One of Oregon’s oldest unsolved murder cases is the chilling tale of the Lake Lava Murders, a triple homicide that took place near Little Lava Lake in the Cascade Mountains south of Bend, Oregon. The murders, which occurred in January 1924, have intrigued and baffled investigators for nearly a century.
The Victims and Their Lives
The victims were Edward Nickols, 50, Roy Wilson, 35, and Dewey Morris, 25. All three were fur trappers working in the Deschutes National Forest. Nickols, a seasoned trapper, had been seen in Bend shortly before Christmas, boasting about a successful trapping season and showing off expensive furs. Roy Wilson, a former U.S. Marine, and Dewey Morris were also reported to be doing well. They had made arrangements with a local logging contractor, Edward Logan, to stay in his cabin during the trapping season.
The Discovery of the Bodies
The bodies were not discovered until April 1924. When Owen Morris, Dewey’s brother, went to check on the men, he found the cabin abandoned. A cat, emaciated and frantic, fled as they approached. The cabin was strangely set up as if the men had abruptly left; their clothing, guns, and winter gear were left behind, and a calendar was still set to January despite it being April.
The men had apparently been preparing a meal—there was burnt meat in a pot on the stove and a table set for dinner. The sled they used for transporting furs was missing, along with Logan’s prize foxes from a nearby pen. A bloodstained claw hammer was discovered in the fox pen.
Investigation and Evidence
The next day, Deschutes County officer Clarence Adams arrived to investigate. He soon found the missing sled near Lava Lake with a reddish substance later confirmed to be blood. Other clues included a strange depression in the ice of the lake and a trail of blood, hair, and spent shells leading to the lake. It became apparent that a hole had been cut into the ice, and the men’s bodies had been disposed of in the lake.
When the bodies were recovered, they were wrapped in muslin and appeared to have been butchered. Nickols’s body, still wearing his glasses, showed signs of close-range shotgun blasts and a missing jaw. Roy Wilson had a severely injured shoulder and a bullet behind his ear, suggesting he was shot with both a shotgun and a pistol. Dewey Morris had been shot in the elbow and suffered a significant blunt force injury.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma, possibly from a hammer. The time of death was estimated to be between December 1923 and January 1924, narrowing the window of the crime.
Suspects and Theories
Initially, investigators suspected Charles Kinzey, a former trapping partner of Nickols who had a known dispute with him. Kinzey had previously been arrested for robbery and attempted murder and had escaped from an Idaho prison in 1915. Despite being the primary suspect, Kinzey had an alibi claiming he was working on the Moffatt Tunnel in Colorado at the time of the murders. Authorities found no evidence linking him to the crime, and he was eventually located in Montana but could not be charged.
Another suspect was Indian Erickson, a local logger and moonshiner, but he was ruled out due to a solid alibi.
The Ongoing Mystery
Despite various leads and investigations, the Lake Lava Murders remain officially unsolved. The case is a haunting reminder of the mysteries that can remain hidden in the wilderness and the challenges of solving crimes from nearly a century ago.
In the end, the Lake Lava Murders stand as one of Oregon’s most perplexing and enduring unsolved cases, leaving many questions unanswered and a chilling story that continues to intrigue and unsettle.
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