Three students from Portland set out on a multi-day hike through Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon. Eric Stevens, 21, was studying geology at Portland State University. Jonathan Price, 22, was a biology student at the same university. Lisa Carter, 19, was a sophomore studying ecology. They planned to return in 5 days.
Eric knew the area better than anyone else. For the previous two summers, he had worked as an assistant on geological expeditions, studying the mineral composition of the soil in the area. The route passed through littleknown trails in the eastern part of the forest where tourists rarely ventured. The group planned to walk about 40 km, stopping for the night at predetermined points.
On the morning of July the 27th, Eric picked up his friends in his 1996 Cherokee SUV. Jonathan lived in a student dorm on Burn Street, and Lisa rented an apartment near the campus. They left at 6 in the morning. According to Lisa’s neighbor, Mary Wilson, she saw the girl getting into the car with a large hiking backpack.
The last refueling was recorded at a Shell gas station on Highway 26 at 8:20 a.m. Cashier David Rogers later identified Eric from a photograph. He bought energy bars, water, and a map of the area. Jonathan and Lisa remained in the car. After that, the group headed to the trail head near Trillium Lake. Eric’s car was found in the parking lot at the lake 3 days later.
The Jeep was locked with the keys under the front left wheel as agreed in advance. This was common practice among hikers so that other members of the group could get to the car if necessary. Inside the car, they found a road map with the route marked, an empty water bottle, and Lisa’s sunglasses. The trail started at the northeast shore of Trillium Lake.

The first 8 km passed through a dense spruce forest along a welltrodden path. Then the route turned east toward Hood River Canyon. Eric marked three points on the map for overnight stays. The first at Salmon Creek, the second in a clearing near a rockoutcrop, and the third at the foot of Defiance Mountain. When the friends did not return by August 1st, their parents sounded the alarm.
Eric’s mother, Carol Stevens, had been calling her son’s cell phone since July 29th, but there was no answer. Jonathan’s father, Robert Price, contacted the National Forest Ranger Service on the evening of August 1st. The official search began the next day. The search party consisted of 12 rangers and six volunteers from a local mountaineering club.
The operation was led by senior ranger Thomas McKenzie, who had 15 years of experience working in the forests of Oregon. The group was divided into three teams, each searching a specific section of the presumed road. They searched for the first overnight campsite near Salmon Creek.
They found the spot fairly quickly. On the bank of the creek, they saw a circle of stones for a campfire, several tin cans, and plastic grocery bags. Ranger James Wheeler found a white sock in the bushes 15 m from the camp which matched Lisa’s shoe size according to information from her parents. Traces of a second overnight stay were found in a clearing near a rocky outcrop a day later.
A fire had been built here as well and food scraps were scattered around. A piece of rope about a meter long hung from a tree. Apparently, it had been used to hang backpacks or food. The ground was trampled, indicating that someone had slept there. The third point was at the foot of Defiance Mountain. Getting there was more difficult.
The trail became narrower and steeper. The rangers spent a whole day covering this section. When they reached the presumed campsite, they found no traces of a camp. The search continued for a week. They surveyed an area with a radius of 10 km from the last known campsite. They used service dogs, which picked up the scent of the students belongings, but lost it on a rocky section of the slope.
A helicopter flew over the area twice a day, but dense vegetation severely limited visibility. On August 8th, a search dog named Rex found the remains of a tent in a ravine 2 km from Mount Defiance. The tent had been cut into several pieces. The blue fabric matched the description of the tent Eric had taken with him.

The pieces of fabric were scattered over an area of about 20 square meters. The cuts in the fabric were clean, made with a sharp instrument. Hood River County Police forensic expert Michael Davis later determined that the cuts could have been made with a hunting knife or other similar tool. No traces of blood were found on the fabric.
Jonathan’s backpack was found near the remains of the tent. The backpack had been torn open and its contents scattered. Among the items found were wet clothes, canned food, a camping stove, and Jonathan’s notebook with notes about the hike. The last entry was made on July 30th. Day three reached the rocks. Eric found some interesting rock samples.
Tomorrow, we’re going further east. Jonathan’s sleeping bag was found 15 m from his backpack. The bag had also been cut open, but not as badly as the tent. Inside they found a t-shirt and jeans which his parents identified as their son’s clothing. No other personal belongings of the students were found in the ravine.
The search became a criminal investigation. County police detective Sarah Thompson took charge of the case. She interviewed everyone who had seen the students before the trip and checked their financial transactions and communications. She found no signs of conflict or problems. The site where the remains of the camp were found was in a remote area.
It was more than 5 km from the nearest road through difficult terrain. The area was rarely visited by tourists due to the lack of marked trails and the difficult terrain. Ranger McKenzie noted that in 20 years of working in these areas, he had encountered people here no more than five times. In September, the search was called off.
Over 2 months they had searched an area of 50 square kilm. They enlisted volunteers, used thermal imaging cameras, and checked all the caves and crevices within a 10 km radius. The students bodies were not found. The case was transferred to the unsolved crimes archive. The parents did not stop searching on their own. Eric’s father, engineer Roger Stevens, went to the forest every weekend and surveyed new areas.
Lisa’s mother, Patricia Carter, organized a group of volunteers who continued the search until the onset of winter cold. Over the course of 10 years, the case was reviewed several times. No new witnesses came forward. Various theories were put forward. Accident, attack by a wild animal, encounter with drug dealers who used remote areas of the forest for their activities.
None of the theories were confirmed. On May 23rd, 2009, University of Oregon geologist Daniel Clark was conducting research on mineral deposits in the Hood River Canyon area. He was accompanied by graduate student Marcus Lawrence and technician Kevin O’ Conor. The group was studying the composition of rocks as part of a project to map the geological structures of the eastern part of Mount Hood National Forest.
The researchers were working in an area 7 km northeast of where the remains of the missing students camp had been found 10 years earlier. The terrain consisted of a system of shallow canyons and rock formations cut by numerous crevices and small caves. At about 2:00 in the afternoon, Marcus Lawrence descended into one of the crevices to collect rock samples.
The crevice was 12 m deep and widened into a small cave. Shining his flashlight on the cave walls, the graduate student noticed three objects that clearly did not belong to the geological formations. Human skulls were impaled on three wooden stakes driven into cracks in the rock wall.

The stakes were located about a meter and a half above the cave floor. The distance between them was approximately 1 m. All three skulls were turned toward the cave entrance as if looking at whoever entered. Lawrence immediately called his colleagues. Clark and Okconor descended into the cave and confirmed the discovery. The geologists did not touch the skulls, but immediately contacted the county police via satellite phone.
The scene was cordoned off and they waited for the investigation team to arrive. Hood River County Police Detective David Miller arrived at the scene 3 hours later, accompanied by medical examiner Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins and forensic photographer Steve Adams. Descending into the cave was technically difficult and required climbing equipment. Dr.
Hawkins conducted a preliminary examination of the skulls without removing them from the stakes. All three skulls belong to young people between the ages of 18 and 25. There were no visible signs of trauma or disease on the bones. The teeth were well preserved, which made identification possible.
The stakes were made of local wood, apparently oak or ash. Each stake was about 40 cm long. One end was sharpened for driving into rock crevices, and the skulls were impaled on the other end. The wood showed signs of having been worked with a metal tool, such as a knife or an axe. The photographer recorded the sight of the discovery from different angles.
The cave was irregular in shape, measuring approximately 4×6 m. The ceiling was low, no more than 2 m at its highest point. The floor was covered with a layer of dry leaves and small stones. Investigators found the remains of a fire pit on the cave floor. Coals and ashes lay in the center of a small depression lined with stones.
Judging by the condition of the ashes, the fire had been lit several times, but the last time was quite a long time ago, at least a year. Several items were found near the fire pit, a tin can without a label, a plastic water bottle, and a piece of rope about 30 cm long. The can had been opened with a can opener, and there were dried up food remains at the bottom.
The bottle belonged to a brand that was widely sold in Oregon stores. Detective Miller noted that access to the cave was extremely difficult. The crevice leading down was narrow and required certain rock climbing skills. A person without the appropriate experience and equipment would hardly be able to descend here on their own.

The skulls were carefully removed from the stakes and placed in special containers for transport to the laboratory. Dr. Hawkins noted that the bones had been thoroughly cleaned of soft tissue. The cleaning process required time and specific knowledge, either natural decomposition over several years, or artificial removal of tissue.
The stakes were also removed for examination. Experts had to determine the type of wood, the age of manufacturer, and any traces that could have been left by the tools used to make them. Wood samples were sent to the laboratory for more detailed analysis. A group of eight people surveyed the area around the cave.
They searched for any objects or traces that could be related to the discovery. Within a radius of 100 m from the entrance to the crevice, they found the remains of another campfire, several tin cans, and pieces of fabric of unknown origin. Samples for DNA analysis were taken from the teeth of all three skulls. The material was sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Quantico.
At the same time, dental records of the students who had disappeared 10 years ago were requested for comparison. The DNA analysis results came back 2 weeks later. All three skulls belong to the missing students, Eric Stevens, Jonathan Price, and Lisa Carter. The match was 100%. Dental records also confirmed the identification. Dr.
Hawkins conducted a detailed examination of the remains. A small crack was found on Eric’s skull in the area of the left temporal bone. The damage could have been caused by a blow with a blunt object or as a result of a fall. It was impossible to determine the exact cause of the crack. Jonathan’s skull had chips on two teeth.
The damage to the teeth could have occurred during his lifetime or after his death. No visible damage was found on Lisa’s skull. All three skulls showed signs of prolonged exposure to the natural environment. The investigation team returned to the materials from 10 years ago. Detective Miller studied all the witness statements, search team reports, and expert conclusions.
Particular attention was paid to the circumstances surrounding the discovery of Jonathan’s cutup tent and backpack. The site where the remains of the camp were found 10 years ago was 7 km from the cave with the skulls. Experts attempted to trace the possible routes the bodies could have taken from one point to another.
The direct route passed through extremely difficult terrain with elevation changes and rocky areas. Criminal investigator Adams drew attention to the way the skulls were placed in the cave. The stakes were driven into natural cracks in the rock at the same height with an accuracy of a few cm.

This required time, tools, and a certain amount of precision. The arrangement of the skulls was also not random. All three faced in the same direction toward the cave entrance. The distances between them were equal. This composition indicated the deliberate actions of the person who placed them there. Analysis of the wood of the stakes showed that they were made from local oak trees about a hundred years old.
The tree was cut down about a year before the discovery, judging by the condition of the wood and the tool marks. The stakes were cut with a sharp blade, most likely a large knife. at the county library. Detective Miller studied historical materials about the area. In the 19th century, the Vasco tribe of Native Americans lived here and used the caves for ritual purposes.
However, the last members of the tribe left these places in 1870. Dr. James Whitehorse, an ethnographer at Portland University, explained that the Vasco tribe had rituals involving the skulls of their enemies. But such rituals were performed in special places of power, not in random caves. Moreover, there were no modern representatives of this tribe left in Oregon.
The police checked all reported cases of missing persons in Oregon’s national forests over the past 15 years. A total of 23 cases were recorded, 18 of which were closed with the discovery of people alive or dead. Five cases remained unsolved. Of the five unsolved cases, three involved lone hikers who may have simply gotten lost and died of hypothermia or other natural causes.
Another case occurred in winter when searches were impossible due to snowfall. The fifth case was the disappearance of a family of four in 1997. The Coleman family disappeared in October 1997 while hiking in the woods near Mount Jefferson. Roger Coleman, his wife Cindy, and their two children, 15-year-old Brad and 12-year-old Emily, set out on a three-day hike and never returned.
Their car was found in a parking lot, but no traces of the family were found. Detective Miller contacted the detective who had led the case, Richard Black, who had since retired. Black said that the search for the Coleman family had lasted a month, but had yielded no results. What was particularly strange was the complete absence of any traces.
No remains of a camp, no belongings, not even broken branches on the trail. The geographical location of the Coleman’s disappearance was 80 km southeast of the cave with the skulls. The distance was considerable, but both areas belong to the same Cascade Mountain ecosystem with similar terrain and vegetation. Investigators decided to expand the search and check other caves within a 20 km radius of the discovery site.
The Portland Speliological Club provided maps of known caves and crevices in the area. It turned out that there were more than 40 such formations here. A group of 12 people, police officers, rangers, and volunteer speliologists began a systematic survey of the caves. During the first week, they checked 18 sites.

In most of the caves, they found nothing but traces of animals and random trash left by tourists. In one of the caves located 4 km west of the first find, human bones were discovered. It was a small cave about 8 m deep with a narrow entrance. Scattered bones lay on the floor, fragments of ribs, vertebrae, and bones from arms and legs. Dr.
Hawkins determined that the bones belonged to two adults and one teenager. The condition of the bones indicated that they had been in the cave for at least 10 years. The soft tissues had completely decomposed, but the bones were well preserved thanks to the dry climate of the cave. Remains of clothing were found near the bones, pieces of synthetic fabric, metal buttons, and a zipper from a jacket.
The buttons had the manufacturer’s label, which made it possible to determine that the clothing was made in the mid 1990s. DNA analysis of the bones took 3 weeks. The results showed that these were the remains of members of the Coleman family, Roger, Cindy, and their son Brad. The remains of 12-year-old Emily were not found in the cave.
The search for Emily Coleman continued with redoubled intensity. All the remaining caves in the area were checked, but no trace of the girl was found. Perhaps her remains were elsewhere, or she had fallen prey to wild animals. Analysis of the circumstances surrounding the death of the Coleman family did not yield any clear results.
There were no visible damage to the bones from weapons or tools. The cause of death could have been poisoning, suffocation, or other methods that leave no traces on the bones. The investigation team compiled a profile of the alleged perpetrator. The person had to be familiar with the area, physically fit to move around difficult terrain, and skilled at surviving in the woods.
Perhaps it was a hunter, a forester, or someone from the local community. All individuals with criminal records for violent crimes who lived within a 100 km radius of the discovery site were checked. The list included 37 people. Each was checked for involvement in the disappearances, but all the suspects had alibis. Special attention was paid to former military personnel and hunters.
Such people had the necessary skills to operate in forest terrain and could have known the location of the caves. However, no specific suspects were found among them. The theory involving representatives of Native American tribes was also not confirmed. Ethnographic experts explained that ritual killings were not characteristic of the tribes in this region.

In addition, all residents of the modern Vasco reservation were registered and had confirmed alibis. Detective Miller considered the possibility of the actions of a religious sect or cult. There were several radical religious groups active in Oregon in the 1990s just but their activities were concentrated in other areas of the state and they had no connection to Mount Hood National Forest.
An analysis of the time intervals revealed a certain pattern. The Coleman family disappeared in 1997 and the students in 1999. Less than two years passed between these events. Perhaps the perpetrator was active during this period and then ceased activity or left the area. The search for other victims continued for another 2 months.
The archives of missing persons over a 20-year period were checked. Several cases of disappearances in the forests of Oregon remained unsolved, but geographically they were scattered throughout the state, and it was not possible to link them to the findings in the caves. In November 2009, the case was officially suspended due to a lack of new leads.
During the six-month investigation, more than 200 people were interviewed, dozens of theories were tested, and all caves within a 30 km radius of the discovery site were searched. The parents of the victims received final confirmation of their children’s deaths. The remains were handed over to the families for burial. The students funerals were held in Portland and attended by several hundred people.
The Coleman family was buried in their hometown of Salem. The investigation materials were transferred to the archives of unsolved cases. Officially, the case remains open, but no active steps are being taken. Detective Miller acknowledged that without new facts or witnesses, it is virtually impossible to solve the crime. Local residents avoid the cave area.
Rangers noted that the number of tourists in this part of the forest has declined sharply since the discoveries were publicized. Some trails are virtually unused, although they remain open to visitors. Many theories have been put forward about the identity of the killer. Some believe that it was a serial maniac who chose his victims from among tourists.
Others suggested that it was the work of a mentally ill person living as a hermit in the forest. Still others spoke of ritual murders committed by members of a secret cult. None of the theories has been proven conclusively. The perpetrator, if he really existed, managed to cover all traces of his activities. Perhaps he left the area long ago or died, taking his secret with him.
The case of the students and the Coleman family has been listed among the most mysterious crimes in Oregon’s history. New theories and assumptions periodically emerge, but no concrete leads have been found. The caves in Mount Hood National Forest keep their secrets, and it is unlikely that they will ever be revealed.