Hawks County Road 451 Legend

Here is how the legend is listed on many websites:

There were two teens that either lived in a halfway house or visited this location. The two teens went on a murder spree, killing several people in the home and then commiting suicide. It is said that if you visit this location, or even some websites claim that if you run around the building three times, the ghosts of these two teens will chase you off the property or even follow the car down the road.

Here is what WMGHS has uncovered:

The two men were Darrel Jarvis, 21, and James Siebert, 20, both from Pontiac, MI., in November of 1976. There was a two day escapade (along with Jarvis's 16 year old female cousin) that began with the abduction of David Pfaff, 30, in Pontiac and theft of Mr. Pfaff's 1976 Monte Carlo. The two men, and the cousin, then drove the stolen car with the victim in the backseat to Presque Isle County. Jarvis drove the car to a gravel pit that is located behind the Qcqueoc Township Cemetery (photo 1), ordered Pfaff out of the backseat, and at gun point and carrying a shovel, led Pfaff to the gravel pit (photos 2 & 3) where the victim was ordered to dig his own grave. The cousin testified that she stayed at the car, but could see the event. Siebert then made Pfaff lay face down in the grave, and shot him in the back of the head. Siebert ended up returning to the car and to reload the shotgun saying that the "The S.O.B. isn't dead yet." The shotgun was reloaded and Siebert shot Pfaff once again. Jarvis and Siebert then finshed the burial. After getting about two miles away, they realized that they forgot to steal Pfaff's wallet, returned to the murder site where all three dug the body back up, took the wallet, buried the victim once again, took money out of the wallet, and then tossed the wallet into the Rainy River. The following day, Jarvis and Siebert traveled, still in the stolen Monte Carlo, to a store called the Halfway Station (photos 4-6). It was a family run store where the wife/mother was working at the time. Jarvis and Siebert was in the middle of savagely beating and stabbing the mother when her 10 year old son came home from school. The boy walked in on the assault, and was in turn, also horribly beaten and repeatedly stabbed. After robbing the store and leaving, the father/husband found them two hours later. Both mother and child survived the attack. After that incident, Jarvis and Siebert traveled to Montmorency County where they were caught robbing the El-Bo-Inn on M-33. After extensive investigatiions by law enforcement, Jarvis and Siebert had also commited and were convicted of another murder from August of that same year. They robbed a store in Lapeer County, kidnapped the clerk, Elizabeth Mojica, 25, and shot her in the head. Her body was found a month later two miles from the store.

Jarvis and Siebert are now serving, between the two of them, 14 life sentences and both are incarcerated at Oaks Correctional Facility. Since the sentencings, Jarvis has had two more sentences added - both stemming from attempted prison escapes. The 16 year old female cousin was given immunity in exchange for testimony.

Since neither murderer committed suicide, it is impossible for their ghosts to be chasing people off the property. Also, no deaths occured at the Halfway Station, as the legend also states.

Photos are listed below

1. Entrance sign to the Ocqueoc Township Cemetery
2. Area view of the gravel pit (right)
3. Area view of the gravel pit (left)
4. Halfway Station store (front view)
5. Halfway Station store (front view)
6. Halfway Station store (back view)

Information courtesy of the Presque Isle District Library and the Rogers City Advance Newspaper.

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