The Texas Department of Public Safety kept the news media approximately 10 miles from the standoff. With the exception of a few heavily escorted excursions to the command post, much of coverage was a bit on the dry side. One bright exception was McLaren’s raving on an amateur radio. Our photographer, Steve Coppin, identified some of the frequencies McLaren and his followers were known to use. Unfortunately for those of us stuck in Uplink City, we were too far away to pick up any radio traffic directly from the compound. On a hunch, Steve sought out a high place in the Davis Mountains and let his scanner do its work. As a result, the now infamous, “Mayday, mayday, mayday” sound bites were broadcast all over the world. There are four sound bites from the McLaren collection in wave format on this page. Click on a radio to hear what McLaren had to say during the standoff. |
