Phone calls lead to discovery of body in well

The case began with a telephone call to the Shelby County Sheriff’s office in early December 1962.

Lyle McDonald, the newly elected sheriff, took the call, and was asked whether a loss claim for a wallet found in a schoolyard near Herrick had been made. The wallet contained $500 and belonged to a man named Tony O’Dell.

The caller said he did not want to get involved, but the sheriff should check some schoolhouse wells in the Herrick area for a body.

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