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Murder Along the Lost Highway: The Crimes of Serial Killer John Ackroyd
The Vanishing
On the afternoon of July 10, 1990, thirteen-year-old Rachanda Pickle decided to spend the day lounging around the house she shared with her brother Byron, mother Linda and stepfather John. On summer break from school, she planned on catching up on her favorite television shows while her parents were at work.
Linda would later recall that she had left Channy, as she was known, a list of household chores to complete as she idled away her day. A cleaner at a resort near Sweet Home Oregon, Linda had headed off to work early that morning, as had John, whom she had divorced a year earlier. Unable to make ends meet without the substantial money he earned as a highway mechanic for the state, she had allowed her former spouse to continue living with the family despite the break-up.
While the events of that afternoon remain shrouded in mystery, what is known is that John had knocked off work early, later explaining that a part he needed to repair a snowplow had not been delivered in a timely fashion. With no means of completing his assignment for the day, he had headed home.
According to John, Channy had been on the sofa watching TV when he entered the family’s Santiam Junction home, a small community situated at the juncture of Highway 20 — referred to by some as the Lost Highway — and Oregon 22. Figuring that she was tired of hanging around the house, he suggested that they go for a drive. With a list of chores still hanging over her head, she had declined.
Not wanting to waste the day, John had set off for destinations unknown, leaving Channy home alone once again. When he returned some two hours later, there were no signs of his stepdaughter anywhere.
Later on, when John picked Linda up from work, they discussed Channy’s absence, but neither of them had found her sudden disappearance concerning. Instead of leaping into action, they had gone home where they had dinner, followed by a romp in the hay at John’s request. The latter was an almost unheard occurrence, owing to John’s low libido. When an investigation was finally launched in the case, authorities took note of the odd timing of the rare show of intimacy.
