COLDListenBashford Manor Mall, Louisville, Kentucky · 1980s
Disappearance of Ann Gotlib
Ann Gotlib, a 12-year-old Soviet Jewish immigrant, vanished from a Louisville, Kentucky mall parking lot in June 1983; her case remains unsolved decades later.
What happened
The Long Run massacre took place on 13 September 1781 at the intersection of Floyd's Fork creek with Long Run Creek, along the Falls Trace trail, in what is now eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky.
The events leading to the attack began a day earlier, when settlers at Painted Stone Station—a settlement established by Squire Boone—learned that their fort was about to be raided by a large Indian war party under the command of Loyalist captain Alexander McKee. Most of the settlers chose to abandon the station in favor of better-defended positions near Beargrass Creek, leaving behind the injured Boone and one other family. Some settlers delayed for two days before beginning their move toward Linn's Station.
During this movement, the settler party lost part of its military guard and was subsequently ambushed at a location known as thirteen-mile tree, roughly 8 miles (13 km) from Linn's Station. At least seven settlers were killed in this initial ambush; losses among the attacking Indian force are unknown. Survivors of the attack fled and managed to reach Linn's Station by nightfall.
Historical markers and at least one published report have claimed that at least 60 people were killed in the massacre, with only a few settlers escaping. However, the actual death toll was lower: approximately 15 settlers were killed in total. This figure includes not only those killed in the initial ambush but also losses from a second, related engagement.
The day after the initial ambush, a group of 17 soldiers under Colonel John Floyd went to the site to bury the remains of those killed. This burial party was itself attacked by the Indian force. During this second engagement, a Wyandot chief present among the attackers was killed. This death led to the dispersal of the Indian forces and marked the end of McKee's raid into the area.
The site of the massacre is commemorated today through annual reenactments held in the Shelbyville, Kentucky area, organized by the Painted Stone Settlers group, near the location where the events occurred.
