Murder on the White Sands

MURDER ON THE WHITE SANDS

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALBERT AND HENRY FOUNTAIN

from the University of North Texas Press

Winner of the Wild West History Association's 2008 Best Book on Wild West History Award

To buy the book, click here

"This book recounts the mystery in apt detail, with most of the prevalent theories presented. The story moves along like detective fiction, with chapters on the various aspects of the murders, investigation and trial.” New Mexico Magazine

It was the end of January 1896 when the Grand Jury adjourned in the town of Lincoln, territory of New Mexico. Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain had just worked to bring indictments against several men in order to combat the cattle rustling that ran rampant in the territory. His work finished, Fountain, with his eight-year-old son Henry, left Lincoln. The pair headed southwest, towards their Mesilla home. The journey, some 150 miles, would take three days. It was a journey the father and son would not complete, for on the third day they disappeared near the White Sands, an area known for mysterious disappearances. What became of them remains New Mexico's greatest murder mystery.

“This is the ultimate Pat Garrett/A.J. Fountain, West Texas/Southern New Mexico manuscript. I have never seen such a beautifully researched piece. Nobody is going to excel it, although you will always find folks who want to argue with portions. After this book, it will be a century before anyone approaches the subject again. In short, this is the kind of book I wish I had written." - Leon Metz, author of Pat Garrett and John Wesley Hardin

“I am very impressed by the way Corey Recko has put the Fountain story together - quite the most comprehensive examination of all the evidence I've ever seen." - Frederick Nolan, author of The Lincoln County War and The West of Billy the Kid

“Recko is to be commended for drawing his information almost entirely from primary sources, using secondary sources sparingly. He brings together for the first time all the available information on the subject, and in a final chapter provides his conclusions with regard to the affair." - Robert K. DeArment, author of Bat Masterson and editor of Life of the Marlows

“I certainly am impressed by the scope and thoroughness of Murder on the White Sands. This book may correct some of the misconceptions, rumors and tall tales that have clouded the record for more than one hundred years." - Gordon Owen, author of The Two Alberts: Fountain and Fall

“The first book to deal exclusively with the Fountain murders, this account of the disappearance, investigation and trial is for anyone who enjoys murder mysteries, outlaws and the American West, criminal investigations and the criminal justice system." Ruidoso News

Murder on the White Sands Reviews; Murder on the White Sands Introduction and First Chapter; Information About Murder on the White Sands (# of pages, table of contents, etc.); Biographies of: Colonel Albert J. Fountain, Pat Garrett, John Fraser, Henry Fountain, Albert B. Fall, Oliver Lee, James Gililland, William McNew, Ed Brown, Thomas Branigan, William H. H. Llewellyn; 1896 Newspaper Accounts of the Fountains' Disappearance; Map of New Mexico Sites; Mesilla, New Mexico; Hillsboro, New Mexico; Search the Index; Buy Murder on the White Sands; Who do you believe murdered murdered Albert and Henry Fountain? Talk About it in the Forum; Murder on the White Sands Related Articles; Appearances; Links; Author biography; Corey Recko News; Contact (Ask to be added to the mailing list here).