INDEPENDENCE, Kan. — A new chapter is about to open in what could be Southeast Kansas’ longest documented mass murder story.
Now 150 years after news of the infamous Bloody Bender hammer-murder saga first swept the region and captured its collective fascination at a horse-drawn wagon’s pace, 21st century science and technology will soon take up the torch to help complete the story.
And this time, area residents will have something of a front-row seat to this historic true-crime account, thanks to new developments on the former Bender property near Cherryvale, an upcoming archaeological project to investigate what lies underground and a community discussion event to share the plans.
“Unearthing the Bloody Bender Mystery,” a panel discussion featuring key players in the project, is scheduled for Friday, July 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the Independence Civic Center. The event is free and open to the public.
Speakers will include event host Bob Miller, new owner of the Bender property; Dr. Blair Schneider, principal forensic investigator with the Kansas Geological Survey; and Max McCoy, author and executive director of Western Writers of America. Miller and McCoy previously spoke about the Benders, and their plans for the property, during a similar event held at Pittsburg State’s Axe Library in October of last year.
“The story isn’t over,” said Miller. “I believe there is so much yet to learn, and when you dig in, it’s really fascinating.”
In early 2020, Miller purchased at auction the 160-acre tract of farm ground in Labette County where, according to historical accounts, the Bender family cabin was located in the late 1800’s. Within the basic 16x24 structure, the family operated an inn and store for travelers along the adjacent Osage Trail. Some travelers were locals making their way from town to town on business or personal errands. Others were pioneers with westward destinations and homesteading aspirations.
All were potential prey for the Bender family, who was said to have brutally murdered and robbed multiple “guests” and buried their bodies on their property over an approximately two-year period from 1871 to 1873. Several bodies were discovered on the property, including that of an Independence physician and a Civil War veteran with his young daughter. The discovery of the family’s criminal activity was followed by their abrupt flight from the area, seemingly into thin air, and the stage was set for a legendary SEK drama that would be recounted thousands of times in thousands of ways and in thousands of different versions.
“The Benders vanished from history,” McCoy said during the Pittsburg State event, “only to reappear in nightmares.” Many believe the family had fled toward Humboldt, McCoy added, only for the trail to go cold, while others say the family escaped by hot-air balloon. A plausible story, according to McCoy, is that the family was killed by a group of vigilantes.
A native of SEK and intrigued by the story since visiting a Bender cabin replica on display in Cherryvale in the 1970s, Miller said the Bender property was a bit of a whimsical purchase but has set in motion a mission to “see what the ground has been hiding for the last 150 years.”
“The tale has been spinning for a century and a half,” he said. “There have been so many theories, stories, books, movies, et cetera, about what the Benders did, who and how many victims there really were, and even what eventually happened to the Benders after they fled the area but were never apprehended. I want to see if we can add to the story.”
To modernize the approach to the research, Miller reached out to the University of Kansas for potential assistance and ultimately connected with Dr. Schneider, who works as an Associate Researcher and Science Outreach Manager for the Kansas Geological Survey and also serves as the principal investigator for the Forensic and Archaeology Subsurface Targets (FAST) geophysics program. Schneider and a team of KU students are scheduled to work onsite at the Bender property in a “field school” July 10-21. Using a variety of geophysical methods including ground-penetrating radar, magnetics and electrical methods to image the subsurface, the team’s objective will be to identify potential points of interest on the property.
While no “digging” is planned during this initial two-week stint, Miller said, the efforts will help the team narrow down the most promising locations for excavation to potentially discover the precise location of the Osage Trail, the Bender cabin, an orchard, and an outhouse, as well as artifacts left over from occupancy or, potentially, even human remains or other bodies that were never unearthed. Schneider plans to bring return teams to the site in the summers of 2024 and 2025 to continue the research effort, Miller said.
If any human remains are found, Miller said in October, they will be DNA tested in an effort to determine their identities and to find possible living relatives.
Along with Miller and Dr. Schneider, Max McCoy will serve as the third panelist at the July 14 event. A Kansas native and award-winning author, McCoyhas published more than 20 books, including four Indiana Jones novels for Lucasfilm and the novelization of Steven Spielberg’s miniseries “Into the West.” Other titles include “The Sixth Rider,” an account of the 1892 Dalton Raid in Coffeyville; and the “Hellfire Canyon” western trilogy. McCoy, a graduate of Pittsburg State, previously taught journalism at Emporia State University where he specialized in investigative reporting and nonfiction narrative, and he has published articles related to Bender history.
“The Bender story is gruesome, no doubt, and a lot of people want to hide from the past,” Miller said. “But I think it’s better to embrace the past and learn from it. More than anything, I’d love to bring some closure to the story in terms of the victims. Throughout all the accounts of the Bender story, much attention has been focused on the Benders themselves; they have been glamorized. I would like to shine a light on the victims, their families and tell their stories.”
More information on the community event and the Bender property research project can be found by following Kansas Bloody Benders on Facebook.
