Surviving Gitchie Manitou: The Sandra Cheskey Story

A Camping Trip in Gitchie Manitou Takes a Deadly Turn

In 1973, five teenagers headed into the serene woods of Gitchie Manitou State Preserve in Iowa for a night of campfire fun. Among them were Roger Essam, 17; Stewart Baade, 18; his younger brother Dana, just 14; Michael Hadrath, 15; and Sandra Cheskey, the group’s youngest at only 13 years old. They were just kids looking for a little escape—a night of laughter under the stars.

As the evening wore on, Roger and Stewart stepped away from the campfire, gathering wood to keep their fire burning. The calm was shattered by the sound of snapping branches, quickly followed by two deafening gunshots. Both Roger and Stewart crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

The sudden violence froze Dana, Michael, and Sandra in place, unsure of what to do. Their confusion deepened when a voice shouted from the darkness: “Come out with your hands up!”

Out of the shadows stepped two men, shotguns in hand, looking ready to use them again. Dana, Michael, and Sandra were paralyzed. Were these men law enforcement? Were they trespassers? Were they even human? The teens had no answers, only fear.

Sandra later recounted the terrifying moments that followed. “Mike said, ‘Who in the hell do you think you are?’ Then I heard a shot, and Mike fell to the ground. I was standing right next to him. I fell to the ground.”

The two survivors left standing were Sandra and 14-year-old Dana. Sandra couldn’t tell if Roger, Stewart, or Michael were still alive; the chaos was too overwhelming. Then, a third man emerged from the shadows, his presence somehow worse than the violence they’d already witnessed. With the barrel of a gun pointed at them, the man corralled Sandra and Dana toward a truck parked nearby.

The horror was only beginning.

A Glimmer of Survival and the Final Goodbye

In the chaos, Sandra realized something that felt like a faint spark of hope—Stewart and Michael were still alive. Michael clutched his arm, which had been torn apart by a shotgun blast. Stewart, though grievously wounded, cried out from the forest, his voice tinged with desperation and pain. But hope dissolved quickly into helplessness. Dana was forced to stand at gunpoint, listening to the agonizing sounds of his older brother bleeding out, powerless to intervene.

The gunmen deliberated, their conversation low and calculated. Then, without a word of explanation, they turned their attention to Sandra. She was bound at the wrists, roughly tossed into the bed of their truck like cargo. As the vehicle jolted into motion, Sandra managed to lift herself just enough to glimpse her friends one last time.-

Two of the men stayed behind. They marched Stewart, Dana, and Michael back toward the forest, the setting of their last moments. Sandra didn’t know it yet, but that would be the final time she ever saw them alive.

Discovery of the Bodies: A Community Shattered

The next morning, a couple cruising down a quiet road in their brand-new car came across a grim scene. On the side of the road lay the bodies of Stewart, Dana, and Michael. Their lives, once so full of promise, had been brutally extinguished. Roger’s body wouldn’t be discovered until later; he had perished at the original campsite.

For the families of these boys, the news was devastating—a gut-punch from which they would never recover. But for Sandra, the nightmare wasn’t over. She wasn’t just mourning her friends; she was living a personal hell that no child should ever endure.

“The Boss” and His Disturbing Deception

As the truck rattled away from the park, the man sitting next to Sandra decided it was time to talk. He introduced himself with an air of authority that felt chillingly misplaced. He claimed he was a narcotics officer, and worse, that he was “The Boss.” The other two men, he boasted, followed his every command.

Sandra’s survival, he told her, hinged on one thing: absolute obedience.

They arrived at a farmhouse, where the other two men were already waiting. The Boss stepped out to confer with them while Sandra remained frozen in the truck. When one of the men returned, he climbed into the cab and stripped away the last shred of her childhood. He assaulted her, then sneered as if expecting gratitude. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he spat.

Sandra, barely able to speak, told him she was only thirteen and had been a virgin. Her words seemed to amuse him.

A Terrifying Ordeal and an Unlikely Release

When The Boss resumed driving, it wasn’t to take Sandra home—not yet. They stopped at an abandoned house. With a club in hand, he ordered her to follow him inside, muttering something about looking for “critters.” Sandra refused, standing her ground despite the terror gripping her. Eventually, The Boss abandoned the plan, deciding she wasn’t worth the risk. “You’re too young to get busted,” he said, as if the sentiment were somehow a favor.

He drove her home, and Sandra’s ordeal finally ended. But her determination to bring justice to her friends was just beginning.

A Crucial Clue: The Red Fuel Tank

Sandra’s courage was extraordinary. In the aftermath of her trauma, she worked with law enforcement to retrace her steps, determined to identify the places and people responsible. One detail stood out in her memory: the farmhouse where the men had regrouped. Outside, there had been a red fuel tank. The Boss had used it to refill the truck before driving her home.

It wasn’t much to go on, but Sandra knew it was a key to unlocking the case. And she was right. The red tank would soon lead investigators directly to the killers, turning the tide in a case that had shaken an entire community.

The Break in the Case: A Red Tank and a Stroke of Luck

Sandra’s resilience paid off in a way no one could have predicted. While driving through the area with Sheriff Craig Vinson, she spotted it—a red fuel tank, just like the one she remembered. They pulled over to investigate, but the case took an even sharper turn when a truck drove by. Behind the wheel was The Boss.

Sandra didn’t hesitate. She identified the driver to Sheriff Vinson, who arrested him on the spot. The Boss, as it turned out, was Allen Fryer. The farmhouse with the red tank belonged to him and his two brothers, David and James. The pieces of Sandra’s memory clicked perfectly into place: the truck matched, the farmhouse fit the description, and the brothers lined up with her accounts of the attackers.

Interrogations Begin: Lies, Excuses, and Cracks in the Story

Down at the station, Allen wasted no time spinning a tale that painted him as the victim. Yes, he admitted, he and his brothers had been in the woods that night. Yes, there had been a gunfight. But according to Allen, Sandra and her friends had been the aggressors. The Fryers, he claimed, only returned fire in self-defense, and perhaps—just perhaps—one of the teenagers had been killed accidentally.

The story didn’t add up. Law enforcement pressed harder, and by the third round of questioning, Allen’s version began to shift toward the truth. He confessed that he and his brothers had spotted the teens drinking and smoking in the park. Their goal wasn’t justice—it was robbery. From a ridge overlooking the campsite, the brothers had opened fire, killing Roger Essam instantly.

Then came the cruel charade. The Fryer brothers decided to impersonate narcotics officers, believing—absurdly—that this gave them free rein to kill at will. Over multiple interviews, Allen admitted they had coldly calculated this act, showing no remorse.

Sandra’s Identifications Seal the Case

Sandra’s memory proved vital. She identified all three Fryer brothers in lineups with chilling accuracy. David Fryer corroborated Allen’s confession, admitting to the murders and their twisted impersonation scheme. But James Fryer? He had more skeletons in his closet and wasn’t ready to play along.

James Fryer’s Web of Lies

James was the man Sandra identified as her rapist, but that wasn’t his only secret. At the time of the murders, James had been part of a work-release program. To cover his tracks that night, he had called his parole officer, pretending to be his boss. He claimed he needed to work an extra shift, which excused his absence from roll call.

The plan worked temporarily, but James’s lies unraveled under scrutiny. Facing charges of murder, rape, and parole violation, James turned desperate. He blamed Allen and David for the murders, claiming he had nothing to do with it. He went a step further, accusing Sandra of fabricating the assault. According to James, not only had Sandra not been raped, but she had wanted to sleep with him—and even David. He painted her as an eager participant, laughing and enjoying herself while her friends were slaughtered.

The audacity of his defense stunned investigators, but not enough to sway them. No one believed James’s story.

Justice for the Victims

In the end, all three Fryer brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Their gruesome crime, misguided impersonation scheme, and their callous treatment of Sandra sealed their fate. Justice was served, though it could never undo the heartbreak and trauma endured by Sandra and the families of the victims.