COKEVILLE, Wyo. -- Investigators are studying 15 diaries kept by a couple killed at a Wyoming school and their daughter's cryptic comment, 'Tomorrow's the day,' to unravel the motives for a hostage drama that injured more than 70 children.
Nine people remain hospitalized with burns suffered in the Friday bomb blast at Cokeville Elementary School that ended with the deaths of Dorris Young, 47, and her husband, David Young, who were holding 150 students and teachers hostage for $300 million.
The diaries, Lincoln County sheriff's deputies say, could indicate if the Youngs were members of the right-wing, anti-tax Posse Comitatus. Comments by the couple and at least one diary passage, deputies said, were similar to rhetoric used by the group.
New information from a motel clerk Sunday also led officers to questionwhether the Youngs' daughter, Princess, 19, knew more about her parents' plans than she told authorities.
Glenda Nicholas, a clerk at the Lazy T motel where the Youngs stayed last week, said she overheard Princess Young talking on the pay phone Thursday, apparently to a friend in Arizona.
'Tomorrow's the day,' Nicholas quoted her as saying. 'Take the pictures down and don't talk to anyone unless there's a warrant.'
Princess, David Young's daughter by a previous marriage, was seen helping her father and stepmother carry some of their 20 weapons into the school. She then drove to town hall and alerted police, saying she had no prior knowledge of their plans.
But Nicholas, who was about 12 feet from the phone as Princess Young was talking, said, 'The way she was talking on the phone, she knew something.'
Lincoln County Sheriff's Detective Earl Carroll said he will check telephone records to determine if Princess Young made the call and who received it.
'We're checking (the call) out,' Carroll said. 'At this time I have nothing to substantiate anything.'
Princess Young, whose last known address was Tucson, Ariz., was freed with Gerald Deppe, of Grinnel, Iowa, identified as Young's cousin, and Doyle Mendenhall, of Preston, Idaho, identified as a hunting buddy. All three accompanied the Youngs before the incident, but said they knew nothing of the couple's plans.
Dorris Young was killed when the gasoline bomb she was holding detonated in the middle of the crowded classroom. David Young, 43, killed himself with a Colt .45 seconds after the explosion.
School officials, meanwhile, sought the advice of Henry Tarke, a San Diego psychologist who treated survivors of a 1984 shooting spree in which 22 people were killed at a McDonald's restaurant
'We're going to encourage children and parents to express their concerns and verbalize their fears,' said Dr. Nohl Sandall, the school's psychologist. 'Our feeling is (that) to try and shut it off is not the way to go. There must be an open accepting and supporting of the concerns.'
Nine of the more than 70 people injured in the blast remain hospitalized, all but two in good condition.
Tina Morefield, 9, is in critical but stable condition with second- and third-degree burns over 12 percent of her body. Billie Jo Hutchinson is in serious but stable condition with burns over 21 percent of her body.
