[Editor’s note: The State Department FOIA release of 1981 withheld all names associated with Peoples Temple from this cable. They are denoted in red type.
[The text for this document was released in 2014 by the now-defunct Wikileaks website at https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1978KINGST09380_d.html. This URL may be available through the Wayback Machine.]
UNCLASSIFIED
PAGE 01
KINGST 09380 222157Z
ACTION SCS-06
INFO OCT-01 ARA-15 ISO-00 PC-05 SSO-00 PA-02 CA-01 INR-10 INRE-00 SY-05 SYE-00 USSS-00 H-02 SS-15 NSCE-00 /062 W
——————023036 222238Z /75
O R 222149Z NOV 78
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO AMEMBASSY CARACAS IMMEDIATE
INFO SECSTATE WASHDC 4547
UNCLAS KINGSTON 9380
E.O. 11652: NA
TAGS: CASC
SUBJECT: PEOPLE’S TEMPLE MURDERS
PEACE CORPS DIRECTOR HERE, DON GALLOWAY, AND HIS SON KEVIN ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE FATE OF GALLOWAY’S EX-MOTHER-IN LAW AND KEVIN’S GRANDMOTHER. MRS. ESSIE MAE TOWNS. MRS. TOWNS IS MEMBER OF PEOPLE’S TEMPLE SECT AND RESIDED WITH OTHER SECT MEMBERS IN GUYANA. POSSIBLY SHE IS WITH GROUP THAT ESCAPED ON WAY TO VENEZUELAN BORDER. ANY INFORMATION EMBASSY CAN PROVIDE WILL BE APPRECIATED.
HAVERKAMP [Roy T. Haverkamp, U.S. Ambassador]
UNCLASSIFIED
NNN