The Third Trip: March 2007

The first two trips I took regarding Tammy Zywicki's case provided me with background about Tammy Zywicki and the area where she was abducted from.  But the crime scene location was down in Sarcoxie, MO.  Even though it is theorized that is not where Tammy was probably killed, it played an important part in understanding why her body was left in that particular location.  I had a good idea about which exit I thought might be the one where her body was found.  I decided even if I was wrong it would give me a good idea about how the killer interpreted the area he chose to leave her body.  

I chose to leave in the late afternoon around 4 or 5 pm to see how easy it would be to get to the Sarcoxie, MO area.  I found it to be relatively easy interstate driving.  Except for around the St. Louis, MO area, it was a straight shot southwest. It took a total of around 8-9 hours to get to Sarcoxie, MO from the Chicagoland area.  In terms of travel, it certainly made sense it could be a truck driver.  

But there were other things that made me question how well this truck driver actually knew the Sarcoxie area.  All the highway exits were open view exits.  That means that Tammy Zywicki's body was almost certainly left alongside the highway entrance ramp at night because if the killer had tried to place her body during the day that person would have risked someone driving along the highway looking and seeing them.  When I was there parked alongside the highway entrance ramp I worried police might think the wrong thing about me.  However when I went looking for where I thought the killer placed Tammy Zywicki's body I thought it was on the left hand side of the entrance ramp because I remember there being flat stones placed along the sloping ditch area on the right hand side.  I kept forgetting things have changed since it was almost 15 years later.   

I explored the area going north from the highway exit to search that area and then south to search that area.  The area south was very desolate and very wooded.  There was a rundown gas station/convenience store across the other side of the highway from where Tammy Zywicki's body was found.  The parking lot was located right next to the woods with a few semi trucks backed up to the start of the woods.  I could not help wondering why a truck driver would not choose to park at that gas station and then take a body and walk into the woods to place it.  They could literally walk behind their semi into the woods. 

Even as I was driving from the Chicagoland area down to Sarcoxie, MO, I could not help thinking about how many exits I passed that were better or at least the same as the one Tammy Zywicki's body was eventually found at.  Maybe Tammy Zywicki was still alive by the time she got to the Sarcoxie, MO area?  That made sense.  But it also drove me to start thinking about crazy theories that had no basis in fact, like maybe the guy that found the body did it?  But then I realized how dumb a theory that was because it would mean he would have to have been in the Utica, IL area along I-80 where Tammy Zywicki's car was on August 23, 1992.  I realize today how dumb a theory that was, but back then I have to unfortunately admit I actually considered it.

I could never actually figure out what was so special about the highway exit where Tammy Zywicki's body was found.  The only thing I ever came up with is that it is the first Sinclair gas station you would come across if you were traveling southwest.  And I do not even know if it was a Sinclair gas station back in August 1992.  I did go inside the convenience store/gas station located across from where Tammy Zywicki's body was found.  It was rather rundown.  I think there was a restaurant near it as well, but I did not stop by the restaurant.  

Finally, I headed further west into Oklahoma for some further research.  I remembered stopping at an oasis over the interstate where there are various fast food places to eat.  I ate some McDonalds and remembered the piece of paper in the tray reading that I was sitting in the largest McDonalds in the world.  

Once I headed back home, I took a detour onto I-39 to go north to see the MM83 area one last time.  I have not been back since.  I tried a little experiment parking on the road(overpass) that crossed over I-80.  I wanted to see if it was possible if maybe Tammy had tried to walk into the farm field next to MM83 and to the overpass road.  It was doable, but your shoes get caked with dirt because of the soil.  Unfortunately that is probably not what happened to Tammy Zywicki as police had dogs out looking for her scent shortly after she disappeared. 

As I walked back along the overpass road towards the south side where I had parked my car, I stopped and looked down at all the cars and trucks going north/south along I-80.  I imagine anyone who saw me probably wondered why I was standing there looking at MM83 from above.  Then I thought it was a good photography shot so I took a picture with my disposable camera that I lost later.  I thought it might be the type of shot Tammy Zywicki would have taken.  I read that photography was a big part of her life.  I thought about a lot of things standing there looking at MM83.  Mostly I tried to imagine her car parked there alongside the highway.

Then I got back in my car, drove back to the Utica exit, and headed back home eastbound past MM83 for the last time.