Ep 8: The Man Behind the Mask?

believe it's a guy been a name of Carrie Lane. Carrie founded a pantomime group here in Bedford and

“and he spelled it magic in a j-i-c. And when he was still out at the camp, he would dive into the”

pool off the roof of the shelter house and he'd put a purple towel around his neck. From Hillyred House Productions, this is the finale of RU Captain Purple. I'm Nick Storm. You're listening to Episode 8, the man behind the mask. As we left the last episode, we just learned of this guy Carrie, who former Times mail sports reporter and statistician Jeff Rouse says is Captain Purple. It's a strong theory. Out of all of the theories that we've

shared and even more we've looked at, Jeff's suspect adds up. Of course, for Derek and me, we've

heard all this before. We've had suspect after suspect put in front of us and as we saw with Dawn, sometimes under scrutiny, they fall apart. And just as we start looking seriously into Carrie, the town message board, it reacts. A woman named Kim comments on a six-year-old post saying that Carrie Lane is Captain Purple. Of course, the very next post says no. It wasn't him and that person offers a different theory about the do-gooder. We reach out to Kim on

“line and wait to see if she responds. And first I think this is for Tudace. Carrie's name”

popping up as we learn about him. And it's got to be good news, maybe even a sign. But at the same time, I think about working the phone as a reporter and help now and then something that I said would be repeated back to me at the end of the day by another source. So, I'm also suspicious. We talk again to newspaper reporter Roger Moon. He was the one that covered the reemergence or reincarnation of Captain Purple back in 2016 and 2017. It turns out,

Roger did speak with Carrie. I just remember a brief conversation and he, I kind of, pretty much cut me off. I didn't want to talk about it. But I remember, I mean, he didn't say me or ugly. But he was just briefed and he, uh, just a pretty much cut me off and didn't want to tell me anything. That's the way I'll renever it. We also contact another newspaper reporter. She's in her 80s now. Her name is Mary Johnson. She reported some on Captain

Purple and had something almost odd to say of the newspaper reporting they did.

“Good luck to you on it. I think I tried to resurrect it at one time and was amazed at how”

a little material was left. Okay. That's for what I was. I remember being wanting to know who it was. But I'm glad we did me and I hope you don't find out. That is part of the mistake. Okay. And the guy's heart is certainly in the right place, certainly, I believe it is. So, but, but I love it that you're, that you're working on it again. I just, it's fascinating. Derek and I do want to go farther than Roger, and farther than Mary. But

we do acknowledge mystery. It's kept the story alive. We do have what Jeff told us about Kerry, that he went to Laine's for high school. Derek had still Laine's film for stopping at the public library looking for old earbooks. Of course, they're none there. And what's the deal with libraries? Derek pointed to the high school when they do have copies of old earbooks. And Derek looks at the 1982 earbook. He finds Kerry, a senior at Laine's

feel high. And the first portrait here is in black and white. Kerry's dressed in a suit

his arms across his chest. He's staring intently into the camera. There's no smile. There's this Navajo pattern background behind him. In the earbook, we find that Kerry is a member of the chess club. Art club. He ran track. He's on the student council and newspaper staff for all four years of high school. So, get in a confirmation of sorts. He's a runner. And we know from the newspaper bit, he can write. And let's match this up against Captain

Purple now. We know Captain Purple was fast. And he liked to leave type written letters

for high school? Their home color? It's purple. Derek even finds a photo of Kerry and

“other newspaper staff. They're in the bleachers and on the first bleacher step is this big”

sign or banner. And it reads Purple Pride. Kerry's front row's center. Again, he's looking into the camera. His mouth slightly open. But it's not in a smile. It's more curiosity. Like a question is forming in his head. And there are questions forming in our heads. What else will line up? Can we get to the place where we can prove this? We decide to ask around and see. Do we know anyone from Laine'sville? Is there anyone who give us

some insight into Kerry? Either back then in the '80s or now. Derek knew one guy from Laine'sville. Brandon. He's known him for a decade. Derek got runner himself. Ryan with Brandon back when Brandon was in college. Derek would train with his team. Now Brandon's a bit younger at 31, but he is from Laine'sville. So we know he won't be a contemporary of Captain Purple, but maybe he knows someone in the Laine'sville community

who could know Kerry. And we didn't expect much from this call, but what we heard. Well. Do you know anyone by the name of Kerry Laine? Kerry Laine? Yeah. It's a guy. Kerry would hate you or why. He's got his name, Micah? Yeah. Yeah, I know exactly who he is. Yeah, Micah. I ran with Micah in high school. Yeah. I know Micah. We're like, we're really friends. None of this is like serious or like a crime or anything like this. However,

it is definitely obvious that a lot of people don't want this to like. They want to keep this a mystery. So Kerry, we know runs the Gilligan's belt rental and Pizokalini. Yep. Like, we know pretty good background story on him. He used to be in the pantomime, like, Miami. And he was in our, I remember him as a kid in our mall. But he was 19. He was just, he was like a mannequin, like a pantomime mannequin in our mall. Oh my gosh. Like,

“all this is, this is real. Do you know, is he a nice guy? Is he pretty easy going?”

I mean, yeah. I mean, when I was in high school and I like knew him. I mean, Micah's mom. She's super nice and like Micah's super nice and a dad. I've only, I only ever interacted

with him about three or four or five times. But he was nice though that Micah was always,

like, we always hang out at Micah's house in the summertime. We're like, ram some of the time of tracking course. Can you go on through his dad's like, got up to Tokyo, running the boat rental thing and all that. But they need a nice guy. I mean, if you bring this up, then I'd have to be so nice. Did you ever mention him? Yeah, mine. I like that he did pantomime with all. I knew Micah said

that his dad did ventriloquism and he was very good at it. I know that much and like, because like, when we win his house, they were like, ventriloquist dolls and stuff and he's like, yeah, my dad did that for a while back in like the 80s and 90s. And in the vein, if you can't make this up or that this is truly serendipity, which we get again and again, making this podcast, Brandon had one more revelation

that could indicate a vital link between Kerry and Captain Purple.

“I think it was my sophomore year when we went to sectionals. Micah would have been”

a freshman. We were in the like, cheering section, stuff at board. Micah had a purple cape that he wore. And it was old and he was like, yeah, this is my dad's when he was back in high school. And I'm like, an ad cape, of course, which makes it feel. It couldn't be, you know, hero out of cape and you know, he got her cape. And now it's clicking in my head, you know, like, yeah, you wore a mask, a purple mask, and I'm like, yeah,

look at him, but maybe it could also could just be a coincidence and everything, like, just go, you know, it's purple and all that. So Kerry Sun Micah wore a purple cape from his father. We know from Gary and others who reported to the newspaper or to the police that Captain Purple, he had a dark colored presumably purple cape. Brandon saw this cape while attending a sectional basketball game.

Basketball is religion in Indiana. High school kids dress up. They wear costumes. They're

here. And in this case, they don't have purple cape. Here's the thing. There's a lot

to. He lived in Bedford during the time of Captain Purple. The same guy who's been accused

of being Captain Purple. But there's also this nerd quotient here. We do know Kerry was a mind, which wouldn't necessarily have used to cape. And later, we know he was ventriloquist. So there's also a touch point for why he could have a cape, because he's in a nerdy stuff. Norie could have it, because he's Captain Purple. We just don't know. One more thing with the color purple. Brandon said, the kids back in the 70s and 80s, it lanes

a high school. They were given purple clothing, including purple conversations. But I've

“been holding back a little. Remember in the last episode, when Jeff Routh mentioned this”

Kerry guy, he said Kerry would write his bike to his job at Kmart. Well, going back away into the series, there was one of the first people who was visited by Captain Purple. Richard King, he worked at Kmart at the restaurant there. Now remember, Richard was visited by Captain Purple with food and milk for his infants on. And this was before the Bolton board was set up in the library. Kerry and Richard were friends. He would have known

the needs. And I was always wondering how whoever it was figured out who needed this stuff.

And we have him to catch up with him way out there in the middle of nowhere. That was also before to this. Because we found him at the same time we were learning about Kerry. And I asked if by chance, he remembered Kerry from Kmart. Not Kerry, I got to be good friends.

“He, the way I remember it, he was, his family was fairly wealthy and he decided he was”

going to try to do it on his own, which he got to respect. And he was actually sleeping in a car, but it wasn't his. He had nothing. He had a bicycle. And my cousin's got, you know, we actually helped him get a vehicle. Going back, we also talked to Janice Hamilton, the other of T-shirts plus, that store in the Stone City Mall, you remember she sold Captain Purple Fan Club T-shirts. Well, she

also remembered the mine from the mall, which Derek learned about going through the newspapers at the Lawrence County History Museum. That's Kerry.

It was a young man. He never talked. And he was, like, maybe stand right outside the store

with the farm 12 things, legs kind of awesome, but he never spoke. But I remember you say mine, because that was really funny, because when they had the

“stone city mall, what do you kind of remember that?”

Yeah. Well, the reason it strikes in my mind so much is that you're talking about, he was a boss boy also, you probably. Yeah. We heard he worked at the restaurant. We didn't know what he did. Yeah. And he was really good at mines, but I don't like mines. Yeah. And I told him, I said, buddy, you got to your own thing. But a lot was so hilarious.

He would go, do the mines stuff in, like, a storefronts. And he would be there for hours. And I mean, if he wanted to, you could even tell it was really, would move. And people would go and go and go. And he requested that I didn't come over to watch. And he said, I was only making a laugh, because I'm going to just stare and look at it for a while. And he breaked down. He goes, I can't break. I had thought about that for almost 40 years.

And I'm not saying I got a talent for mine, but I just, and yeah, that's a good memory there. From the newspapers, we can almost go back in time and track where Kerry was at. And there's another coincidence, as Kerry's taking his my Mac on the road nearby towns. Captain Purple, he's not in the papers. Nothing's happening. And one time of pause for Captain Purple, we told you back in episode four, there was a month long break from June 14th

to July 10th, 1983. And then Captain Purple pops up at the United Methodist Church. So in the newspapers, there's this article from two hours away that appears on July 6th, 1983. There's Kerry under a headline that reads, Bedford Mime Fool's Shoppers. It says he's been in Crawford'sville at a mall there, performing his my Mac. The article says he was there for an engagement last month. So it's possible he got booked for four weeks at

the mall. There's no way to know for sure, but it certainly reads that way. And there's a quote from Kerry. Now I want to share from that article. It says quote, "When I'm in a

for me as well. I can see their reactions, I can see them think. And I see them react, it's a two way street, and I'm learning from watching them." And to quote, "You didn't ask, but I'll tell you. Early articles about Kerry as a mime back in Bedford. The written by Rose Marie Sylvester, she was a main captain, purple reporter from 1983. She would have interacted with Kerry as the mime." We asked Rose Marie about Kerry, and she thought

maybe she remembered him, but it was all a bit fuzzy after four decades. But she did think that his name sounded familiar. She asked some questions to us trying to pin it down

“in her mind. And here's the thing. We think that Rose Marie, she may have known Kerry,”

at least on the periphery, through Jeff, Ralph, so not in her own circle, but a step away. Look, they probably crossed paths at some point. Again, through Jeff another reporter at the time's mail. We're racking up coincidences between Kerry and Captain Purple, and they're starting to add up. This is almost like working a case without physical evidence, which we don't have. Everything we're able to present, it's circumstantial.

We have so much to add up here, though. One person that did hang out socially with Kerry was Richard King, from Kmart. About four or five of us guys in probably half a dozen girls or waitresses worked there and I tell you. It was a really cool environment, especially for me. I think I was only like 17 and this guy you're talking about, part of the reason, him and me and something that really

got to have a good bond is the waitresses, they would have apartment or houses and every

night they had to get together. Pretty much every night, and I never was much on cards,

but they play cards or, you know, might be a few beers or something, but it wasn't a party. It was just like a low-key get together. It was almost every night for five nights a week

“and that's how I think we all really got to, because you know, me being 17 on a 17-year-old,”

you know, have a house or something. But it was a real interesting group of people. It was a really good part of my life. Let's review. We know Kerry is around 19 years old. He's a bike and a car, but he rarely uses the car. He sleeps in it sometimes or crashes on different couchs or we know at least back in 1982 the church camp in Mitchell. We also know he's chosen to be poor, to live life

on his own terms. This could also be biblical, which would again tie to Captain Purple. By the way, we can now foreshore proof Kerry is religiously motivated. One of the articles about his time is a mine. After that time frame of Captain Purple, this one from 1984, this one has a headline that reads, "Mime Troop brings religious message." According to Richard, Kerry's parents, they had money.

Then we know from Jeff Ralph that he left his parents. So there are so many pieces lining up between Kerry and the town and even Kerry and bits of the story of Jesus. And he said, "The Bible says not to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing."

It's also something I find almost amazing if this is true. Then Kerry is walking in the way.

He, at 19, he's literally giving everything he has a way for others. Kevin Kerry, you're Captain Purple, and to be honest, my mind is starting to blur into one. Again, if it's true, Kerry did shun wealth and gave everything that was coming his way to those in need. I think there's some scripture we can tie to that, too.

“To the rich young ruler, if you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor,”

and you'll treasure and have it. Then come follow me. That's from Matthew and from Mark. Jesus said to the disciples, "Anyone of you who does not give up all his possessions can not be my disciple. That's from Luke. From Mark. They put a purple robe on him and twist it together

the recount of thorns and set it on him." And finally, teacher, what is the greatest commandment of the

law? Jesus repies, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. In the second, as like it, love your neighbor as yourself, all the law and the prophets, hang on these two commandments. As we compile more information

Her name online is Kim Jones Banks, but like a lot of people we talk to, it's not the name she

“would be known by in 1983. We believe her maiden name was Collins. Knowing her name and I,”

we can't seem to break through the electronic wall, she silent online, no updates on her Facebook page, nothing. We start calling every number we can find to ask about her and literally every number, every relative we find. It's disconnected, dozens of attempts to reach her and they all start turned off or disconnected. The winner was customer you are calling. It's not available. So we turn our attention elsewhere. You put in touch with the former girlfriend of Kerry's

woman named Beth Thompson. We told she dated Kerry in 1982, that'd be a year before Captain Purple would have been roaming the nighttime streets of Bedford. She also had something she's been sitting on for a long time to share and it didn't take much prompting for us. I can remember sitting around the dining room table at my mother's and the conversation was being hand. I don't know why about superhero. Kerry said that if he was ever going to be a superhero,

his name would be Captain Purple and we just kind of laughed. We'll then, years later when we Captain Purple showed up on Mom and I were like, we know who this is. Yeah, it was just that when he was born right there, it's a dining room table.

“When was that? That would have been back in '82. Did he say why Captain Purple? Did he?”

He said it was when he was picking that superhero name. Purple was just absolute most favorite color and that's just what he chose. That's, that would just be his name. Let's be Captain Purple. So, when he showed up, Mom and I were like, okay, yeah, we know this is. How did he come into your life? I'm at Kerry at church camp once, but would have been the summer of '82 and we started dating and so I guess we were dating at the time when he was at the house.

I don't know, maybe six months or so, something like that. And then after we broke up with kind of lost track of each other, it. So to reset the timeline here, Kerry, our new suspect to be Captain Purple and Jeff, the newspaper sports stat taker, they're both at the scenic Hills church camp in Mitchell, the summer of 1982. Kerry graduated that spring so it lines up. It's the same church camp where Kerry were told lives. The Jeff says, Kerry would tie a purple towel around his neck

and jump, like a superhero, send to the pool. We think this must take place that summer of '82, by the winner of '82, and maybe even early '83, Kerry would probably be living with Jeff and Mitchell. At least until he's kicked out of the house there, and then he'd moved to Bedford. Beth said she hasn't seen Kerry in almost three decades, but her memory of the time and of him, they're sharp. Well, see, he was very friendly, he's fun-loving. He was funny. He, uh, I know one of the

jobs he had with a living mannequin at the old mall that we had, and the wind up at the bottom of the stores, he was kind of a loner. Was he pretty fit? I mean, we got stories that he wrote his bike a lot. Do you remember that? Yes. He, when he moved up here in the summer of '82 from Laneville, he did write his bicycle up here. Then he wrote his bike everywhere until he was able to get a car.

I don't even remember how long that was when he finally got the car, but he wrote his bike

“from Laneville, Indiana. He's been to two Mitchell. That's right. That's what kind of bike did he have?”

No, I think it was just the normal 10-speed bike that they had, you know, had back in the '80s. He had saddle bags on it, had his stuff in his saddle bags, and he just wrote it everywhere. That ride from Laneville, Indiana, to scenic hills church camp in Mitchell, Indiana, it's more than 50 miles. It would have taken an estimated four and a half hours by bicycle, according to modern GPS. Beth said she knew it was carry acting as Captain Purple,

but she never spoke to him about it. They both moved on. She said she told the story to others,

including family members. But again, so close, but short of a first-hand account or

Captain Purple. But did you remember him having any articles with Purple Cloak?

I know he had Purple Converse. I'm sure he probably had Purple T-shirt stuff that I do remember the Purple Sheets. It's awfully compelling. For Derek and I, the conversation ends with one more tantalizing remark from Beth. Terry made the night till his dying breath, and I will swear to it till my dying breath. After Purple was born in my mom's Gidship. Derek and I feel like we have more than enough to talk with Carrie. So we set out to find him. We know he owns a boat rental

business. It's called Gilligan's. It's on Patokale, which is in South Central Indiana. It's around an hour from Bedford, heading south. In the car, Derek and I split up. I go in. Derek stays.

First thinking here is if I upset Carrie, we still have an avenue to get in touch with him via Derek later.

Hey, what is next? Nick. Are you Carrie? I am Morgan. You're Morgan. Is Carrie around? Here's not. I don't know. Okay. Sue, with my friend Derek there, we came to actually talk with Gary. We're working on a podcast. I understand he was in Bedford back in the 80s and wanted to talk to him about his time as a mind and it was not. No, he, so he don't. Not that people anymore. Oh, really? Yeah, he's kind of like sheltered. Is he grumpy? Or not really. It's just, I think,

doing all this. I pretty much run, run all this. Okay. Reservations and stuff. What he does

“at our minds. That's it. But if you want to talk to him, he's the best way to get the whole”

to him is to email our website. Back in the car, I tell Derek what happened.

So we emailing him or we're going to go to his house. We're going to his house. We're going to help. Yeah, so we need to just find a place to pull off and pop it as the address of him. I just didn't want to do it there and be weird. Let's put it here now for a quick. So there's a freak to our left. We take off to Laneville. Somehow at some point, Gary left Bedford and ended up back where he came from. That's a story I'm interested in. What happened?

There's a trucks. So it's right there. It's literally right here. It does not. Oh, it is. Yeah, yeah, it is. Going pull on up, let's honestly what it says. Morning. Firearms range ahead. Beyond this sign, you will be down range. Beware of dogs

“and leaf packages in the box. And he really doesn't want people to visit him, does he?”

Beth, Gary's girlfriend at the Christian camp in 1982, made a point earlier about him potentially denying it and her swearing it to her dying day. At the time it seemed exaggerated. Now, I'm not so sure. Not talking to us. Fits the profile of Captain Purple. We said all along, whoever's Captain Purple. We expect them to be true to character. Protect their identity. Following carrying your Captain Purple's biblical theme, we come up with another plan to talk with him. We don't want

to ambush him. It'd be a shame to come this far and put someone in a corner and have them respond in their best self. After all, we gave Dawn through cotton and an opportunity to talk to us. Got his number that way and we'd like to do the same for Kerry. We decided to go back to Laine's film. Talk to Kerry's pastor. We figured making a plea from a place of religion might appeal to him. And we go, midweek, to Laine's film Christian Church. It's not far from Kerry's house. We walk to

the front doors, which are locked. And we head around the side and walk in. And there, done a hallway. We find Pastor Pete Baumgartel. Hey, John. I'm good. My name's Nick. I'm Pete. I'm Peter. I'm Derek. I'm Derek. Hi, Derek. Nice to meet you. I'm right. We still have friends. Yeah. I have the strange one for you today. We're looking on podcasts. Oh, yeah, I see. About this guy in Bedford, Indiana,

“who might actually attend your church. That's why we're coming to talk to you today.”

We spend the next 15 minutes talking to Pastor Pete describing what we're doing. It's one of those times at which we were filming this. I'd just like to show you the look and Pastor Pete's eyes. It was almost funny. And really, I didn't maybe you've experienced this telling

We need some help. I'm trying to get in touch with Kerry. I don't want to go up and open the

guys gate and walk up to his house without somebody. I thought you might be willing to vouch for us or at least hear us out. And maybe we could use the church as a neutral place for us to him to meet us at if he was so interested. I know his wife works here too. I figured we'd start with you. You know what was going on and see what you're taking back to track up to this church. Pastor Pete asks to make some hard copies of some of the newspaper reports that we've brought

along. And he disappears for a bit. I wonder if Kerry or maybe there's a family member in the church. And well, he is repulsive. So I love the guy. So there's no way I want to scare him away from here or anything. So I mean, everything I tell him is just weird, but

“it's odd. I knew at the time I was thinking, how do we get him to agree to set this thing up?”

Or open the suggestions if you think that we should do something to bend his ear, we've not been able to, he's not turned his down, we just haven't been able to find him to talk to him. My thought is if you, if you gave me, if you, if you all write down your name in number, I'll pass it on to him and then that's all you can tell you. If he acts on it and so be it. If he doesn't, then it's a dead end. Yeah, so I mean, that's good enough for me.

You're, what you're saying is like, if I could see, yeah, I could see him being like that. Yeah, hey, he's a very, he's a wonderful guy. So yeah, don't, don't want to get away. No, now this is, we realize this is better, these are, these are, this is no, it does aren't, but a bit of cool way. And that's the time we look at.

“And by the way, we do try and call carry. We have a number form that comes from some slew thing,”

and here's what happens when we try calling it.

Scrib, you are trying to reach us currently, not reachable, please try again later. Wow, I've never heard of that word. He's got something on his phone that stops calls from coming in. Yeah. So far, we've met resistance from all of our attempts to contact him. We hear that the city of Linesville is having its fall festival. So on a Sunday, more or less on a whim,

we arrive around time. We think church is letting out his church, or we spoke with Pastor Pete. It's just up the street from the festival entrance. We're wandering, what is this festival called? It's a Wayne'sville Heritage Festival. Bluebeatsy holedest festival in the state of Indiana. The heritage here is tractors. We've seen more tractors than I've ever seen in one place.

A lot of tractors. It's their Disney world. This is their day. If you're into antique tractors, you are in heaven. But everything else is typical of lots of boats. Yeah, lots. And possibly a needle in his hand. Well, it's interesting that Gary now is in his early sixties.

The last sighting we've had of him has been about four years ago. He's last sighted with a long graveyard down to his belly. So every man that we see with the graveyard, we're taking a bit of belly. Essentially, a little bit of tractors looking for the lead singer. We're having a great time with the barbecue dog. We're having a great time with the barbecue dog. We're having a great time with the barbecue dog. We're having a great time with the barbecue dog.

We're having a great time with the barbecue dog. We're having a great time with the barbecue dog. We're having a great time with the barbecue dog. We're having a great time with the barbecue dog. We're having a great time with the barbecue dog. We're having a great time with the barbecue dog. Maybe they'll be here. Maybe they're spouses. Eventually we call it. Even with what we know, there are too many people here.

Gary's a private guy and by all accounts he always has been. It's complicated feelings.

My time is a reporter. I've always figured out a way to get to who I wanted to talk to

“and get the story. Sometimes that's meant ambushing people. But it's important to me and to”

Derek to allow Gary to do this in his own way. We don't want to put him in a bad spot. After all, and telling a positive story, Captain Purple didn't do anything wrong. This has been the good news for the gospel of Captain Purple.

After this slingsville trip, Derek had sent another message and lo and bolt. She popped up.

She responds on Facebook. This after more than two months of us searching for her. Immediately, we set plans to meet up with her in bedford. With her being in the wind so long, we don't want to risk missing her this time. And the place we picked to meet up with her. It's at a Wendy's. The place of significance for this story, oddly as it is. Where that Wendy sits? It's the same lot where the stone city mall used to be.

He went at the time the marries us used to be in the old stout city mall and he was a mine in the window. He had some, yeah. He would do two or three days a week. They'd stand in the window for a couple

hours and do months. He was different. He was very different. Oh, it's just different. You know,

“you didn't see many teenagers or, yeah, he was like 20. I think he'd like to get plenty of.”

He didn't see too many of them doing my homework. It's like, yeah, in the local window. We expect the Wendy's to be quiet, but turns out they do a lot of business inside the restaurant. Newspaper reports from 1982 and early 83, tell us Carrie was trying to save up for college with his mime act. In the summer of 1983, Kim was 16 years old. She'd be heading into her senior year of high school. Carrie, he would have been 19. They were introduced through a mutual friend who Kim

says, now probably didn't even know Carrie all that well. We did go to church camp in summer. The one out behind spring mills, that scenic scenic and they knew him there. So he'd been there before. You know, I had mid to that one. We did go one week there. Yeah, he didn't go to church when I knew anyway. Like he was a, you know, he could go to church every week, but he talked about it. And there's another touch point from our research. We know that the year before in 1982,

Carrie and Beth would have been there. The same place where Jeff Routh told us Carrie's living in that summer of '82. Kim tells us during that time of Captain Purple and the time she and Carrie were together. The Carrie had an apartment in Bedford. It was on O Street, across from the junior high school, on the top floor of an older home.

“You met him the first time was he already Captain Purple or did that come up?”

He had already been through it. I didn't know that until later. How did that conversation come up? Oh, we went out a few times and we bid that we took the weeks and I guess he thought he could trust me. And he said he was like kind of eased into it, you know, and so if you heard about this guy going around and leaving packages, people's houses, you know, good wheel packages. Oh, that Captain Purple thing. It was about that. It was kind of highlighting. Here we are.

After all this time, the first hand report saying this guy, Carrie, is the guy we've been talking about this whole time. Captain Purple. And with more, she has stories of working with Carrie to do some of the deeds of Captain Purple. The first one she shares has to do with one of Captain Purple's largest exploits. That giant banner made of bedsheets with the words "love one another," painted in purple. We find it that in that bright yard. And paint it on your front yard.

Yes, I don't know who sewed them together. It was a bunch of benches over white sheets, you know.

He had other accomplices that I never got him didn't ask the corner. There was a box in the library,

the benches of the library that people could leave or request for someone else or whatever.

“He had someone I think she might have worked there, but I don't know. He just the way it sounded.”

And she would get the things out of the box for him and bring him to a get into him. And whoever sewed the sheets together, he called her a lady, so I think this is just a little older. Yeah. And she sewed all the sheets together for that song. That huge design. And he brought in my house with a gallon of purple all paid, and we had paid meshes. And we laid that thing out in my big mom's big foot yard.

And mom, but a few times walked out on the balcony of the house and she's looking like, "It's falling all or she's just what did you do with it?" And I said, "Oh, we're painting this sign to take you to church camp." She said, "That's awful big. Where are you going to do with it?" I said, "I don't know where he knows where to hang it," and she said, "Okay, what's he going to say?" And we're looking at each other. Love one another. Love your brother.

Because that's good. Because that's because she'll win the new secret. Yeah, if you get it, she

figured it out. So she saw it. Do you really hang the big? You calmed it. Did he? I know I will. How I carried it up there to back back, I think. I don't. Yeah. Did he talk about being, I mean, that was up there. I didn't. I don't. And he was far as I know. He was by himself. I didn't go. So I don't have the idea. I think he just whip by himself. Head flashlight. Ooh, I climbed up a steel structure.

I still started an old steel structure. Yeah. Who knows how safe it was? Probably not.

“I don't know. I guess that was he figured out. There's gonna put it out. That's what we're doing.”

Yeah. 'Cause he already knew when he was going, "Hey, you know, but when he asked me to help explain it."

'Cause he needed a place to lay it out. Yeah. And we're gonna be a huge, you know, out there in the boot. Yeah. Yeah. So why one, I love one another. Why? Why that? 'Cause he didn't think people were taking care of each other. He wanted, you know, because why was there a need for him, where were these people's families and friends, you know, that, I mean, that was kind of the thing of it. You know, it's from the Bible, you know.

And Kim says she actually wrote a few times with Carey as Captain Perville. Then I believe her. She gives us precise information that matches what we already know. And things we've not advertised. Do you see how he spray paint at the foot? He had it like a table of a piece of, it's like a heavy cardboard bed. It was, I don't know if it was laminated or I don't know something, you know, because it didn't tear up. And he just had it like a

template just threw it in and, okay. I wrote with him a timer to, we're just quick little drops he did. You know, and he didn't kind of out of the way places were like, really,

“well, you know, if I get in call, there's been seeing or anything. And I think probably the”

first time because he was dressed in like faded black jeans and a dark gray shirt, right?

And it wasn't black. It was dark gray. He was kept. He kept listening. And then he's he had a cape. He had a cape. It was dark purple that it was shiny or anything, just a dark purple. Okay, any of them mask. And it was just eye mask. You put on. And what can I say? But he says, "Oh, already, what were you looking at?" I said, "Well, I just wanted to worry about the colors." So he said, "Well, he said different colors, kind of came with all. She said,

"But you know, we're wear black because that's noticeable." He said, "Dark gray blinks if you're good at art, better." He said, "You know, how's he know this?" I said it. Whatever. I used to be really quiet back then. Yeah. But, you know, I don't know what I said. But he would go, he would get these requests while the address is stuff. And he would say what they were needing, maybe, or something, or something for the kids, or food, or whatever. And he put together box.

And he would take up the place for a couple days, a few days before he go do it. See where it was, while it was around it, or in the days. So I could just drive by, not look suspicious. And then he would go back at night and just see what it looked like at night. And a couple of times, I helped him once, was over, let's see, 15th at age. Used to be the Farm Bureau, ensure it's right there on the age. And in the corner, he was the co-op store. We parked behind

the insurance, because you know, it's kind of like a basement thing. And then, you know, we parked back there, so now I've got the kids building. And I'm not sure exactly where he went. I could see him. I got to get to the driver's seat, so I could leave if cops should have, or something.

“And he'd gone down his car, but he took off. And I think, maybe, with a hair petting place”

is and those little rick, okay. There's an apartment, at least one, and re-fouts. I'm pretty sure that's where they are. And maybe he went there. And he would, when he is steadcast, when he would go in casing the place, right? He would look for like escape routes, in case he got spotted. Places he could rip off his cape and his eye mask and hide it, like the shuttle looked at, or better, that's bad, or, you know, something like that. So he didn't

do anything half-hazard on the hood. No, it was seat-planned it. He tried not to be, because he really loved it. Yeah, he's out. He ever get caught. There's a rumor out there that someone caught him and told him to stop. I'd ever heard it. Yeah. Like I say, I mean, he was still around bed for when we weren't dating him, or I would see him there, or what's the wild. Yeah, so maybe he did later. I don't know. That may have just been a rumor by the police.

time, because hey, he had already knew where he was going. And I can't. I don't remember the address or

“anything that I know about what the heart is saying, and I probably won't recognize it. It was”

over probably, like 13th, 14th Street, somewhere around our street, grocery area, a little house. Seems like there were trees that came out, you know, by the sidewalk, or something. But he already knew where he was going. And we drove by a couple of times. He was, we were getting ready to do it. So I knew where he was going, and we had a place I was supposed to pick him up. You know, street or two over, if you block stay on, you know. And he already had to saw playing

that. We drove by a time or two, so I knew where I was going, and we knew where he'd be. In case he didn't show up at the big. That place. Yeah, what a good friend though, that's it. I mean, it was fun. Yeah. Yeah. And so, back together, way towards the junior high or

“stuff, it could get set up. And he just kind of disappears into the dark, you know. So I”

stepped up for just to make it, I wouldn't attract attention, you know. And then I drove around a little bit, watching what time it was, what then, so then I waited around in my spot, and I hadn't been there two seconds, and I mean, in the car. We had it all over the earth, it's been it. Go, go, go. A still glance is at Derek a few times during this interview. He's sitting on the same side of the

booth as Kim, who's now about 60. And Derek, he's got this big smile on his face. He looks intense and dialed in. And then I shift and look at Kim. Sandy blonde hair, same color of hair she said Carrie has. She's about five foot nine wearing a teal blue shirt and shorts for husbands with her. He sits in an adjacent table leading a frosty. Kim looks mostly relaxed or as relaxed as people who are not usually being interviewed can be. Kim says Carrie had

accomplices. She thinks one or more from the library. Funny enough, Derek and I tracked down all the librarians from the Bedford Public Library that summer of '83. And oddly, not a one had anything they could remember, including head librarian Susan Kern, who's quoted often by the

newspaper about Captain Purple, which I always felt was weird because let's face it, not much happens

in Bedford. Here's how those interviews went. Really, I didn't deal with that because our children's librarian was the person. Oh, I really was removed from that. Oh, okay, that's interesting. Who is the children's librarian? I don't see it, that's not real. She has no idea where she is. I think she lives upon Panama. What's the, do you want here in her name? Iván Benowitz. All right, so that's Susan

“and here's Iván. Honestly, I don't remember, I don't remember Captain Purple, let's see, who was,”

what is Captain Purple? So, if I'm down in the basin with the children's services, the bulletin board probably would have been upstairs. Right, when you come in the door to the left? Could be because there was a big bulletin board, but I had, I had nothing to do with that. Okay, okay, I wanted to make a case that Susan operated it and she forgot about it and, you know, here we are 42 years later, trying to track down, who operated a bulletin board in the summer of 1980s.

Two voices there, Susan and Iván, the library director and children's librarian. Susan says Iván handled it. Iván says she doesn't know who Captain Purple even is, adding it wouldn't be her. The kid's section she says was sort of totally different area of the library downstairs, and Kim says that Carrie, he had help, including someone she thought, would have been from the library. Here's where Derek and I are at, and what's suspicious.

Susan was interviewed multiple times by the newspaper for the story, back in '83. And what does it mean that Iván handled it? And a sleep town you'd think of the story making national headlines that mentions her, where she's offering quotes and being interviewed

in her first year's library director, she'd have something specific, same for Iván, but nothing.

And maybe Iván's buried in the basement with the kids books, but again, we don't know, it does raise flags. And why is Iván asking us who Captain Purple is? She lived it,

I mean, from our reporting, it doesn't seem like it. Here's the thing about the library.

It's on K-Story, the main artery for multiple Captain Purple visits, then at the time they had a tie brighter. You remember Carrie? He likely doesn't have a tie brighter. He's dead broke. Definitely didn't bite one from Lanesville to Mitchell and then to Bedford. To make sense that this is a place he would go to access a tie brighter. And through a research, we also know at the height of Captain Purple, Harry was booked at least once at the Mitchell Public Library to talk about

being a mom. And Kim said, "He had help!" She thought an older person, so it's possible an older librarian that we aren't aware of could have been a sister, and you know, it's relative. Old for someone who's 17 could be somebody who's 30. And the library, it is the place where Captain Purple did ask for the need to be posted. But truth here, that piece for us in this story, it's going to remain unsolved at least for now.

Accomplises whether the women at the library, the police, the mayor, others, it's a mystery that like Captain Purple got a hard time filling in. I guess I'm surprised that some of the people that might have actually known you are still loyal to keep in the secret what does it matter now? Yeah. Well, oddly, it gives me hope. It's almost emotional for me to hear about these people doing good for the sake of doing good, without credit, without praise,

special, and the way only the best things get to be. I'm honored. I know Derek is too to be doing this to share these moments with you. There's this thing. I know Kerry from what we've heard is not perfect. No one is. At least if all me, but Kerry is with literally nothing, yet he's giving literally everything. Yeah, because he was old before. So bro. But it seems

“like he gave everything away that he had. Yeah. How was he getting the things to leave?”

The groceries, clothing, medicine that he's some of his accomplices would donate or give me or he or they would go to like food pack and get a few little things, you know, but just however, however good. Interesting. If somebody, if somebody's kid and he did a notebook and pencils for school, you know, somebody pick one up cheap, it came out. So there were

people working with him that would do that, but you don't know who those people were. He never offered

it. I didn't ask. I figured I didn't need anything. I do want to make a distinction here. We think Kerry's Christian, he attends a summer camp where he makes his money, but according to both Beth and Kim, he doesn't really attend church. He is, and from what I've heard, truly

“walking in the way. That's what Jesus is first followers were doing. They were not intending”

on forming a religion. What they were doing was following Jesus' path. Each step embodying the way towards God. All that's necessary for this walk is yourself. Literally embodying love. The kingdom is within you. You don't have to wait to access it. You can walk and live it by taking care of each other, living in loving kindness. That's radical. That's what we've been talking about. So radical that someone doing it today or 40 years ago had changed things.

And of course, there's also pessimism in our story. There were some who, according to Kim, Kerry felt missed the point. The little he said probably was like, it's great that their pay attention, but they just wanted to join in the fun and get their name in the paper. It was kind of that attitude. I don't know why to say it, but that was kind of the feeling behind you.

“He feel misunderstood. I think it had upset him that the police wanted to arrest him for a couple”

of purple fake footprints, cheap spray paint that was going to be going in six minutes anyway. Yeah, rain was going to walk about six minutes or less. And it upset him that they actually wanted to get him in trouble for something that's trying to be nice. He was trying to be good.

Ultimately, Kerry or Captain Purple, he does stop his greatest asset to not get caught was the

fact. He did seemingly keep a small circle and wasn't from the town. I think whoever this was really kept it pretty close to themselves or we would have heard who Captain Purple actually was. Well, if you had been from here, he probably wouldn't have gotten away from away with it. Somebody would have noticed that you would do it some out of the side of a routine.

So, I put it to you. If we solve the mystery, if I put you on the metaphorical journey,

what would you say? What more evidence was you want or need? In conversation with Kerry, some other form of smoking gun, the missing police file. I wonder if someone admitting it would even do the trick now. After all, there have been many along the way who have admitted to it. If it is Kerry, we'd love to talk with him and understand more about what he was doing during

“that time. If it was him, where it stopped, why? And who is this guy today? See, still walking in the way?”

Derek and I would go back to the advice from the man at the marina. We email Kerry, tell him we're coming to Renobo. We give him a date of October 1. It's nearing the end of the season

for both Reynolds. This, by the way, is the second time we're sending an email. The first was never

responded to. In this nearing hill, which will be our final attempt. Let's simply tell him we'll be there. If he wants to meet us, any terms he chooses, we'd love to say hello. And at the very least, explain this podcast and allow him to meet with us. When the day comes to meet with Kerry, we're going back and forth. Do we, don't we? Do we want to know, do we not? Do we want to have him admit it? I mean, I think we know, right? We're all in the place and honestly, have been for a

“bed. We decide whatever happens. That's what's meant to be. And we're reminded to stay up in the”

mystery. All of us, we don't know how pieces fit together all the time or how and why things happen. This is Bill again. Is this where we go? Yeah. There's this spot. Oh, it was pointing me towards the dock. So it's that we rent from the dock. Really? I mean, we'll walk up here and see what they say. And there's two cars or else a good sign is. So we just say we're renting. How will we rent it all, right? Yeah. Good. How are you guys doing? We're going to rent, okay? We're looking

to rent boat preferably. Yeah. Yeah. If you've got something that's got some form of Rashad on it too, that'd be okay. Yeah, all our palm team boats do. Okay. Just for the two y'all. I mean, we got 17. It's 100 for the day. That's fuel and everything and it kind of goes up from there, we guess. So we're going to do that. Do you? Okay. I'll carry you around by the way. We got that email. I don't know if you guys saw that. Uh, he's not here. He hardly ever comes.

Yeah, he more asked. Yeah. Wait, wait. I know we talked to you before a couple months back. We were one the chat with him about this podcast we were doing. Oh, yeah. And I sent the email. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He hardly ever comes here. Hey, Dave, that's about more than 100. That makes that make sense, but we'll understand what we belong where we're up and he

“come hang out with us. Yeah, you don't, he don't. He's not much of a community. Is he not?”

I was for sure. Yeah. Yeah, so. Well, that's all right. Better go. Um, we weren't here. I'm about to head down there. So I'm going to follow you all down there. Okay. It's all said. Guys, we'll follow you. Yeah, that's all that we'll say. You need a ride.

This one hurts. Not that we really expected him to show up, but you always hope.

We drive on down to the dock to get the boat, hoping we can learn a little more. See you, other guys named on there. That's Morgan. Morgan, that's right. So we've, we've been doing a podcast. We've come down here a couple of times. I'm just looking to carry. Oh, yeah. Most of us have, we haven't even met him. Oh, really. Yeah. I see there. We can try for them. Yeah, we got one more work here in line.

Some of them place been here three or four years. They've never met him. Oh, really? Yeah. Wow. Sounds like a recluse. We're led to a pontoon boat set free. We head out into the lake. Toss the anchor. It's a concrete block tied to a rope that we

As we suspected, mm-hmm. And you mentioned it with Don Taylor. If he is Captain Purple,

they expect him to be treated for and that's say anything. Yeah. And here. Kind of thought we'd have to not catch this person red handed, but surprise them even to have a conversation. I mean, we could definitely treat him like a criminal and definitely force an opportunity for him to show up in the worst possible way. And we've debated that. I'm sorry. I mean, my excitement to talk to him. Just to be in front of him. You know, I had to snap out of it, but it's like, you know,

let's hang out and follow him around. You know, let's assure I want to have a stake out to talk to a guy about being a do good or 43 years ago. Yeah. We're going to have that's fair.

“You know, as he earned his privacy then, I think so. I think that for me, the longest journey”

and I think as we sit here now, we've completed it. It has been from the head to the heart. And not only do I love Kerry without meeting him, but a cynical as I can be, I feel like I love everybody else more for having participated in this, even the people who weren't able to show up in the way that I wish they had and in the way that I think that they wish they had a long time ago. It makes me want to live my life in a different way than I'm living in. That's one thing I didn't

expect. I'm glad you brought that up. It was a lot like Harold Neely. I think this guy is probably kind of narcissistic. Just wants a attention. You know, he's not doing this stuff. And then the

“thing I couldn't shake was how talkative has everyone from Bedford then? I think it's incredibly”

easy. I mean, and that's not a bad thing. You know, like you said, you know, cotton is vocal in the best kind of way. But also there's no way this day's mystery for 43 years, unless there's a complete, not a recluse, but someone who fits, you know, Kerry's profile, but for me, I made the journey at the end saying, this guy has depth because he's able to to do this at a very young age. Yeah, he's able to get perspective, implement his plan, his mission, gain national notoriety,

navigate opinions of a town, and then never mentioned it. There's this moment for me with us as

cranky as I was wandering around the lame fields. That's the full sweaty surrounded by a bunch of people. We're trying to identify somebody we've never met before by their actions and a couple physical descriptors. You know, we look every person in the eyes and wonder, could you be captain purple? We're trying to meet him and have we already met him as we're doing that. And I think that's the, it can be all of us. It doesn't matter who it is. If it's carrier, dawn, or cotton, or the mayor,

or, you know, any of the people we've met, it still can be us. It can be anybody at any point in time

“can be the captain. Wow, that's what we're supposed to do. That's what we're instructed to do by God.”

So, I'll work brothers, you know, our brothers and our sisters. And I think in so many ways, carry not meeting us, let's us come to that conclusion. Yeah, it put a ball on things from a story standpoint, but you want this to continue. I think it puts an end to it if you

solve it in a way. On a way, the next chapter is yours, the listener. It always has my end. Yeah.

We finally left our heads and followed our hearts. Who captain purple is? Doesn't matter. If you're inclined to believe, we think we know, but maybe we won't ever be able to prove it beyond what we've offered. Whether it's carry or it isn't, you can be. That's the gift we've all been given. It's truly never too late to help somebody. Big, small box clothes, a bag of groceries, pair of eyeglasses, a song, a reminder to someone that they matter. It's those small things,

that change lives. Here's India Nola featuring Owen Beverly with heartstrings. The story, it's tugged on our heartstrings.

Signing off, the truth just is in the American way. I'm next to one.

“Now you captain purple is a Hillyard house production. It's produced and reported by”

Derek Ingersol and me, Nick Storm. It's edited by Hillyard house studios. Sound mixing by Derek Ingersol

and Owen Beverly, mastered by Owen Beverly. Original music in this episode by Owen Beverly.

“Derek and I want to wish a very special thank you to the city of Bedford, Indiana,”

Janine Storm, Bolivia Storm, Natalie Benty, Stan Daniel, Debbie O'Leary, Keith Hamilton,

Genie and Phil Storm, Hope Jack and Lee Walbridge, Joe's Art and Owen Beverly, Andy Dickson, Jason Lee, Evan Brown, you truly are our names.

“In the same side I've got tangled in the stitching. You're going all night, you're going around trees.”

Thinks it a rest, say it a rest, and I am fast asleep.