On June 23rd, 1989, 24-year-old Carol Anne Gregory set out on a solo hike in Olympic National Park in Washington State and never returned.

Two years later, a group of hikers discovered a wooden coffin with her remains inside tied to a massive branch of a century old Douglas fur tree at a height of 12 m.

The findings of the forensic examination became one of the most shocking and mysterious stories in the history of American national parks.

Carol spent almost 2 years in captivity, subjected to systematic torture before her body was placed in a coffin and hung up for all to see like some kind of gruesome message.

The perpetrator was never found despite one of the most extensive investigations in the history of the National Park Service.

Carol Anne Gregory was a graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in environmental studies.

The young woman was passionate about nature, hiking, and wildlife photography.

Friends described her as a cautious, prepared hiker who never went on a hike without a detailed route plan, a GPS navigator, and a full set of survival gear.

She regularly went on solo hikes despite warnings from loved ones insisting that she felt completely safe in the forest and knew how to avoid danger.

Olympic National Park covers an area of about 3,600 square kilm on the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington state.

It is one of the most diverse parks in the country in terms of landscape with temperate rainforests with annual rainfall of up to 3 and 1/2 mters, alpine meadows, mountain glaciers, and the Pacific coast.

The park was established in 1938 to protect unique ecosystems and the Witi deer population.

Most of the territory is covered with dense, almost impenetrable forests of Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and Douglas fur, some of which are over 700 years old and over 70 m tall.

It was to these ancient forests that Carol set out on June 23rd.

She registered her route at the park’s information center, indicating that she was planning a 3-day hike along the Hawk Rainforest Trail, one of the most popular routes in the temperate rainforest.

The route about 25 km long was considered moderately difficult and usually took 2 to 3 days with overnight stays at designated campsites.

Carol told the ranger that she planned to return by noon on June 26th and that she had enough provisions for 5 days in case of unforeseen circumstances.

When Carol did not show up at the agreed time and her car remained in the parking lot at the trail head, the rangers began a search operation.

The first group set out on the route on the evening of June 26th.

By the 27th, more than 50 people were involved in the search, including park rangers, volunteers, search and rescue teams with dogs, and a Coast Guard helicopter.

They combed every meter of the official route and the surrounding area within a radius of several kilometers.

Search dogs picked up Carol’s trail on the path and followed it for about 8 km from the starting point to a place where the route split.

One branch led further along the Hooch River Valley.

The other climbed into the mountains toward high altitude meadows.

At this point, the dogs lost the trail.

The dog handlers describe this as abnormal behavior.

Usually, a trail does not just disappear in the middle of a path.

The animals circled in place, wind, and refused to go any further in either direction.

One of the most experienced dog handlers, who had worked in search and rescue operations for 20 years, said he had never seen his dog behave this way.

Both branches of the trail were thoroughly searched.

On the main route leading to the river, no traces of Carol’s presence were found.

No footprints from her boots on the muddy sections.

No traces of her staying at campsites.

No items left behind.

On the mountain trail, a small piece of fabric was found caught on a bush about a meter above the ground.

The fabric was blue and matched the description of the jacket that, according to her friends, Carol usually wore on hikes.

analysis confirmed that the fibers matched the material of her jacket.

This was the only physical evidence found during the entire search.

The mountain trail led to a plateau about 900 m above sea level which offered a view of the valley and the blue glacier.

The terrain became increasingly difficult to traverse.

Steep slopes, rocky scree, dense roodendran thicket.

Search teams examined every square meter within a 5 kilometer radius of where the fabric was found.

They checked all the crevices, caves, and ravines where a person could have fallen or become stuck.

Divers searched all the ponds and deep sections of the river where the body could have been carried away by the current.

Nothing was found.

After 2 weeks of intensive searching during which more than 120 square kilmters of territory were surveyed and all tourists who were in the park during that period were interviewed, the operation was officially terminated.

The case was classified as missing, one of dozens of similar cases that occur in US national parks every year.

Carol’s family did not give up.

Her parents hired a private investigator and organized their own search parties of volunteers who continued to comb the park every weekend for the next 6 months.

There were no results.

The investigation considered several theories.

The first was that Carol could have been injured, become disoriented, and strayed far from the trail into the deep forest where she died of hypothermia or dehydration.

This theory was the most likely from a statistical point of view.

Most missing hikers were found dead from natural causes related to the natural environment.

The second version was an attack by a wild animal, although large predators capable of attacking humans were rare in Olympic Park.

There were no grizzly bears there.

Black bears usually avoided humans, and the last confirmed case of a cougar attacking a human was recorded more than 10 years ago.

The third version concerned a possible crime.

Detectives checked all registered tourists who were in the park during those days.

They interviewed park employees and local residents from nearby towns.

They paid particular attention to several people who had criminal records or aroused suspicion.

Among them was Robert Haynes, a 40-year-old man from Forks who had been arrested several times for illegal hunting in the park.

He admitted that he was in the park on the day Carol disappeared, but claimed that he was in a completely different area 20 km from the Ho Trail.

His alibi was confirmed by two friends with whom he allegedly went fishing on the Bogachale River.

A search of his home and vehicle revealed nothing suspicious.

David Cole, a 32-year-old park ranger who was among the first to participate in the search for Carol, was also investigated.

His colleagues had mixed opinions about him.

He was a professional who knew the park like the back of his hand, but he was withdrawn, avoided social contact, and preferred to spend time alone in the woods.

During the investigation, it was discovered that 5 years earlier, a female tourist had filed a harassment complaint against him, but the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.

Cole categorically denied any involvement in Carol’s disappearance and provided detailed records of his work schedule, which showed that on the day of her disappearance, he was patrolling the coastal area of the park 50 km from the scene of the incident.

The records were confirmed by video recordings from his work camera.

The possibility of voluntary disappearance was also considered.

Detectives thoroughly investigated Carol’s personal life, checking her financial records, correspondence, and conversations with friends and family.

She had no debts, no problems with the law, and no relationship conflicts.

The day before the hike, she spoke with her mother on the phone.

The conversation was normal and warm, and she enthusiastically talked about the upcoming hike and her plans for the summer.

There was no indication of a desire to disappear or any psychological problems.

The theory of voluntary disappearance was rejected.

Months passed, then years.

The case gradually cooled down.

Carol’s family continued to keep it in the public eye.

They gave interviews to local media, maintained a website with information about their missing daughter, and organized annual memorial events.

But no new leads emerged.

Most of Carol’s friends gradually came to terms with the idea that she had died somewhere deep in the park and that her body would never be found.

The forest keeps its secrets well.

Then on August 9th, 2001, exactly 2 years, 1 month, and 17 days after Carol’s disappearance, something happened that shocked everyone familiar with the case.

A group of four hikers from California was on a dayhike on one of the less popular trails in the northeastern part of the park about 15 km from where Carol disappeared.

The trail passed through a particularly ancient section of forest where the trees were enormous and the undergrowth was so dense that even at midday a greenish twilight prevailed under the canopy.

One of the tourists, a photographer named James Parker, stopped to take some pictures of a particularly impressive Douglas fur tree, whose trunk was almost 3 m in diameter.

As he was choosing an angle, he looked up, following the line of the trunk, and froze.

At a height he later estimated to be about 12 m, a rectangular wooden box was tied to a massive horizontal branch about half a meter thick.

The box was approximately 2 m long, 60 cm wide, and 50 cm high.

The shape clearly resembled a coffin.

James called the rest of the group over.

All four stood looking up at this incredible object, trying to figure out what it could be and how it got there.

The box was secured with a heavy chain wrapped around the branch and the box itself several times.

The chain looked industrial, heavy, with links about as thick as a finger.

The tree was old enough that the branch could support a significant weight, but the very fact that such an object was at such a height was absurd and frightening at the same time.

The group immediately contacted the park service via satellite phone.

Rangers arrived 2 hours later with a team experienced in working at heights.

An industrial climber ascended to the box using special equipment.

What he saw prompted him to descend immediately and request that the police and medical examiners be called.

The box was indeed a coffin roughly nailed together from planks without any finish with a tightly nailed lid.

Human remains were visible through the cracks between the planks.

By evening, a full team of forensic experts was working at the site.

The coffin was carefully lowered to the ground using a system of blocks and ropes.

It weighed about 70 kg, significantly more than an empty wooden box of that size would weigh.

When the lid was opened, the remains of a human skeleton were found inside, dressed in decayed clothing.

Next to the body lay a laminated passport preserved thanks to its plastic coating.

The name on the passport was Carol Anne Gregory.

A forensic examination began immediately.

What the pathologist discovered was so shocking that the details were initially kept secret so as not to traumatize the family and cause panic among park visitors.

The skeleton showed signs of multiple fractures that had occurred at different times and healed differently, indicating systematic damage over a long period of time.

The right arm was broken in three places, the left in two.

Several ribs showed signs of old fractures.

The right shin was broken and had healed at an incorrect angle, indicating a lack of medical care.

The most gruesome injuries were to the skull.

Traces of trepation were found on the temporal bones.

Three small holes about 5 mm in diameter drilled with surgical precision.

Such holes could only have been made with a special medical instrument or a high precision drill.

The edges of the holes showed signs of partial healing, which meant that Carol was alive after the procedure and lived for at least a few more weeks.

Experts could not explain why someone would drill holes in the skull of a living person.

Numerous small scratches and cuts were found on the bones, especially on the arms and legs, the pattern of which suggested the use of a sharp instrument, possibly a knife or scalpel.

Some of the cuts were very precise and neat as if made during surgery.

Others were chaotic, deep, leaving pronounced marks on the bone tissue.

Several fingers were missing their last felanges, cut off, not torn off, which again pointed to the use of a sharp instrument.

Analysis of the teeth and bone condition allowed the approximate date of death to be established.

Carol did not die immediately after her disappearance, but approximately 22 to 24 months later.

This meant that she had been kept alive somewhere for almost 2 years, subjected to systematic torture and injury.

The cause of death could not be determined with complete certainty due to the condition of the remains, but the pathologist suggested massive trauma or acute blood loss.

The clothing on the remains was examined in detail.

They were not the clothes Carol had worn on her hike.

Instead of hiking gear, she was wearing the remains of a simple cotton dress without tags or identifying marks.

The fabric was sewn by hand with rough stitches and threads of different colors.

It looked like clothing made specifically for her without the use of industrial production.

On her feet were the remains of homemade shoes similar to moccasins sewn from leather of unknown origin.

The coffin itself was examined by forensic experts.

The boards were handcarved from cedar, a wood common in the park.

The joints were rough, made with ordinary steel nails.

There were no fingerprints, no traces of DNA other than that of the victim herself.

The chain with which the coffin was tied to the tree turned out to be a standard industrial chain that can be bought at any hardware store.

The serial numbers had been filed off.

Examination of the tree showed that the chain had been attached relatively recently, about two to three weeks before the discovery.

This meant that the perpetrator had kept Carol’s body somewhere else after her death, then placed it in a coffin and somehow lifted it to a height of 12 m to tie it to a branch.

Lifting such a weight to such a height required considerable physical effort and special equipment, blocks, ropes, possibly a winch.

The person would have had to have industrial climbing or treework skills.

They would also have had to work alone or with a minimum number of assistants because such an operation in a crowded place would have been noticed.

But the most mysterious detail was the location.

The place where the coffin was found was 15 km from the trail where Carol disappeared in a part of the park she had not planned to visit.

The terrain was difficult to traverse with no marked trails.

The likelihood of random tourists stumbling upon this tree was extremely low.

James Parker’s group had strayed from the main route following interesting photo opportunities.

If not for that, the coffin could have hung there unnoticed for years.

The investigation was resumed with renewed intensity.

A team of 20 FBI detectives joined the local police.

All suspects who had previously been involved in the case were questioned again.

Robert Haynes, the hunter, came under scrutiny once more.

His house was searched a second time more thoroughly.

They found a collection of hunting knives, some with signs of recent sharpening.

His computer was seized and his hard drive was checked.

A large amount of material on wilderness survival, hunting, and animal carcass processing was found, but nothing that could link him to Carol’s murder.

DNA analysis showed no matches.

David Cole, a ranger, was given a polygraph test.

The results were inconclusive.

He showed signs of stress when answering some questions, but a polygraph is not 100% proof.

During a search of his home, a small cabin on the edge of the park, they found extensive notes on wildlife observations, maps of the park with markings, and photographs of landscapes.

In the basement, they discovered a workshop with tools, including drills and saws, but this was understandable.

Cole was a woodworker as a hobby and made furniture from found wood.

Examination of the tools revealed no traces of blood or human tissue.

Everyone who worked in the park between 1999 and 2001 was checked.

Among the employees was a mechanic named Carl Dunning who quit in the fall of 2001 and moved to another state.

His story aroused interest.

He worked in the park’s technical department and had access to industrial climbing equipment used to maintain tall structures.

Detectives tracked him down to Montana where he was working at a sawmill.

Dunning agreed to be interviewed, provided DNA samples, and took a lie detector test.

The results showed no involvement.

The investigation reached a dead end.

Despite thousands of hours of work, hundreds of witnesses interviewed, and detailed analysis of all physical evidence, the perpetrator was not identified.

It seemed that the person who committed this crime was either extremely cautious and methodical or possessed the knowledge and skills to leave no trace or both.

FBI profilers compiled a psychological profile of the alleged perpetrator, a man probably between 35 and 55 years old, physically strong with skills in wilderness survival and working at heights.

He probably lives alone, is socially isolated, and has a place where he could hold a victim for a long time without risk of detection.

He may have medical or veterinary knowledge given the precision of some of the injuries on the victim’s body.

He demonstrates sadistic tendencies and derives satisfaction from inflicting pain.

Placing the body in a coffin and hanging it from a tree indicates a desire to present his work, to show it off, perhaps even taking pride in what he has done.

Several dozen people in the region matched this profile.

All were investigated.

None were completely ruled out, but there was insufficient evidence to arrest anyone.

The case began to cool down again.

By 2003, the active investigation had effectively been closed.

Although the case remained formally open, Carol’s family was finally able to bury their daughter’s remains.

The funeral was held in her hometown of Seattle and was attended by hundreds of people, including many who had participated in the search.

The story of Carol Gregory’s disappearance and horrific death became one of the most famous unsolved mysteries of the Pacific Northwest.

Books have been written about the case.

Documentaries have been made, and it has been discussed on countless forums and podcasts about unsolved crimes.

Each anniversary of the discovery of the coffin brought a new wave of media attention, new theories, and new assumptions.

Some believe that the perpetrator was a tourist who accidentally encountered Carol on the trail, attacked her, kidnapped her, and held her in some remote location outside the park, possibly in an abandoned building or bunker.

Others suggested that it was a local resident who knew the area well, perhaps living as a recluse deep in the forest, far from civilization.

There were even more exotic theories about a cult practicing human sacrifice, about a serial killer who might be responsible for other unsolved disappearances in national parks.

Detectives working on the case checked for links to other unsolved disappearances.

Over the past 20 years, 11 people had gone missing under suspicious circumstances in the national parks of the Pacific Northwest.

Three of them were women of about the same age as Carol who had been hiking alone.

Their bodies were never found.

Could the same person be responsible for all these cases? Perhaps, but it was impossible to prove without additional evidence.

More than 20 years have passed since the coffin was found.

The case remains unsolved.

Many of the detectives who worked on it have since retired or passed away.

Carol’s parents died without ever knowing who killed their daughter and why.

New technologies, improved DNA analysis, genealogical databases periodically offer hope for a breakthrough, but so far to no avail.

Somewhere out there perhaps the man who kidnapped Carol Gregory, held her captive for 2 years, tortured her, killed her, placed her in a coffin, and hung it from a tree as a macabra monument to his crime is still alive.

Perhaps he still visits the park, walks past tourists, smiles at rangers, and keeps his monstrous secret.

Or perhaps he is already dead, taking the truth to his grave.

Carol’s story remains an open wound.

A reminder that even in the 21st century, in a country with a developed law enforcement system, a person can disappear, be killed with particular cruelty, and the perpetrator may never be found.