In the summer of 1995, a sense of unease settled over Ellsworth County, Kansas, following the discovery of a man's body at Kanopolis State Park. The victim was identified as Charles Randall Boyd, a 46-year-old male. His life had been brought to a violent and abrupt end on July 27, 1995, while he was zipped into his sleeping bag, asleep. The cause of his death was determined to be a brutal bludgeoning.
For a time, the identity of his killer remained a mystery, casting a shadow over the ordinarily peaceful state park. Leads in the case eventually grew cold, leaving investigators with the difficult task of solving a seemingly random act of violence. The initial investigation struggled to produce a suspect, and the case remained open as authorities worked to piece together the events that led to Boyd's death.
The break in the case came with the identification of a suspect, a man who moved through the country by riding the rails. His name was Robert Joseph Silveria Jr., a serial killer who went by the moniker "Sidetrack." Silveria was associated with a group known as the "Freight Train Riders Association." Ultimately, it was determined that Silveria was the one who had taken Charles Randall Boyd's life on that summer morning.
