Interview with Texas Ranger Steven Rayburn
After securing the Keyes footage from Texas, we reached out to retired Texas Ranger Steven Rayburn to try and arrange an interview for you.
Steve was kind enough to talk to us via text message; the conversation you are about to read was the result. At some point, we hope to have him join us for an audio interview.
We have done our best to edit this only very lightly; apparently after Mr. Rayburn was interviewed by Maureen Callahan for American Predator “she still got a couple of things wrong,” which turned him off of media interviews.
I like her… she was very nice. Just wish I could have proofread the Lufkin chapter for accuracy.
Although he calls her nice, and also told us that she did solid work, we couldn’t help but notice that he was disrespected by how she described him later; there is no call for a professional researcher to insult a man’s hat - or his professionalism - even accidentally, through ignorance.
I didn’t like the way Callahan described me wearing a “ten gallon hat” when I met APD detectives in Beaumont. I think she said I wore starched jeans, too.
We’ve done our best to fix this disservice, and we have attempted not to take any quotes wildly out of context. As we strive for both accuracy and transparency, we will disclose that we have edited our conversation for readability.
That means some texts have been consolidated together because they were part of the same stream of thought, and others have been moved up or down in sequence slightly for better narrative flow.
We have also edited out some friendly getting to know each other type messages and typos, and inserted some editors notes in brackets [like so].
Aside from these liberties we took to give you a good reading experience, we believe the interview below to be the unvarnished truth.
Steve: Hey Parker and Viktoria. This is Steve. I hope it’s not too late to text. I appreciate y’alls kind words in your email. I watched the 3 videos [of Keyes being arrested and interrogated by the Rangers]. I had not seen or heard them since 2012. So it was really something.
Hi Steve, I’m usually up late, so no worries. We appreciate you getting back to us. I’m sure it was wild seeing the videos after so long.
Just wanted to text y’all in private first [before a theoretical audio interview]. I’ve only done one interview years ago for American Predator. She still got a couple of things wrong. So I try to be careful. Turned down a whole lot of requests since…
Spoke to Callahan prior to retiring so I had to get permission from the Ranger Chief first. No permission needed now. Another retired Ranger friend of mine encouraged me to reach out to you.
Oh yeah, Maureen Callahan’s book. I heard they’re making it into a TV series or movie.
I saw that. Guy that wrote the Shield is converting it into a mini-series. I didn’t even read the whole book; just the part concerning my involvement.
While I am interested in true crime, I like the law enforcement side of things and the psychology. A lot of movies really turn these killers into mythological characters and they don’t deserve it.
Been reading comments from others on your posts. Some are flattering and others are nuts.
There are a lot of crazy and rude trolls out there.
Saw another guy posted your video [the Keyes arrest footage] and failed to acknowledge y’all. Comments on that one was similar to y’alls [video].
Yeah, his body language analysis was also the opposite of what was written in your report. I thought that was par for the course.
So, shoot me some questions. If I don’t do the podcast, at least you will have some things straight concerning the capture. My answers won’t change either way; it’s the truth.
If you decide not to do the podcast, are we okay to publish your answers in an article?
Yes, just don’t post the texts themselves.
No problem. Where are you from?
I was raised in Winnie, Texas with one older brother. My mom was 7th grade Texas history teacher. My brother and I worked at my Dad’s lumber yard. I moved to Lufkin to attend Angelina College and fell in love with my wife at the Pizza Hut where we both worked.
How old were you when you met your wife? And what did you study in college?
I majored in criminal justice [at Angelina College]… finished my bachelors at the Stephen F. Austin State University at 28 in 1997 with a BAAS in Law Enforcement and Public Administration.
So you always wanted to go into law enforcement?
I was hired by the Lufkin Police Department (LPD) at the tender age of 21 in 1990. I still looked 17 at the time. Spent my last 3 years at LPD as a School Resource Officer at Lufkin HS.
I read that you made the jump to Highway Patrol. Why the change?
All Rangers start out in the Highway Patrol. The last Ranger that was appointed outside of DPS (the Department of Public Safety) was the Austin PD Officer who stopped the UT tower shooting in the 1960s.
I had not aspired to be a Ranger until I was encouraged to compete for the job by Ranger Captain Tony Leal; he later became Ranger Chief. I didn’t make Ranger the first time I applied; I did make it on the second attempt.
Was being a Texas Ranger one of your career goals?
I actually accepted a pay cut to be [a Sergeant] in the Ranger Division. I was a Lieutenant in the Highway Patrol Division at the time. Both are divisions of DPS but Sergeants make less than Lieutenants.
Oh wow, so it was really something you wanted to do. Regarding Keyes, at what point did you realize that Cpl. Henry had stopped the right guy?
Keyes. So much to say. It was divine intervention. Let me ask first, where did you get that video? FOIA? Who released it?