Town file
South Lake Tahoe, California
South Lake Tahoe, California (El Dorado County, California) is the town in 2 episodes of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 11, "Murder & Worse" (29 March 2017), and episode 12, "Murder & Worse" (5 April 2017). South Lake Tahoe, California, is the town at the centre of this episode.
- Town
- South Lake Tahoe
- County
- El Dorado County
- State
- California
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 11, 12
- Approximate location
- 38.928, -119.981
Episode 11 / 29 March 2017 / 61 min / full
Murder & Worse
"We are in South Lake Tahoe, California; it's in El Dorado County, on the Nevada border, zip code 96150, area code 530." about 0:04:00
The case: Abduction of Alicia Toma and Monica Burge (May 1987); Murder of Sheila Keaser (August 1981). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2017
- Population
- 21,706
- Median home value
- $380,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- $950
- Cost of living
- 139
- Religious
- 29%
- Property crime
- ▼ about 20% less
- Violent crime
- ▼ a little less than 20% higher
History, in brief
- In 1944 a casino opened on the state line on the Nevada side of the lake, Harvey's Wagon Wheel Saloon and Gambling Hall, built by Harvey and Lou Eileen Gross; it is now Harvey's Lake Tahoe and still operating. about 0:06:36
- Roads began to be ploughed all year round so people could reach the casinos. about 0:07:49
- The 1960 Winter Olympics were held at nearby Squaw Valley in Placer County, California, and broadcast on NBC, making the area a worldwide ski destination. about 0:07:58
- South Lake Tahoe was officially incorporated as a town in 1965, combining a number of rural unincorporated towns. about 0:08:48
- South Lake Tahoe got a post office in 1967. about 0:09:59
- On August 27, 1980, a 1,000-pound bomb exploded at Harvey's Wagon Wheel, leaving a three-storey crater in the ground; it was accidentally detonated by the FBI. about 0:10:10
- The bomber was John Briggs, a Fresno landscaper $1 million in debt from gambling, who planted the bomb to extort $3 million from the casino. about 0:10:25
- In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted while walking home from the school bus stop in South Lake Tahoe; she was found alive in Antioch, California, 18 years later, having had two children, and wrote the book A Stolen Life. about 0:11:58
- South Lake Tahoe markets itself on its website as 'America's all year playground'. about 0:13:30
Episode 12 / 5 April 2017 / 67 min / full
Murder & Worse
"This week, we head back to South Lake Tahoe, California for part two of this tragic story." about 0:00:01
The case: Murders of Mabs Martin and Dorothy Walsh (May 1987); Murder of Sheila Joe Keester (1981). Read the case file.
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Minden, Nevada12 miles
- Incline Village, Nevada23 miles
- Dayton, Nevada33 miles
- Sun Valley, Nevada48 miles
- Lemmon Valley, Nevada53 miles
- Grass Valley, California61 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.