Cowden family murders

Last updated
Cowden family murders
Belinda and Richard Cowden.jpg
Belinda and Richard Cowden
Datec. September 1, 1974
Location Copper, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates 42°01′32″N123°08′39″W / 42.0256°N 123.1442°W / 42.0256; -123.1442
TypeMurder
OutcomeFound deceased April 12, 1975; murders unsolved
DeathsRichard Cowden (28)
Belinda Cowden (22)
David James Phillips (5)
Melissa Dawn Cowden (5 mos.)
SuspectsDwain Lee Little

Richard Cowden (born October 9, 1946), his wife Belinda June Cowden (born May 24, 1952), and their children, David James Phillips (born June 30, 1969) and Melissa Dawn Cowden (born March 19, 1974), disappeared from their campground in the Siskiyou Mountains near Copper, Oregon, United States, on September 1, 1974. [1] [2] Seven months later, in April 1975, their bodies were discovered approximately 7 miles (11 km) from their campsite. While law enforcement has suspected convicted killer Dwain Lee Little in their murders, their case remains unsolved.

Contents

The family's disappearance resulted in one of the largest search efforts in Oregon history, [3] and their murders have been described as one of the state's most "haunting and baffling" mysteries. [1] The case received nationwide attention at the time of its occurrence, and their murders have been profiled in numerous national media such as the New York Post and others. The murders were also the subject of a chapter in the book But I Trusted You (2009) by crime writer Ann Rule.

Background

Richard Cowden (age 28), his wife Belinda (age 22), and their children David (age 5) and Melissa (age 5 months) were residents of White City, Oregon. [4] Richard supported the family working as a logging truck driver. [4]

The Cowden family made last-minute plans to camp near Carberry Creek in Copper, Oregon, over the Labor Day weekend, 1974. [5] On August 30, the family, along with their pet Basset Hound, Droopy, arrived at a campground near the creek, an area they had frequented in the past. They parked their 1956 Ford pickup truck on Carberry Creek Road, a short distance from the campsite. [4]

Disappearance

September 1, 1974

On September 1, 1974, Richard Cowden and his son, David, arrived at the Copper General Store at approximately 9:00 am, where Richard purchased milk. [1] The two left the store on foot, heading towards their campsite. This was the last sighting of any of the Cowden family. [1]

Later that evening, Belinda's mother, who lived less than 1 mile (1.6 km) from the campground, was expecting the family to come over for dinner on their way home. [6] When they failed to arrive, she went to their campsite near the creek, but found nobody there; the family's belongings, however, were all present: [7] A plastic dishpan full of cold water lay on the ground, while the keys to the family's truck as well as Belinda's purse were in plain sight on a picnic table. [8] A diaper bag as well as the camp stove, fully assembled, were also in plain view, [9] and the carton of milk Richard had purchased earlier that morning sat on the table, half-full. [7]

Unable to locate her daughter, son-in-law, or grandchildren, Belinda's mother panicked when she noticed several items belonging to Richard lying on the ground: These included an expensive wristwatch as well as his wallet, which contained $21 (equivalent to $130in 2023); she also found an opened pack of cigarettes, which she identified as being the brand Belinda was known to smoke. [10] The family's truck, which was parked on the road, still contained their clothing, with only their bathing suits missing. [10]

Belinda's mother left the campground to notify police, after which the sheriff, troopers, and the District 3 Office of the Oregon State Police arrived at the scene. [11] Lieutenant Mark Kezar who headed the case later stated that the investigation had been "delayed for maybe a day" because of the lack of indication that anything violent may have occurred at the campsite. [3] A state trooper, Officer Erickson, recalled: "That camp was spooky; even the milk was still on the table." [12]

The following morning, the Cowdens' pet Basset Hound, Droopy, was found scratching at the front door of the Copper General Store. [13]

Search efforts

The search investigation for the Cowden family was one of the largest in Oregon history, [3] and included assistance from state and local police, numerous volunteers, Explorer Scouts, the United States Forest Service, and the Oregon National Guard. [3] The U.S. Forest Service searched 25 miles (40 km) of roads and trails surrounding the campsite, and helicopters and planes were flown over the area equipped with infrared photography, which would detect recently overturned dirt. [14] Despite massive search efforts, law enforcement was unable to find any evidence of a crime. [15]

The Oregon State Police and Jackson County Police conducted interviews with over 150 individuals in their early investigation into the family's disappearance. [16] A $2,000 reward (equivalent to $12,356in 2023) was offered in exchange for information regarding the family's disappearance. [17] With the impending hunting season, Richard Cowden's sister wrote a letter to the Medford Mail Tribune, pleading that hunters be alert to "anything that could be connected to a man, woman, a five-year-old child, or a five-month-old baby. Even though we try not to let our hopes dwindle that they will be found alive, we ask that you will even check freshly turned piles of earth. We will truly appreciate any clue or help that some hunter may find." [17]

Over two-hundred citizens wrote to then-Oregon senator Mark Hatfield requesting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation begin looking at the case. [18] The petition, however, was denied on the grounds that there was "no evidence that the Cowdens had been kidnapped or taken across state lines." [17] At the time, there were a total of eight reported missing women in Washington and Oregon, and law enforcement attempted to seek a connection between these disappearances and that of the Cowdens (the disappearances of these eight women, however, were later linked to serial killer Ted Bundy). [17]

Discovery of bodies

On April 12, 1975, two gold prospectors from Forest Grove, Oregon, [19] were hiking through the woods near Carberry Creek when they discovered the decomposing body of an adult male tied to a tree on a steep hillside. [20] [21] In a small cave nearby, the bodies of an adult female, a child, and an infant were discovered. [22] Positive identification of the bodies as those of the Cowden family was made via dental records. [23] The location where the bodies were discovered was approximately 7 miles (11 km) from the family's campsite. [a]

Autopsies revealed that Belinda and David had died as a result of .22 caliber gunshot wounds; [25] five-month-old Melissa had died from severe head trauma. [23] Law enforcement suspected Richard Cowden died at the site of where his body was found, but were unable to determine a cause of death. [23] It was surmised by investigators that Belinda and their two children could have potentially been killed elsewhere and subsequently concealed in the cave. [1] Law enforcement searched the surrounding area for a murder weapon, but were unable to recover one. [22]

Investigation

Interviews were conducted with numerous persons who were at the campground on September 1. [20] One family from Los Angeles had arrived at the campground at 5 pm that day. [26] While walking in the park that evening, they witnessed two men and a woman parking nearby in a pickup truck; the father recalled: "They acted like they were waiting for us to leave, and frankly, they made us nervous—so we moved on." [26]

Based on the location of Belinda's and the children's bodies inside the cave, Lieutenant Kezar suspected that the person responsible was a local resident who knew the area and was aware of the cave location. [20] After the family's remains were recovered, a resident of Grants Pass who had volunteered in the search told police that in September he had searched the cave where Belinda and the children's bodies were found, and that they were not there at that time. [20] To confirm he was referring to the same cave, law enforcement had the man escort them to the cave he had searched; it was the same cave where the bodies had been discovered. [26]

Suspects

Dwain Lee Little

Law enforcement considered Dwain Lee Little of Ruch, who was 25 at the time of the family's disappearance, a suspect in their murders. [27] Little had been paroled from the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on May 24, 1974, three months before the disappearance of the Cowens. [28] At 16, in 1964, he had raped and murdered teenager Orla Fay Fipps. [29] [30] State police were able to determine that Little had been in Copper over the Labor Day weekend at the approximate time the Cowden family disappeared. [31]

Little's girlfriend told law enforcement that she had seen him with a .22 caliber gun during Christmastime 1974; on January 12, 1975, his parole was revoked after she informed police of his possession of a firearm. [32] Little was paroled again on April 26, 1977. [33] On June 2, 1980, Little picked up a pregnant 23-year-old named Margie Hunter, whose car had broken down near Portland, Oregon, and sexually assaulted and beat her. [34] Hunter and her unborn child survived, and Little was charged and convicted of attempted homicide and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences. [35]

Police later suspected that the two men and woman in a truck reported by the Los Angeles family at the campground were in fact Little and his parents, as their truck matched the description provided by the family. [36] Little and his parents denied any knowledge of the Cowdens' disappearances; however, a miner who owned a cabin nearby claimed that Little and his parents had stopped by on Monday, September 2, 1974, and signed a guestbook he kept for visitors. [36]

Rusty Kelly, an inmate who at one time shared a cell with Little, later claimed that Little confessed to the Cowdens' murders. [37] Despite the "voluminous" circumstantial evidence, Little has never been charged with the murders of the Cowden family. [38]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The New York Post erroneously reported that the family was found 100 feet (30 m) from their campsite, [24] which contradicts the research and records presented in Ann Rule's But I Trusted You (2009; ISBN   978-1-439-16054-1).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Bundy</span> American serial killer (1946–1989)

Theodore Robert Bundy was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped, and murdered dozens of young women and girls during the 1970s. After more than a decade of denials, he confessed to 30 murders. The total number of his victims is likely to be higher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randall Woodfield</span> American serial killer and rapist

Randall Brent Woodfield is an American serial killer, serial rapist, kidnapper, robber, burglar and former football player who was dubbed the I-5 Killer or the I-5 Bandit by the media due to the crimes he committed along the Interstate 5 corridor running through Washington, Oregon and California. Before his capture, Woodfield was suspected of multiple sexual assaults and murders. Though convicted in only one murder, he has been linked to a total of 18 murders and is suspected of having killed up to as many as 44 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Kuklinski</span> American criminal (1935–2006)

Richard Leonard Kuklinski, also known as the Iceman, was an American criminal and a convicted murderer. He was engaged in criminal activities for most of his adult life; he ran a burglary ring and distributed pirated pornography. Kuklinski committed at least five murders between 1980 and 1984. Prosecutors described him as killing for profit. He was nicknamed the "Iceman" by authorities after they discovered that he had frozen the body of one of his victims in an attempt to disguise the time of death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Helle Crafts</span> Danish flight attendant murdered by her husband, airline pilot Richard Crafts

Helle Crafts was a Danish flight attendant who was murdered by her husband, Eastern Air Lines pilot Richard Crafts. Her death led to the state of Connecticut's first murder conviction without the victim's body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Lava Lake</span>

Little Lava Lake lies in the Cascade Range about 26 miles (42 km) west-southwest of Bend in the U.S. state of Oregon. A close neighbor of Lava Lake, from which it is separated by solidified lava, Little Lava Lake is at an elevation of 4,744 feet (1,446 m) in the Deschutes National Forest. Generally considered the source of the Deschutes River, the lake covers 138 acres (56 ha) to an average depth of 8 feet (2.4 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Susan Powell</span> Missing American woman (born 1981)

Susan Marie Powell is an American missing person from West Valley City, Utah, whose disappearance in December 2009 and the subsequent investigation garnered national media attention. Her husband, Joshua Powell, was named by law enforcement a person of interest in her disappearance but was never charged. Joshua killed himself and the couple's two young sons in February 2012 after custody of the boys had been given to Susan's parents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Kyron Horman</span> Unsolved 2010 disappearance of an American boy

Kyron Richard Horman is an American boy who disappeared from Skyline Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, on June 4, 2010, after attending a science fair. Local and state police, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), conducted an exhaustive search and launched a criminal investigation, but have not uncovered any significant information regarding the child's whereabouts. Horman's disappearance sparked the largest criminal investigation in Oregon history. To this day, his whereabouts remain unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Brianna Maitland</span> Unsolved 2004 disappearance of 17-year-old from Vermont

Brianna Alexandra Maitland is an American missing person who disappeared at the age of 17 after leaving her job at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont. Her car was discovered the following day, backed into the side of an abandoned house about a mile (1.6 km) away from her workplace. Maitland has not been seen or heard from since. Due to a confluence of circumstances, several days passed before Maitland's friends and family reported her missing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Lyle and Marie McCann</span> Double murder in Alberta

Lyle and Marie McCann were last seen on July 3, 2010, while on a road trip from their hometown of St. Albert, Alberta, to Chilliwack, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. A few days later, their charred motorhome was discovered, resulting in a search that led to the arrest of Travis Vader. Vader was eventually charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of the McCanns, though their bodies have not been discovered. Vader was found guilty on September 15, 2016. On October 31, 2016, the second-degree murder conviction was reversed and Vader was convicted of manslaughter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Jeremy Bright</span> Unsolved 1986 disappearance of 14 year-old from Oregon

Jeremy Doland Bright is an American teenager who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while attending the Coos County Fair in Myrtle Point, Oregon. At the time of his disappearance, Bright resided in Grants Pass and had been visiting family in Myrtle Point. On August 14, 1986, he attended the Coos County Fair with his younger sister. During the day, the pair separated, but Bright failed to meet her that afternoon, as arranged, at the carnival's ferris wheel. Several witnesses reported seeing Bright forcibly removed from the area by an unknown man, though these sightings were not confirmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mineral, Washington murders</span> Unsolved serial killings in Washington (1985)

The Mineral, Washington murders, dubbed by the media as "the Tube Sock Killings," is a series of unsolved murders that occurred in remote areas of Lewis and Pierce County, Washington, near the remote community of Mineral, Washington, in 1985. The murder cases were widely publicized, and were featured on the television series Unsolved Mysteries in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin family disappearance</span> 1958 missing family case in Oregon

The Martin family of Portland, Oregon, United States, disappeared on December 7, 1958, in the Columbia River Gorge during a day trip to gather greenery for Christmas decorations. The missing included the husband, Kenneth Martin ; his wife, Barbara (48); and the couple's three daughters, Barbara ("Barbie"), Virginia and Susan. The family's eldest child, Donald, was in the United States Navy and stationed in New York State at the time of the disappearance. Several months after the family vanished, the bodies of Susan and Virginia were discovered downstream on the shores of the Columbia River, roughly 30 miles (48 km) apart from each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Georgann Hawkins</span> Victim of Ted Bundy (1955–1974)

Georgann Hawkins was an American college student from Tacoma, Washington, who disappeared from an alley behind her sorority house at the University of Washington in Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Ann Marie Burr</span> 1961 American missing person case

Ann Marie Burr was an American child who vanished under mysterious circumstances from her home in the North End section of Tacoma, Washington in August 1961. Her disappearance, which made national headlines, received renewed attention when it was theorized that serial killer Ted Bundy – who lived in Tacoma as a teenager at the time – might have been responsible for her abduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Thomas Gibson</span> Missing person case

Thomas Dean Gibson is an American child who vanished from his front yard in Azalea, Oregon, under mysterious circumstances. On the morning of his disappearance, his father, Larry Gibson, a deputy sheriff of Douglas County, left the family's home to go on a jog. Before departing, he claimed to have shot at a feral cat on the property. He left Thomas in the family's front yard, where Thomas's elder sister, Karen, was to watch him. Upon returning from his jog, Larry and his wife, Judith, realized Thomas was missing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Fautenberry</span> American serial killer

John Joseph Fautenberry was an American serial killer. A long-haul trucker, Fautenberry befriended and subsequently murdered five people across four states between 1990 and 1991, and after his arrest, confessed to an additional 1984 murder for which another man was convicted. He was sentenced to death for one of his killings, and subsequently executed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghosts of Highway 20</span> Murder and rape cases in Oregon

The Ghosts of Highway 20 refer to a number of individuals who disappeared, or were victims of rape and murder, along Highway 20 in the U.S. state of Oregon from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. John Arthur Ackroyd, a highway mechanic with the Oregon Department of Transportation, was a suspect in these cases. Detectives were able to prosecute the murder of Kaye Turner of 1978, for which he was sentenced to five life sentences for aggravated murder. Ackroyd pleaded no contest in the murder of his stepdaughter Rachanda Pickle and agreed to not seek parole for the murder of Turner. A case was developed against Ackroyd for the murders of Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson, but Ackroyd died before the case could be presented to the Lincoln County, Oregon grand jury. Marlene Gabrielsen was the only known victim to have lived and is the first known victim. Her case was not prosecuted.

On August 18, 2021, the bodies of married American couple Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner were found in Moab, Utah, United States. Both victims had been murdered and died from gunshot wounds. They had last been seen alive five days earlier. In December 2022, the case was closed and Adam Pinkusiewicz was cited as the murderer.

On July 22, 2022, three members of the Schmidt family were murdered in Maquoketa Caves State Park. The assailant, identified as 23-year-old Anthony Orlando Sherwin, later committed suicide by gunshot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Linda Pagano</span> Formerly unidentified murder victim

Linda Marie Pagano, formerly known as Strongsville Jane Doe, was an American murder victim from Akron, Ohio who was an unidentified decedent for 44 years. Following an argument with her stepfather on September 1, 1974, Pagano left her stepfather's apartment and was never seen again. On February 5, 1975, partial skeletal remains of a white female were found by three boys in a park in Strongsville, Ohio. After remaining unidentified, the bones were buried in an unmarked grave. Due to a clerical error, the bones were never entered into databases of unidentified decedents, and the case was largely forgotten about. In 2016, a college student doing genealogy research of her own family rediscovered the unidentified body. After posting about it online, the case gained the attention of Carl Koppelman, a forensic sketch artist. The new attention to the case led to a connection being made by the Akron police, and in June 2018 the remains were conclusively identified as Linda Pagano.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Killings still haunt Applegate Valley". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. September 3, 1990. p. A5. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2018– via Google News.
  2. ↑ Lemon, Sarah (May 4, 2003). "Universally frustrating for police officers, family members and the community are Southern Oregon's ... UNSOLVED MURDERS". Mail Tribune. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rule 2009, p. 381.
  4. 1 2 3 Rule 2009, p. 373.
  5. ↑ Rule 2009, pp. 370–4.
  6. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 376.
  7. 1 2 Rule 2009, p. 377.
  8. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 378–9.
  9. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 379.
  10. 1 2 Rule 2009, p. 378.
  11. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 380.
  12. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 384.
  13. ↑ Rule 2009, pp. 380–1.
  14. ↑ Rule 2009, pp. 381–2.
  15. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 382.
  16. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 386.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Rule 2009, p. 387.
  18. ↑ Rule 2009, pp. 387–8.
  19. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 388.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Rule 2009, p. 392.
  21. ↑ "Bodies of four missing S. Oregonians discovered". The Bulletin. No. 109. Bend, Oregon: Associated Press. April 14, 1975. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2018– via Google News. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  22. 1 2 Rule 2009, p. 390.
  23. 1 2 3 Rule 2009, p. 391.
  24. ↑ Tousignant, Lauren (September 2, 2016). "6 reasons to never, ever visit a national park". New York Post . New York City, New York. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  25. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 390–1.
  26. 1 2 3 Rule 2009, p. 393.
  27. ↑ Rule 2009, pp. 394–400.
  28. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 394–5.
  29. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 404.
  30. ↑ "State v. Little: 241 Or. 557 (1965)". Supreme Court of Oregon. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2017– via Justia.
  31. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 408.
  32. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 409.
  33. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 411.
  34. ↑ Rule 2009, pp. 410–14.
  35. ↑ Rule 2009, pp. 414–17.
  36. 1 2 Rule 2009, p. 423.
  37. ↑ Rule 2009, pp. 424–5.
  38. ↑ Rule 2009, p. 425.

Works cited

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.