The tales of Barker Ranch are so mysterious and horrific that they have almost become legend in U.S. pop culture. It was here that Charles Manson and his followers dwelt while committing a series of murders in the 1960s.
Even after their arrests, Manson’s followers claimed to have killed more than they were tried for, but because there were no more bodies recovered, prosecutors moved forward with the evidence they had and the investigation stopped. At least until recently when a police detective, Paul Dostie, and his grave sniffing dog found potential grave sites on Manson Ranch, which reopened the search for missing victims.
This time, however, police had new technology and methods to assists them in the search. For this search, investigators decided to use LD3 technology. LD3’s fusion of dimensionally accurate LiDAR and visually accurate imagery would allow investigators to capture the area in a real world 3D model that could be investigated and analyzed after.
Scans were completed during five separate stages of the dig. In one instance, a bullet casing was discovered, and the investigative team desired to have it scanned. With the detailed imagery of LD3, the scan team was able to capture the bullet in the dry Arizona dirt.
In the end, no bodies were located, but the investigative team was still very impressed with the results of LD3. Once in the software, the separate scans were aligned over each other, so that investigators could see how the area changed over time. The hole being dug deepened with each layer, and the surrounding area reflected the changes of where the dirt was deposited over the course of the dig.
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