Английская Википедия:Cowden family murders

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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. Seven months later, in April 1975, their bodies were discovered approximately Шаблон:Convert from their campsite. While law enforcement has suspected convicted killer Dwain Lee Little in their murders, their case remains unsolved.

The family's disappearance resulted in one of the largest search efforts in Oregon history,Шаблон:Sfn and their murders have been described as one of the state's most "haunting and baffling" mysteries. 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.Шаблон:Sfn Richard supported the family working as a logging truck driver.Шаблон:Sfn

The Cowden family made last-minute plans to camp near Carberry Creek in Copper, Oregon, over the Labor Day weekend, 1974.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn

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. The two left the store on foot, heading towards their campsite. This was the last sighting of any of the Cowden family.

Later that evening, Belinda's mother, who lived less than Шаблон:Convert from the campground, was expecting the family to come over for dinner on their way home.Шаблон:Sfn 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:Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn A diaper bag as well as the camp stove, fully assembled, were also in plain view,Шаблон:Sfn and the carton of milk Richard had purchased earlier that morning sat on the table, half-full.Шаблон:Sfn

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 (Шаблон:Inflation); she also found an opened pack of cigarettes, which she identified as being the brand Belinda was known to smoke.Шаблон:Sfn The family's truck, which was parked on the road, still contained their clothing, with only their bathing suits missing.Шаблон:Sfn

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.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn A state trooper, Officer Erickson, recalled: "That camp was spooky; even the milk was still on the table."Шаблон:Sfn

The following morning, the Cowdens' pet Basset Hound, Droopy, was found scratching at the front door of the Copper General Store.Шаблон:Sfn

Search efforts

The search investigation for the Cowden family was one of the largest in Oregon history,Шаблон:Sfn and included assistance from state and local police, numerous volunteers, Explorer Scouts, the United States Forest Service, and the Oregon National Guard.Шаблон:Sfn The U.S. Forest Service searched Шаблон:Convert 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.Шаблон:Sfn Despite massive search efforts, law enforcement was unable to find any evidence of a crime.Шаблон:Sfn

The Oregon State Police and Jackson County Police conducted interviews with over 150 individuals in their early investigation into the family's disappearance.Шаблон:Sfn A $2,000 reward (Шаблон:Inflation) was offered in exchange for information regarding the family's disappearance.Шаблон:Sfn 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."Шаблон:Sfn

Over two-hundred citizens wrote to then-Oregon senator Mark Hatfield requesting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation begin looking at the case.Шаблон:Sfn The petition, however, was denied on the grounds that there was "no evidence that the Cowdens had been kidnapped or taken across state lines."Шаблон:Sfn 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).Шаблон:Sfn

Discovery of bodies

On April 12, 1975, two gold prospectors from Forest Grove, Oregon,Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn In a small cave nearby, the bodies of an adult female, a child, and an infant were discovered.Шаблон:Sfn Positive identification of the bodies as those of the Cowden family was made via dental records.Шаблон:Sfn The location where the bodies were discovered was approximately Шаблон:Convert from the family's campsite.Шаблон:Efn

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

Investigation

Interviews were conducted with numerous persons who were at the campground on September 1.Шаблон:Sfn One family from Los Angeles had arrived at the campground at 5 pm that day.Шаблон:Sfn 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."Шаблон:Sfn

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.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn

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.Шаблон:Sfn Little had been paroled from the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on May 24, 1974, three months before the disappearance of the Cowens.Шаблон:Sfn At 16, in 1964, he had raped and murdered teenager Orla Fay Fipps.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn

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.Шаблон:Sfn Little was paroled again on April 26, 1977.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn Hunter and her unborn child survived, and Little was charged and convicted of attempted homicide and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences.Шаблон:Sfn

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.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn

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

See also

• List of homicides in Oregon
• List of solved missing person cases
• List of unsolved murders

Works cited

• Шаблон:Cite book

External links

• Richard Gale Cowden at Find a Grave
• Belinda June Cowden at Find a Grave
• David James Phillips at Find a Grave
• Melissa Dawn Cowden at Find a Grave