Arizona ghost hunter travels: Ghost girl at the Carlsbad NM police department

November 4, 10:37 AMArizona Haunted Sites ExaminerDebe Branning

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Carlsbad, New Mexico is not known to be a city with a lot of documented paranormal activity. I had to really dig to even find any rumored haunted locations. I finally came across an informal blog where the contributors mentioned a few ghostly sites hidden away in town. The one place that kept popping up in the local blog was the Carlsbad Police Department—which was formerly the old Saint Francis Hospital.  

We decided to pay a visit to the police department during our stay in Carlsbad. We buzzed into the dispatch office under the guise of travel writer journalists—which we were—and was told to take the elevator to the third floor and speak to the officer in charge.

He thought carefully for a moment. At first he claimed he had no tales to tell. But, just like in most cases, he suddenly remembered some of the stories the staff have reported about the haunted headquarters and poured his guts out to us.  The officer (the names have been withheld to protect the innocent) told us he dreaded the graveyard shift, especially when he was left alone in the huge building. He had heard of encounters with a ghostly little girl on the second and third floors and near the former burn unit. This made him afraid to ride the elevator alone, and feared someone might hop on board with him. 

The officer did have an interesting ghost story about the old Carlsbad Cemetery and the mysterious mist he encountered in the graveyard while doing an intruder search late one night. He also knew about rumored ghosts in the old Pat Garrett homestead down the street. We could see through our simple interrogation, he knew more than he thought he did about ghosts.

He thought for another minute and promised he would have one of the officers on the afternoon beat give me a call when he came on duty. This second officer had seen the ghost. My eyes widened with delight as this nothing story was turning into quite the sci fi adventure. Later that afternoon, the second officer called me back. I asked him to please wait at the station and we would dash over and meet with him immediately. He met us in the rear parking lot near the loading ramp entrance. I could tell he was anxious to share his eerie tales of the paranormal with us.

It seemed that both he and his brother—also on the force—were quite intuitive and shared the same psychic abilities. Both gentlemen have had encounters with the young ghost girl. The officer was in a room typing up reports when he suddenly felt a presence in the room. He kept on typing and felt a strong heavy feeling. He noticed the room temperature had changed. The third time he looked up and saw a big dark shadow on the wall which immediately made him exit the room.

The officer ushered us into the building and took us down to the dismal basement. The current booking area and holding cells are adjacent to the former hospital morgue. We immediately became nauseous and felt a weird energy in the confined area. He walked us near to where the “cold case files” were kept in a dark dreary corner. I wondered if the little ghost girl was one of the unsolved cases and had came to seek help from the friendly officers.  

He explained that his brother had seen the little girl in the basement area. The officers had been collecting toys for a holiday charity drive and his brother was adding items to the donation box. He looked over to see a young girl in a hospital patient gown with long black hair gazing at the wonderful array of toys. Other officers in the building have heard a young child’s voice coming through the dispatch radio whimpering a cry for help.  Another officer heard the girl say hi as she visited the soda machine on the second floor. Others have heard whispering or their name called out. Nobody is sure who the young girl might be. 

The officer escorted us out of the police headquarters and to the parking lot near our car. We shook his hand and were confident that some day he would learn the identity of the ghost girl.  We ran into our police officer buddies from time to time during our stay in Carlsbad. We came to appreciate their dedication to this fine city. I salute these officers in blue for protecting the citizens of Carlsbad—whether they are alive and well, or a ghostly child with an unknown mysterious past.

Debe’s note: The Carlsbad Police Department building is a secured working enforcement agency location. Public access and ghost investigations may not be permitted on the property. 

Enjoy reading about Haunted Carlsbad? See my other ghostly Carlsbad adventures:
The Cavern Theatre in Carlsbad NM
The Trinity Hotel and vineyard spirits
Unexplained events aboard the George Washington paddle wheel boat
Carlsbad Cemetery Mists