Calif. search possible for Manson victims

INDEPENDENCE, Calif., May 9 (UPI) -- Authorities are considering digging behind a remote California cabin for possible additional victims of the Charles Manson cult "family," CNN said Friday.

The Death Valley cabin, dubbed the Barker Ranch, is where the 1969 Manson murder spree ended in 1969, sitting virtually unchanged over the years. It was here that Manson, now serving a life sentence, and members of his group were arrested for the slaying of seven people in what were called the "Helter Skelter" killings.

New interest perked up about rumors of earlier Manson killings when Sgt. Paul Dostie of the Mammoth Lakes Police Department, reported his cadaver-hunting dog Buster, a 4-year-old black lab, found five possible graves behind the hideout.

"I don't know who's buried here but I think there are bodies," Dostie told CNN.

CNN said Manson didn't answer its query about the possible killings but his top lieutenant from those days, Charles "Tex" Watson, said he didn't think there were additional deaths. Police also said they they don't know of anyone associated with Manson who was reported missing after his arrest.