I didn't want any attention drawn to me, I didn't wantI don't know if I was in shock. So I kind of questioned her right from the start. Jamie King: I feel blessed, that I got to live through something like that. We knew what was happening, but they didnt. Did it shape you as a person? I don't remember what order I was brought into the room. There will be a time that will be right to talk to them about it. Did they go to court? Jamie King: After the bombing, my sisters would stop for interviews. Jamie King: They knew the significance of life, and some of those adults in there had children! I was mad for a long time! But I guess, you have to judge it day by day. I remember when he started telling that he was a revolutionist that he was there to be there as long as he needed to, to keep us as long and I remember my heart just started pounding. I mean, when everyone was gathered in this one room, 27 by 27 feet, and yet there's all these different stories and perceptions. And I thought, "Whoa! And I don't say that near as often as I used to. The Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis occurred on Friday, May 16, 1986 in Cokeville, Wyoming, United States, when former town marshal David Young, 43, and his wife Doris Young, 47, [1] took 154 hostages - 136 children and 18 adults - at Cokeville Elementary School. About that time a lady that I didnt know came in, and she was applying for a job. Jamie King: No. But then, there was a police line. But I believe that things like this happen all the time now. The Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis occurred on Friday, May 16, 1986 in Cokeville, Wyoming, United States, when former town marshal David Young, 43, and his wife Doris Young, 47, took 96 children and 18 adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School. Her name was Verlene Bennion. What they looked like? Note: Minerva Bernetta Kohlhepp Teichert (August 28, 1888 - May 3, 1976) was an American painter notable for her art depicting Western and Mormon subjects, including a collection of murals depicting scenes from the Book of Mormon. Janel Dayton: not in the realm of entertainment any more. Carol Petersen: Mm-hm. Well, this is obviouslywell, I shouldnt say obviouslybut it seems like it would be the most outstanding event in your life so fartraumatic event, is that right? It would have been a very, very hard thing. Anyway, then he decided that he wanted the kids away from him. In most cases I have deleted redundant ands, ers, uhs, buts, false starts, etc. Visit our About page for more information about our sponsors and the people behind WyoHistory.org, Emergency Management Coordinator Kathy Davison on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, EMT Glenna Walker, Mother of Three Young Children, on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Lead Investigator Ron Hartley, Father of Four Student Survivors, on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Public Works Director and Fireman Kevin Walker, Father of Three Young Children, on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Certified Bomb Technician Rich Haskell on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Secretary Tina Cook on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, First grade teacher Janel Dayton on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Third grade student Rachel Walker Hollibaugh on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Third grade student Jamie Buckley King on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Fourth grade student LeaKae Roberts on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Fourth grade teacher Kliss Sparks on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. There was no one around, except I could see men in camouflage outfits coming toward the school, just kind of converging on it. We had lost our game, and I remember turning to my friend and I put my arm around her as the bell rang, and we were walking back into the school, and I said, "I have a feeling it's just going to be a really bad day." And they were just coming from all directions, and they had their guns and were headed toward the school, the south end of the school. Anyway, we sat on the floor and a week prior, we'd had news. I immediately thought, "There's those guns, maybe I'll be the first one that he'll show an example of. Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. Pretty amazing! Mark Junge: What makes people do this? and I tried to touch or feel any little body that I could. Mark Junge: Do you think that this experience was meant to be? Were you affected for days, or months, or weeks? Mark Junge: Yeah, if it was just an occurrence, if it was just a crazy guy out there who did a crazy thing? And they were just all over, and ambulances and people, and I was just frantic 'cause I couldn't find my children. In most cases I have deleted redundant ands, ers, uhs, buts, false starts, etc. Mark Junge: So what happened after he went to the bathroom? I didn't think about a fire drill! So we all went back into class, and I lovedafter noon recessour routine. On May 16, 1986, when former town marshal David Gary Young and his wife Doris Young took 154 children and 13 teachers hostage at Cokeville Elementary school in Wyoming, and kept them at bay with a shopping-cart sized bomb attached to five hairpin-trigger blast caps, it should have ended in great tragedy - one of the worst in American history. He was 68. For the next few years something would trigger, you know, among the teachers, because we all of us were there for quite a long time. That was a crisis, because when the kids, when it was time to go home, then they realized that they werent going home. You didn't hear anything? The photo of Jamie Buckley King is by Wyoming State Archives. When you think of what could have been and didn't happen, the Lord did intervene. All rights reserved. The authorities said on Monday that a former leader at the girl's church had been charged. So she crawled around that room to see if there were any children that had been left. She read with the children that were having problems with their reading. 2001.608.1. But did the filmmakers question you about what happened? But that was when David Young came out and shot him. I would have hated to be an adult in there. I could feel I think I probably stood up and dropped my two little girls on the floor. Mark Junge: Strong LDS? Hostage crisis at the elementary school in Cokeville, Wyo. Because I know that my mother, whatever she was doing, she would have ran. The classroom, packed with the 167 people--most of them children--whom Doris and David Young had taken hostage and for whom they had demanded $300 million in ransom, became an inferno with . 'Cause she said, "You have to come alive. So anyway, we talked, and I took care of the two little sick ones, and I felt like I was going to be paralyzed because my legs were getting numb with these two little people and kids hanging on to me, and one time I did look up into the room, and I saw a group of children kneeling and they were taking turns praying. Her mother moved, immediately. Jamie King: I feel very grateful. Mark Junge: You went down to Spanish Fork for a little while. You have got to start living!" I can kind of see an outlinebut I remember the police officer stopping my father because after he knew that I was alive and okay, he was heading toward the school, and he was stopped. Mark Junge: Do you speak any [other] language? So I was taking the afternoon off to do some preparation work, and then later, another day, she would take the day off and we would combine the groups. And so we had news, and we were talking about Khadafy. They had a string in the ceiling and they had it at the slant that the bullet must have gone into the ceiling. I had a just kind of a chill every time I'd go past that door. Jamie King: I can say that now. But I just had a feeling, you know, what if somebody comes back and tries tothat bothered me. They were amazing! There was a lot of controversy over it. . I remember going in therewell, I wasn't quite in there yet, but I was kinda looking over another kid's shoulders, and I thought, "This isn't right. I remember him just constantly dabbing his head with a tissue or something. Yet it happened right in front of me! I'm very grateful for the experiences, but I've made quite a few choices in my life that have just made my life harder than easier, and'cause my mom calls me every year on May 16th , and she tells me, "Jamie, this is a day of miracles." Cokeville Elementary School is located at 205 N. Sage St. in Cokeville. I took my own car and I followed the ambulance. Mark Junge: Well, even David Young recognized that the kids were getting good educations here. A lot of them had lost everything. The Cokeville hostage crisis began the afternoon of May 16, 1986, when David and Doris Young took 154 children and adults hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, in Lincoln County, Wyo. And I think he was what we would call crazy. David and Doris Young had herded 150 children into the room. Is that bomb a hoax or is it real? Mark Junge: Did David talk to you about his plans? Do you have anyyoure a pretty perceptive person, so what do you think was goin on? I said, "I'm just doing fine, but I'm still afraid of that door." I don't want anyone else raising them. At approximately 1:30 p.m. on a sunny Friday afternoon, David Young and his wife, Doris, quietly and methodically took control of Cokeville Elementary. He shot 'course he came out one time while some of the teachers were going through this little room that connected to my room. I remember him sweating really bad. But then he got up and took off, and then the next time I saw him was down at the corner and he was on the ground. Jamie King: My aunt once said, she was talking to a group of people and she said, "When I leave my home, I can leave a note that says, 'Kids, in an emergency, call 279-blank-blank-blank-blank.' I remember Mr. Mitchell saying, "Get out of here! There was a substitute teacher in the third grade that day. And that really helped me. Mark Junge: Okay. Yes, it certainly has. I think we're as strong now as we were then, we have new faces and we have old faces. And you just hope that you don't have to go through it again. Sue Castaneda: Did they do anything to him? He said, "Don't be gone longer than five minutes, or else." The first grade teacher did a lot of negotiating with him. And then she said, "Bring your children in classroom such and such and come immediately.". As they dealt with Young, his wife, Doris, went from classroom to classroom, rounding people up. I shut that off so fast, and Ive never watched one since, because I found out bad things do happen. You saw no angels, didn't see any white lights, and does your husband think that angel that was sort of formed on the wall, was that just an accident? Did it affect the way you think? What is this?! Is that a miracle? I feel that we all could have been taken at that time. But it didn't come out. WyoHistory.org welcomes the support of the following sponsors. I went out the door, and they went out the door that connected the classrooms. David died tragically, gone far too young, from an illness he could never have expected. Indigenous People in Wyoming and the West. Carol Petersen: Oh! And one of the kids said, "Well, can we go home when the bell rings?". In 1986 a husband and wife team held over 150 people hostage (136 of them school children) in an insane attempt to gain control over "a brave new world." Thankfully, none of the. Carol Petersen: Yes! Because I heard when she came in, she was just hysterical. We were all questioned as to what happened. But any rate this one teacher was on the floor and I pulled on her to get her up, and then when I got out, her husband said, Have you seen Jean? and I said, No. Because you know, he adrenalin had really kicked in and you werent sure what had happened. You know, give 18 months of their lives at their own expense, and some of them came from very poor circumstances, but they said, The Lord wants us here.. (Laughing) Well, I dont mean to make light of it, but, I mean, I just wonder how you were affected? Or theyre trained to be obedient? Did you see angels? I have a daughter who would probably be too scared to go back to school. Because economically, its probably very expensive to have a school here. When the fire bell went off, when the bomb went off, the children knew what to do. Carol Petersen: I think it's both. So I think a lot of our fire drill exercises helped the children to escape and to leave. I'd never had it pound like that. Were you married in the Temple? Sue Castaneda: How long were you in there total? But then I realized the miracle it was. --Wikipedia. I was just feet from him. So Im wondering where the protection is for those? The two left Cokeville and moved to Tucson, Arizona. They embrace him as a leader despite his differences. . One of the very interesting things, I dont know if it was two weeks, a month before this happened, one of us, and I think I might have been the one who said, What would happen if we were all in the same room and had to get out? Because we had fire drills on a regular basis, but we had them from our own classrooms. Tell me about that. Doing this? You say you're afraid of death, but you were actually scared to death and you had to live with that death until she said what she did. Go! Because I was not looking for the exit. [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church.]. Used with permission and thanks. The news doesnt portray that, but it should. David had unloaded an arsenal of weapons along the blackboard, and I was pretty close to him and talking to him. He told me to go back by the bathroom door and make sure that anyone that went into the bathroom came out, because there was another doorway on the other side of the bathroom. Janel Dayton: I didnt really notice the smoke so much. I couldn't see any children. They were probably in worse shape than any of us because they didnt know what was happening to their children. By that time I was hysterical, because what happened to these little children that I was responsible for? My dad loved me, gave me a huge hug, but I remember going ouch! Mark Junge: "Don't you know how to dress for a bombing for crying out loud?". Janel Dayton: No, and our kids are trained to be pretty obedient to authority. It went off, and I didnt hear anything after the bomb went off. I didn't have the faith that those children had. Cook, the school's secretary and the first person taken hostage, could tell Young's threats were serious. Obviously they didn't. Some of them think it was a mercy killing and some of 'em think it was anger. Mark Junge: How did you get through this? That's what we do for each other here. How would you describe the Cokeville community? I wish I knew everyone that served. I did not look at him much. That is where I went from Main Street. And my first impression was, "Why should I do what you say?" I remember thinking that I'm not dead! Three ladies wrote it. And then another teacherId been over preparing a talk for church once, and he came in and I was talking to him a little bit about religion, and he said, Oh, Im waiting to see the burning bush. And so, after this happened, I said, Well, what did you think? He said, I dont know who saved us, but I sure like his style! (Laughs). (Laughs) And barefoot! Mark Junge: So in effect she was right, because when you were in that room, you were scared to death! So the afternoon kind of dragged on. Cause theyd all gone out different exits. Mark Junge: Well, what about the Mormon [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] belief, or the LDS church belief that all families will be reunited once again? Carol Petersen: Well, I think a lot of us realized how precious life is. I could see it through the window, and I didnt think much of it because it was the delivery area and often this type of vehicle drove up. I will not get in that ambulance." Almost from the beginning I can remember the smell of gas. Contact us at editor@wyohistory.org for information on levels and types of available sponsorships. One effect is that, for quite a long time after I went in any public building, anything, I made sure I sat by the exit. Gretchen Harrington, 8, disappeared as she was on her way to summer Bible school in Broomall, Pa., in . My mom moved to Utah. Disregard what just happened! Carol Petersen: We had a lot of psychiatrists come in. I was amazed. Janel Dayton: Well, the only thing that I noticedone thing I was worried was that somebodyd come back and try to finish the job. She was more back here. ", I walked to the front of the room, and of course all my little children followed me. Her hair was big to me. The photo of Carol Petersen is by Wyoming State Archives. I didn't know that there were bullets that could've, you know, went straight out. I think relying on the Lord and having the faith that we could overcome this. I was in third grade on May 16, 1986, the day of the bombing. So I looked over at her a lot. Mark Junge: So you lived with all this for years? And then my classroom was right here, and so some of them were going out that way. But he was the one that wanted the thing perpetuated. . You just don't experience these kinds of things. There is a really genuine love and concern and caring for each other. Janel Dayton: Oh, time was totally immaterial! With the support of her parents, she kept the child. And for me to say that, when you can't financially live here, very wellif you want to live in Cokeville, you have to be a schoolteacher, or work at the mine, or you have to go find work elsewhere, and there's several women in town that have no husband for two weeks. I wasn't making up a plan of escape.

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