Next month, work will continue on a150-year-old chapter of southeast Kansas history.
KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.
Archeologists will revisit Southeast Kansas’ infamous “Bloody Bender” mystery and share recent research findings at a community presentation scheduled in Parsons this fall. “Unearthing the Bloody Bender Mystery: Part 2” is set for Saturday, September 28, at the Parsons Municipal Auditorium, 112 South 17th.
The program scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., featuring Bob Miller, owner of the former Bender property in Labette County; Chris Hord, archeologist affiliated with the University of Kansas (KU); Dr. Blair Schneider, a geophysicist with the Kansas Geological Survey; and Dr. Lauren Norman, KU archeology professor.
Hord, Schneider and Norman led teams of KU students this past spring and summer in above- and below-ground research aimed at uncovering clues to still unanswered questions surrounding the murderous legacy of the Bender family who resided in Labette County west of Parsons in the early 1870s.
Dubbed the original serial killers of the Wild West, the Benders operated a small travelers’ inn along the harsh Osage Mission Trail and are said to have brutally robbed and murdered multiple unsuspecting guests and buried them on the property.
A Southeast Kansas native and history enthusiast, Miller purchased the Bender homestead property - part of a 162-acre tract of farm ground – at auction in 2020. Followers can find routine updates about the ongoing Bender project on the Kansas Bloody Bender Facebook page.
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