Gitchie Manitou Murders in 1973

[Curious in Oregon]

Can anybody enlighten this subject for me...below is all I can find on the web, granted it happened over 30 years ago, but what were the circumstances behind the crime and what were the fates of the convicted Fryer brothers. I was going to school at DSU at that time and I can not remember anything about this - a side effect of the times?!

LYON COUNTY, Nov. 17, 1973 - Four Sioux Falls, S.D. teen-agers, Roger Essem, Stewart Baade, Dana Baade and Michael Hadrath, were shot to death at Gitchie Manitou State Preserve, where they were having a party. Three brothers, David, Allen and James Fryer, were convicted.

[I remember in Sioux Falls]

I grew up with those boys. They were all from my eastside neighborhood. They stopped by my work before heading out to Gitchie Manitou to camp.

There should be more articles in the Argus Leader Newspaper archives.

The boys were camping, the Frye brothers approached them, harassed them, chased them down and shot and killed them. I know a couple of them were shot in the back as they were running away. If I remember correctly, they were told to run.

Curious as to why you are looking for info?

[Curious in Oregon]

I remember in Sioux Falls wrote:

I grew up with those boys. They were all from my eastside neighborhood. They stopped by my work before heading out to Gitchie Manitou to camp.
There should be more articles in the Argus Leader Newspaper archives.
The boys were camping, the Frye brothers approached them, harassed them, chased them down and shot and killed them. I know a couple of them were shot in the back as they were running away. If I remember correctly, they were told to run.
Curious as to why you are looking for info?

Thanks so much for your post, condolences on losing your acquaintances. I am interested because I lived in that area and had only heard the barest of outline ofevents from family and friends and like to know why. My husband assumed the killers were on drugs and we disagreed to the prevalence of drug use in this era. Do you know if the Frye brothers were tried and convicted? Hope so...Best wishes.

[I remember in Sioux Falls]

I remember that SD and IA couldn't decide who would get to try them. It ended up being Ia because of there death penalty or something like that. They are in for life.
There was also a girl that survived.
drug use here? LOL,,,,,,yes at that time there was and still is. You would think we were small enough that SF would stay clean.

[Curious in Oregon]

I lived in Madison and Canton in the 1970s and though I remember drug use, mostly it was grass...not like the meth problem today which I could imagine precipitating this kind of murder. Unless it was a drug deal gone bad. Difficult to understand 3 brothers just deciding to kill some helpless teens for the sheer fun of it. They must have pled innocent so the facts never were revealed. Incidentally, I did try to access Argus Leaders online archives, but they only go back to the 1990's. Maybe the Sioux Falls library would have actual mirofiche, most likely.

Thanks for your help, I remember...

[Former Iowan]

I recall reading about this decades ago- the Frye brothers were supposedly miffed that the SD teens were smoking pot in the Iowa state park and so decided to 'teach them a lesson'. Then they drove the surviving girl home, and one of the brothers gave her (!) his phone number...Interesting way for a murderer to cover his tracks. I seem to remember the Fryes being portrayed as straight out of the movie "Deliverance" or some such. Anyway, it was a strange case and if you take the time to do the research, you will no doubt find an interesting and disturbing story.

[Curious in Oregon]

I'm starting to get a hunch about this, it's possibly a hate crime, in a way. Back in the 70's my friends and I were "hippies" and were on the receiving end of many slurs and taunts from morons who happened to be straight - not to say that all straights were rednecks, but there were lots of hateful events in this time aimed at anybody who looked different (or did something different like smoke pot). LOL = the summer of love.

[Surprised Relative]

I am completely surprised and taken back by the turn that this conversation has taken. Drug deal gone bad?! Gave the girl his phone number?! Hate crime?! Where are you getting your information?

What is it that you are trying to figure out and why?

Also curious as to who "I remember" is or which victim(s) they knew?

[jody]

He said HUNCH (suspicion, thought, idea, and back then there were some people that did not like hippies or Anyone who did not fit their idea of "normal". Who really knows what happened except those that were there and God???

[Curious in Oregon]

Surprised Relative wrote:

I am completely surprised and taken back by the turn that this conversation has taken. Drug deal gone bad?! Gave the girl his phone number?! Hate crime?! Where are you getting your information?
What is it that you are trying to figure out and why?
Also curious as to who "I remember" is or which victim(s) they knew?

Sorry "Surpised" if this has brought hurtful memories. My condolences.
I have no information. That's why i posted.
Young people who wore long hair and pursued a different lifestyle in the 70's were often indiscriminately persecuted, but a motive for murder? That's what I meant by "hate crime"
The Fryer brothers are incarcerated for life in Iowa, did they plead guilty and therefore avoid a trial - thus there would be no trial record - that's what I'm interested in.

[caleblake]

I know all three of the boys. Dave and Jim are in a medium security institution and Allen is in a max. Allen refuses to go to medium. All three are doing life and will die in prison. They are all at the prison complex in Fort Madison. They are what some people would call "model" prisoners.

[Curious in Oregon]

caleblake wrote:

I know all three of the boys. Dave and Jim are in a medium security institution and Allen is in a max. Allen refuses to go to medium. All three are doing life and will die in prison. They are all at the prison complex in Fort Madison. They are what some people would call "model" prisoners.

Thank you caleblake - have they ever spoken of what went wrong in their life?
4 kids forfeited their lives by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. How could three people act in concert to murder 4 people, rage combined with alcohol, abusive home life - prior crimes?

[caleblake]

They have told me accounts of the time in question. Unfortunately, it was about 10 years ago and I don't remember all of the details. Dave is the most outgoing and personable of the 3. Allen is the grouchiest, and Jim kind of keeps to himself. Dave and Allen are real skinny while Jim is "portly" at best. Of the 3, I would say I know Jim the least.

[Curious in Oregon]

caleblake wrote:

They have told me accounts of the time in question. Unfortunately, it was about 10 years ago and I don't remember all of the details. Dave is the most outgoing and personable of the 3. Allen is the grouchiest, and Jim kind of keeps to himself. Dave and Allen are real skinny while Jim is "portly" at best. Of the 3, I would say I know Jim the least.

Very interesting... Any insight you recall would be appreciated. Thanks and best wishes in advance.

[Sandals]

Why such a deep interst in this story?

[Sandals]

Oops. Why such an interest in this story?

[Sandals]

Never mind...Curious in Oregon. I didn't see all of the posts. You lived in the area in the 1970's, hence your interest.

[georgia in minneapolis]

iwas friends was friends with dana baade and his little brother rory. i was living with relatives in oregon when the gitchie tragedy happened. i (vaguely) remember a lot of rumours from that time. my mom sent me clippings from sioux falls intimating that pot was the reason the boys were killed (to illustrate the evils of drugs). later, when i moved back to sioux falls, i remember sitting with dana and stewart's sister, cherie, looking at clippings of the murders. for some reason this story continues to haunt me. i was also friends (after gitchie) with the girl's brother. she was raped and driven back to town, i believe. i might try to look up old argus articles the next time i go home. the girl's brother told me his sister's story but i have forgotten much of it. i mostly remember dana and his little brother rory (who we called "roy boy") as being kind of sweet kids.

[cyndi melow]

I am an old friend of Rogers and also my uncle is married to his sister in origon. If your courious look in the old true detective magazines.

[andy]

if you want info on the cases you can go to westlaw.com but it costs money unless you can get to a library that has it, everything on the trials you can find on there. I have found all of the fryer brothers trials on there