12 YO Escapes Death Cult Minutes Before Massacre | The Case of Tracy Parks
– This picture hides the most disturbing secret. It was taken in Guyana on November 18th, 1978. Five people were shot dead, including a woman named Patricia Parks. During the attack, her daughter Tracy went missing in the forest along with four other kids. One hour earlier, this footage shows the airstrip minutes before the attack.
The woman with the red coat around her waist is Patricia. Her daughter Tracy, has already boarded this smaller plane. The final images capture these three men with guns on the right. Three hours earlier, the camera captures 12-year-old Tracy wiping tears with her hat. As the Parks family are packing their belongings onto the truck, people from the commune show their anger, yelling at them.
– You bring those kids back here. Don’t you touch my kids. – 24 Hours after this footage was taken, 918 people are found dead and Tracy is nowhere to be found. The events that led to the Jonestown Massacre would remain a mystery unless by some miracle someone can rescue its youngest survivor, 12 year old Tracy Parks.
– Today the Jonestown story got much worse. – 910 died in the poison ritual of the people’s temple. – They shot the reporters on the ground and the congressman. – There’s just nothing we can do to protect ourself or to get anybody else outta there. – The possibility that children are alive has faded to very little chance at all.
– We have no positive indication here that there are people out there wandering through the jungle. – Other relatives will not be satisfied until there has been a thorough aerial search of the jungle of Northwest Guyana. – The year is 1966, in the quiet town of Redwood Valley, California. Gerald Parks moves in with his loving family.
Worried about the Cold War and a possible nuclear disaster, Parks and his wife Patricia have driven all the way from Ohio with their three kids, their son Dale, their daughter Brenda, and their six week old baby girl Tracy. The parks are among the hundreds of people who followed Reverend Jones to California.
Redwood Valley is to be the perfect shelter for Gerald and his family, a great place to raise little Tracy. 1973, 7 years later, Jones announces that he’s building a paradise city in South America. He calls it the People’s Temple Agricultural Project, but it will later be known only as Jonestown. This is to be the promised land, but contrary to Gerald and Patricia, Tracy is not at all excited.
August 1st, 1977, an article is published in New West Magazine condemning the People’s Temple, talking about allegations of abuse. Still more and more followers of Reverend Jones make the move to this so-called “Paradise City.” Families left behind are worried about loved ones. Months pass, and no one’s heard from the Parks family since they left.
November 17th, 1978, Senator Leo Ryan from California flies to Guyana with his legal aid and the NBC camera crew to investigate. – The word we were getting was that there was an armed encampment. – His goal was simply to go there and try to determine if people were being held against their will, and if so, to try to get them out of there.
– The entire trip to the city of Jonestown is documented on tape. The images you see here will later be found abandoned on this Guyana airstrip. – I’m from the United States government. We’re here to inquire into the health and the welfare of American citizens who are here. – As he arrives at the camp, Leo Ryan is met with an unexpected scene, cheerful children playing and smiling, adults in colorful clothing, dancing and singing.
– How could you not be impressed that out of the jungles of Guyana, they had carved out a community? – Rice, black eyed peas, more peas have different containers surround the place. We couldn’t go through all the tremendous inventory. They built up Kool-Aid. – At first glance, Jonestown really does look like a great place to live.
– Oh it’s really nice here. We’re going on a scouting mission to get some barrels along with the leaves. – They really love it here in Jonestown, as you can see. – But something floats in the air, something hidden behind the eyes. Are all these people really happy? – Some people have said, they couldn’t leave if they wanted to.
Do you think you could? – Yeah, if I really wanted to, I’m free to go. If I was really, really wanted to, I’d be free to go. – Well, I believe it. I’ve been here a few days and I have absolutely no complaints at all. It is really nice here. – When evening comes, the towns folk have prepared a celebration for the Senator.
– It was a vibrant community. I would never have imagined that something was very, very wrong. – I think that all of you know that I’m here to find out more about, questions have been raised about your operation here. But I can tell you right now that from a few conversations I’ve had with some of the folks here already this evening, that whatever the comments are, there are some people here who believe that this is the best thing that ever happened to them their whole life.
[cheering] – But behind this cheerful demonstration hides a disturbing reality. As one of the journalists passes along the pavilion, a man secretly hands him a note. The note reads, “Help us get out of Jonestown.” November 18th, the following day at 11:30 AM Gerald’s mother, Edith Parks, walks up to Senator Ryan directly and says, “We’re being held prisoner here, taken aback.
” Senator Ryan asks Gerald if what his mother says is true. – I said, “We’ve been here seven and a half months. We want to go home.” – No one can imagine the horror Gerald and his family went through. But the next 72 hours will be the worst 12-year-old Tracy will ever live. Tracy’s story begins in Redwood Valley years earlier.
– I think that my dad just truly believed that Jim Jones was a good man in the beginning. – Being born in the people’s temple. Tracy has been taught her whole life that Jim Jones is a man chosen by God. – Come forth, my dear. Stand up. Take that step. Bless your heart. Take that step. – At one gathering, he asks a woman in a wheelchair to stand up.
As she slowly begins to rise, the crowd is overcome with emotion. Then he asks her to walk. – Move forward. Move forward. Move forward darling, you can do it. – Step after step, he asks her to move towards him, until… [cheering] – When I saw with my own eyes, I thought, how can I deny it? You know? – What Gerald doesn’t know at the time is that the woman in the wheelchair who stood and walked among the crowd was actually one of Jones’ secretaries hired for the spectacle.
– My personal feelings with Jim Jones were always good ones. I always thought he was handsome. Just watching him I would just be mesmerized. – Some people see a great deal of God in my body. They see Christ in me, a hope of glory. – But when I got old enough to realize the difference between good and bad, I noticed that all of the meetings weren’t happy meetings.
– Every Wednesday, Jim Jones offers a different kind of meeting to his followers, he calls them “Catharsis”, the purging of evil. – If you got caught talking to people that were not affiliated with the church, then you would be in trouble for that. – Members, even children could be called to the front and be hit repeatedly with a paddle while the entire congregation is made to laugh at you.
– I would find myself looking around at all the adults thinking to myself, you can’t think this is okay. You just can’t. I was scared to do anything wrong because I was scared I was gonna be called up and be beaten. – As the Parks family is getting ready to follow Jim Jones to Guyana, Tracy is deeply troubled.
– I can’t figure out for the life of me why my parents went when the red flags were here. – I remember landing in a little plane on the Port Kaituma airstrip that’s not very far from Jonestown. – As Tracy gets off the plane with her family, the air is so thick and so hot, she can hardly breathe. The family now has to board a tractor to be taken to Jonestown.
– When we came up on them gates, they were standing there with guns, and at that moment I knew I had just entered the gates of hell. – I said, “I feel like I’m making the biggest mistake of my life.” – Right away, Tracy and her family are stripped from all of their belongings, including their passports. Then Tracy is separated from her parents.
– They told my parents right then and there, “She’s gonna be staying in the kids’ area and you guys are gonna be going to your own cottage.” I was devastated. – According to Jim Jones, family bonds are selfish, but the truth is he wants to turn family members against one another, and the best way to do that is to isolate them.
Already, Tracy’s father Gerald knows he’s made a mistake. The next morning while walking around the grounds, Gerald runs into his own cousin. – And she said, “How do you like Jonestown?” I said, “I don’t.” That’s all was said. – But the power Jim Jones has on his followers is already very strong. That night at the gathering, Gerald is called to the front.
His cousin has told on him. – So my dad was up in front of all the people. One of the security guards came over and just started wailing on my dad. And I jumped outta my chair to go up there and I yelled, get that b**** off my dad. And this person grabbed me and said, “If you know what was good for you, you would sit down.
” – I had to act like I was one of them, but I never give up hope. I thought somehow, somehow we’ll get outta here. – But acting like everything is fine won’t be easy, especially not for little Tracy. She discovers quickly that Jones forces his followers to work incredibly long hours. The day starts at 6:00 AM when the guards pass around yelling for people to wake up.
Tracy jumps out of bed and runs to the breakfast table. – In the morning, rice and milk with bugs in it. And maybe for dinner we had rice and gravy. – After eating, Tracy would have to run to her post where she’d work the rest of the day until dark. By nightfall, she would attend mandatory meetings of Jim Jones screaming and preaching for hours.
Most of the time spreading fear, talking about threats outside in the jungle. – Listening to Jim Jones preached till whatever time in the morning he got done. Might be 2, might be 3. You’d get hit with a cane. If you were falling asleep, the kids would just be laid all over the floor. They couldn’t keep him awake.
– And then there are the white nights, the most terrifying meetings of all. To test the loyalty of his followers, Jim Jones forces everyone to drink a fruit punch that may or may not be poisoned. – But Gerald Parks knows that for Jim Jones, this is a rehearsal. – I knew those white nights he was having was fake at the time, but I also knew that one day one of ’em would not be fake.
– Since 1976, Jim Jones and his close crew have been buying cyanide in preparation for the mass murder of his followers. Gerald needs to act fast, but the Guyana forest is one of the most dangerous in South America. Jim Jones makes sure everyone knows this. – He would often throw that in our face, “Go ahead and try.
Go ahead and try to run through the jungle, the panthers and the snakes.” – It’s November 17th, 1978. Jim Jones tells his followers that Senator Ryan is coming. Jones wants to prevent a possible crisis. He takes certain precautions. – Now prepping everybody mentally for “You better not get outta hand. You better be on your best behavior.
” – I’m from the United States government and we’re here to inquire into the health and the welfare of American citizens who are here. – They had a big musical. Singing, dancing, and everything to make him see how happy everybody was. – Whatever the comments are, there are some people here who believe that this is the best thing that ever happened on their whole life.
– When hearing this speech, Tracy’s heart drops. If Senator Ryan could be fooled, no one else would come and save them. November 18th, the following morning, Gerald and his mother Edith walk up straight to Senator Ryan to tell him the truth. – I said, “We’ve been here seven and a half months.” We want to go home.
And he said, “Well, you’ll be back in the United States today.” – But Gerald isn’t so sure. Other families begin to come forward as well. Soon more than a dozen temple members have stepped up with the Parks family wanting to defect. Jim Jones confronts Gerald’s family about their intention to leave. Gerald wearing the white and blue top, his daughter Brenda, standing behind him.
Although Jones is obviously shocked by the news, he doesn’t make much of a scene. – I went into a state of shock and I started crying and I had my hat and I was wiping my eyes. I was crying in utter fear. – Although Senator Ryan thinks he can get these people home safely, no one else is convinced. While the defectors are dragging their belongings onto the tractor, that will take them out of Jonestown, chaos begins to spread.
– You bring those kids back here – Hold on a second. You bring them back. Don’t you touch my kids. – They were calling us names. The lawyer asked me, said, “What’s really going on over here?” And I said, “The bastard’s gonna kill us all. That’s what’s going on.” – The road to the airstrip is six miles long and in horrible condition, tension is on everyone’s face, but no one says a word.
– My wife was on the truck. Our eyes met and I looked at her and she looked at me and neither one of us said anything. – As they finally arrive at the landing strip in Port Kaituma, 33 people prepare to board two planes splitting the Parks family. The camera is still rolling. You can see Gerald Parks approaching the plane with his family in tow.
Then behind them at the dirt road, a truck arrives with armed men. They were followed. The gunmen opened fire. Right away, Patricia Parks is shot dead. Four more people are killed on the airstrip, including NBC reporter Don Harris and Senator Ryan. The cameraman Bob Brown is also killed. Many more are gravely wounded, but Tracy is on the other plane with her brother Dale.
Gerald doesn’t know if they’re alive. – I couldn’t get my seatbelt off. I heard my mom holler: “Look at my wife Patty,” finally looked back. She was set slumped over with her, top of her head gone. – Finally, the shooting stops and the truck drives away. – I just stood there for a few seconds and it’s like a bad dream or this can’t be happening.
We were expecting at any moment for them to come back. – In the smaller plane. A man who pretended to be a defector has opened fire at point blank. After shooting one of the adults, he turns his gun toward Dale, Tracy’s brother. – The sound went off. Sound like the bullet came out and my brother’s hands flew back.
I got out of the plane and I flew down that airstrip. God gave me wings because I don’t think I touched the ground. – Gerald sees Tracy running toward him. He means to shield Tracy from the horrible sight, but she’s too fast. – I told myself she was faking so they wouldn’t shoot her anymore. – I knew that I had to get her to safety.
So I headed the girls towards the jungle and said, “Go in there, don’t go too far. Go in there so you can’t be seen and wait till we call you.” – We just started running straight out into the jungle. – As Gerald and his mother remain on the airstrip. Tracy, her sister Brenda, and three other kids are now by themselves.
– We just ran so far because of the fears of Jones instilling in us I’ll find you if you escape. – See if you can make it to any railway. See if you can get to any passport. Try. I dare you to try. – So we thought he was probably looking for us. – Before night came, we went back to the jungle, started hollering for the kids and no response.
That’s when my heart dropped Because I knew Guyana is one of the most dangerous jungles in the world. – When darkness falls, the kids find a bent over tree to climb and spend the night. As the world around them turns pitch black, they hear gunshots. – We thought that it was them coming back to finish ’em off on the airstrip.
We figured, okay, now dad and em’s gone. So now we don’t have anybody. And that was the worst night I could ever recall in my life. – November 19th, day two in the jungle, Tracy starts to feel ill. Having nothing to eat or drink, her condition deteriorates rapidly. Her sister Brenda being the eldest, does her best to keep the children moving, knowing that Jim Jones’ men are probably out there looking for them.
Night falls on the second day, a search helicopter flies overhead, probing the grounds with its light. The children find cover to avoid being seen. They can’t risk going back to Jonestown. That night, Tracy develops a high fever. Everyone else starts to get sick as well. – And I remember just begging the creator of this universe to take me.
The feeling of giving up was like a relief that you didn’t have to keep trying. – November 20th, day three, all five children are laying sick and exhausted on the jungle floor. Brenda no longer has the strength to carry the group along, but she can’t let her little sister Tracy down. – I just remember thinking that if we don’t get outta here today, we’re not going to get out at all.
I heard this music out here in the middle of a jungle. Who or where wouldn’t even be playing it. Where would it be coming from? – My sister hit me. She goes, “Get up!” – It was like it had snapped me back to reality, which allowed me to think. And as soon as that happened, that music turned to the sound of a generator.
– The group follows Brenda through the wilderness. Brenda hurries them to run between the trees, stopping at times to listen for the sound, then running again. After a long while, they see a group of armed men patrolling alongside a river. – I thought they were going to either help us or they’re going to take us back to Jones.
And I was too sick to care. – Police come and told me that the kids had been found. For the first time, first time I had something to smile about. – Tracy and Brenda are reunited with their father, their grandmother, and their brother Dale alive and well. – I knew when I saw him, I’m going home. I’m gonna be able to go home.
And that was the first time I had ever really felt that since the day I had hit the gates to go in. – Although Tracy and her sister can finally breathe a sigh of relief, the joy of this heartfelt reunion is short-lived. They learned the details of what happened inside Jonestown. The day of the attack. November 18th, two days earlier at 4:30 PM, Jim Jones calls the members of the People’s Temple to assemble at the pavilion.
The area is surrounded by armed guards. The meeting is recorded on audio tape. – Gather in folks it’s easy. It’s easy – Jones has ordered for the cyanide to be mixed with the Kool-Aid. Then he forces his followers to drink it. – If we can’t live in peace, then let us die in peace. – The tape is 45 minutes long.
In it, you can hear Jim Jones making outrageous claims, speaking of an army coming to torture them. – Plain as I know how to tell you, I’ve never lied to you. I never have lied to you. – When some of the members protest and wish to leave, he refuses. – No, you’re not going. You’re not going. You’re not going.
– Some members take the deadly drink willingly while others are forced at gunpoint. The scene turns to chaos and the recording becomes unbearable to hear. – Die with a degree of dignity. Lay down your life with dignity. Don’t lay down with tears and agony. Don’t be this way. Oh God. – A total of 918 people are killed in Jonestown, the first of which was Patricia Parks Tracy’s mother.
– I’ve looked at several pictures of my mom on that day. I’ll never forget the look on her face. She was a loving person. She didn’t deserve to die. I didn’t see her get shot, but I saw her brains in the plane and I saw her laying out on the ground. – They shot the reporters on the ground and the congressman, they come from the pickup, the dump truck from the other side and got off and stuck the gun to their heads, point blank.
Kids have to go back to nothing without a mom. Start life all over again. I was thinking about what I was gonna have to live with the rest of my life. – The world is shook by what took place on November 18th, 1978, but few lost more than Tracy Parks all her life she lived inside of the People’s Temple and at 12 years old, she now has to enter the real world without her mother there to help her.
– I just drank because that’s how I hid my pain as a teenager. – For all the survivors. Demons from Jonestown show up in the the years to come in different ways, a pattern of violence comes back too often. On October 24th, 1983, Paula Jean Neustel and her child are shot dead by Lawrence E. Mann, the child’s father.
On February 24th, 1984, Tyrone Mitchell opens fire on an elementary school in Los Angeles before ending his life. In 2014, Chris O’Neal, a boy who escaped with Tracy and Brenda in the forest, is shot down by police after a domestic dispute. But not all survivors turn to violence. Even after the tragic death of her sister Brenda in 2013, Tracy Parks remains a fighter determined to honor her mother’s memory.
– This is harder than I thought. – 30 Years after Patricia Parks death, her daughter Tracy returns to that airstrip. There she lays down five roses, a picture of her mother and a cross. – I just wanted to say goodbye. – As for Gerald, Tracy’s father, he devotes his life to his family. After helping to raise his two granddaughters, he becomes a great grandpa to six girls.
His family means everything to him, and he always makes sure to put them first. – I think about my wife very often, whether she hears me or not, whether there’s a hereafter or not. When I go to bed at night, I tell her I love her. – Gerald dies on November 1st, 2022. In Jonestown, there was a sign hung up on the wall.
Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. Tracy didn’t know what it meant back then, but today this sign is the reason she shares her story. She says, “If I keep quiet, Jim Jones wins.” – A tragedy of that magnitude affects you the rest of your life. Either you flail or you succeed. And I chose to succeed because I wanted my mom to be proud of me.
