Doctor Seth Hazlitt (William Windom) transports Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) in an all-terrain vehicle across the desert near Grand Cadera, in the first of two "MSW" episodes set in the State of New Mexico, this to join an Acheological excavation exhibition in search of artifacts presumed relics of Coronado's City of Gold.
This expedition is financed by Gideon Armstrong (Robert Vaughn) and wife, Cynthia Armstrong (Connie Stevens), who withstand scathing summer temperatures inside of their exclusive air conditioned trailer.
The excavation is directed by a team of university professors, Doctor Aubrey Benton (George Grizzard) and Doctor Stan Garfield (David Groh), and enacted by graduate students, Karen Parks (Cecile Callan) and Steve Gamble (Stephen Shortridge).
Raymond Two Crows (native name for) DeMarco (Randolph Mantooth) meets Seth and Jessica at the gate of this sequestered site, to escort them into the restricted exhibition zone.
By evening, when the gathering prepares for dinner within a seating area beneath a tarp, a voice is heard, as someone chants from the cliff above, attired in American Indian ceremonial garments, perceived by some within the expedition as a warning to leave the site undisturbed and to vacate the premises.
When the team begins to unearth seemingly precious artifacts intact and unblemished, Jessica begins to ponder their genuine abandonment, as she also investigates the location for a water source, which a civilization would naturally require to survive, as well as to figure how to reunite young love in the form of bickering graduate students.
In a cavern, Jessica discovers more evidence than that for which she has bargained, finding a shelf of relics near a stream of water.
That evening, once again, the mysterious stranger appears, causing someone in the Archeology party, who has been drinking, to raise a rifle, to ward off the intruder, but a body falls from the rocks in an apparent accidental shooting.
But when Jessica and company climb onto the ledge to investigate, Seth determines that the victim has perished with no sign of a bullet wound, but as a result of drowning.
While the company contends that Seth must be imagining things, Jessica probes further to theorize which events must have occurred to weave this complex puzzle, as "Murder Digs Deep."
The cast is rounded out by Robert Dryer as Guard #1, and Curtis Credel as (voice on reel machine).
This episode marks the most recent television credit to date for Curtis Credel, who has been acting since 1969, the first of two "MSW" guest roles each for Connie Stevens and Robert Dryer, the first of three "MSW" performances each for George Grizzard, David Groh and Robert Vaughn.
George Grizzard, acting on television and in film since 1955, and David Groh, acting since 1969, have unfortunately since passed.
This expedition is financed by Gideon Armstrong (Robert Vaughn) and wife, Cynthia Armstrong (Connie Stevens), who withstand scathing summer temperatures inside of their exclusive air conditioned trailer.
The excavation is directed by a team of university professors, Doctor Aubrey Benton (George Grizzard) and Doctor Stan Garfield (David Groh), and enacted by graduate students, Karen Parks (Cecile Callan) and Steve Gamble (Stephen Shortridge).
Raymond Two Crows (native name for) DeMarco (Randolph Mantooth) meets Seth and Jessica at the gate of this sequestered site, to escort them into the restricted exhibition zone.
By evening, when the gathering prepares for dinner within a seating area beneath a tarp, a voice is heard, as someone chants from the cliff above, attired in American Indian ceremonial garments, perceived by some within the expedition as a warning to leave the site undisturbed and to vacate the premises.
When the team begins to unearth seemingly precious artifacts intact and unblemished, Jessica begins to ponder their genuine abandonment, as she also investigates the location for a water source, which a civilization would naturally require to survive, as well as to figure how to reunite young love in the form of bickering graduate students.
In a cavern, Jessica discovers more evidence than that for which she has bargained, finding a shelf of relics near a stream of water.
That evening, once again, the mysterious stranger appears, causing someone in the Archeology party, who has been drinking, to raise a rifle, to ward off the intruder, but a body falls from the rocks in an apparent accidental shooting.
But when Jessica and company climb onto the ledge to investigate, Seth determines that the victim has perished with no sign of a bullet wound, but as a result of drowning.
While the company contends that Seth must be imagining things, Jessica probes further to theorize which events must have occurred to weave this complex puzzle, as "Murder Digs Deep."
The cast is rounded out by Robert Dryer as Guard #1, and Curtis Credel as (voice on reel machine).
This episode marks the most recent television credit to date for Curtis Credel, who has been acting since 1969, the first of two "MSW" guest roles each for Connie Stevens and Robert Dryer, the first of three "MSW" performances each for George Grizzard, David Groh and Robert Vaughn.
George Grizzard, acting on television and in film since 1955, and David Groh, acting since 1969, have unfortunately since passed.
