Arnold Archambeau & Ruby Bruguier

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

This is by far one of the most bizarre cases Unsolved Mysteries have ever profiled. I am not sure how these kids met there fate.. I can't put a spill on it.. Maybe Unsolved Mysteries should have dug a little deeper into there past to see if any of these two had any enemies or a reason for any one to want them dead.. I almost want to say maybe they both did die that night in the ditch.. but why weren't there bodies discovered during the search? Who could have known they were traveling that route.. I doubt that it would have been a random act of violence.. why would the killer only take Arnold and Ruby and leave Tracy behind.. none of this makes any sense to me but the more and more I watch this segment on the Bizarre DVD set the more intrigued I become.. it is a sad case but a really good one at the same time.. full of questions.. unfortunately none that have any answers,, Any ideas? Kane what is your take.. Please let's discuss

[crystaldawn]

I agree this is a baffling case. I don't think Arnold and Ruby met with foul play. It just doesn't make any sense. Their bodies were found fairly close to the accident scene and no signs of foul play on them. It is strange that it took so long to find them. I don't think that was a credible sighting of Arnold after the accident though. They were both pretty good sized so is it possible that they broke through the ice and then it froze back on top of them making them not visible until the Spring thaw? It makes as much sense as any other explanation in my opinion. Plus I believe their causes of death were exposure so that would jive with my theory. I still don't understand why they would leave the cousin upside down in the car. Unless since she was talking and alert they figured she would be able to get out without assistance. Considering they were drinking that night (and Arnold possibly faced with a DUI) no doubt they were afraid they would be in trouble and probably disoriented as well and wandered off in different directions and collapsed due to the cold. No theory really makes 100% in this strange case but there are some thoughts.

[Kane]

I haven't ruled out the possibility that Arnold and Ruby were victims of foul play. Nevertheless, there are other theories to consider. Exposure to the cold might have been a factor.

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

Originally Posted by Kane

I haven't ruled out the possibility that Arnold and Ruby were victims of foul play. Nevertheless, there are other theories to consider. Exposure to the cold might have been a factor.

But I even have problems with the exposure theory even though this is what has been said to have killed them.. if it was that dann cold they should have went back to car with Ruby.. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THAT BEING IN THE COLD this is really A STRANGE CASE!!

[nohwheregirl]

Originally Posted by Mr.Clairvoyant

But I even have problems with the exposure theory even though this is what has been said to have killed them.. if it was that dann cold they should have went back to car with Ruby.. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THAT BEING IN THE COLD this is really A STRANGE CASE!!

Let's see...if they got disoriented or were in shock either from being in a car accident or from hypothermia it might be a little difficult to see things clearly. Plus, falling into an icy ditch may have made it hard to get back to the car. Plus, the car was turned over, thus making its appeal as a cozy shelter a little hard to believe.

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

Originally Posted by nohwheregirl

Let's see...if they got disoriented or were in shock either from being in a car accident or from hypothermia it might be a little difficult to see things clearly. Plus, falling into an icy ditch may have made it hard to get back to the car. Plus, the car was turned over, thus making its appeal as a cozy shelter a little hard to believe.

Perhaps so.. but we don't know that to be the case.. the police walked the entire lake and none of there weight broke the ice while looking for the couple, not mention there would have been evidence of them falling through the ice.. None was ever found. and there bodies where not that far from the crash site, so this means that radius would most certainly been searched in the following days after the accident.. I also doubt the validity of the claim that Arnold and Ruby was wondering around disoriented , Arnold didn't seem to be so out of it to come back for Ruby and open the car door and then even take time to close the door back.. doesn't sound like the actions of a disoriented person to me.. foul play is somewhere in this case.. proving it will probably be impossible.. and if they both fell in the ice wouldn't you think there would have been together frozen in the ice huddling together? NO there were found a good distance apart.. then there is the state of decomposition they were found in.. none of this makes sense.

[nohwheregirl]

Originally Posted by Mr.Clairvoyant

I also doubt the validity of the claim that Arnold and Ruby was wondering around disoriented , Arnold didn't seem to be so out of it to come back for Ruby and open the car door and then even take time to close the door back.. doesn't sound like the actions of a disoriented person to me.. foul play is somewhere in this case.. proving it will probably be impossible.. and if they both fell in the ice wouldn't you think there would have been together frozen in the ice huddling together? NO there were found a good distance apart.. then there is the state of decomposition they were found in.. none of this makes sense.

But you forget that the WITNESS who reported what happened was disoriented as well. And there are plenty of drunk-drivers out there who have managed to close their car doors while they were disoriented, then went out on the roads.

Also, their bodies were not found far apart. Anyone who has the segment on tape can correct me, but I thought that their bodies were found no more than 20 feet from each other. I've said this in another thread that it's conceivable that their bodies were well hidden that night (i'm not sure exactly how) because of the fact that they were found so close together: they found one body but they actually had to drain the ditch before they found the other body close by.

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

Originally Posted by nohwheregirl

But you forget that the WITNESS who reported what happened was disoriented as well. And there are plenty of drunk-drivers out there who have managed to close their car doors while they were disoriented, then went out on the roads.

Also, their bodies were not found far apart. Anyone who has the segment on tape can correct me, but I thought that their bodies were found no more than 20 feet from each other. I've said this in another thread that it's conceivable that their bodies were well hidden that night (i'm not sure exactly how) because of the fact that they were found so close together: they found one body but they actually had to drain the ditch before they found the other body close by.

So you are saying Arnold and Ruby are wondering around disoriented .. and Arnold is disoriented but he wonders back to the car open the door only to allow Ruby to get out and close the door back on the cousin Traci.. then he and Ruby just wonder around on a ice frozen lake only to get 75 feet away from the car to fall through 15 feet apart into the lake and freeze to death only to be found three months later in two different stages of decomposition. I am sorry I have a problem believing this could have been even a theory of what happen to them.. It just does not add up.. I am thinking that the car once it crashed on the lake would have been enough to crack the ice.. but it didn't. But Arnold and Ruby just by walking on it broke it and fell through??? When Arnold's body was found it was completely intact.. I would have thought that if they were wondering around in the cold the would have soon wised up to the fact that they are in the middle of no where and head to the main road to flag down help.. the car only ran off the road so there was not any serious physical injuries to them obviously if they where alert and able to get out of the car and move about.. neither of them must have not had any head injuries.. no bleeding looks like there would have been forensic evidence left behind has they moved about in the area.. But none of these things were ever found.. THEY DID NOT DIE THAT night.. maybe some time later for some strange reason the ended back there.. but they were alive just as Ruby's cousin was alive and found sometime later. I don't mean to sound like a know it all but base on the facts publicly noted on this case.. It does not support the claims that the died that night in that ditch!

[nohwheregirl]

I think this is a really good analysis, SoftentheSilence. I can buy that the police botched the investigation. There was probably nothing intentional or malicious, they just probably weren't doing as thorough a search as they wanted to believe.

Last summer, a car was pulled from a relatively small lake near where I live. It had been at the bottom of the lake since the 1950s. There were 2 men inside that had been declared missing for the same amount of time. They had driven out onto the frozen lake, fallen through the ice, and no one knew it had happened. Maybe ice and water are trickier than we might think.

[mozartpc27]

Originally Posted by nohwheregirl

I think this is a really good analysis, SoftentheSilence. I can buy that the police botched the investigation. There was probably nothing intentional or malicious, they just probably weren't doing as thorough a search as they wanted to believe.

Last summer, a car was pulled from a relatively small lake near where I live. It had been at the bottom of the lake since the 1950s. There were 2 men inside that had been declared missing for the same amount of time. They had driven out onto the frozen lake, fallen through the ice, and no one knew it had happened. Maybe ice and water are trickier than we might think.

Wow, since the 1950s? That's amazing. If you don't mind my asking, what general area are you from?

[kamy]

This case is incredible. I've always been facinated by it. I do agree though; I think what UM portrayed was the mysterious and bizarre angle of it, when in all honesty it was probably a botched police job. While it is interesting to note that the 2 bodies were found in completely different levels of decomp., it's more than likely explainable.

[Huskerz85]

"When you screw up, you cover up......" has never sounded so true.

Excellent analysis SoftentheSilence. I have to agree with you......I think Arnold fell through the ice (which could help to explain the condition of his body) while Ruby stumbled off and fainted/passed out or something in the open.

As to their friend.....I don't know why she'd have a reason to lie other than the fact that they were all mildly drunk and she just didn't want to get in trouble......

[asmitty]

Well, I live about 150 miles from Lake Andes, SD and have been to the site where the accident took place. I have to say that I agree with the "no foul play" argument based on my knowledge of this area and the facts of the case. Although Lake Andes is the county seat and home of the county's courthouse (this would make them the headquarters for the county sheriff) they are a small county, with relatively few police resources. Now, while my view is not as ominous as SoftentheSilence's of a cover-up, I do believe that it is distinctly possible that the search for them was not as thorough as was presented. In addition to the size of the sheriff's dept, some people also still treat Native Americans like they are second class citizens in this part of the country so it is possible that the sheriff's dept just didn't care to do a thorough search. Given the weather we experience in this part of the country it is very possible that they fell through the ice and it re-froze before the search. To give you an idea, the high for today here in this area is 8 degrees and this is the warmest day we've had all week. Falling through the ice also explains the differing states of composition of the bodies as well. Even two spots that are as little as a few feet away from each other can thaw at drastically different times due to the cold weather up here. All that would be needed was for Ruby to be 3-4 feet closer to the edge of the ditch under the ice for her to have thawed out sooner and begun to decompose earlier. Although the story makes for very interesting and mysterious viewing, in the end I believe Arnold and Ruby simply died due to accidental circumstances.

[biggles]

SoftentheSilence, you're theory makes a lot of sense. However, the one piece of evidence that comes to mind that contradicts your theory is the pieces of Ruby's hair found on the road the day the bodies were found. If the bodies were there all along, why would the piece of hair suddenly appear on the side of the road? I'm assuming of course that this was found before the bodies were removed from the water, and that the hair did not fall out during this time. That would show a total lack of competence on the police's part. Anyways, anyone have any explanation for why the hair was found on the road the day the bodies were recovered? Also (I may have missed it) is there any explanation for why the states of decompositions were so varied? This is a very perplexing case.

[asmitty]

Originally Posted by biggles

SoftentheSilence, you're theory makes a lot of sense. However, the one piece of evidence that comes to mind that contradicts your theory is the pieces of Ruby's hair found on the road the day the bodies were found. If the bodies were there all along, why would the piece of hair suddenly appear on the side of the road? I'm assuming of course that this was found before the bodies were removed from the water, and that the hair did not fall out during this time. That would show a total lack of competence on the police's part. Anyways, anyone have any explanation for why the hair was found on the road the day the bodies were recovered? Also (I may have missed it) is there any explanation for why the states of decompositions were so varied? This is a very perplexing case.

The states of decompostion being varied can be explained very simply actually. Ruby was found floating near the surface of the ditch while Arnold was submerged deeper in the water. They actually had to pump water out of the ditch to find him. This means that Ruby's body would have thawed first had they been trapped under the ice and would have started decomposing first. Since the wreck happened in November, it is possible that Ruby's body thawed during a warm spell early in the winter and was decomposing the whole winter while Arnold's body was frozen solid until spring.