates 2 things. B428 means that it is an item that doesn't need refrigeration. F6331 means that the items were harvested from human sources. The remaining numbers would tell what exactly was ordered. It could have been a bone.

To Our Friends: We're getting all these comments answered--hope to hear from you soon--

Kudzu Kids

Rachel: Sorry it took so long. You asked hard questions!!

Rayson-Sonya
I did some research on Ole Miss. It seems the Observatory in the old pic is now called Barnard Observatory, the nearest building to the left of the observatory approximately where the Magnetic Observatory was located, is Farley Hall. It was originally named Lamar Hall and was constructed in 1929 the same year that Walter O'Brian and Mildred Shegog wed.I wonder if Walter found it somehow during the construction and gave it to his bride as a gift, not knowing the significance of the find. I would really appreciate someone helping with the clues since to me they seem to contridict themselves. Hope to hear more feed back from others.

Rachel: Hi Rayson-Sonya, your comments and questions are always so good. Thanks for the information on the lineage of the observatory.What do you think Walter found? Do you think it was the necklace?

The Obsrvatory is now known as Barnard Observatory. The magnetic observatory is the small building in the botton right corner of the treasure map. View it here. The magnetic observatory is now known as Farley Hall.

Rayson-Sonya
Ok. First you need to ask Mrs. Shegog where she got the RED RUBY HEART NECKLACE that she wore in the senior citizen pagent, I believe it is the same ruby locket mentioned in John Beauchamp's letter to his Odessa. You might also examine the locket it might contain something etched inside since it is a locket, it might hold a clue to the rest of the treasure. Also you might ask Mrs. Shegog if her husband Walter O'Brian was related to the O'Brian mentioned in the poem in the phrase Spanish fortune. Also the poem mentions that the earth's riches(the jewlery) was rotting beneath the House of the Dead,if you remember the Magnetic Observatory was referred to as the Dead House, because that is where they stored the corpses of fallen soldiers. If so you might take a closer look at the area to determine if anything is present there. We also might need a present day map of the campus because another building might be there now covering the ruins.I am still trying to deceipher the clues in the poem but it does seem to me that the treasure lies under the ruins of the old Magnetic Observatory.

Rachel: She says she doesn't have it and the paper was mistaken. I'll ask about the Obrien connection--Thanks! I hope you're right about the treasure. The only way for us to know is to go down there. That sounds exciting.

[LZRQUEEN]
Just a question - I thought at one time I saw a list of what was in the Professers trash. Why can't I find it now? It says delayed in the news section but I distinctly remember reading a list at one time.
LZRQUEEN

Rachel: We messed up. Its back where it belongs, here.

I only have one question and that is: Have you found out what part of the body does this bone belong to?

Rachel: Its a leg bone.

[Michka] Could this be a simple bad idea of planting a bone in hopes of adding publicity for the purpose of promoting the manuscript (even though rejected by the publisher)? It must have been planted sometime before the manuscript's submission to the publisher.

Rachel: That sounds like Professor Lowry. I bet you're right.

Though not a Civil War anecdote, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, a Mexican dictator, lost his left leg in 1838. He allegedly later had the leg dug up, embalmed, and paraded through the streets of Mexico City. Perhaps you have uncovered the REAL leg? Stranger things have happened!

Rachel: Wasn't that an episode of King of the Hill? I didn't know it was true.

Why don't you research the geneology of Prof. Lowry and the Janitor to see if they are related to Shegog or Stark.

Rachel: We're checking the janitor, with help from Detective Armstrong, my grandaddy. We suspect Lowry was related to a student who stormed the administration offices in a protest during the civil war.

I'm enjoying this case, but am anxious for new information.
(L)
Rachel: Sorry to keep you.

If there was other bones found on campus besides the one you guys found then mayby somewhere there is a human skeloton or part of one and mayby professor lowory knows more then he's realy saying
(From Stacy Smith)

Rachel: We think Lowry is hiding something too.

While the bone is the key, it is not necessarily the only crucial bit of evidence at this point. The bone definately needs to be examined to, at the very least, determine it's origin and how long it's been laying around.

Now, Proffesor Lowry obviously is very protective of his research, but I don't think it's simply because he doesn't want possible clues to the past to be destroyed. More info needs to be found on the civil war Lowry, I'm fairly certain that the two are related in some fashion. The present day Lowry is not (as one person suggested) trying to hide or cover up anything relating to the older Lowry. If he were ashamed of anything that his predecessor had done, I doubt he would be so adamant about his research into the Civil war and the events that surrounded the older Lowry. If anything, he is most likely trying to find out all he can about the gentleman and do his bit to portray him as a hero.

Also, take note of the fact that the janitor was reluctant to speak about the proffessor. I would take it that he is someone that the janitor knows not to tangle with.

It's very interesting thus far. I can't wait to see where this goes! [From: Mary]

Rachel: We are checking into the janitor right now. You're right about Lowry. He may be related to the civil war Lowry. We can't tell what he's up too, but portraying his ancestor as a hero sounds close to me. I wonder how we can prove it?

Ok,2 things what were on the 2 broken cassette tapes in the professors garbage. Also what is Biolite and what did he buy. HURRY WITH INFO

Rachel: The cassette tapes had banjo music on them. The Biolote company sells biological samples (live insects, dead frogs, protozoa slides, etc) for classrooms. We called them about the item number and it's incomplete. The last 4 digits are missing. The missing digits tell exactly what it was. Here is what we know: The item number #B428-F6331 indicates 2 things. B428 means that it is an item that doesn't need refrigeration. F6331 means that the items were harvested from human sources. The remaining numbers would tell what exactly was ordered. It could have been a bone.

[ D. Knight] I need some more info.

Rachel: Sorry to keep you.

Parravani-Ellie
Where abouts is the Holly Springs, because it's mentioned in each letter(from i.t stark, clevlend Jackson and John Lucas)?Clevend jackson said he had his legs burned off at the Holly springs.If the holly springs is near to the Y-building then this is my theorie:
Prof lowry went to the holly springs,ILLEGALLY, to see if he could find some civil war stuff, he found a leg bone and sawed it in half, he kept one half for research. He didn't know what to do with the other half of the leg bone, so he planted it, innocently, at the Y- building.
Keep up the good work!!
Goodbye!!

Rachel: Holly Springs is 20 miles North of Oxford. We're told that there are several old battlefields where skeltons can be found. And, it is illegal to dig them up.

rayson-sonya
several questions after reviewing Ole Miss history.
Copper needs to be interviewed about the bone he found behind Guyton Hall(ROTC building)6 yrs. ago
Since Guyton Hall was built in 1934, was there ever any mention of bones found while they were building it
Magnetic Observatory isn't currently listed as a building on Campus was it renamed or destroyed?
Also some more history uncovered Chancelor Barnard had friendships with General Sherman and Andrew Jackson"Whiskey" Smith, that is why Ole Miss was spared, also Barnard relocated to NY during the Civil War, so one could assume he was a union supporter.

Rachel: Nobody in the campus physical plant knows who Cooper is, we called there asking for him.

The Obsrvatory is now known as Barnard Observatory. The magnetic observatory is the small building in the botton right corner of the treasure map. View it here. The magnetic observatory is now known as Farley Hall.

Although Whisky Smith spared Ole Miss (The University of Mississippi), he burned Oxford to the ground and personally assisted in looting the homes of his southern enemies.

rayson-Sonya
Just a few comments, during the civil war it was common to make tunnels for spying on both North and South territory and you would really be surprised to know how many still exist, long forgotten..also some were used as the infamous "underground railroad"- Harriet Tubman. I live in Auburn, NY; home of Harriet Tunman and there are tunnels under our business district,they were rediscovered because someone found an entrance an then robbed some area stores. Nobody knew how the perpetrator got in until he was caught(he bragged) he got a reduced sentence by showing how he got in.
Well enough about my hometown history..Wonder's why the discovery of the other bones the janitor was talking about, was kept hushed?
Personally I think that Professor Lowery was a desendant of Lowery..he was probably a turncoat which is why Professor is so obsessed about his studies on "what if" changing the southern hystory and if the south won the war. He may be actually embarrassed about his ancestor and he wishes he could change what he did. It may have really influenced the war in some way.

Rachel: I'm sure you're right. We are positive there are tunnels and are looking for a way in. I hope there is enough light for a video. I think you're right, Lowry may be a descendant of the civil war Lowry. Lowry and the janitor may be working togther. We just have to prove it. Any ideas?

If the bone in the picture of the newspaper is indeed the one you have found, it can not be the part that had been separated from the rest of a (living) body/soldier by an amputation. It has got a ball-and-socket-joint which is directly connected to the hip!
Two possibilities:
first: the leg (it is obviously the human bone of an upper thigh) has entirely been removed from the body; however, why should another piece of the amputated leg be sawed apart?
second: the poor soldier had been sawed away a piece of his leg (which would explain the saw-like traces), but kept the bone you have found; but where is the rest of his remains
then?
You better examine the space below the trap door once more...
[Gerard, Austria]

Rachel: We can't get back in the way we came. We are locked out of the Y building.

Could you maybe have a text version of the videos??? Now...What did the Unversity PR releases say? Could we have copies of the articles of USA Today and Daily Mississippian??? Does Ole Miss Have a list of alumni who died in the war???? Is William Lowry an ancestor of Professor Lowry. Can you get medical Records of Professor Lowry? Information on William Lowry...like what happened to him...Call the local number and see who answers. Check the call numbers and the Biolite supplies #.
(Country_Girl)

Rachel: We added some text versions. Thanks. There was nothing interesting in either newspaper. They didn't really even look like he read them.

Are you worried the Professor might cause you harm?

Rachel: He better not.

I have a question concerning Prof Lowry's trash and the students interview from the tunnel. They said they found some chicken wings in the tunnel and in Prof Lowry's trash was an empty box of Popeye's chicken. Are you guys looking into any connections on that?
[from: Chris]

Rachel: The chicken bones can't be a coincidence. Lowry loves chicken, we;ve seen him eating it before. We think the chicken bones in the tunnels prove he went down there. Its got Zach ready to head off down there looking for evidence.

[Lori]
I had a couple more ideas and questions:
1- Professor Lowry is currently working on a production of Civil War Lineage in the South. Is it possible he found some links between himself, William B. Lowry and General Shegog? Could it be that William B. Lowry was General Shegog?
2- What ever happened to William Lowry after leaving to fight in the war with the University Grays? Research Mrs. Maude Morrow Brown's book, "University Grays" to see if there is further information available. Could the call numbers found in Prof. Lowry's trash belong to this book?
3- It was reported in a couple of the soldier letters that the general fell ill and Stark was put in charge. What happened to the general? Did he die or was he evacuated when Gen. Grant arrived? In Jackson's letter he stated that Shegog was crazy and others thought the same. Was there a "mutiny?"
4- According to one of the letters, guns were being placed in the ground and soldiers were being moved to some tunnels to be quarantined. Did they die there? Was the tunnel project ever completed? Stark was an architect and could have completed such a project. Does Professor Lowry have some of the same ideas Shegog had about fighting techniques? (Ambushing the Yankees from the tunnels.) Talk to some students who have taken his class on reconstructing the Civil War.
5- It was also stated a couple times that valuables were taken away from the soldiers at the Battle of Shiloh and at the University. What did Gen. Shegog do with these valuables? Could they also be in the tunnels somewhere?
6- A Professor reportedly saved the campus from being burned by Gen. Grant, but the business section of Oxford was burned. Were the soldiers' valuables used to pursuade Gen. Grant to bypass burning the University?
Just some thoughts I wanted to share!

Rachel: 1-Mrs. Shegog didn't seem to like Prof Lowry. We doubt they are related.
2-The Civil War Lowry survived and returned to Mississippi. The University Grays, a band of student soldiers, was not one of the book call numbers from Lory's trash. There was one book on them called " University of Mississippi Freedom Fighters" Black, White and Gray.
3-There is no mutiny on record. According to the a pamphlet published by the university, Shegog and his soldiers escaped into the night. They joined a band of sodiers at Hurricane Creek, North of Oxford, and fought in several battles.
4-The tunnels were never used in battle, there is no record of their actual existence. Thanks for the lead on Lowry mentioning tunnels in class. We asked some students about this. Prof Lowry never mentioned tunnels or tunnel guns in his class, they thought the idea was cool--and would have remembered. When, and if, we get down there, we think we'll find some skeletons. General Shegog probably put the dying soldiers down there.
5-I don't know what I'd do if there was treasure down there. That'd be so cool. I hope you're right. They had lots of treasure they'd taken from Oxford's citizens alone. You can't carry treasure and fight a war.
6-Here is what Rayson-Sonya said about this: Chancelor Barnard had friendships with General Sherman and Andrew Jackson"Whiskey" Smith, that is why Ole Miss was spared, also Barnard relocated to NY during the Civil War, so one could assume he was a union supporter.

[Murphy]

I have a couple of questions to add to those already raised about Prof. Lowry's trash.

1. Why weren't there any chicken bones in the bag of Popeye's trash? Did the empty chicken container indicate whether or not there should have been bones left? I have no idea what this might mean.

2. (Forgive me if this is too gross) When you say there were lots of dirty Kleenex, do you mean that in the usual sense or could you tell if there was also dirt or dust present? If Prof. Lowery has been spending a lot of time in the "Y" Building where it's apparently rather dusty, that could account for the Kleenex and the antihistamine spray.

3. Has anyone tried to talk to Dr. Miller about the memo found or to get more information about the excavation at the "Y" Building?

Rachel: 1-We think he ate the chicken--bones and all. Either that, or the bones were in his other trash basket. 2-The Kleenex were gross. You may be right about the dust. Its messy down there. 3-The university people won't talk to us. We are afraid to tell them about the map we found, otherwise they'll lock down the area completely. As is, we can still get into the builings and the tunnels if we want.

Hi, I've got some questions for you all:
-Is there a way you could find out if Professor Lowry and William B. Lowry of the University Grays are related? Maybe more research could be done to see what ever became of William Lowry.
- The items in the trash were interesting. In the memo to Dr. Miller he says that he needs more security because "There is more to this mystery than meets the eye." And he talks about some "findings." Try to find out what these findings are. See if any of the security people he requested or if anyone on his staff would be willing to talk to you.
- Did you find out what kind of company Biolite Supplies is and check to see what item #B428-F6331 is?
- What books belong to the call numbers found?
- Did you read either of the newspapers found for articles Professor Lowry might be interested in?
-Find out whose phone number was on the piece of paper. Maybe retired Det. Armstrong could help out with his connections in the dept.
- Could mean nothing, but the food and drink combination in the trash seem strange.
- Does Prof. Lowry have allergies and does he smoke?
- What were the University PR releases about?
- Was there a label on the cassete tape case?
Just some things I would throw your way. Good luck!

Rachel: Good questions.

1-It is our guess that the Lowrys are related. William Lowry survived the Civil War and returned to Mississippi.
2-As you know we spoke to the janitor about the professor. View here.
3-The Biolote company sells biological samples for classrooms. We called them about the item number and it's incomplete. The last 4 digits are missing. The missing digits tell exactly what it was. Here is what we know: The item number #B428-F6331 indicates 2 things. B428 means that it is an item that doesn't need refrigeration. F6331 means that the itemsharvested from human sources. The remaining numbers would tell what exactly was ordered. It could have been a bone.
4-We didn't check the call numbers. I'll go on campus and look. Thanks. OK, I'm back!! (fast huh?) The books were all civil war history books. Boooooring!
5-The number was Mrs. Shegog's. We visited her. View it here
6-People eat odd things.
7-The Press Releases were about a couple of faculty members that were getting a book published and hosting a conference here. They did a photo-history of the University here.
8-No label, and just a bunch of old banjo music.

Are the Kudzu kids the Compson kids plus the author?

 Rachel: We are just a group of kids that solve mysteries in their neighborhood. The Compson family is welcome to join us!

I don't think that the bone found was acctually a confederate bone. If it was, there would have been more than just one. The bone was probably just left there by an animal. It could be an animal remain!!

Rachel: You may be right. The reason we thought it might be a Confederate bone is because Dr. Lowry was so interested in it, and he is the Civil War profesor on campus.

Rayson-Sonya
Just a quick but to me obvious question the title refers to confederate bones as in plural however, we have only been told about one bone found have other bones been found and if so by who? Maybe that is the reason for the current'excavation' going on in that building.

Rachel: Only one bone has been found. I would guess that the reason it says Confederate bones -- plural -- is because Zach wrote it, and he always likes to exaggerate things and make them more exciting.

[From PJ]

Hi Kids!

1. In your Video Survelliance you said "We noticed a bunch of people going in and out..." Who were these people? Were they construction workers? How were they dressed? Were there any trucks in the area with company logo's? If not, then possibly the people you saw were there for some other reason. Can you recall anything significant about them? I couldn't get the video to run, so I haven't seen the survelliance video, maybe there's something there.

2. Have you contacted the University to see what the plans are for the "construction" that is going on in the "Y" Building? If so, are they having it remodeled? Are they having foundation work done? What construction company is doing the work? Perhaps you could talk to the contractor and find out what he or she knows about the trap door.

3. All the data presented so far refers to "construction" at the "Y" Building except for the reference to the UPD Officer (name unknown) who said the building was "under excavation". Construction is building something, excavation is digging something. If remedeling and foundation work is being done, excavation would make sense, if not, why did the UPD Guy use the word "excavation"?

Good luck with your investigation... and be careful! It seems that someone has something to hide!

Rachel: 1.) The people we saw going in and out of the "Y" Building were Prof. Lowry and his assistants, and then some other workers who got in trucks from the Ole Miss physical plant. There was no company trucks or anything like that. 2.) I asked a lady at the lyceum and she said that the "Y" Building is being rennovated because it's so old. But if you can get the video to work, you'll see that it didn't look like any one was working in there yet. Nothing was torn up, it was just abandoned. 3.) We're still trying to find out if this work is an excavation or remodeling.

We will be careful--thanks.

From Cheeky1,
I'd like to know more about Lowry's class Reconstructing History - maybe the bone planter was one of his students? I agree with the amputated soldier bone theory.

Rachel: My dad says that Prof. Lowry's class is about taking famous battles and trying to figure out where the Confederate armies went wrong. It doesn't sound like a fun class, but maybe that's because he's such a scary teacher.

Rayson-Sonya
Since we do know that several renovations have happened over the years(it is now office space) we can conclude that the bone was put in after the latest renovations...Also since McGowan is an Anthopologist he may have planted the bone to get money into the college or himself..need more info of his "Family Crisis"

Rachel: My dad -- Dr. McGowan -- didn't have anything to do with finding the bone. He didn't know it was there until we showed it to him. The family crisis is something between my parents.

During the Civil war it was "routine" to
amputate a leg for a bullet wound. The
bone appeared to have been sawed off at
one end. This is consistant with the old
"Y" building being used as a hospital during
the Civil War. On the other hand, I'm sure
the professor knows this and he could very easily have planted the bone in the building to make
funding for his research more appealing to the
Scool Trustees. He was seen near the building just before the bone was found and I'mm sure he had access to a sawn leg bone as the Civil War period was his specialty. He may have found it at Shiloh where he lived and just planted it at the building.

Rachel: The professor was definitely at the "Y" Building. We saw him there several times. But it looks like some people in town are starting to think we planted the bones. I promise... we didn't!

Rayson-sonya
Did some research of my own again.. you can see pics etc of the real Ole Miss at address http://www.olemiss.edu/hospitality/tour/ Since it indicated that the Y building is being used as offices, wonder's whose office the closet was in or if there were offices nearby whose?

Rachel: The closet was just like a broom closet, located under the stairs as soon as you walked in. It was easy to find.Thanks for the great link to Ole Miss!

[Murphy]

Why would the discovery of the bone cause the university to support Lowry's conference? That would appear to be Lowry's strongest motive for planting the bone, but I don't quite see how the bone would get the university to change its mind. We need a link between this bone and Lowry's Civil War theories to make this a believable motive.

Does Lowry have another reason to plant the bone? Who else would have a reason? What, if anything, could be gained by the discovery of the bone?

All of this assumes that the bone was planted. Are we convinced that it was?

Rachel: Prof. Lowry's conference hasn't been talked about much recently. My dad said it would take more than finding a Civil War bone for the university to put up money for the conference. The police seem to be convinced that the bone was planted, but I'm not so sure. We researched some old Civil War letters and found out that the bone could be real. Read them here.

I'm a member of the regular crimescene I'm also 14. Anyway back to the problem at hand. Does anyone know who Dowry is? Could Hunter describe the closet umm.. like was the door hidden was it covered with dust? Now that may seem an odd request but a building under construction would not be dusted therefore if there was no dust it could mean it was planted there. Also it would be helpful to have a map of the campus depicting the y-building and the Lyceum.
Thank you and good luck
oxford

Hunter: The trap door was found in a broom closet. It was just a board in the floor like you see in the movies, like a board people pull up to hide money in. It wasn't dusty or too dirty that I remember. Go to the Ole Miss web site for a map of the campus.

Are Dr. MdGowan's troubles financial in nature? How does he feel about Dr. Lowry's views on the Civil War?
How far away from the Lyceum is the Y Building?

[Kathy]

Rachel: My dad isn't having financial troubles, just some family troubles. He's sad these days. It's tough. Anyway, dad wouldn't talk much about Dr. Lowry, but I get the picture he's not too fond of him. The "Y" Building is directly across the Grove Loop from the Lyceum. If I had to guess, I'd say they were 100-200 yards apart.

Kids,
A forensic anthropologist can tell you alot about the bone. Talk with the janitors past and present to see what they might know about the trapdoor. See if the bone may have come from another building on campus or a nearby grave yard. Try to determine the professors comings and goings for the last few months.
Paul
Phoenix,Az

Rachel: This was a great tip. We ended up talking to a janitor who takes out Dr. Lowry's garbage. See the interview here.

Rayson-Sonya
Did some research on the Battle of Shiloh..General Albert S. Johnson(Confederate)was killed by a shot to the leg, he died because he needed a tournaquet and he had sent his surgeon to tend to the Union prisoners. Since Dr. Lowery grew up near Shiloh, wonder's if he planted the bone to somehow try to make a connection to further his hopes for a conference. Since carbon dating would not be any help, the bone needs to be identified as to whether it belongs to a human or any other animal.
If Dr. Lowery didn't plant it we need to figure out who did and why. We need to find out if any inside renovations were ever done to the building, since it is about 150 years old.If so we need the blueprints to see if is possible that it was planted years ago as a college prank.

Rachel: I have learned that it takes a lot of work to find out clues like these. We got our grandaddy to help investigate by talking to the University Police. You can read the e-mail he sent me here.

It's hard for me not to think that this isn't a hoax. A trap door so easily identified, and by children no less? How could an area like that under construction not have been founded earlier? I think that the professor is terribly frustrated with the idea that no one will fund this conference in which he wants to host, and he's doing everything in his power to get what he desires. He placed that femur bone there, so he could produce some sort of excuse for getting what he wants, which is the conference, and a wider acceptance and knowledge of his work. This is an act of selfishness on the professors part. Keep on keppin' on, the truth must be uncovered. [from: Nonce@aol.com, aka. hannah]

Rachel: We still don't know if the Professor put the bone in the closet. (And by the way, it wasn't hard to find, and who knows why no one had discovered it before? It was well disguised, but we were looking for anything suspicious and just happened to find it.)

[From Wix]

I think you kids should have Prof. Lowery looked at a little closer. I think he could have planted the bone there in hopes to get approval for his conference.
There was a research item on Kudzou. Why? Could there be Kudzu growing around the area of the Y building? Could Lowery brought it from Georgia, if he was ever there in his travels of the South?
Also, if there is little known of the "controversal" Gen. Shegog, where is Lowery getting his information?
What is going on in the McGowan home, that there is a family crisis? Is it because Rachel and Hunter were picked up by the police or something else? Why was Hunter hiding when the police came?
These are just questions from 2 inquiring minds that want to know and help solve the mystery!

Rachel: We've definitely been looking hard at Prof. Lowry, simply because he became so agitated over the phone with dad. Read what Hunter overheard here. The research item on kudzu is just there to let people who aren't from the South know how we got our club's name. And our family is having a crisis because my mom moved out when her and my dad couldn't get along anymore. Also, Hunter was hiding when the police came because we didn't want him to take the bone away.

I find it strange that one could so quickly find a trapdoor that had remained hidden from discovery for perhaps a century. Information on the state of that trap door needs to be revealed. Was it recently made obvious because of construction? That would be a strange thing as it was in a closet and construction work would probably not be occurring inside of a closet. Was it simply luck that caused its discovery within moments of entering the building (as it appears to have occurred on the video)? I find it hard to believe that a long hidden door would be so easily discovered. That would seem to indicate the newness of the secret compartment. We need to have that compartment checked for evidence of when it was created. This is easily accomplished by looking at the surrounding materials. Also, if the bone were sawed during the Civil War the cut should be done with period surgical saws which would perhaps leave some metal evidence in the bone itself which could be tested.

Rachel: I don't know if anyone else knew about the trapdoor. I'm sure someone did because there are pipes down there and it seems to be pretty deep. It may be a storage place of some kind or even a basement. We're going down there again pretty soon, if we can get by the professor's security.

rayson-Sonya
Noticed an inconsistancy in the news report and the video of finding the bone...in the news article, Zach took credit for finding trapdoor and bone; however, in the video Rachel found the trapdoor and her brother Hunter found the bone. Since the Y building was used to house confederate soldiers and the Lyceum was used as a hospital, we need to find out if any significant battles were fought nearby..also need to do research on the Battle of Shilo, and General Shegog.

Rachel: I think the newspaper article got some things wrong. Dad said he never mentioned carbon dating to the reporter because he knew the bone's origins couldn't be tested that way.

I have two questions.....doesn't it seem weird that the college will not let the professor do his conference, but they said to the newspaper they wanted to help with Ole Miss. link to Civil war??? Does the professor belong to any organizations to do with Confederacy?????

[From: Country_Girl]

Rachel: I don't know what Confederate organizations Prof. Lowry belongs too, but I'm sure there are many. Maybe we should try to get a copy of his resume.

research the area where the construction is taking place.check for possible valuable mineral ores or oil deposits.bones located in constructions sites work has to be ceased while the matter is investigated.if all else fails check the probility that the site was a civil war field hospital

Rachel: Grandaddy told us the police officers checked the soil and are now getting it studied. Our research has found that the "Y" Building housed wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

I suggest that if you find out that the bone is of a Confederate solider, find as much info as you can on the war and see if you can find missing people.
Good Luck

Rachel: We recently came across some interesting letters. Read them here.

[from: SpaceDog]
You've already done a pretty good job starting out this investigation. Maybe it wuold be a good idea
to find out more about General Shegog. Also, try to find out what your father could do to find out if the bone is genuine.

Rachel: We're looking into the General now. Thanks for the tip.

Well kids'
The bone you found was "planted", you need to start checking where one might missing from. If it was stole and hidden there, look at what type of buildings are in the area. Also look at ANYBODY who is familar with the building and/or area, the stasher has to live or work nearby.

Good luck
Adam
Phoenix,AZ

Rachel: It's interesting that the newspaper article about the bone hoax suggests it was fake, while the e-mail from my grandaddy says that the bone is still being tested. We're trying to solve this problem.

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