On the autumn morning of October 14th, 2014, 34year-old Kevin Marshall left his apartment in Eugene and headed for the Oregon Mountains.

The young man worked as a programmer at a local company and planned to spend the weekend hiking the forest trails of the Cascade Mountains.

In the trunk of his blue sedan were camping gear, a sleeping bag, a tent, and 3 days worth of food.

Kevin lived alone after a recent divorce and often went to the mountains to get away from his problems.

His colleagues knew about his passion for hiking and photography.

That day, he planned to visit an abandoned sawmill in the Willametti National Forest where he wanted to take some pictures of old buildings for a personal photo project.

Kevin was last heard from on Friday evening, October 13th.

He called his sister Melanie and told her about his plans for the weekend.

His sister lived in Portland and kept in regular contact with her brother after his divorce.

Kevin said he would be back on Sunday evening and would be sure to call.

Melanie remembered that her brother seemed calm and even excited about the upcoming trip.

On the morning of October 14th, Kevin filled up his car at a gas station near his home.

Surveillance cameras recorded him at a.m.

The recording shows a man in jeans and a red jacket buying coffee and a sandwich.

The cashier later recalled that the customer looked normal and didn’t ask any questions.

The drive to his destination took about 2 hours.

Kevin planned to reach the old sawmill by noon and set up camp nearby.

In his backpack were a map of the area, a compass, and spare batteries for his camera.

The man was an experienced hiker and always prepared thoroughly for his trips.

The sawmill Kevin was looking for had ceased operations in the early 1990s.

The wooden buildings were gradually falling into disrepair, but the main structures were still standing.

The place was off the beaten track, accessible only by an old dirt road through a dense forest.

On Sunday evening, October 15th, Melanie waited for a call from her brother, but the phone remained silent.

She tried to call him herself, but Kevin’s cell phone was unavailable.

She thought there might be no signal in the mountains and decided to wait until morning.

By Monday, her concern had grown.

Melanie called Kevin at work and found out that he hadn’t shown up at the office.

On Tuesday, October 17th, Melanie contacted the police.

The officer on duty took a missing person report and asked for a description of the car and the last known route.

The sister told him about Kevin’s plans to visit an abandoned sawmill, but she did not know the exact address.

The search began on Wednesday morning.

A group of six people in two patrol cars went to the Will National Forest Area.

The officers checked all roads and trails within a 15 km radius of the main entrances to the forest.

The weather was rainy, which made it difficult to find any traces.

By Wednesday evening, the search party found Kevin’s blue sedan on the side of a narrow dirt road 4 km from the abandoned sawmill.

The car was parked between tall fur trees.

The keys were in the ignition, the doors were locked, and the windows were closed.

There were no signs of a struggle or damage to the car.

Officers opened the trunk and found all of Kevin’s camping gear there.

The tent was still in its packaging.

The sleeping bag was unrolled and the food was untouched.

His camera was in his backpack along with a map of the area.

It seemed as if the man had just arrived and had not yet had time to take his things out of the car.

On Thursday, volunteers from the local search and rescue team joined the search.

A team of 20 people combed the forest within a radius of several kilometers from the car.

They paid special attention to ravines, rivers, and abandoned buildings.

Search dogs surveyed the area around the sawmill, but the trail was lost 100 m from the road.

On November 5th, after 3 weeks of searching, the official search was suspended.

During that time, more than 100 square kilometers of forest were searched and all abandoned buildings and hard-to-reach places were checked.

No traces of Kevin Marshall were found.

The case was reclassified as missing.

Melanie did not give up and continued her own search.

Every weekend, she came to the forest with a group of friends and volunteers.

Her sister put up posters with her brother’s photo in all the nearby villages and at gas stations.

Local residents promised to report any information, but no useful information was received.

The winter of 2014 to 2015 passed without any news.

Snow covered the forest with a thick layer, making the search virtually impossible.

Melanie kept in touch with the police, but the case remained unsolved.

Officers speculated that the hiker might have fallen into a deep ravine or gotten lost in the forest.

But without a body, these theories remained mere guesswork.

In the spring of 2015, the search resumed.

Groups of volunteers once again combed the area, now free of snow.

They checked all the places where the snow cover could have hidden traces or remains.

The result was the same.

No clues were found.

In the summer of 2015, the owner of the land where the old sawmill was located decided to demolish the dilapidated buildings.

The area had been abandoned for more than 20 years, and the wooden structures were dangerous.

The man hired a team of workers to dismantle the buildings and remove the construction debris.

Demolition work began in early July 2015.

A crew of five people led by foreman Dave Collins began dismantling the main sawmill building.

Old wooden beams and planks were loaded onto trucks and taken away for recycling.

Most of the equipment had long since been taken away or sold for scrap, but some massive mechanisms remained in place.

In the center of the main workshop stood an industrial crushing drum, a huge metal structure about 3 m high.

This machine was used to grind wood waste and bark into sawdust.

The drum had not been in operation for many years, and its mechanisms were rusted and jammed.

The workers plan to cut it up with a blowtorrch and remove it in pieces.

On July the 23rd, a worker named Tom Richardson began to open the top cover of the crusher to assess the condition of the internal mechanisms.

The cover would not open due to rust, so he had to use a crowbar and a sledgehammer.

When the metal hatch finally gave way, musty air with an unpleasant odor poured out of the drum.

Richardson shown his flashlight inside the machine and saw a mixture of old sawdust, leaves, and some debris at the bottom.

Something white stood out among the mass.

At first, the worker thought it was pieces of plastic or paper, but upon closer inspection, he realized he was looking at bones.

Human bones mixed in with wood waste.

Richardson immediately called the foreman.

Collins climbed down into the drum and saw the human remains with his own eyes.

Among the sawdust and wood chips lay bone fragments, pieces of fabric, and what looked like the remains of clothing.

The foreman ordered everyone to move away from the crusher and called the police.

The first patrol car arrived on the scene half an hour later.

Officer James Parker cordined off the area around the drum and called in the investigation team.

By evening, forensic experts, photographers, and a medical examiner were working at the sawmill.

All the contents of the crusher were carefully removed and sent to the laboratory for analysis.

A preliminary examination showed that the remains had been in the drum for quite some time.

The bones had been partially destroyed by the metal blades of the grinder and many fragments had been crushed into fine powder.

Among the bones were pieces of denim, buttons, the remains of sneakers, and metal parts from a backpack.

The forensic examination took 2 weeks.

An anthropologist reconstructed the skeleton from the fragments and determined the age and sex of the victim.

Genetic analysis of the bone tissue was compared with a DNA sample taken from the apartment of the missing Kevin Marshall.

The result confirmed the investigator’s fears.

The remains belonged to a 34year-old programmer from Eugene.

The news of the discovery shocked Melanie.

for more than six months.

Her sister had hoped to find her brother alive, or at least learn the truth about his disappearance.

Now, it was clear that Kevin was dead, but the circumstances of his death remained a mystery.

How did a tourist end up inside an industrial crusher at an abandoned sawmill? Had the body been there since the time of his disappearance, or had it been moved there later? Detective Robert Hill, who was leading the case of Kevin Marshall’s disappearance, reopened the investigation.

Now, it was a murder case.

First, investigators thoroughly searched the area around the sawmill, which had been combed by search teams a year ago.

Perhaps something had been overlooked or important details had been missed.

Experts examined the crusher drum itself, trying to figure out when the body had gotten there.

Judging by the condition of the remains and the degree of decomposition, death occurred about a year ago, that is in the fall of 2014.

This coincided with the time of Kevin’s disappearance.

Did this mean that the murder took place immediately after the tourist arrived at the sawmill? Detective Hill questioned all the workers who had participated in the dismantling.

None of them had ever opened the crusher before and seen what was inside.

The machine stood in the center of the workshop, but access to it was unrestricted.

Anyone could have entered the abandoned building and used the drum to hide evidence.

Investigators compiled a list of people who might have known about the existence of the crusher and its location.

First and foremost, these were former sawmill workers, local residents from nearby villages, and those who frequently visited these places.

The possibility of a random murder was also considered.

Perhaps Kevin had fallen victim to a robber or a mentally ill person.

A survey of residents of the nearby village of Oakidge yielded no results.

People remembered the search for a missing tourist a year ago, but no one had seen Kevin alive or noticed any suspicious activity near the old sawmill.

The abandoned facility was located away from residential buildings, and few people ever went there.

Detective Hills studied the history of the sawmill and compiled a list of everyone who had anything to do with the place.

The enterprise closed in 1992 due to environmental violations and financial problems.

Most of the workers moved to other cities or transferred to neighboring enterprises.

Finding them 23 years later proved difficult.

Among the former employees of the sawmill, investigators noticed Harry Coleman, a 58-year-old man who had worked as a security guard until the plant closed.

After production stopped, Coleman remained living in a small house near the industrial zone and unofficially looked after the territory.

The landowner did not object to such a neighbor as the presence of a person deterred vandals.

Harry Coleman lived in a dilapidated wooden house half a kilometer from the main buildings of the sawmill.

The man appeared in these parts in the late 1980s and got a job as a security guard at the enterprise.

Local residents knew him as a reclusive man who avoided socializing and rarely appeared in the village.

After the sawmill closed, Coleman continued to live in his house, subsisting on a small allowance and occasional earnings.

Detective Hill studied Coleman’s personal file and discovered his criminal past.

In 1987, the man was convicted of murdering his neighbor in a communal apartment in Salem.

Coleman was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was released early in 2005 for good behavior.

After his release, he moved to Oak Ridge and found a job at a sawmill shortly before it closed.

The Salem murder was a typical domestic crime.

Coleman got into an argument with his neighbor over loud music.

The conflict escalated into a fight and the man stabbed the woman with a kitchen knife.

The court found him guilty of manslaughter, taking into account his intoxication and lack of intent.

Coleman was serving his sentence in an Oregon state prison and was considered a disciplined inmate.

On August 8th, 2015, Detective Hill, accompanied by two officers, arrived at Coleman’s home to conduct an interview.

The man greeted the police cautiously, but agreed to answer their questions.

Coleman looked older than his 58 years.

Gray hair, deep wrinkles, thin build.

Old prison tattoos were visible on his arms.

When asked about the tourist’s disappearance a year ago, Coleman replied that he knew nothing and had not seen any strangers near the sawmill.

The man claimed that in October 2014, he had the flu and hardly left his house.

He had heard about the search efforts but did not participate in them due to poor health.

Coleman was familiar with the crusher in the main workshop as he had worked at the sawmill until it closed.

The detective noticed Coleman’s nervousness during the conversation.

The man often looked away, fiddled with the hem of his shirt, and changed his testimony about his whereabouts last fall several times.

At first, he said he was sick at home.

Then, he remembered that he had gone to town for groceries.

Then, he mentioned doing work around the house in the garden.

The officers asked for permission to search the area around Coleman’s house.

The man agreed, but looked alarmed.

The plot was neglected.

Tall grass, old buildings, piles of scrap metal, and construction debris.

Behind the house was a small shed where Coleman kept his tools and household items.

Next to the shed were several bushes that could hide something from prying eyes.

During the inspection of the shed, Detective Hill found a leather hiking boot that did not match Coleman’s foot size.

The boot was expensive, highquality with a tread suitable for mountain hiking.

The sole had traces of pine needles and soil on it.

The man could not explain where the shoe came from.

First saying that he found it in the woods, then changing his story and saying that he did not remember.

In the corner of the shed was an old wooden box with tools.

Among the hammers, screwdrivers, and nails lay a hunting knife in a leather sheath.

The blade was clean, but the detective noticed dark spots on the handle that looked like dried blood.

Coleman explained that he used the knife to cut up game, but could not remember the last time he had been hunting.

Detective Hill confiscated the boot and knife for examination and suggested that Coleman voluntarily drive to the station to give a detailed statement.

The man agreed, but became even more nervous on the way.

In the car, he changed his testimony twice about where he had spent the day.

The tourist disappeared and was unable to explain the contradictions in his statements.

Coleman was questioned for 3 hours at the station.

At first, he remained confident and denied any involvement in Kevin Marshall’s disappearance.

The man claimed that he had never seen the missing tourist and did not know how his remains ended up in the sawmill’s crusher.

Coleman responded evasively to questions about the shoe and knife that were found, citing poor memory.

The results of the examination came back a week later.

Genetic analysis confirmed that the stains on the knife handle belonged to Kevin Marshall.

The boot was also identified as belonging to the missing tourist.

The size and model matched the shoes seen at the gas station on the day of his disappearance.

Experts found particles of wood dust and metal shavings on the boot characteristic of industrial equipment.

On August 16th, Detective Hill obtained an arrest warrant for Harry Coleman on suspicion of murder.

The man was arrested early in the morning at his home without resistance.

At the time of his arrest, Coleman appeared depressed and did not say a word.

At the police station, he was presented with the results of the examination and given the opportunity to contact a lawyer.

Coleman’s courtappointed lawyer advised his client to cooperate with the investigation in exchange for a reduced sentence.

After consulting with his lawyer, Coleman agreed to give a confession.

Detective Hill turned on the tape recorder and began recording the defendant’s testimony.

Coleman said that on October 14th, 2014, he was working on the grounds of an abandoned sawmill.

In one of the old buildings, the man had set up a small marijuana plantation and was drying the harvested crop in a warm room.

This was his main source of income after retirement.

In addition to drugs, Coleman kept several unregistered firearms on the sawmill premises, which he planned to sell.

Around noon, Coleman noticed an unfamiliar man with a camera near the main sawmill building.

The tourist was walking around the premises, photographing the buildings and looking into the windows.

Coleman was afraid that the stranger might be an informant or an undercover agent gathering evidence of his illegal activities.

The man decided to find out the tourist’s intentions and came out of hiding to approach him.

Kevin Marshall did not expect to meet anyone on the abandoned property.

The tourist explained that he was interested in photographing industrial ruins and wanted to take some artistic pictures.

Coleman did not believe these explanations and demanded that the stranger leave the area immediately.

An argument ensued between the men which quickly escalated into a conflict.

Coleman claimed that he did not plan to kill the tourist.

The man only wanted to scare the stranger and make him leave.

When Kevin tried to call someone on his cell phone, possibly the police or emergency services, Coleman lost his temper.

He grabbed a piece of scrap metal that was lying nearby and hit the tourist on the head.

Kevin fell and did not move.

Coleman checked the tourist’s pulse and realized he was dead.

The man panicked, realizing he had committed murder.

With his criminal past, any crime meant life imprisonment.

Coleman decided to get rid of the body so that it would never be found.

He remembered the industrial crusher in the main workshop, which could completely destroy the remains.

Coleman dragged Kevin’s body into the sawmill building and with great difficulty lifted it up to the crusher’s loading hatch.

The dead man weighed about 80 kg, so he had to use a hoist and ropes.

The man turned on the diesel generator, which was still working, and started the crushing mechanism.

The body fell into the drum and was crushed along with the wood waste.

After destroying the body, Coleman took the backpack and the tourists personal belongings.

He burned the documents, money, and camera in his home stove.

He cut the clothes into pieces and threw them away in different places in the forest.

One shoe accidentally remained in the shed.

The man simply forgot about it.

Coleman did not clean the knife he used to cut the victim’s clothes properly, so traces of blood remained on the handle.

He drove Kevin Coleman’s car into the forest and abandoned it on the side of a dirt road far from the sawmill.

He hoped that search parties would find the car and look for the tourist in that area rather than near industrial buildings.

The plan worked.

Rescuers did indeed focus their search on the forest rather than the abandoned sawmill.

Coleman admitted that he lived in fear of being exposed for a whole year.

He expected the body to be found during the search, but no one thought to check the contents of the crusher.

When the demolition of the sawmill buildings was announced in the spring, Coleman realized that his crime would soon be discovered.

He thought about running away, but couldn’t bring himself to leave the only place he knew.

Coleman’s testimony was recorded on 20 pages.

The man signed each page and confirmed that he had given his testimony voluntarily in the presence of a lawyer.

Detective Hill checked the details of the story against the case files and found no contradictions.

The defendant’s version explained all the circumstances of the crime and the disappearance of the evidence.

Harry Coleman’s case was referred to the prosecutor’s office for the preparation of an indictment.

The prosecutor demanded the maximum punishment for the defendant, life imprisonment without the right to early release.

Given Coleman’s criminal past and the brutality of the crime, the court had to impose the most severe sentence.

Coleman’s lawyer tried to get a lighter sentence, citing his client’s cooperation with the investigation and the lack of intent to kill.

The defense argued that the tourist’s death was the result of an uncontrollable impulse, not a premeditated crime.

However, the way the body was hidden showed that the criminal acted deliberately.

The abandoned sawmill was completely demolished in the summer of 2016.

A young forest now grows in its place.

Local authorities have erected a small memorial plaque in memory of Kevin Marshall, a young man who simply wanted to take a few photos and fell victim to someone else’s paranoia and cruelty.

The story of Kevin Marshall’s disappearance and murder ended with the criminal receiving a just punishment, but it did not bring back the life of an innocent man.

The 34year-old programmer from Eugene will forever be remembered by his loved ones as a kind and cheerful person whose life was tragically cut short by an encounter with a killer in the forests of Oregon.