[[Ron Van Meter]] was a deputy in the Mariposa Sheriff's Department. His death on June 24, 1980, in an alleged boating accident on Lake McClure, became a central point of investigation into long-standing corruption, murder, threats, and harassment within the department. Those he confided in believed he was murdered after uncovering and reporting drug trafficking within the sheriff's department.[^1] Official reports listed his death as a drowning. The search party consisted mainly of three divers: deputies [[Dave Beavers]], [[Rod Cusic]], and [[Gary Estep]]. Sheriff [[Paul Paige]] refused outside help, including additional divers from adjacent counties and a mini-submarine offered by Beavers' associate.[^1] Van Meter's widow, [[Leslie Van Meter]], was notified of his disappearance. His home was ransacked, and his briefcase and diary were seized by the Mariposa Sheriff's Department. Only she and a few deputies knew what his diary contained. He had taken out a special life insurance policy two weeks before his death, which also went missing after the search.[^1] On March 23, 1984, [[Leslie Van Meter]] filed a Citizen's Complaint, alleging negligence and unprofessionalism in the investigation of her husband's disappearance. His body had still not been found. Newly elected Sheriff [[Ken Mattheys]] responded by re-opening the investigation, appointing deputies [[Frank McCoy]] and [[Lonnie Hammond]] to handle the internal affairs aspect. In October 1984, Sheriff Mattheys also recruited private investigator [[Raymond Jenkins]] and retired [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent [[Tom Walsh]] to investigate and help clean up the Sheriff's Department. These investigators concluded that Van Meter was murdered after obtaining evidence of drug trafficking within the department.[^1] Their investigation also led them to [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] (Music Corporation of America), parent company to [[Curry Company]], the largest concessionaire in Yosemite National Park, where a major drug network had surfaced. A park ranger, [[Paul Berkowitz]], testified before the House Interior Subcommittee on National Parks and Recreation about drug distribution by Curry Company officials.[^1] A few weeks prior to his death in 1980, Van Meter had driven to the [[California Attorney General's Office|Attorney General's office]] in Sacramento and reported drug dealing and other forms of corruption within the Mariposa Sheriff's Department. Upon his return, he was confronted by Sheriff [[Paul Paige]], who had been informed by the Attorney General. Van Meter had been photographing and journaling drug activity by deputies at Lake McClure. He was part of a California State Abatement Program involving harvesting and eradicating marijuana fields in Yosemite National Park and adjacent counties. Instead, the harvested marijuana was being stored in abandoned cars and towed out of town by a local wrecker under contract with the sheriff's department, and also distributed at a hidden cove at Lake McClure.[^1] On June 24, 1980, frustrated and angry at the Attorney General for betraying him, Van Meter borrowed a boat and was on his way to arrest the deputies at Lake McClure himself. He never returned. His body was finally recovered in September 1990 in the shallow waters of Lake McClure, wrapped in a fish net and weighted down by various objects.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.