In February 2012, forensic excavation teams led by the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office and the FBI descended upon an abandoned rural property on Flood Road near Linden, California. Acting on hand-drawn maps provided by death row inmate Wesley Shermantine—one half of the notorious "Speed Freak Killers" duo who terrorized California's Central Valley for fifteen years—investigators unearthed hundreds of human bone fragments discarded deep within abandoned agricultural wells.
The Well Excavations & Forensic Anthropology Recovery
Shermantine and his childhood associate Loren Herzog engaged in methamphetamine-fueled serial murder sprees between 1984 and 1999, hunting young women across San Joaquin, Calaveras, and Stanislaus counties. While Herzog was paroled in 2010 (and committed suicide in 2012), Shermantine agreed to reveal body disposal sites in exchange for financial stipends.
At the Linden well site, heavy machinery excavated down forty-five feet into the water table. Forensic anthropologists sifted through tons of mud and debris, recovering over 300 human skeletal elements, jewelry, purse fragments, and footwear belonging to multiple young women who had vanished during the duo's reign of terror.
| Date / Period | Jurisdiction / Entity | Forensic Event & Excavation Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 1984–1999 | San Joaquin County, CA | Wesley Shermantine & Loren Herzog murder dozens of victims in Central Valley. |
| Feb 2012 | Flood Road, Linden, CA | Sheriff's teams excavate 45-foot cattle well; 300+ human bone fragments recovered. |
| Mar 2012 | San Joaquin Co. Coroner | DNA confirms remains of Cyndi Vanderheiden (vanished 1998) and Chevy Wheeler (1985). |
| 2013 | DOJ Forensic Lab | DNA profiling confirms third decedent: Kimberly Billy (19), missing since 1984. |
| Active | San Joaquin SO & FBI | Dozens of co-mingled bone fragments remain unidentified; active genealogy ongoing. |