ROUND 2!    Peru, Indiana -  Okie Pinokie

  *Investigation [9/27/08]    *Reveal [9/28/08]

Many visitors come to an area known as Okie Pinokie, which is located off of River Road in the Frances Slocum State Forest in Peru, Indiana. Okie Pinokie is known quite well not only because of the many reported claims of paranormal activity that take place there, but also a popular place for people to hang out and congregate. Illegal situations unfortunately occur frequently there that require law enforcement officers to patrol the area.

Claims on Okie Pinokie: Unexplainable phenomena have been reported to take place at Okie Pinokie for many years. This location once was swampy and marshy territory, and Mississinewa staff has reported that at least 8 decaying bodies have been found there. It is said that if you whistle at Okie Pinokie, you will hear someone or something whistle back to you from deep in the forest. Also it has been mentioned that satanic rituals have been performed out in the forest at Okie Pinokie. Supposedly a young girl was raped and tortured out in the woods and there have been reports of the voice of a young girl being heard in the woods by several visitors. Almost every website that talks about Okie Pinokie that involves other groups or individuals who have gone out there to see if the claims were true of paranormal activity state not to use an Ouija board because the spirits that supposedly exist there do not like it.

Situation:  Members of the MRIPA team and three Purdue University students (who also came out to investigate the claims on Okie Pinokie) joined us and set out a second time to investigate Okie Pinokie. Members set up the base station on the round-about that is located at the end of the dirt road that leads into the Frances Slocum State Forest. Five night vision cameras were set up around the base station facing in five different directions: South, Southwest, West, Northwest, and North. No perimeter sweep was done this time before the investigation. Three teams set out onto three different paths into the forest, while several team members monitored the group’s activity from the base station. Each team had flashlights, a digital recorder, digital camera, EMF meters, and IR Thermometer. Two teams had hand held night vision video cameras.

Investigation Highlights and Evidence: The second visit to Okie Pinokie provided no evidence of any kind on the reported claims of that location. Even though the first investigation there we walked away with some paranormal activity, the second time we had no paranormal activity or personal experiences. No EVPs, light anomalies, cold spots, or any type of paranormal activity were caught on cameras or recorders.

Invalidated Data: The whole night during the investigation was interrupted with several groups of people on horseback who were just out enjoying the fall night, but who also claimed that at times they would purposefully come out and make noise to scare people out at Okie Pinokie. Also, the night was filled with cars coming in and out of the round-a-bout at Okie Pinokie with high school and college students who came out there to drink, amongst other things. It was clearly obvious why the County Sheriff had patrol cars sent out there on a regular basis. Unfortunately, this night was an utter bust in regards to finding any conclusive evidence. However, networking for MRIPA was extremely good because of all the people who stopped by the base station to ask questions.

*It is safe to say that from the first investigation there is some type of paranormal activity at Okie Pinokie but with all that we learned and experienced from the 2nd investigation we cannot say that Okie Pinokie is haunted.*