Two campers found slain on California beach

[JMT]

youre not even safe in your sleep these days. >

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A soon-to-be married couple reported missing when they didn't return to their jobs as camp counselors were found shot to death on a beach, apparently in their sleep, authorities said.



The bodies of Lindsay Cutshall, 23, of Ohio, and Jason Allen, 26, of Michigan, were discovered in sleeping bags by sheriff's deputies who were rescuing a stranded hiker.

"They were shot in the head, presumably in their sleep because there was no disturbance at their camp site," Lt. Dave Edmonds said. The victims had valuables nearby that weren't taken, Edmonds said.



Police believe the couple had been camping in the Jenner area, about 75 miles up the coast from San Francisco, since Saturday. Authorities do not know when the couple was killed. Autopsies were planned for Friday.

The two were spending the summer working at Rock-N-Water, a Christian adventure camp in Coloma, in the Sierra foothills about 50 miles east of Sacramento.

They were reported missing Monday after they didn't return to camp. They were last seen Friday when they said they were going to visit friends and would get back on Sunday, sheriff's officials said.

Authorities said the two bodies appeared to have been on the beach for more than 24 hours when they were spotted by a helicopter crew sent to rescue a 17-year-old boy who had fallen about 50 feet while trying to retrieve a purse his girlfriend dropped.

The hiker, who was clinging to a rocky cliff when rescuers arrived, was pulled up by a paramedic attached to the helicopter by a 100-foot rope.

[JMT]

update to the story, even though no one seems to care. i really hope they catch the bastard.

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Police question man in beach slayings

Tuesday, August 24, 2004 Posted: 9:28 PM EDT (0128 GMT)

SANTA ROSA, California (AP) -- A 21-year-old Wisconsin man contacted police Tuesday and was questioned in the mysterious shooting deaths of two Christian camp counselors.

Sonoma County detectives sent out a statewide alert Tuesday seeking Nicholas Edward Scarseth, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., as a "potential witness" in the killings. When Scarseth heard about that from media reports, he got in touch with authorities, Sheriff's Lt. Dave Edmonds said.

"We have located him and we are speaking with him," Edmonds said. "We want to question him to determine what he knows about this case. He has not been charged. This is consensual contact. We're not holding him."

Edmonds would not say why detectives are interested in Scarseth but described him as a "person of interest" in the slayings of Lindsay Cutshall, 23, and her fiance, Jason Allen, 26. They were found shot through the head last week as they slept on a beach near Jenner, in Northern California.

"We have information that suggests that a person matching that description was in Jenner during the time frame of the killings," Edmonds said.

Scarseth's mother, Karen, said her son has a drinking problem but is not violent.

"He's just roaming around," she said. "If he ran into those people, he would have befriended them."

However, she also said her son harbors anger toward religious people.

"He brings up religion and politics to irritate people. He likes to stir people up," she said.

Cutshall and Allen were reported missing Aug. 16 after they failed to show up at a Christian adventure camp in Coloma, about 40 miles east of Sacramento. Their bodies were discovered Wednesday.

Chippewa Falls Police Capt. Wayne Nehring said Scarseth was being sought on two misdemeanor warrants valid only in Wisconsin. One was for misdemeanor theft of a bottle of liquor and another was for disorderly conduct, he said.

Scarseth's mother said she heard from her son last week, when he phoned from California to say he had gotten a hotel room through a voucher from a "church woman."

Scarseth had been stopped on Friday by police in Fort Bragg -- about 100 miles north of Jenner. Fort Bragg Police Sgt. Rogelio Orozco said Scarseth was stopped because he was skateboarding downtown, which is prohibited. Officers ran Scarseth's name through a statewide database, which turned up nothing, Orozco said.

[swirlundergrounder]

yeah I saw this the other day. Really wierd. It's to bad to hear stuff like this but what a strange way to die..... :-\

[durrtylexx]

fucking sick....these were good people...

[LdySphynx]

Actually I saw this yesterday, it is so sad...I hope they do catch the FUCKER and throw away the key. Put him some where dark where rats can slowly eat at his skin until he dies >!!!

Does that sound to psycho??? : :P.

[swirlundergrounder]

Originally Posted by LdySphynx

Actually I saw this yesterday, it is so sad...I hope they do catch the FUCKER and throw away the key. Put him some where dark where rats can slowly eat at his skin until he dies >!!!

Does that sound to psycho??? : :P.

not at all. I'm all for torturing evil fockerz!

[Lola]

Sad story... I feel bad for their family and friends....

[jona7]

Originally Posted by swirlundergrounder

[quote author=LdySphynx link=board=6;threadid=6133;start=0#msg71516 date=1093455941]
Actually I saw this yesterday, it is so sad...I hope they do catch the FUCKER and throw away the key. Put him some where dark where rats can slowly eat at his skin until he dies >!!!

Does that sound to psycho??? : :P.

not at all. I'm all for torturing evil fockerz!
[/quote] yeah me too...
Bad people who perform bad crimes should die a bad horrible death...not no syringe shot to the arm...

[JMT]

they should just be hung or shot. its cheaper that way. no need to romanticize it.

[swirlundergrounder]

Originally Posted by JMT

they should just be hung or shot. its cheaper that way. no need to romanticize it.

I think romanticizing it is theraputic in a way..