Salt Creek dams to aid in ongoing search

As the construction of two dams being built to drain a 7,000-foot section of Salt Creek neared completion Tuesday, the coordinator of the two-year investigation into the disappearance of Jill Behrman, FBI Special Agent Gary Dunn, was emotional about the possibility of bringing the case to a close.\n"We're going to do what we have to do to get this case solved," said Dunn, who has led a team of law enforcement agencies including the Bloomington Police Department, the IUPD, the Monroe County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Natural Resources in the investigation. "Let's just hope and pray that we do that."\nLaw enforcement authorities said they are hopeful they will be able to visually search the creek bed for evidence by Saturday afternoon.\n"We're here for a reason after 27 months of investigation, and I feel confident in saying that this is the right spot," Bloomington Police Investigator Marty Deckard said.\nBehrman, a Bloomington native, had just finished her first year at IU when she disappeared during a morning bike ride on May 31, 2000. Authorities, including Dunn and Deckard, said they believe Behrman was struck by a vehicle while riding, after which her body was dumped into Salt Creek and her bicycle removed from the scene. Soon after her disappearance, the bicycle was discovered in Ellettsville.\nInvestigators were aided when an episode of "America's Most Wanted," filmed in September 2001, featured a segment on Jill Behrman's disappearance. That night, investigators received about 25 tips on Behrman's whereabouts -- some useful, some not, Dunn said.\nThe investigators first turned their attention towards Salt Creek in April, but heavy rains and flooding forced the investigation to a standstill. When police and FBI, aided by the DNR, returned to the creek in late July and early August, divers discovered undisclosed items of "evidentiary value."\nBut exhaustive diving for searches of the creek bed was ruled out. Steve McClain of the Department of Natural Resources cited the creek's varying depth -- which ranges from 10-to-25 feet -- and also the murky water, multiple fallen trees and the creek's uneven, silty bottom as reasons exploring the creek's entire bottom with divers was unpractical. Instead, the law enforcement team decided to drain the creek bed with the construction of the dams.\nConstruction on the 75-foot wide makeshift dams, which lie near McGowen road east of Bloomington, started Monday. The dams are being built with "rip rap" -- loose rock -- topped by a large sheet of plastic secured by divers and a layer of smaller broken rock.\nTuesday afternoon, the rip-rap base on the northern dam, which holds back Salt Creek's water flow, was complete and the southern dam, which holds back water from Lake Monroe, was nearly complete.\nAuthorities said they are hopeful that both dams will be complete sometime Wednesday, and that they will be able to begin pumping the estimated 22.5 million gallons of trapped water between the dams into Lake Monroe. Dunn said he hopes the creek bottom will be exposed no later than Saturday, and even then, pockets of water may still remain in the deepest parts of the creek.\nDunn plans on using teams of cadaver dogs, the FBI evidence recovery team for the state of Indiana and numerous law enforcement officials to scour the creek bed, but the specifics of the search are still unknown. \n"Nothing like this has ever been done before," Deckard said. "There is no map of the bottom … we don't know exactly what it looks like down there."\nUntil the investigation is complete at Salt Creek, security will be kept tight on the area, McClain said. Multiple police agencies have agreed to keep a watch on the area. Residents living along the northern fork of Salt Creek will be the only group allowed entry to the guarded area for the duration of the project. \nFunding for the draining project has been collected from monies previously given to the Jill Behrman reward fund and several individuals who previously donated to the fund. In addition, Kreider & Kreider Construction and Rogers Group, Inc. -- the providers of the construction and rock used in the dams -- are also providing their services and materials at below-cost, Dunn said.\n"The expense is not a factor when you're trying to achieve an investigation," he said.\nEven if the draining yields no results, Dunn said he is not worried about the ongoing investigation.\n"This is not a gamble for us," Dunn said. "This is just the next step."\nAnyone with information concerning Jill Behrman and her disappearance are urged to call the Bloomington Police Department at 349-3313 or the local FBI office at 332-9275.