Page 105 of Guess Again

Cherryview, Wisconsin Saturday, August 9, 2025

HE COULDN’T STOP MADDIE FROM COMING WITH HIM, AND ETHAN knew enough not to fight her on it.

The Hachita postmark suggested that Francis had somehow survived the river and escaped to Mexico.

But even with the man out of the country, Ethan wasn’t about to leave Maddie alone.

It took thirty minutes to find the location of the coordinates.

Ethan finally turned the Wrangler onto a gravel road north of Lake Okoboji, not far from North Point Pier. The lonely road ran next to an abandoned building that had once been a power plant. His GPS glowed on the dashboard, and he followed the map until they came to the edge of a small lagoon. It was approaching 8:00 p.m. and the horizon burned lavender with dusk. He clicked his bright lights on, and the Jeep illuminated the water.

They climbed out into the evening.

The temperature was a pleasant 72 degrees since the storm had dragged cooler air over the Midwest.

Ethan and Maddie walked to the edge of the lagoon.

Ethan shined a flashlight into the night.

“There,”

Maddie said, pointing out at the water.

Ethan stepped into the shallow water and spotted the red, 55-gallon barrel just below the surface about twenty yards from shore.

It took thirty minutes for Ethan to secure the Jeep’s winch around the barrel.

He had to remove his sling to get it done and was soaking wet by the time they’d pulled the barrel to shore.

It was resting on its side and spilling water when Ethan used a tire iron to pry off the lid.

More water poured from inside. Ethan shined his flashlight into the barrel to reveal the grisly discovery. He knew he’d made the right decision to keep the location of Callie’s body to himself and not share it with Governor Jones.

No parent should ever see their child in the condition they’d found Callie Jones.