![]() It wasn’t until 1883 that Packer was discovered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, living under an alias. ![]() As a result, Packer was jailed in Saguache, only to escape a short time later. Packer was unable to do so, eventually attacking one of the accusers. Packer’s accusers wanted him to lead a group to the campsite in his story in search of remains in order to prove himself. RELATED: The Haunted Tunnels of Gold Camp Road! For 14 days, Packer wandered by himself until he finally found the Indian Agency, opting to change his story to something that would frame him in a more favorable light. Now the only remaining member of the six-person party, Packer set off on his own, carrying a piece of his kill with him. One of the starving members shot and killed the only other remaining member (besides Packer), which led Packer to kill the offending murderer to save himself. With three men now left in the party and times getting even harder than before, sanity continued to disintegrate amongst the group. Packer then claimed that another party member died, though he wasn’t there to witness his death or the cannibalization that followed because he suspected foul play. Packer was the first to search his body, pocketing over $100 found on the body. A few days later, another party member died. In need of as much sustenance as they could get, the other five members of the group, including Packer, decided to eat him. Within 10 days, one of the party members was already dead. It was then that they got the full story from Packer:Īfter leaving Chief Ouray’s tribe, the group encountered severe weather. His traveling partners accused him of murder and theft with the threat of hanging. Packer had previously claimed he was so broke that he was forced to sell his rifle…so where did all the money come from? If the man had left Packer behind, why would Packer have his knife? Secondly, Packer was blowing quite a bit of money during the trip and upon their arrival to Saguache, even offered to lend a stranger $300, close to $6,000 today adjusted for inflation. First, one of the men headed to Saguache recognized a skinning knife that belonged to someone Packer had said abandoned him during his attempt to reach Breckenridge. Here’s when the holes in Packer’s story started to come to light. The man that he encountered at the Indian Agency from his original Utah party along with two others joined him for assistance. An exhausted Packer said he wanted to return to Pennsylvania, embarking on a trip to Saguache, Colorado, a supply depot. When asked where his traveling companions were, Alferd Packer claimed that he had a medical issue due to the extreme weather encountered during the trip that forced the five men he was once with to abandon him. It was here that he encountered a man from his original party that left from Utah. It wasn’t until April 16th, two months after he left Chief Ouray’s tribe, that a weary Alferd Packer arrived at the Los Pinos Indian Agency in the Gunnison area, far from his original destination of Breckenridge. RELATED: 8 Trunk Items To Help You Survive Winter Driving! They decided to set out to finish their journey against the advice of Chief Ouray, knowing that if they made it to Breckenridge sooner, they’d have a better chance at finding more gold. However, come mid-February, Alferd Packer, along with five other men in the group, grew restless. Chief Ouray offered the group of travelers a spot amongst their tribe until winter passed, and they accepted. In late January, the troop was forced to put their expedition on pause after an encounter with Chief Ouray near Montrose convinced most of the party that dangerous winter storms on the way weren’t worth the risk. It all started in 1873, when Pennsylvania-born Alferd Packer joined a party of 21 men traveling from Provo, Utah to Breckenridge, Colorado, a town in an area then known for its overfilled gold mines.
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