03/10/93
Cryptic sign at compound asks for help; FBI negotiators unable
to explain members' plea By David McLemore / The Dallas Morning
News WACO-After nine days of staring through heat waves dancing up
from the fields surrounding the Branch Davidian compound, reporters
couldn't believe their eyes Tuesday. Shortly after 4 p.m., a
banner approximately 4 by 8 feet fluttered out of the compound
watchtower. It was the first sign of life in the compound since the
bloody shootout with federal agents Feb. 28. Photographers and TV
camera crews rushed to get film of the action, while reporters with
powerful binoculars passed word to others gathered nearby that written
in simple block letters was: "God help us. We want the press.'
About 2 _ hours after it went up, the sign was taken down. No one,
including FBI officials at the negotiating headquarters near the
compound, could explain what it meant. Earlier in the day, an even
more cryptic message was displayed from the same window when a single
white sheet was hung out into the wind, and after about 45 minutes it
disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Dallas radio station KGBS
(1190 AM) told listeners that it had asked cult leader David Koresh on
the air to display a white banner if he wished to communicate with
them.
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