“But Austin came back to the camp after he left that afternoon.” I knew he’d already asked this question, so I assumed he was just verifying Toby’s answer.
“Yes. He came back and was sitting at the campfire with the others the last time I peeked out to see what was going on. Whatever happened, happened late that night or early the following morning before I got up.”
“So you think it’s possible that Austin slept in his tent and got up early. Even earlier than you?” I asked.
“Yes, it’s possible. It had been light for at least an hour by the time I got up. If Austin did get up early that morning, he left the camp without so much as tossing a log on the fire, but I suppose if he had a destination in mind, he might have simply rolled out of his sleeping bag and headed out.”
“Any idea where he might have gone?” I asked.
“No. I really can’t think where he would have gone. I suppose he might have headed down to the lake to fish. None of us had had much luck the previous day.”
“Was Austin’s pole missing?” Cass asked.
Toby frowned. “I have no idea. I don’t remember seeing it, but I didn’t specifically look for it either.”
“Did anyone else show up at any point during the campout? A seventh person?” I asked, remembering the sandwich.
“I didn’t see anyone else show up at the camp. Why do you ask?”
I explained about the seventh sandwich.
“I don’t know why we would have bought the seventh sandwich. I don’t even remember doing that.”
“There was a deserted campsite found along the river about half a mile from where your group was camped,” Cass informed Toby. “Do you remember hearing about that?”
He nodded. “Yes. The man who investigated asked me if anyone from our campsite had gone to that campsite or if anyone from that camp had come to ours. I told him that no one came to our campsite other than those of us who hiked out there together, but that I wasn’t sure where some of the other boys might have gone.”
“You said you went to bed early, but do you remember who went to bed last?” Cass asked.
“I have no idea. I guess you can ask the others.”
Cass held up the police report. “According to the official report, everyone was asked that question at the time Austin went missing. You answered that you went to bed first, which the others verified, but the answers to the question of who went to bed next are inconsistent.”
“Inconsistent?” Toby asked.
“Colin said he went to bed next after you, and Josh said it was him. Bobby said he didn’t remember, and Larry said that he didn’t remember specifically, but that when he went to bed, it was only Colin and Austin who were still up.”
Toby frowned. “Like I said, everyone was wasted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they honestly didn’t remember.”
Cass nodded. He set the report down and then looked back toward the screen. “Austin knew the area well. Do you think it’s possible that he either took a stroll that night before turning in or he got up early, and simply got lost and couldn’t find his way back?”
“No. I never believed that theory. If Austin took a stroll the night before we realized he was missing, he would have been drunk or stoned. If that occurred, then yes, he could have gotten turned around. But even if he’d gotten lost, he was wearing a heavy sweatshirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, and jeans, and would have been fine in the woods until the next morning, at which point he would have sobered up and could have found his way back. If he took off that morning, then I really don’t have any idea what could have happened. I do know he knew the area too well to simply get lost.”
“There are some who say he drowned,” I added.
“Can’t see why he would have gone swimming either in the early morning or the middle of the night. It wasn’t cold enough to freeze to death, but it wasn’t warm either.”
“What do you think happened to him?” Cass asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve gone through the events of that night thousands of times in my mind, and I really can’t imagine what could have happened to him. I don’t buy the fact that Austin just wandered off, though. I suspect something bad happened to him. I figured he must have been dead since no one found him. I suppose he could have fallen and broken his neck or something, but there were a lot of people scouring every inch of those woods. If something like that happened, his body would have been found. The only thing that makes sense is that someone killed him and buried him in a place where no one thought to look.”
“If you had to choose one of the other boys who you felt had the best chance of knowing what happened to Austin, who would you choose?” Cass asked.
“I’m not sure. I guess either Colin or Bobby. Colin seemed to have a secret, but Bobby seemed to be the most frightened.”
“Frightened?” Cass asked.
“Once everyone realized Austin was missing, I guess we all figured we’d find him fishing or exploring or passed out somewhere in the woods. As time went by and he wasn’t found, everyone began to get tense, but Bobby looked downright terrified. Colin was the one who was trying to convince us that Austin was fine, and he’d show up, but Bobby didn’t seem convinced of that even in the beginning. Like I said before, after several hours of looking for Austin, Josh suggested that someone should hike back into town for help while the rest of us continued to look for Austin. Colin volunteered and suggested that Bobby should go with him. It seemed like Bobby didn’t want to go, but he did.”
“And you, Josh, and Larry stayed at the camp?” Cass confirmed.
He nodded. “The three of us talked about what might have happened, we hiked around the woods, calling his name and we walked all the way around Logan Pond, looking for footprints. Of course, there were a bunch since we’d all been there fishing the day before, but nothing really jumped out as being relevant.”
“Did Austin make any comments about wanting to do something or check something out?” I asked. “Could he have gotten up early and decided to head over to the river and try his luck catching breakfast there, or did he express interest in checking out the old abandoned barn at the pond, or perhaps one of the other little ponds or lakes in the area?”
“He never said anything to me about anything like that. Like I said before, Austin didn’t really hang out with me. None of the older boys did. They were mad that I was there, and mostly ignored me.”
Chapter 5
After we talked to Toby, we spent some time going over our notes and trying to come up with what we felt were the two or three most important takeaways from the conversation.
“I think the fact that the older kids had been drinking and smoking weed might be important,” I started off. “It would certainly explain how Austin might have become disoriented and gotten lost, but I agree with Toby, that if he’d simply been lost, he would have found his way back once he sobered up, and if he’d been hurt, it seems that one of the search and rescue volunteers would have found him.”
“I was interested in the fact that some of the kids, including Colin and Austin, left the rest of the group for a while after the boys arrived. They all made it back to the camp, so I don’t necessarily think anything occurred while they were away, but something could have happened that led to Austin’s disappearance later that night,” Cass said.
“Based on what Toby said, it sounds like Austin and Josh left the campsite together, but Colin and Bobby left individually. No one said where they were going, which seems a bit odd to me. I wonder if one of the boys met up with someone else who might have been in the area. Perhaps whoever was at the campsite that was by the river. If the older boys were drinking and smoking weed, maybe that’s where they got it.”