Bait Trap Set:
June seventeenth started out normally that year. "Bella" went out to wander her neighborhood as per usual. Her mother didn't even question where her daughter went. In fact, she remained in a drunken stupor. Her daughter didn't even tell her where she went. Nobody really saw a thing.
Shannon told police how she lured her into Drop Bottom Black Woods that evening.
Archive File:
"All I had to do was lure her into the woods by sundown," Shannon said. "I met her at a convenient store parking lot. At first, I thought that she was mental. She kept her eyes to her dirty feet the whole time. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure if she was the right target or not until I looked at the photo. That was the target, alright."
Bella's encounter with Shannon started off normally. She just approached the girl in the parking lot and offered her a drink.
"She didn't know how to take it at first," Shannon said in the interrogation room. "She just stared at me for a long time. At first, I thought that she was high. I asked her if she was okay."
"And did she say anything?" the cop asked her.
"Nope," Shannon said. "Not a word. I asked her if she could talk. She only gave me a nod. So, I just went in the store and bought her a soda."
The two girls spent most of the afternoon together. It is not exactly clear how this came about. Maybe Bella was happy to have someone be nice to her for a change. Maybe Shannon won her over to trap her. Neither girl gave the police a clear reason. It was clear that this was a prelude to the coming storm.
Archive File:
"By the time it was five o'clock," Shannon told police. "I told her that I wanted to show her something cool. She asked me where it was."
"And where was it?" the police asked her.
"Drop Bottom Black Woods," she replied.
Said woods was just a maze of endless black during the nighttime. Everyone looked was just filled with endless miles of trees. The ground was tangled up with brush and thorns. The deeper someone goes, the more disoriented they become. The only way out is to follow the river to the road. But, even that is hard to find in the murky darkness. Drop Bottom Black Woods provided a perfect backdrop to Janine and her gang's twisted little game for Bella.