All of these factors pointed to one thing.

This was not a chaotic crime or an accident.

This was the work of someone who knew the woods, knew its routes, and was confident enough to conceal the body not once, but multiple times.

The crime lab report that arrived at the sheriff’s office in late October contained a conclusion that marked a new direction for the investigation.

At the top of the document, the experts stated that the microparticles of the coating found on Paul Reynolds’ pelvic bone They belonged to a specialized type of paint known as Ford Tractor Blue.

This coating is used on heavy machinery, all-terrain vehicles, and large machines that operate in harsh conditions.

Chemical analysis confirmed that the fibers were resistant to UV rays and mechanical abrasion, a characteristic inherent only to industrial products.

The coroner’s report stated that the likelihood of accidental contact with this type of coating in a domestic setting is extremely low.

This meant that either Paul had been in contact with appliances painted with this compound, or his body had touched such a surface after his death.

Detective Mark Vargas drew attention to the latter point because the bone structure was affected in a part of the body that rarely comes into contact with machine parts during normal sightseeing trips.

Vargas began a further investigation of auto repair shops and parts stores in and around Prescott.

The task was simple: find out who might have purchased this type of paint in recent years, even though there were sometimes no paper records.

The detective relied on the recollections of those who work with regular customers and specific products.

The first stop was the Prescott store Autoparts.

It was a small room with metal shelves where cans of paint for industrial vehicles sat next to engine filters.

An employee who had worked there for many years agreed to testify.

He said that two years ago, in the spring, a man came into the store and bought a can of paint identical to the one identified by the experts.

According to the employee, the man wasn’t a regular customer, but he appeared at the store several times during a warm season.

The description given in the official report was vague: middle- aged, with a light beard, wearing work clothes, and a worn jacket with dark inserts.

The employee particularly remembered the smell of grease and wood dust he gave off, a sign that he had been doing physical work outdoors.

In his report, Vargas recorded the employee’s words verbatim .

He said he needed to paint the bumper of his pickup truck.

He added that the truck was old, and so was his equipment .

He mentioned that he was working in the forest on a construction project.

These words were the first indication of the man’s profession that could be related to the paint traces.

Forestry construction crews working in remote areas of Prescott had a large number of heavy machines that often suffered mechanical damage and needed to be repainted periodically.

These crews could access specific routes and deserted areas where strangers rarely appeared.

Vargas consulted a log of temporary permits that were routinely granted to private companies to work in the Prescott National Forest.

Most of the permits were for firebreaks, clearing small roads, installing drainage systems, and engineering work.

The detective began reviewing the records from the time of Paul’s disappearance until the following spring, hoping to find people who had worked in the same area where the little- known trails might have been located.

At the same time, he revisited the paint sample itself.

Forensic experts discovered that the particles had a non-standard pigment ratio , typical only of certain batches of industrial paint.

This meant that the paint might not have been purchased from a regular store, but rather from a shop or warehouse that handles large volumes.

Vargas suggested that it could be from one of the technical bases that supply materials for forest road construction.

There was an additional note.

in the forensic report.

The nature of the abrasive damage on the particles is consistent with impact contact.

It is likely that the body came into contact with a surface that had been previously impacted or mechanically damaged.

This led the detective to consider the possibility that Paul had been near machinery or an object used in forestry work at the time of his death.

Vargas then began visiting other auto repair shops .

At two of the shops, the employees didn’t recall anything similar, but at one, a mechanic who worked on older pickup trucks confirmed that he had seen similar paint on several vehicles belonging to contractors who worked on forest roads.

According to him, some crews bought the paint in bulk because they had to patch frames and bumpers after rough seasons.

This circumstantial evidence could apply to anyone, but Vargas emphasized it in the report.

The common element is working in the forest and using equipment painted a dark industrial color.

He also recorded information from an employee who mentioned a man with a pickup truck.

He came in often.

He seemed to work more than half the season and talked about construction jobs.

A multitude of small details— local work, knowledge of logging routes, an old pickup truck, a need for paint—began to form a circle around which the person involved in the removal of Paul Reynolds’s body might be found.

Vargas decided to compile a list of all the crews that had been working at the time.

He was given a preliminary list of companies, some of which were too small to keep detailed records.

These were the kind of crews that could hire workers without formal contracts.

That evening, Vargas conducted further analysis of the testimony from the Prescott Autoparts employee.

He noticed the timing.

The man had purchased paint in the spring, long after Paul had disappeared.

This ruled out a coincidence.

If we assume that the paint on the bones was applied post- mortem, then the paint could have gotten on the body during transport or concealment.

Furthermore, the fact that the employee recalled a specific industrial smell associated with the man was consistent with the characteristics of someone who works with heavy machinery or equipment.

The detective began to analyze the delivery routes to the forest.

Such routes often pass through areas where There were no tourists, and only drivers, workers, or those familiar with the old country roads could remain undetected.

This allowed the perpetrator to move around with the cargo without risk of being noticed.

Experts offered further insight into the paint’s structure, a specific composition inherent only to the Ford vehicle models used in the painting.

This opened up a new hypothesis.

The person might have owned an older pickup truck, car, or trailer painted in this particular shade.

Vargas noted this as a possible starting point for identifying the vehicle.

All the data collected provided only subtle but concrete clues.

Whoever had access to Ford Chaper Blue paint had been working in the woods, repairing equipment, and traveling on roads not marked on official maps.

Vargas realized this trail was the first real lead that could lead to the person who knew far more than anyone else about Paul’s death.

Detective Mark Vargas received confirmation from forensic experts that the paint on Paul Reynolds’ bones belonged to an industrial series used on heavy machinery.

This narrowed the search.

Only companies working in The Prescott National Forest during the period of Paul’s disappearance could have had access to that material.

Vargas formally requested from the forestry service any logging permits, forest road repair permits, and any maintenance work issued during that time.

In response, he received a list of private contractors, among which stood out a small company called Black Mesa Logistics.

Forestry documents indicated that this company had been working on temporary roads and clearing hard-to-reach areas for several seasons.

The advantage of this company was that it worked where official routes were unsuitable for heavy machinery.

This meant that its employees knew hidden entrances, little-known forest exits, and spots where the equipment could work undisturbed.

Vargas decided to visit the company’s office .

It was located on the outskirts of Prescott, an old metal building with a few tool bins, nearby storage areas, and a parking lot for equipment.

According to the manager, the company did most of its work on seasonal contracts, and the staff changed almost every year.

However, the documents contained a name that caught the detective’s attention.

Harry Jenkins.

Harry worked for Black Mesa Logins during the period of interest.

According to company records, he owned an older Ford pickup truck, the model most often painted in a shade that matched the forensic evidence.

The manager confirmed that in the spring of that year, Jenkins had repaired his own vehicle and brought empty paint cans to the office to be disposed of with the technical waste.

The internal police record also indicated that Jenkins had a misdemeanor charge on his record, unarmed assault.

Although not a felony, it warranted further investigation.

Vargas invited her to the station for an interview.

Jenkins’s testimony was brief.

He stated that he did not know Paul Reynolds and that he did not work in the Willow Creek Trail area at the time of his disappearance.

He said that in the fall of that year, he was working on another project, building a road in the eastern part of the forest.

When asked about the paint, he said that he had indeed painted the truck, but only for his own use.

Jenkins also explained that he did not perform any work near the quarry close to Sailor Springs.

The official report According to the interview report, the interviewee insisted he had no connection to Reynolds, that he hadn’t seen him, and that he hadn’t been in the area of ​​the alleged disappearance.

However, Vargas pointed out several things that needed further investigation.

First , there was no official confirmation that Jenkins had been working at the location in question that fall.

At that time, some work was done without detailed documentation, and records of team movements were fragmentary.

Second, his pickup truck, although old, was a model that often required repainting due to corrosion and mechanical damage caused by forest roads.

Third, Vargas noted a behavioral detail.

Jenkins responded with restraint but offered no concrete evidence to confirm his presence at the other location.

The detective’s notebook contains the following wording.

The alibi is not supported by any documents or witnesses.

After the interview, Vargas returned to the forestry office and asked for more details about the routes Black Mesa Logistics had charted .

In those records, he noticed another important detail.

The company was working in areas near technical trails that They drove near the abandoned quarry.

This meant that workers who had access to those caves might have known the paths to the locations where forensic investigators found Paul’s body.

Vargas separately noted in his official log the need to re- examine Jenkins’ activities.

He didn’t draw any direct conclusions, but noted that the presence of an old pickup truck, the use of heavy-duty paint, and the work in remote areas of the woods warranted further investigation .

All this information didn’t provide direct evidence, but it laid the groundwork for the next phase of the investigation: determining whether the activities of Black Mesa Logistics employees could coincide with the route or location of Paul Reynolds’ last known whereabouts.

After the initial interview with Harry Jenkins, Detective Mark Vargas noted the need to verify all the details provided by the Black Mesa Logistics employee.

What alarmed him most was Jenkins naming a specific location where he had supposedly been the weekend of Paul Reynolds’ disappearance.

According to Jenkins, he spent that time on Prescott’s Yote Hall boat, where he had allegedly been.

He met with several acquaintances.

He claimed to have been there both Saturday and Sunday and didn’t return home until late that night.

There was no documentary evidence to corroborate this, so Vargas sent an official request to the bar and neighboring establishments.

The Coyote Hold didn’t have a permanent video surveillance system, but the Sage Brush Rest motel, located across the street, had street camera footage from several weeks prior.

The motel manager agreed to provide copies of the footage for review.

It took us several hours to watch the recordings.

The cameras recorded a stretch of road in front of the motel and part of the parking lot from which cars could be seen driving toward the forest trails.

In the Saturday morning recording, Vargas saw a pickup truck that matched the description of Jenkins’s car, an old Ford with dark inserts on the doors.

The footage clearly showed him leaving town early in the morning and heading toward a secondary road that led to a sparsely populated area of ​​the national forest.

The recording from the following day showed the same A pickup truck returning to the city after sunset.

The recorded route corresponded to a time period that coincided with Paul Reynolds’ disappearance.

In his report, Vargas stated, “The records contradict the alleged alibi.

” Their presence in the city is not confirmed.

The actual departure from the city was in the morning and the return at night.

The detective then called Jenkins at the department.

Vargas informed him of the results of the review and the interviewee’s behavior became noticeably tense.

According to two officers present during the conversation, Jenkins was nervous, avoided direct eye contact, and changed his posture several times before agreeing to listen to the detective.

When Vargas presented him with the camera recording impressions, Jenkins initially claimed he was just driving out of town.

However, his explanation was inconsistent with the time and direction of his journey.

Then he suddenly changed his strategy, saying that he was supposedly helping someone repair the car.

However, this version was not confirmed by his bosses or acquaintances either.

Pressed by the facts, according to the agent who wrote the report, Jenkins changed his story several times without giving any credible explanation.

Vargas made him reflect, after which he raised the possibility of opening a criminal case for perjury in a case of possible premeditated murder.

After a brief silence, Jenkins agreed to give a more complete account of the events.

According to the detective, he spoke intermittently, as if choosing his words, but the content of his testimony was concrete.

He was not involved in the death of Paul Reynolds, but he participated in what happened afterward.

According to him, during that period he did not work in the city, but in a facility related to the construction of forest roads.

It was there, according to him, where he first saw the corpse.

Jenkins said his boss, the owner of Black Mesa Logistics, found the man’s body in a remote area of ​​the forest.

When he realized that the situation could become a threat to the company, he ordered Harry to help him remove the corpse from the property.

When asked why he didn’t inform the police, Jenkins replied that he had no choice, as he had been threatened with dismissal and serious trouble if he said too much.

According to him, it was out of fear of losing his job and coming into conflict with his supervisor that he agreed to participate in hiding the body.

In the note that Vargas attached to the case after the interview, it reads, the interviewee affirms that he did not participate in the death of the victim, but confirms his participation in the transfer and concealment of the corpse by order of his direct superior.

The detective also recorded a behavioral detail.

Throughout the second interview, Jenkins did not deny the fact that the body had been discovered before the students found it in the quarry.

His testimony was limited to the work in the forest and contained no information about the cause of Paul’s death.

When the interview ended, a key question arose.

If Paul’s body had been found by the Black Mesa Logistics manager elsewhere, he could learn more about the circumstances of his death and why the body ended up in the quarry.

Vargas noted the need to identify the person Jenkins called his boss and to check all the locations where the company operated during the period of interest.

Information about this person became the next step in the investigation.

Following Harry Jenkins’ confession, Detective Mark Vargas verified the information about the head of Black Mesa Logistics.

Broy McCoy was listed as the owner in the public record.

Vargas requested additional information from MCOy’s personal file and it quickly became clear from the documents that this man could be a central figure in the whole story.

According to National Park Service records, MACOy worked as a park ranger in the Prescott National Forest more than a decade ago.

He was dismissed after a series of disciplinary offenses.

Their performance evaluations included excessive use of force and unacceptable behavior towards visitors.

Several tourists filed complaints stating that MCOI had intimidated them in remote areas, threatened them with fines, and resolved matters at its discretion.

An internal investigation then led to his dismissal without leave.

The file also stated that McCoy was born in Prescott and that as a child he spent a lot of time in the woods.

His former colleagues described him as a man who considered the forest his territory and reacted with pain to any intrusion by strangers.

It was undeniable that he knew the area well and all the unofficial trails.

After obtaining this information, Vargas requested search warrants to search MCOy’s house, his office, and adjacent premises.

The judge, after reviewing Jenkins’ testimony and MCO’s record, granted the order.

The registration began at dawn.

MC’s house was a small, one-story chalet located on the grounds of an old-fashioned technical camp where road crews used to live.

The garage was empty.

The door was closed, but damaged at one of the hinges, as if it had been forced open.

Inside the garage, detectives found an old, dark-colored Ford SUV .

The car was in bad condition.

There was a layer of dried dust on the underside, scratches on the rear door, and a dent in the front bumper.

The markings on the metal were not chaotic.

The dent had the typical shape of an impact with a medium-height solid object.

In the report, the experts noted, “The damage is not of a domestic nature.

It was probably a collision with something that had a static base.

Several rolls of tarpaulin, rope, and plastic cable ties were found in the trunk.

One of the tarpaulins had dark-colored stains , but the experts could not determine at the time whether it was paint or organic matter.

Everything was seized for analysis.

The MCO office was of particular interest.

It contained an old computer with an external hard drive.

At first glance, it appeared to be a work tool for keeping records of vehicles and routes.

However, upon reviewing the files, the forensic experts found GPS track files that were not related to official company projects.

The tracks were grouped by year.

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