The Vanishing of Becky Beard

Friends, buckle up—because this case is a rabbit hole that seems to have no bottom. I’ll keep this as short and clear as I can, because Becky’s story deserves to be read and remembered.

This is a work in progress, but as of today, we still have:

• No body.
• No weapon.
• No confession from Paul Taylor—who is serving a life sentence for Becky’s murder.

And yet, the more we dig, the more contradictions, sealed secrets, and unanswered questions we uncover.

Master Timeline of Becky Beard’s Case

1986 – Disappearance & Early Events

• March 1, 1986 – 22-year-old Becky Beard disappears after leaving the Excalibur Club in Freeport, TX. She leaves behind her 2-year-old daughter.
  

  • Stops at a Surfside after-party.

  • Uses the phone at the Diamond Mini Mart across from Excalibur.

Witnesses later claim:

• Becky was involved in an altercation at the Surfside party.
• A powerful business owner struck her in the head.
• She was placed in the trunk of a car.

Key Issue: No location—Excalibur, Surfside, Mini Mart, or the Clute house—was ever treated as a crime scene.

• March 4, 1986 – Becky’s sister Carol is pulled from class by a Clute officer. She’s told a classmate saw Becky at the Surfside party. Witness names are never documented.

• March 5, 1986 – Police dust Becky’s room for prints and collect items.
  

  • No report confirming what was taken has ever been located.

  • A woman named Misti Wylie retrieves Beaver Aplin’s black leather jacket from Becky’s room that day, then leaves for Mexico.

• March 7, 1986 – Detectives question Paul Taylor at a Clute home. They see men working on the bedroom floor, bed frame outside, no mattress.

• March 12, 1986 – Becky’s first “missing” photo appears in the local paper.

• March 13, 1986 – Beaver Aplin offers a $10,000 reward.

• March 18–19, 1986 – Sue Carolyn White, clerk at the Mini Mart, is brutally murdered. Cameras were “off.” She may have been silenced if she saw Becky.

• August 13, 1986 – Becky’s grandfather receives an anonymous letter blaming Paul Taylor. It’s later traced to John Cone’s sister-in-law.

• August 14, 1986 – Paul Taylor escapes from jail. He lives under a false name until his 1987 arrest in Atlanta.

1993 – Excalibur Discovery

• Becky’s driver’s license is found during renovations at Excalibur.

1994 – Indictments & Trial Delays

• Indicted June 1994 for habitual murder.
• Trial delayed six times before February 1995.

1995 – Searches, Plea, Sentencing

• Feb 2 – Cadaver dogs alert at Clute house.
• Feb 5 – Detective begins search under the house, finds fabric, but is pulled from the scene.
• Feb 7 – Taylor pleads guilty, avoiding trial.
• Feb 8 – A shotgun is logged as evidence.

Despite dogs, shovel, shoe, fabric, and a shotgun—the Clute house was never processed as a crime scene.

Taylor is sentenced to life. No body. No weapon. No written confession.

In March, the case file and evidence are transferred to the DA’s office.

1998 – Case File Destruction

Becky’s daughter Brittany is denied victim’s support. That same year, the DA’s office reports Becky’s entire case file and evidence box as “lost or destroyed.”

2020–2023 – Family Reignites the Case

• 2020–2021 – Retired officers speak. The family reviews case reports for the first time.
• 2021 – Confirmation that cadaver dogs alerted under the Clute home. Becky’s mother found a burnt-handled shovel and a woman’s high-heeled shoe—handed to the DA.
• 2023 – Family obtains 181 of 183 court pages. The missing two pages include the sealed judge’s order stating Becky’s remains were recovered in 1995.

2022 – Renewed Dig with TX EquuSearch

• Taylor reportedly led FBI & EquuSearch to a burial site in Angleton.
• Dig lasted 10 days, but yielded no confirmed remains.

2025 – New Evidence & Second Dig

• Feb 2025 – Logs confirm the shotgun entry from 1995.
• Sealed order revealed: Becky’s remains were recovered in 1995 and never disclosed.
• July 28–30, 2025 – New dig at a 2004 property.

Meanwhile, in December 2024, Det. Blankenship—connected to the case since the 1980s—was reassigned.

Nearly 40 years later, Becky’s case is still a maze of sealed files, missing evidence, and official silence. Her family deserves transparency. Her daughter deserves truth.

I’m in close contact with Becky’s sister Carol and her daughter Brittany. They want her story told, shared, and remembered.

They’ve launched a petition, and they need our help: Petition Link