Ghost Hunt of Garcia's Restaurant

Investigation Report

Location: Garcia's Restaurant, Tucson, AZ
Date: 29 March 2003
Personnel Participating: Cody Polston, Bob Carter, Teams 1, 2 & 3
Weather Conditions: Clear
Humidity: 16%
Geomagnetic Storm Activity: Unsettled
Temperature: 71
Number of Photos taken: 568
Number with possible targets: 30
Average EM Readings: 5 mg
Average M fields Readings: 1 nt
Average E Field Readings: 2 vpm
Cold Spots detected: None
Hot Spots Detected: None
Olfactory Phenomena: None
Visual Phenomena: None
Type of Investigation: Ghost Hunt

Location Description and History

The Clantons and McLaurys then decided to kill the Earps one at a time. They later ambushed Virgil, shattering the bone in his arm, and fatally shot Morgan in the back while he was playing pool.

Wyatt had formed a posse to go after Virgil's attackers, but when they killed his favorite brother, Morgan, he wanted revenge. He killed one of the assailants in the Tucson rail yard. Today the Tucson rail yard is the home of Garcia's restaurant.

Housed in the old El Paso and South West railroad depot, Garcia's makes good use of a historic building that might have otherwise gone abandoned. It is also the site of several other murders throughout the years. The basement still contains remnants of the jail where prisoners were kept while awaiting transportation.

Below is a step-by-step reenactment of the Wyatt Earp train episode that happened at this location.

Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell were at the train station to meet a witness in a trial coming in on the same train. Sitting under the veranda of the Porter Hotel, Stilwell told Clanton that the Earps were on the train and he didn't want any trouble. According to Clanton's later testimony, they walked about a block away near a school and continued to talk.

The Earps finished dinner and walked back to the train. Doc had a shorter man, probably McMasters, retrieve the shotguns and they escorted Virgil and Allie onto the train. At this point, Wyatt spotted Stilwell. In one version both Stilwell and Clanton are spotted on flat cars on a side track looking for a clear shot at the Earps. Wyatt claimed he saw the glint of a rifle barrel.

Wyatt and his men then got off the train and walked back toward the Porter Hotel down the left side of the train (we know this because the fireman spotted them coming by, and the fireman sits on the left side of the engine). Frank Stilwell came back from the school and came around the northwest corner of the hotel to take in the scene. He may have intended to take a shot at the Earps.

Frank saw Wyatt and his men advancing towards him but didn't think they were going to attack him (Wyatt and his men were going to take an eastbound train back to Contention and Tombstone, while Virgil and his wife went on to California). So Frank could have believed Wyatt and his men were coming back to the Porter Hotel. When he finally realized, not only did Wyatt spot him in the shadows, but that he was now running towards his position, Frank panicked and started running down the tracks, probably angling across them to get out in the desert (at that time, the train station was a ways from town and there was virtually nothing on the northeast side of the tracks). After a hundred yards (a saloon keeper, George Hand said it was 200 yards), Wyatt caught up with Stilwell, who turned and perhaps thought he could surrender. Wyatt walked right up him, stuck the

shotgun in his belly, just under the heart and pulled both triggers. According to Wyatt, Stilwell yelled, "Morg!" as he was shot, perhaps a reference to Morgan Earp who had been assassinated mere days prior to this. He always believed Stilwell was in on the shooting of Wyatt's favorite brother.

What is rarely mentioned is that after Doc Holliday and the others ran up and each took turns shooting holes in Stilwell's body. By chasing down Stilwell, they had missed the eastbound train's departure and Wyatt knew it was only a matter of time before they were found out. Clearly outside the law, and desperate to get away, they ran down the tracks, perhaps expecting a Bob Paul posse to catch up with them at any moment. They ran and walked 11 miles down the tracks towards Benson and finally, illegally flagged down an eastbound freight train at midnight. Arriving back in Tombstone a wanted man (Sheriff Bob Paul had wired Tombstone for the sheriff to arrest Wyatt) John Behan tried to arrest Wyatt but that's another confrontation.

Reported Phenomena

Reported phenomena includes unusual smells, apparition like figures and unexplainable noises. SGHA accompanies the 93.7 KRQ Ghost Patrol to investigate.

The Investigation

The teams were spread out across the location to monitor separate areas for signs of paranormal activity. A Negative ion generator and an electrostatic generator (70,000 volts) were used to help increase activity in the main dining room. An unusually high electromagnetic field was detected coming from the floor in the main dining room. This is also an area where unusual smells have been reported. Several photographs taken of the area reveal possible ecto-phenomena and orbs near the high electromagnetic field. After a crowd had gathered in that room, the activity shifted to other sections of the building.

Photographs

Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image

Initial Conclusions

The two most interesting photographs were taken in the main dining room (thumbnailed at left). This was the area where electromagnetic fields of 8 milligauss were recorded. The field was present for about fifty seconds before vanishing completely.

This is also an area where unusual smells have been reported by staff and guests. We searched the building and discovered that this area sits directly above the old remnants of the jail where prisoners were kept while awaiting transportation. The photograph taken after these two have an "orb-like" image in them.

Another interesting event occurred while recording a section of the radio program for 93.7 KRQ. One of the investigators picked up a electromagnetic field of 5 milligauss and the reading held steady for sixty seconds before it vanished and could not be reacquired. Photographs taken during this time show an "orb-like" object in them (4 pictures total).

Narrative source from true west magazine

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