Hot Springs, Arkansas wasn’t your typical, sleepy little Southern town. Once a favorite destination of mobsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, illegal activities continued to lure out-of-state gamblers, flim-flam men, and high-rollers to its thoroughbred racetrack, clubs, and bordellos. Still, the town was shaken to its core after Cathie Ward, a beautiful thirteen-year-old, was found dead at a nearby ranch & riding stables on June 24, 1966. The owner claimed it was an accident. However, when he committed murder months later, Hot Springs residents were horrified--and convinced he’d also murdered the girl. The author, a junior high school classmate of Cathie’s, returned to her hometown in 2014 to discover the truth surrounding her friend’s tragic death and the man who terrorized their town. This true story has been waiting a lifetime to be told!

Readers say: “The book is a page turner, I can’t put it down.”

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by the Arkansas Center For The Book at the Arkansas State Library

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APRIL 21, 1953 - JUNE 24, 1966

CENTRAL JR. HIGH SCHOOL
HOT SPRINGS, AR

REAPPEARED ON THE 48TH ANNIVERSARY OF HER DEATH.
THE STORY IS AT THE END OF THE FIRST CHAPTER.

EACH YEAR, WE VISIT CATHIE AT HER MURFREESBORO, AR GRAVE. WE HAD A SPECIAL TIME IN 2022, AFTER THE BOOK WAS RELEASED---AND SO WAS SHE.

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