The Hollow Creek Five: A Chilling True Crime Mystery Uncovered After 36 Years

In 1989, five children vanished without a trace during a Labor Day picnic at Hollow Creek State Park in Texas. Despite exhaustive searches, police drained the lake, and families combed the woods, no bodies or clues were ever found—only a lone tricycle near an old stone well.

For decades, the case remained cold, a haunting mystery whispered in the community. But 36 years later, a drone pilot’s unexpected discovery in the shadows of that very well reignited the investigation, revealing dark secrets long buried beneath mud and silence.

This is the story of The Hollow Creek Five—a tale of disappearance, survival, and the relentless pursuit of truth.

The Disappearance: August 30th, 1989, Hollow Creek State Park, Texas

The sun was heavy in the late summer sky as five cousins—Toby Graham (10), Frankie Graham (6), Sadie Marsh (9), and twins Janie and June Marsh (8)—played near the edge of the woods during a family picnic. Their laughter echoed across the abandoned picnic tables and rusted barbecue pits, a last burst of childhood freedom before school started.

Rita Graham, mother to Toby and Frankie, watched the children with a mix of pride and exhaustion. They were inseparable, inventing obstacle courses, racing through the trees, their energy boundless. But as the afternoon wore on, the children disappeared into the woods, and they never returned.

Despite frantic searches by family and authorities, including draining the park’s lake and scouring every inch of the forest, no trace of the children was found—except for a solitary tricycle, bent and rusted, lying near the old stone well.

The Forgotten Well: A Silent Witness to Tragedy

The well, a crumbling concrete relic with moss-eaten edges and rusted rebar poking through, had stood abandoned for years. It was a dark mouth in the earth, open and unguarded, a place the children had been warned to avoid.

For decades, the well was searched and dismissed—a dead end in the investigation. But its silence concealed a grim truth.

The Breakthrough: August 30th, 2025 — A Drone Pilot’s Discovery

Trevor Lance, a drone pilot and YouTuber filming a series on forgotten places, hovered his drone over Hollow Creek State Park. As the sun cast a sliver of light into the well, his camera caught something unexpected—a faded red tricycle submerged in murky water, alongside a small skeletal hand.

His heart pounding, Trevor called 911, setting into motion a full-scale excavation.

Mid-Article Deep Dive: The Excavation and the Haunting Evidence

The well excavation uncovered a chilling cache of belongings: a lunchbox with a child’s name scratched inside, a tiny shoe with a rainbow charm, a hair ribbon, plastic binoculars, and a bloodstained hoodie identified as belonging to Toby Graham.

But more than objects, the well held the remains of three children—Janie Marsh, June Marsh, and Toby Graham—curled in unnatural positions, their lives stolen and hidden beneath layers of mud and stone.

The Polaroids: Faces Frozen in Fear

Among the recovered items were five Polaroid photos sealed in a waterlogged pouch. Each showed the children standing in the woods, pale and terrified, with a tall, shadowy man looming behind them—his face obscured, holding what appeared to be a pipe or rod.

The images were haunting, evidence that the children had been watched, controlled, and silenced.

The Cabin: A Second Prison

Further investigation led detectives to an abandoned cabin in Oklahoma, where more photos and disturbing artifacts were found. On the walls, the phrase “They stayed quiet” was scrawled repeatedly. Inside, a torn ranger badge, a revolver wrapped in a child’s sweater, and signs of prolonged captivity painted a grim picture.

This cabin was no accident—it was a second holding place, a sinister extension of the horror begun at Hollow Creek.

The Survivors and the Fight for Justice

Sadie Marsh, the oldest child and the one who screamed in the Polaroids, was never found in the well. But her story emerged through a water-damaged notebook discovered beneath a stove in the cabin.

In her own words, Sadie chronicled the terror, the countdown of her friends’ deaths, and her desperate attempts to survive and fight back. She described hiding a gun, the man who held them captive, and her final act of resistance.

The Dark Web of Deception: Unmasking the Perpetrators

The investigation uncovered two key suspects:

Calvin Durell, a part-time ranger with a violent past and suspicious behavior, who was linked to the digging of the well and the maintenance of the park during the disappearances.

Elden Hasker, a handyman and drifter with no official records, connected to the cabin and suspected of further involvement.

DNA evidence tied the recovered remains and items to the children, but also revealed unknown male DNA on several objects, indicating multiple perpetrators or accomplices.

The Missing Pieces: A Sixth Child and the Systemic Failure

In a shocking twist, investigators found evidence of a sixth child—unaccounted for and possibly involved in the tragic events. Sadie’s notebook and recovered photographs suggested a broader network of abuse and disappearance spanning multiple states.

Social service records revealed that Sadie, under the alias “April,” had survived captivity and entered foster care, only to vanish again without a trace.

The Legacy: Remembering the Hollow Creek Five

A memorial now stands at Hollow Creek, honoring Toby, Frankie, Sadie, Janie, and June. Their names etched in brass beneath a plaque, a faded pink digital watch blinking frozen in time.

The case, once cold, has become a beacon for justice and remembrance—a reminder of the resilience of a child who fought to be heard and the ongoing search for answers.

The Unfolding Mystery: What Lies Beneath?

The Hollow Creek case is far from over. With new evidence surfacing and suspects identified, the investigation continues to unravel a dark network of abuse and cover-up.

Detectives and families alike are determined to uncover the full truth, find any surviving victims, and ensure the horrors of Hollow Creek are never forgotten.