Ten Years of Silence: How a Tourist’s Discovery in Pisgah National Forest Unmasked a Ritualistic Killer and Ended the Agonizing Search for a Mother and Daughter

The smell was the first thing. A heavy, suffocating odor of decay and something far worse that clung to the air and refused to dissipate. It was October 22nd, 2023, ten years after a mother and daughter vanished into the dense folds of North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest. Software engineer Michael Renick, a hiker seeking solitude in the remote Graveyard Fields area, had merely intended to explore a rocky expanse. Instead, he pulled back an old gray-green tarp wedged in a crevice and exposed one of the most disturbing crime scenes in state history, bringing a heartbreaking, decade-long mystery to a horrifying end.

Buried in that narrow, rocky gap were the remains of Sandra Webb and her 11-year-old daughter, Hannah. But it was the items found near the bodies that spun the cold case into the realm of the truly horrific: a circle of animal skulls, a necklace made of children’s teeth, and a chilling, handwritten note about “purity and ritual.”

The Vanishing Act: August 2013

The nightmare began on August 17th, 2013. Sandra Webb, a divorced former biology teacher from Asheville, was taking her daughter Hannah on a planned weekend hike along the Shining Rock Trail. It was a routine escape for the mother and daughter, both looking forward to the picturesque views and relatively easy trails. At 10:50 a.m., Sandra made a brief, final call to her mother, Martha Clark, from the Blue Ridge Parkway Lot, mentioning that they were ready to hit the trail. The last sound Martha heard was her granddaughter, Hannah, excitedly talking about butterflies.

When they failed to return home Sunday evening, the search launched immediately. The red Honda Civic was quickly found at the trailhead parking lot, locked and undisturbed, a child’s jacket visible on the back seat. This quiet, non-violent abandonment suggested a sinister truth: the victims had likely not wandered off.

The initial search, led by veteran coordinator James Harris, was exhaustive. Rescuers, including police, professionals, and volunteers, combed the dense forest. Three kilometers into the trail, a breakthrough seemed imminent: a search dog named Rex located a purple children’s shoe, size 34, confirmed to belong to Hannah. The shoe was clean, betraying no signs of prolonged exposure, suggesting it had been recently lost or dropped. Yet, the scent trail ended abruptly, and despite days of searching, the team found nothing more. The Webbs had vanished.

The Long Road to a Dead End

The case soon landed on the desk of Detective Michael Stone of the Asheville Police Department. Stone diligently pursued every conventional lead:

Family: Sandra’s ex-husband, David Webb, had a solid alibi in Tennessee. Her finances were stable, ruling out flight or internal dispute.
The Hermit: The most compelling suspect emerged in Thomas Griggs, a $41$-year-old reclusive former member of a defunct religious sect called the “Children of Pure Light.” Griggs, who lived in an isolated forest cabin, had been in regular phone contact with Sandra. He subscribed to a fanatical ideology about rescuing “pure” women and children from “urban corruption.” When confronted, Griggs admitted meeting Sandra at the library, claiming he was simply discussing her plans to move to the woods with her daughter. Though the search of his cabin revealed extensive writings on spirituality and isolation, there was no direct evidence, and his alibi involving tree-cutting appeared plausible.
The Cry: A couple reported hearing a child crying near where Hannah’s shoe was found on the morning of August 18th—a full day after the disappearance. This offered a flicker of hope that the girl was alive, but repeated searches of the area were fruitless.

By the end of 2013, the case stalled. Detective Stone compiled a final report, the grim reality setting in: Sandra and Hannah Webb were officially considered missing.

A Mother’s Decade-Long Agony

The official archive did not deter Martha Clark. She continued the fight, hiring private investigators and organizing volunteers. The case saw fleeting moments of renewed attention:

The Pink Backpack: In the summer of 2014, a tourist found Hannah’s pink butterfly-patterned backpack five kilometers from the main trail. Forensics suggested it had been stored in a protected space and planted relatively recently, an obvious, perplexing attempt to misdirect the investigation.
The Toy Collector: Neighbors reported a local school janitor, Carl Jenkins, who compulsively collected children’s toys. He was arrested, and items resembling Hannah’s were found, but he was quickly cleared. Jenkins was a harmless collector with obsessive-compulsive disorder who bought items from consignment stores; he had no connection to the crime.

As the years passed, the case faded from public memory, relegated to old newspaper clippings. Yet, every year, on the anniversary of the disappearance, Martha Clark returned to the parking lot in Pisgah National Forest, leaving flowers—a promise that her daughter and granddaughter were not forgotten.

The Unspeakable Truth in Graveyard Fields

In 2023, the enduring secret of Pisgah National Forest was finally yielded not to a massive search operation, but to the quiet curiosity of a solo hiker. Michael Renick, navigating the treacherous maze of boulders and crevices in the Graveyard Fields area, was driven back by a noxious smell emanating from a narrow gap between two stone walls.

Underneath the old tarp Renick pried loose, the remains of Sandra and Hannah Webb were found tightly bound in a sleeping bag. But the true nature of the crime—and the killer—emerged in the immediate surroundings:

The Ritual: The bodies lay in a space adorned with macabre objects: a circle of animal skulls and the sickening detail of a necklace woven from children’s teeth.
The Motive: The note found nearby, referencing purity and ritual, confirmed the killing was not spontaneous but meticulously planned, echoing the fanaticism of the “Children of Pure Light” sect.

The investigation into Thomas Griggs, the mountain hermit, was immediately and intensely renewed. The evidence of a meticulous, ritualistic crime, combined with his disturbing philosophy of “saving” pure people from the city, provided the necessary link that had been missing for a decade. The discovery in the remote, desolate area where Griggs had planned to lead Sandra and Hannah finally broke the wall of silence. The forest had kept its secret, but the discovery of the ritualistic tableau revealed a truth far darker and more disturbing than anyone had imagined: the Webbs were not the victims of a random accident, but of a calculated, ritualistic murder rooted in a horrifying fanaticism. The long road to justice, however painful, had finally begun.