Amarillo Globe-News, Hemphill County TX, town of Canadian
Web posted Saturday, July 10, 1999

CANADIAN POLICE LOOKING FOR CLUES IN BRUTAL KILLING
by Kevin Welch, Globe-News Staff Writer

Canadian - One month has passed since the violent death of Imogene French shocked Canadian residents and law enforement officials are trying everything from hypnotists to lasers in their quest to solve the crime.
"Now more than anything we're hypnotizing witnesses who were traveling through the area," said Hemphill County Sheriff Dean Butcher. "From what information we've gotten, we've gone to Houston and Denver to talk to people who were on that property around the time it happened."
In addition, some physical evidence has been sent to the FBI crime lab in Quantico VA to be analyzed for fingerprints with lasers, he said.
French, 77, was discovered dead June 6 in a storeroom at the Oasis Truck Stop just north of Canadian where she worked. An autopsy report indicated she was strangled with a vacuum cleaner electrical cord and the killer's hands.
The search for the killer, however, has been unsuccessful so far, despite a $10,000 reward offered by the French family.
"We want people who were there from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to call us or come in and visit," Butcher said. "There has got to be some more people who drove up and didn't find a clerk on duty."
The sheriff isn't surprised that the investigation has moved into its second month.
"If you don't solve a case in two or three days it's going to be drawn out," Butcher said. "You know you've got some work cut out for you."