In July of 1960, an Atlas E 548-5 Missile Silo opened and was operated by the Army’s 584th SMS, or Strategic Missile Squadron, that was based out of Topeka. Today, the silo has long been decommissioned and the concrete shell of the over $4million base is empty. I grew up 20 miles from the silo, and it was always a place of curiosity and danger. On The 16th of February in 2000, a high schooler, Scott Brown was killed in a vehicle beside his friends whilst trying to escape being shot at by Robert Cordary and his 13 year old daughter. The family owned a home near the silo and were trying to keep trespassers away. As I grew older, I still had a curious desire to go to that haunted silo and see just what was in it. The remnants of the magnificent structure are home to a large family of sparrows and turtles. While the silo has been flooded for many a year, the vision of what it used to be still humbly remains.
