An amateur detective heads to the Sierra in search of clues to the Zodiac killer (2023)

Late last year, Fayçal Ziraoui, a French-Moroccan business consultant, was in his home in a Paris suburb looking through satellite images of the Sierra Nevada when he came across an image that surprised him.

It was a collection of stones arranged in a way that resembled the crosshairs of a giant crossbow – a circle with a cross through it – surrounded by a larger circle. It looked to him like the symbol used by the Zodiac killer in his correspondence half a century ago.

One of my colleagues in the Paris bureau of The New York Times, Constant Méheut,wrote about Ziraouitwo years ago and his interest in the Zodiac case, a series of murders that terrorized the Bay Area. In December, Ziraoui searched for satellite images of the Sierra after believing a postcard and code sent by the Zodiac killer pointed to those coordinates.

Ziraoui spent the winter counting down the days until the snow melted, and in mid-May he flew to San Francisco. I traveled with him to a place west of Lake Tahoe. It's a four-hour drive from the Bay Area, the last dozen miles on bumpy dirt roads occasionally blocked by the remains of fallen trees from the 2014 King fire.

The outer circle of the rock is about 25 feet wide, and some of the stones are large enough that it looks like it took several people to move them. In the inner circle were various objects: a small caliber bullet, some broken glasses, three pieces of obsidian, and a poker chip. Outside the circle, a stone track pointed north.

After visiting the site, Ziraoui spent days trying to figure out who could be behind the rock and if it had anything to do with the Zodiac killer. He showed photos of the site to an archaeologist at the local US Forest Service office, who said he had never seen the site and was unaware of anything similar in the area. He researched medicine wheels — round symbols used by many native tribes — and contacted the Auburn United Indian Community, a group of Miwok and Maidu tribes in the area. A spokesman for United Auburn's conservation department said the tribal group did not know about the site and declined to look at photos of it.

Maybe the walkers put the stones together? Or were they lovers? Inside the circle was a smooth stone with a professional-looking engraving: "Cal and Margaret together forever."

The search for the Zodiac Killer has spawned a cottage industry of detectives, each with their own ideas about how to crack the Zodiac codes and their own theories about the killer's identity. With each new "reveal," a strong dose of skepticism seems warranted.

For Ziraoui, research into the Zodiac Killer began as a hobby, he was bored at home during the pandemic. Speaking to The Times two years ago, Ziraoui concluded through an examination of one of the Zodiac's killer codes, known as Z13, that the Zodiac was Lawrence Kaye, a South Lake Tahoe resident who was a suspect in the case. And in an attempt to decipher another one of the codes, known as Z32, Ziraoui came up with the coordinates that led him to the school in South Lake Tahoe.

Last year, however, Ziraoui adjusted his calculations by using a different calculation for magnetic north, and his new coordinates pointed to the Hell Hole reservoir. He got the same general result when he tried to decipher another coded message believed to have been sent by the Zodiac killer on a postcard sent to the San Francisco Chronicle in 1971.

Some Zodiac detectives linked that postcard to the disappearance of Donna Lass, a nurse who worked at a Lake Tahoe casino. She disappeared in 1970 and may or may not have been a victim of the Zodiac killer. Needless to say, Ziraoui was intrigued to find poker chips in the Hell Hole rock formation, even if they weren't from a particular casino.

Shortly after Ziraoui returned to the Bay Area, he went to the F.B.I. office in San Francisco. He submitted his calculations and the coordinates of the Hellhole location.

Ziraoui says he realizes his decryption attempt is just one of many.

"You always have to keep a cool head with these things," he said. "It is not for me to say that this is the last word."

Thomas Fuller is the San Francisco bureau chief of The New York Times.

If you read one story, let it be this one

During the controversial period of legislation,red states became redder and blue states became bluer.

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• Insurance:Allstate, the fourth largest provider of property and casualty insurance in California, hasstopped selling new home, apartment or business insurance policiesi staten.

• Migrants:California leadersthey say they trust the state of floridais behind the transport of 16 migrants from Texas to a church building in Sacramento.

• Vaccine policy:A draft law that would have required school children to be vaccinated against HPV has been watered down due to growing opposition to vaccine requirements,I took Politico.

  (Video) The Horrifying Terrors Of The Zodiac Killer

• Law on helmets:Laws exempting motorcyclists wearing religious or cultural headgearmust wear a helmetwas overturned by the state Senate, The Los Angeles Times reports.

SYDCALIFORNIEN

• The case against Cosby:Bill Cosby wassued by Victoria Valentino, a former Playboy model who says he drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1969, under a California law that temporarily set the statute of limitations in sexual assault cases.

• The board reached an agreement:The Directors Guild of America reached outpreliminary agreementwith the Hollywood studios on a three-year contract.

• Protest:Hundreds of game workers at Dodger Stadium could go on strike as early as next month if the Dodgersthey do not meet their contractual requirements, the Los Angeles Times reports.

• Removing the statue:Some San Diegans are looking forremoval of the statueby former Mayor and Gov. Pete Wilson, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

CENTRALCALIFORNIEN

• Budget:Some Fresno City Council members are warning that Mayor Jerry Dyer's budget for the upcoming fiscal year "dead on arrival", the Fresno Bee reports.

NORDCALIFORNIEN

• Driverless cars:The number of reported traffic accidents with self-driving taxis isincreased this yearin San Francisco, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

• "Hmm honey":Roger Craig, who managed the San Francisco Giants for eight seasons and led them to the National League pennant in 1989.died on Sundayat the age of 93.

Where we travel

Today's tip comes from Allie Weill, who lives in Sacramento:

“It has become one of my favorite places to visitLake Natoma25 minutes east of downtown Sacramento. It's not the most scenic or serene lake in California—although it has abundant wildlife and morning mist on the water, pink sunsets, and views of the Sierra from just the right spot—but it might be the best place to see it all. kind of people who enjoy a sunny day in different ways.

Serious kayakers and paddlers pass by in long, elegant boats. The students sunbathe on paddleboards, five or six of them go rafting together. Families who dare to rent plastic kayaks, with a small child between their parents or with a child in kindergarten learning to paddle for the first time. Even adults row for the first time! I once saw a guy taking his pet bird out on his little sailboat like a would-be pirate.

The Sac State Aquatic Center offers rentals and classes, and several state parks surround the lake, making it easier to get out on the water than many other places, and there are no speedboats, making it a great spot for both beginners and experienced paddlers. I love visiting quiet morning paddles in search of herons, golden eagles and the occasional otter, but perhaps I love it even more when paddling amidst the happy din of busy afternoons.”

Tell us about your favorite places in California.Email your suggestions toCAtoday@nytimes.com. We will share more in future newsletters.

Tell us

What are the best things that have happened to you in 2023 so far? What are your winnings? Or your unexpected joys, big or small?

Let me know at CAToday@nytimes.com. Enter your full name and city where you live.

And before you go, good news

Shaina Shealy and Benjamin Glickstein were connected through the dating app OkCupid in October 2019. She lived in Oakland, he lived in Berkeley.

They started dating, but Shealy also dated two other men - both also named Ben.

Two months later, when Shealy was looking for a last-minute date to a work holiday party, she thought about which Ben would be least offended by an 11 o'clock call and decided on Glickstein. He carried her lipstick and phone all night.

Shealy and Glickstein eventually decided to date exclusively and were married last month.

Read more about their love story in The Times.

Thanks for reading along. We'll be back tomorrow.

p.s. Evotoday's mini crossword.

Soumya Karlamangla and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can get the team atCAtoday@nytimes.com.

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