As recounted in Mara Leveritt's book, Devil's Knot, a thorough search of Robin Hood Hills directed by Chief Inspector Gary W. Gitchell of the West Memphis Police Department commenced early on the morning of May 6, 1993. Despite the best efforts of the police, dozens of volunteers, a search-and-rescue team, and a helicopter dispatched from nearby Memphis, Tenn., searchers came up empty handed.
At approximately 1:30 p.m., Steve Jones, a juvenile parole officer from Crittenden County, peered over the steep bank of a water-filled ditch in the woods near the Blue Beacon truck wash. Spotting a small, black tennis shoe in the water, Jones radioed for help. Minutes later, Sgt. Mike Allen arrived on the scene. Wading into the murky water, Allen unknowingly dislodged the pale, grotesquely arched form of Micheal Moore.
With the area secured, Detective Bryn Ridge volunteered to search the ditch. Making his way through the muck on his hands and knees, Ridge soon discovered clothing twisted around sticks and thrust into the ditch's bottom. The next to be found was Stevie Branch, quickly followed by Christopher Byers. All three had been submerged face down in the mud, stripped naked, and bound with their shoelaces. Covered in wounds, all three showed signs of having been beaten. The community's worst fears were confirmed. A murderer was loose in West Memphis.
