Phil Hamman started teaching in the Sioux City School District in 1986. He co-teaches high school English. He has a personal connection to the story. Mike Hadrath, one of the murder victims at Gitchie Manitou, was Phil’s best friend. Phil is also the author of the two memoirs Under the Influence and disOrder (also by eLectio Publishing.) Phil and Sandy have been married since 1984. Book Overview Gitchie Girl has catapulted to the top of several #1 national bestseller lists in True Crime categories, and it is not a self-published book. It profiles the true story of the 1973 Gitchie Manitou State Park mass murders that occurred in northwest Iowa. Four teenagers were shot, and a 13-year-old girl was the lone survivor. For over four decades she refused interviews and book offers. She recently broke this silence and gave the inside story of the events of that night to me as I have a personal connection to the incident. The lone survivor became known as “The Gitchie Girl,” and faced alienation, whispers, and exclusion from social events as if she had done something wrong. So, how does your life proceed and how do you rebuild your life after becoming “The Gitchie Girl?” The book tells about this process as well as the strange twists surrounding the crime and the inside conversations that occurred during one of the most heinous crimes to have hit the Midwest. Below is the back cover summary: A TERRIFIED VOICE CRIED OUT IN THE NIGHT. “Who are you? What do you want?” The sound of snapping twigs closed in on the five teenagers enjoying an evening around a glowing campfire at Gitchie Manitou State Park. The night of music and laughter had taken a dark turn. Evil loomed just beyond the tree line, and before the night was over, one of the Midwest’s most horrific mass murders had left its bloodstains spewed across the campsite. One managed to survive and would come to be known as the “Gitchie Girl.” Harrowing memories of the terrifying crime sent her spiraling out of control, and she grasped at every avenue to rebuild her life. Can one man, a rescue dog, and a glimmer of faith salvage a broken soul? This true story will touch your heart and leave you cheering that good can prevail over the depravity of mankind. Through extensive research, interviews, and personal insight the authors bring a riveting look at the heinous crime that shook the Midwest in the early 1970s. Written from rare, inside interviews with the lone survivor who broke nearly four decades of silence, this story brings the reader a shocking yet moving story that will not soon be forgotten.

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