Gila County Jail
August 26, 2006
Investigators: Grace, John, Sabrina
Guests: Shawndell, Mike, Tom, Tour Guide Kip
We were contacted by Shawndell who contacted the Globe Jail for us. To come and do a investigation there. We arrived there at 8p.m.
History:
The Gila County Jail, also known as the Globe Jail, was built around 1910. The ground floor consisted of the admistration offices in the front and a steel cell block in the rear.
The second floor was where women and juvenile inmates were housed on one side and a men's cell block were on the other side. The third floor is where the trustees were housed. The jail was used until 1978 when a new jail was built. The cell doors were part of the Yuma Territorial Prison original jail cells. The first historic incident happened there in 1911.
A ranch employee named Kingsley Olds set off one day to get supplies from Globe and was accompanied by 2 sisters, Lou and Myrtle Goswick, aged 14 and 12 yrs. The following day the 2 girls were found dead, floating in the Salt River. Olds told the story that the girls were swimming when a man in horseback rode up and drowned them and then shot them.
Olds himself had been shot in the jaw. His story did not make much sense. It was later determined that he had in fact shot himself and the girls. A grand jury moved to indict him for murder. Angry mob's threatened to lynch him, so authorities moved him to the Globe Jail for his protection. A nurse was stationed outside his cell to take care of him.
It was reported that Olds would awaken to say that the girls were appearing to him asking him to follow them. Three days later Olds was shot in the neck while he was in his cell room. Officers had discovered that someone had hidden inside the courthouse next to the jail knowing that Olds was housed on the 2nd floor.
A gunman armed with a Winchester rifle hid there all night smoking cigars and shot Olds through the window as he stepped outside of his cell. No one was ever charged for Old's murder but it was speculated that it might have been the girls father.
Investigation by John:
A second visit brought about a lot of validation when returning to the Globe Jail. On a previous visit, I saw the face of a lady, received a name as well as a history of her. This time I felt her again, she is still there, and it was validated by one of our guests who said he felt the presence of a woman around him.
He would mention something at the same time I was feeling it. That was great feedback from someone who didn’t know the history of this lady. I took a lot of pictures but once again failed to get anything concrete. I sometimes wonder if it’s worth the batteries. I can still point out energy though and have someone else capture it. Perhaps spirit is having fun at my expense.
Investigation:
As we entered the building you could feel the activity already in there. And also the woman's spirit that John had come across the last time we were there. I got an evp of a woman singing near the catwalk doors. This doorway connects to the Globe Court House Building.
I figured that I would let someone else try and get something there. As we took a run through to see where it would be best to set up the cameras and recorders, one of our guests named Tom said that he smelled a strong perfume odor. That gave John the validation that it might be the woman spirit that he had encountered on a previous investigation.
We decided to set a camera on the first floor between the cells. The other one was set up in the second floor in between the cells and the last one was set up in the trustees room on the 3rd floor. The recorders were placed in the trustee's room, and one was held by Shawndell and the other one was placed in the woman's cell and then later moved to Old's cell. Sabrina had placed hers in the catwalk area.
Findings:
As we started to take pictures, the energy in the women's cells was very strong. Also the area where Kingsley Olds was shot had very strong activity. We got a lot of orbs in our pictures and in the door outside the trustees room I got a white mist by John and Tom. We were only there for a few hours but the activity never stopped. We also took several hundred pictures there.
We also took pictures outside between the jail and the courthouse. John immediately felt the presence of a man spirit on the catwalk. And also in the alley. I personally saw a light go on in the trustee's room. But know one was up there at the time. During the time Shawndell was recording, she asked a question and her response she got was a big moan.
I let Mike use the emf meter so he could experience the way it works. I also pointed out to him what to look for and what to avoid. And the meter showed a lot of spirit activity. We also experienced a few shadow like figures there. We also experienced some thing breathing in our ear.
One guest Shawndell reported her hair being pulled. On one of my audio recordings was heard a loud metal door slamming in the trustees room. The only door that was in the room was already shut, yet no one entered the room at the time of the occurrence.
As we walked outside the cell area, you could feel that someone was following you and as we took a picture there were orbs showing in the photos validating a "presence". It seemed that our batteries were being drained very quickly. We would take a few pictures and they would stop working.
Tom's report:
- The large open room (trustee room) was really active, with a lot of energy in the right half of the room, about half way back to the back wall. Very uncomfortable. Quite a few orbs in the photos taken in this room.
- Back wall (looking out toward courtyard and old gallows site). First or second floor, not sure which. The electronic meter was pegged for the entire length of this wall. Kept looking over my shoulder, as I felt someone was following me. Very close and confined in this space. I believe that Mike was operating the meter.
- Perfume on the stairs. I believe this was encountered on the stairs from the second to the ground floor. Strong odor of perfume (Mike had commented on this as well - he was behind me on the stairs). I asked who was wearing perfume, all answered in the negative. It lingered only for a short time and was gone.
Conclusion:
We all feel that the spirits in the Globe Jail are not ready to move on. That is their home and they have no intention on leaving there. Some of them may be stuck there. And others feel that its where they want to be.
I would like to thank Kip Culver for allowing us to come and investigate such a historic place. They have a lot of nice artifacts to see there. They do offer regular tours. We encourage you to stop by this historic site. The jail will be the host site of a special Halloween tour on October 31st. So please come and experience it for yourself.
Equipment:
- 5 Digital camera's
- 3 Camcorder's
- 4 Digital Recorder's
- 1 EMF meter