News

Three strangers who literally dropped out of the air at one Donley County couple’s home recently ended up staying two days and becoming good friends.

Bill and Betty Ann Sansing had been to a funeral Sunday afternoon, January 9, when they returned to their ranch home north of Clarendon. As they drove up to the house, they came upon a site they never would have expected – a helicopter had landed by their barn.

“We didn’t know what to think,” Betty Ann Sansing recalled. “We just wondered, ‘Is this for real?’”

Just minutes earlier, Robert Myers, along with his father, Jack, and his son, Haden, had been flying in the four-seat Robertson R44 helicopter, going home to Skiatook, northwest of Tulsa, Okla., after visiting relatives in Clovis, New Mexico.

“We thought we could make it to Watonga (Okla.), but we ran into fog,” Robert said.
With no windshield wipers and facing freezing precipitation, Myers sat the copter down on what he would later find out was the southern part of the Sansings’ land.

“We just gathered hands and prayed for God to get us somewhere safe,” Robert said.

It was a prayer that was answered when they lifted off and flew just a little ways before they saw the Sansing’s barn. Robert landed again, and they noticed the ranch house several yards away. He went to the door, but no one was home. But within just a few minutes of his returning to the helicopter, the bewildered Sansings drove up.

“He came to the car and told us their situation,” Betty Ann said, “so we invited them inside so we could call the weather radar up on the computer.”
The flying conditions showed no signs of improving, so the Sansings allowed the Myers family to stow the helicopter in their barn and then put them up in a guest room with two king beds.

“We knew right away they were good folks,” Betty Ann said. “We didn’t have any hesitation to let them stay.”

“They took us in just like we were family,” Jack Myers said. “We helped [Bill] feed his cattle, and then helped him break ice the next day.”

Monday morning they checked the weather again. It was clear locally, but they would run into precipitation again before they could get home, so it was decided they would stay another night.

“Mondays are usually pretty quiet and boring around our house,” Betty Ann said. “But that day the time flew by.”

The families discovered they had a lot in common, and they spent the day visiting and learning more about each other. Robert had been in contact with friends back home, and at one point a deacon from his church sent him a text message: “There is a heavenly host watching over you.” Certainly, the Myers family thought their earthly hosts were heaven sent.

By the time the Myers men lifted off last Tuesday morning, it was apparent that the Sansings had adopted some new members into their family.

“We’re expecting a visit this spring,” said Betty Ann, and Robert agreed that was definitely going to happen.

“I’m going to come back and bring my whole family,” he said before his crew boarded their helicopter, took off to the south, banked back to the northeast, and flew over their new friends’ home on their way back to Oklahoma.

An airplane piloted by Clarendon City Administrator Lambert Little crash landed about one mile east of the Smiley Johnson Municipal Airport Sunday night, January 16.

Little, age 54, survived the crash and was extricated from his 1959 Cessna fixed wing single engine plane by the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department. He was transported by Associated Ambulance Authority to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo where he was in stable condition. The Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol reported that Little was being treated for an apparent broken leg.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his office was contacted at 10:10 p.m. by the Lockhead-Martin Flight Center and asked to check the airport for Little’s overdue plane. The area was experiencing dense fog at the time, and visibility was down to about 50 yards, the sheriff said.

Deputies found no plane at the airport, and Little’s personal vehicle was still in his hanger. The Federal Aviation Administration was contacted along with cell phone companies, and it was discovered that Little’s cell phone was pinging off a tower northeast of Clarendon near FM 1260.
The sheriff’s office had neighboring counties check their airports and requested the Department of Public Safety in Amarillo and Donley County Commissioner Andy Wheatly bring their helicopters to assist with a search as soon as the fog lifted.

The Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was notified of the overdue aircraft by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) at approximately 12:30 a.m.  Incident Commander, LtCol Rick Woolfolk said a ground team from Amarillo led by Major James Dabney, arrived in the area of the Smiley Johnson Airport at about 5:30 a.m. 

At about 7:57 Monday morning, Donley County resident Daniel Ford discovered the wreckage of Little’s plane about 30 yards off County Road T and notified authorities.

Emergency personnel found the plane had flipped on its top, but Little was conscious and alert and in good spirits.

Rescuers also were able to find the small blind dog that had accompanied the pilot on the flight and took him to a shelter until a caretaker could arrive.

Robert Monroe Babcock, 38, remained in the Donley County Jail as the Enterprise went to press Tuesday, charged with Capital Murder and Domestic Violence in the death of Chance Mark Jones. Total bond was set at $1.1 million by Justice of the Peace Connie Havens. 

Investigators are calling this the worst case they have ever worked; and if convicted, Babcock could face the death penalty, but District Attorney Luke Inman says his office will not decide whether to pursue capital punishment until the investigation is complete. 

“This young, defenseless child suffered a horrific death and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Chance,” Inman said in a statement released by the Department of Public Safety. 

What Happened
The case began when the Donley County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from Babcock last Tuesday, January 4, at 9:40 a.m. reporting that his son was injured at his residence southeast of Clarendon. 

“I was the first in the house,” Sheriff Butch Blackburn said. “Babcock was performing CPR when I walked in. The boy was unresponsive, and it was very evident that the kid had been assaulted. He had injuries to his head and torso.” 

Blackburn said the father was “calm” as emergency personnel arrived. As EMS members went to work on the boy, Chief Deputy Randy Bond watched Babcock and the sheriff called the district attorney. 

Jones was rushed to the Associated Ambulance Authority Building from where he was then transported to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo by a LifeStar helicopter. 

In the meantime, Bond secured the crime scene, and Blackburn took Babcock to the sheriff’s office to be interviewed and later charged him with Domestic Violence / Injury to a Child.
Jones died the next morning, January 5, at 6:42, and Blackburn obtained a capital murder warrant for Babcock, who was formally charged later that evening. 

Preliminary results of an autopsy conducted last Thursday revealed that boy died from blunt force trauma to the head and that he also suffered internal injuries from trauma to the torso, Blackburn said. 

Terrible Abuse
Sheriff Blackburn told the Enterprise he has been in law enforcement for 30 years and has never seen a case this bad. 

“I have worked child abuse and sexual assault cases that have been bad, real bad, but this is the worst we’ve ever handled.” 

Texas Ranger Jamie Downs, who is assisting the sheriff’s office with the investigation, agreed with Blackburn. Downs said in his 19 years of experience he has worked several child abuse cases but none this bad. The ranger said he had a similar case in Dalhart in 1996 where the boyfriend of a child’s mother beat a three-year-old to death, but even that was not as bad as the current case. 

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen,” Downs said. “I think just the fact for me that this was his daddy and how long the abuse went on.” 

Jones had only been living with Babcock for a few weeks before Blackburn believes the father began abusing the boy on December 24 and “continued on and off until Tuesday morning,” January 4. 

Troubled Past
For most of Jones’ life, Babcock did not know he had a son. Blackburn says his investigation reveals a paternity test confirmed Babcock as the biological father last July. Posts by Babcock on Facebook indicate he found out about his son in September, the same month that Child Protective Services (CPS) says a court gave Babcock joint custody of the boy. 

On November 9, 2010, CPS received a report of alleged abuse/neglect by Chance Jones’ mother, Nancy Brown of Lubbock. CPS spokesman Paul Zimmerman said he could not reveal who made the report or the nature of the alleged abuse. 

“We’re still working an open case with the mother,” Zimmerman told the Enterprise this week. 

“We’re finishing that investigation and about to begin transferring the case to the next phase where we refer the mother to services that she needs.” 

Jones has a two-year-old sister, and Zimmerman said her safety is now his agency’s primary concern. 

On November 17, CPS records say a family team meeting was held and attended by Babcock and Brown as well as other relatives and CPS workers. At that meeting Brown requested that Jones and his sister be temporarily placed with their biological fathers. 

Zimmerman said a background check was run on Babcock and he was put through an extensive interview. 

“We found no reason to object to the placement,” Zimmerman said. 

A brain injury that Babcock suffered in a 1993 car wreck never came up during this time, Zimmerman said. 

In a Facebook posting on November 28, Babcock said he was going to get temporary custody of Jones the following week, and a post on December 5 indicates that the boy was living with him at that time. 

In a press release, CPS says Jones’ placement with Babcock was not ordered by the state but was rather an agreement between the parents. The agency says it learned Jones was living with Babcock on December 13, and that prior to that time, there were a series of joint visits by Jones and family members at Babcock’s home. 

Jones’ next interaction with CPS came on December 21, the release says, when the boy and his father were interviewed by The Bridge – Children’s Advocacy Center. Authorities will not reveal the details of that interview or the reason for it, but they say there were no signs of physical abuse against Jones at that time and no outcries from the boy. 

On December 23, Blackburn says the boy was seen by a medical professional in Amarillo for a cold and an eye infection, and again no signs of abuse were observed. 

CPS officials also note that while Jones was in Babcock’s custody, he “was in daycare, seen by babysitters, seen by his grandparents…” and there were no reports of abuse or neglect. 

The Next Steps
Babcock applied last week for a court-appointed attorney, and a hearing in district court was held in Panhandle on that issue Friday morning. 

“The defendant’s application for a court-appointed attorney was denied by Judge [Stuart] Messer due to the amount of real property owned by the defendant in Donley County that he included on the application,” Inman said. “He can re-apply anytime in the future for a court-appointed attorney.” 

Capital felony cases can become very costly to try, and Inman’s office is making application to the state for a grant to help with that expense. 

“There are special funds available to counties with population fewer than 50,000 for the investigation and prosecution of offenses under Texas Penal Code 19.03, capital murder. This grant is called the County Essentials Grant,” Inman said. 

The district attorney said Babcock’s case would be presented to the grand jury after the final investigative reports are received by his office and the DA’s further investigation is conducted and complete. 

Texas Rangers Jay Foster of Childress and Downs of Amarillo have been assisting the sheriff’s office with the case, and Downs says the investigation is progressing smoothly. 

“The preliminary work done by Sheriff Blackburn’s office set things in motion, and the investigation is going really good,” Downs said. “They are doing an outstanding job.” 

Blackburn said his office is fortunate to have two experienced rangers helping with the case. 

“They have the expertise and equipment that we will never have,” the sheriff said.
Jones’ burial

Funeral services for Chance Mark Jones were held Monday at Victory Life Baptist Church in Lubbock. 

Jones, who liked big trucks and riding tractors, was born on April 11, 2006, and was described as an amazing little boy who was loved much and will be missed deeply. 

He is survived by his mother, Nancy Brown, his father figure, Cody Jones; one brother, Clayton James Brown, one sister Natalie N. Jones; maternal grandparents Debbie and Mike Carter; paternal grandmother Gayle Edes; maternal great-grandmother Wynema Pewiutt; several aunts, uncles and cousins along with the extended Jones and Brown Families. He is also survived by Nanny and Paw Paw and Neena. 

Memorials may be sent to the Chance Mark Jones Memorial Fund at Citizens Bank.