KINGMAN - A GPS unit found at the scene of where a Glendale murder suspect killed himself last month has led investigators to a body believed to be that of a missing Peoria man near Kingman.
James Keefer, 55, was reported missing by his family around Christmas. They hadn't heard from him since saying he was going hiking near Hackberry with his roommate earlier that month.
The roommate, Greg Hawkins, killed himself Dec. 30 after a 10-hour standoff at his mother's house in northern California. Hawkins was a suspect in the Dec. 21 shooting death of Glendale jogger Cynthia Ann Langrall, 57. Glendale police believe the shooting was possibly the result of a falling out between Hawkins and Langrall's husband several years ago.
Investigators from the Glendale Police Department traveled to northern California looking for possible evidence in the Langrall murder. They found the GPS unit, and computer forensic experts from the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center helped track a location of interest off of I-40 between Kingman and Needles, Calif.
The body was found in the desert off of Franconia Road three miles south of I-40, said Trish Carter, spokesperson for the Mohave County Sheriff's Office. No vehicle was found at the scene and authorities believe the body has been there since late December.
Clothing found with the body is a preliminary match for what Keefer was wearing in surveillance footage from a convenience store in Wickenburg Dec. 20 while with Hawkins.
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office will be in charge of the investigation into Keefer's death since his body was found here. A cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner during an autopsy Tuesday.
Reader Comments
Posted: Sunday, January 31, 2010
Article comment by:
No name provided
YES PIZZLE, you are looking for something that is not there. Are you suggesting that if an employee who works at ACTIC sees an officer who needs assistance, or is asked by a LE agency for assistance, they should reply, HELL NO, I work for ACTIC and cannot assist you, per PIZZLE. Get real it is a HOMICIDE, do you get that, a HOMICIDE, the ultimate crime. Not assisting would have been derelict and unethical. You may have a point somewhere in your analysis if ACTIC made a habit of this for insignificant crimes but again this is a HOMICIDE.
Posted: Sunday, January 31, 2010
Article comment by:
V Stokes
Jeez...did ya notice they said computer forensics experts? Maybe the GPS was smashed..or the memory had been cleared...could have been any number of things.
Not like they tracked the implanted chip in the killer or some other BS thing.
Would you have felt better if they had said FBI computer forensics? Most likely, due to the closeness of the 2 states, they asked AZ if they could help out. The CA unit is probably closed down due to budget cuts.
Posted: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Article comment by:
PIZZLE
Apparantly I'm a conspiracy theorist because I said to watch out for people abusing power or your rights.
I didn't say, in any way, that that's what this case is. But this is a slippery slope, and there is no arguing that.
If ACTIC has ANY information obtained through PATRIOT wiretaps or other special rules set out by the act (EG: anything warrantless that would require a warrant by any other LEO) then that info should NOT be shared for routine criminal investigations.
And no, I'm not a liberal nor a socialist. I despise the nanny state with all my heart, best believe that. Any TRUE conservative or libertarian (NOT liberal) should be alarmed by changes like these in recent years.
Posted: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Article comment by:
No name provided
Yeah.Lets blame it on the gun owners.
Posted: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Article comment by:
No name provided
Hey PIZZLE, it is a courtesy, not uncommon at all in the LE community amongst every agency. Let's not make this a conspiracy against the American people.
Posted: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Article comment by:
Dave
Good point! Remember that when it comes time to vote, vote out liberal socialists and turn this fiasco around!
Posted: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Article comment by:
Liberal Lion
Wasnt it good ol Ben Franklin that said something like "The man who would trade liberty for security deserves neither?"
It amazes me how many tuff talkin conservatives are so terrified of the (long dead) Osama Bin Laden and his motley crew of losers that they are willing to throw their rights down the toliet.
Posted: Friday, January 29, 2010
Article comment by:
Marvin the martian
Oh no, another conspiracy theorist nut!
Posted: Friday, January 29, 2010
Article comment by:
PIZZLE
Listen- I am glad this case was solved, and it is terrible what's happened. But something seriously bothers me here.
Why is the "Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center" participating in routine criminal investigations? Obviously these are signs that PATRIOT ACT era wiretap rules and other things are routinely used against Americans. When this was pushed the line was "only used to investigate terrorism particularly from foreign threats, not day to day domestic crimes"
I'm not saying them helping THIS case in particular was a violation of any rules- in fact they solved the case and helped a family.
I'm just saying keep aware of what is happening in the country, because I guarantee you a lot of innocent citizens' names and information are in those databases.
