WEBVTT 1 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:53.079 Victorian British Columbia sits on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. 2 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:56.520 In November of nineteen eighty seven, the city was settling 3 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:00.439 into the gray stillness of Pacific Northwest autumn. The tourist 4 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:03.439 season had ended months before, leaving the Inner Harbor quiet 5 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.640 except for the gulls and the rhythmic churn of ferry engines. 6 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:11.040 Rain fell steadily just so outside the city. In the 7 00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:14.560 bedroom community of Saanich, life moved at a slower pace. 8 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.159 The ferry route between Victoria and Washington State had been 9 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:21.680 running for decades, a crucial artery connecting Canada to the 10 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:25.879 Olympic Peninsula and beyond. Every day, vehicles lined up at 11 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:30.040 the Coho Ferry terminal, work trucks, dan's, motor homes, fans. 12 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:34.920 Some passengers were commuters, others were tourists eager to explore 13 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:38.959 Seattle or ventured deeper into the American wilderness. On the 14 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:42.200 morning of Wednesday, the eighteenth of November nineteen eighty seven, 15 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:46.120 a Braun nineteen seventy seven Ford Club wagon joined the queue. 16 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:50.760 Behind the wheel was twenty year old Jay Cook. Beside 17 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:54.799 him sat eighteen year old Tanya van Kulemborg. They were 18 00:01:54.840 --> 00:01:58.319 heading to Seattle on an errand for Jay's father's heating business. 19 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:02.719 A simple overnight tree to pick up a furnace. They 20 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:04.920 had blankets and foam paths in case they wanted to 21 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:08.360 sleep in the van. They had cash and travelers checks 22 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:11.639 in case they fancied a motel. They had a plan 23 00:02:11.719 --> 00:02:14.960 to call home once they picked up the equipment. The 24 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.199 four o'clock ferry pulled away from the dock, carrying them 25 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:22.879 across the Strait of Wandy Fuca towards Port Angele's. The 26 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:26.639 water was choppy, the sky heavy with clouds. By the 27 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:30.039 time they reached the American side, darkness was already settling 28 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:34.719 over the forested coastline. Somewhere along the roads between Port 29 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:38.879 Angeles and Seattle, between the ferry terminals and small hounds 30 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:42.599 that dotted Highway one oh one, Tanya and Jay disappeared. 31 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:02.000 Tanya van Kulenborg was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 32 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:05.039 on the seventh of March nineteen sixty nine, to parents 33 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:08.560 Willem and Jan. She had one sibling, an older brother 34 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:11.560 named John, and they had grown up together in Vancouver 35 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:15.759 Island in the close knit community of sanich By the 36 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:18.800 summer of nineteen eighty seven, eighteen year old Tanya had 37 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:21.879 graduated from Oak Bay High School, located just a few 38 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:26.439 kilometers east of Johntown, Victoria's Shocks. She was in that 39 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:30.319 strange spot between adolescents and adulthood, just trying to figure 40 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:33.560 everything out. That summer, Tanya was saving for a trip 41 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:36.439 to Holland, where she had family on her father's site. 42 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:39.319 Those who loved Tanya said that she was someone who 43 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:42.000 loved deeply and cared for things that needed her attention. 44 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:47.240 She cared for many pets over the years, cats, fish, gerbils, and, 45 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:51.120 after constant appeals to her mother, a beloved golden retriever 46 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:54.840 she named Tessa. Tessa was more than just a pet. 47 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:59.240 Tessa was her companion, her confidant, the kind of presence 48 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:02.240 that made coming home home feel warmer. Dania had dreams 49 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:04.680 of working with animals one day, but right now she 50 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:07.120 was working part time as a waitress to earn some 51 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:11.120 money for college. She was nicknamed Swede and was known 52 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:15.120 for her sarcasm and many different laughs. She was a 53 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:18.319 competent sailor on family trips, comfortable with the wind in 54 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:21.480 the water at ease in the natural world that surrounded 55 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:25.079 her island home. Music was another part of Tanya's life. 56 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:28.000 She was a casual guitarist whose favorite band, You Two, 57 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:32.160 had just released their first number one record. Danie wasn't 58 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:35.519 performing on stage as her chasing fame. She just pled 59 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:40.120 for herself for the joy of it. Danya's focus campaign 60 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.720 to get a family dog or even start a girl's 61 00:04:42.759 --> 00:04:45.959 basketball team at her high school showed her determination and 62 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:49.839 willingness to fight for the things she wanted. When she 63 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:54.800 wanted something, she pursued it with quiet persistence. Daniel wasn't 64 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:57.360 de typed to back down from a challenge, even when 65 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:01.079 the odds weren't in her favor. She was dating twenty 66 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:03.839 year old Jay Cook. Jay had been born in the 67 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:07.279 Greater Victoria area of British Columbia and Canada, and he 68 00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:10.319 grew up in Sanach with his parents, Leona and Gordon. 69 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:15.000 Gordon worked in the family business, Cook and Talbot Heating Limited. 70 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:20.120 Jay had two sisters, Laura, Lee and Kelly. At twenty 71 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.639 years old, Jay stood at six foot four inches tall, 72 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:26.160 but he hadn't quite beefed out yet. His family always 73 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:28.959 choked that he was gangly, but he was sweet. The 74 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:33.040 kind of person whose presence felt uncomplicated, and Jay wasn't 75 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:35.959 one to sit still. He'd worked on a fishing boat, 76 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:39.040 in a pizza restaurant, picked up bass guitar, and loved 77 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:42.000 boating with his family. He had ambitions to one day 78 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:46.560 become a marine biologist. He was left handed, broad shouldered, 79 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.720 and carried himself with an easy, unassuming confidence. It was 80 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:53.759 also a sweetness to Jay that his family and friends remembered. 81 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.199 One night, after a shift at the pizza parlor, he 82 00:05:57.240 --> 00:05:59.560 wrote his bike three hours through rain and darkness to 83 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:02.199 a cabin where his friends were staying for the weekend. 84 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:04.720 He had balanced a Pete's on his head the whole 85 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:08.560 way there to bring them food. Jay had no rough edges, 86 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:12.759 his uncle recollected, while his friend dor And Schiller said 87 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:16.399 Jay was very warm. He enjoyed meeting people, but he 88 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:19.560 didn't like hanging around with people who brought him on happiness. 89 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:23.720 Tanya and Jay were high school sweethearts. They spent all 90 00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:26.720 of their free time together, mostly at each other's houses. 91 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:32.120 Jay's sister, Laura fondly recollected Tanya was very sweet and caring, 92 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:35.199 and they looked up to each other. Jay's mother Leona 93 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:39.439 believed that Tanya was quite special to him. Tanya's father, Willem, 94 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:41.480 felt that they seemed to be good for each other. 95 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:45.439 He had no apprehension about them being together, and was 96 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:49.240 in fact, very comfortable with it. In family photographs from 97 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:52.040 that summer, Tanya and Jay looked to be two young 98 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:55.720 people on the cusp of their lives. They had no 99 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:13.199 way of knowing that time was running out. Tanya and 100 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:15.839 Jay had been dating for several months when November arrived, 101 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:19.240 bringing with it the gray skies and persistent rain that 102 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:24.000 defined Pacific Northwest autumns. The trees had long since shed 103 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:28.480 their leaves, and darkness came early, swallowing the afternoon by 104 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:31.439 four point thirty pm. It was during this time that 105 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:33.759 Jay asked Tanya to accompany him on which it had 106 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:37.439 have been a routine trip to Seattle. He needed to 107 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:40.800 pick up a furnace for his father's heating business. Not 108 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.319 exactly the kind of adventure that teenage dreams were made of, 109 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.360 driving south to collect industrial equipment, But Jay had an idea. 110 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:51.920 It didn't have to be boring. If they were together, 111 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:56.040 they could turn the mundane into something memorable. An overnight 112 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:59.959 trip a small adventure, time away from parents and sibs 113 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:04.720 and the familiar rhythms of home. Gordon Cook, Jay's father, 114 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:09.759 saw no reason to refuse. He later recollected, Normally I 115 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:12.199 would have gone down myself on a weekend, but I 116 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:15.279 just thought, why not let Jay do it? Seemed reasonable. 117 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:19.040 Jay was responsible, twenty years old, more than capable of 118 00:08:19.079 --> 00:08:22.920 handling a simple pickup and delivery. Gordon gave his son 119 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:25.360 some extra money so they could stay overnight and drive 120 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:29.720 back the next day. On the morning of Wednesday, November eighteenth, 121 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:33.639 nineteen eighty seven, Jay pulled up to the Vancoulenburg home 122 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:37.639 in his father's company vehicle, a Broun nineteen seventy seven 123 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:42.120 Ford club Wagon. The plan was straightforward. They would catch 124 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:45.320 the four o'clock ferry to Victoria to Port Angele's in Washington. 125 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:48.399 From there they would drive to a second car ferry. 126 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:52.039 They would take them from Bremerton across Puget Sound to Seattle. 127 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:55.559 They'd pick up the furnace, call home to confirm everything 128 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:58.279 had gone smoothly, find a place to sleep, and return 129 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:02.200 to Victoria by Thursday night. They'd packed phone pads and 130 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:04.720 blankets in case they decided to sleep in the van, 131 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:08.440 but they also had cash and travelers checks. If they 132 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:12.240 fancied the comfort of a motel room. The options were open, 133 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:15.919 the trip flexible to young people with a simple errand 134 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:19.600 and a dead of themselves. After they picked up the furnace, 135 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:23.240 they were supposed to call home, But that phone call 136 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:28.159 never came. At first, neither family worried. Tanya and Jay 137 00:09:28.200 --> 00:09:31.480 were young and in love. After all, maybe they decided 138 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:34.720 to explore Seattle for a few hours. Maybe they'd found 139 00:09:34.759 --> 00:09:37.840 a diner with good food, or walked along the waterfront, 140 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:41.000 or simply gotten caught up with each other's company and 141 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:44.480 lost track of time. The plan had been loose. Anyway, 142 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:47.120 sleep in the van or get a motel their choice. 143 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:51.600 They had the resources to handle either option. Missing one 144 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:55.879 phone call didn't necessarily mean catastrophe. It could simply mean 145 00:09:55.960 --> 00:09:59.919 teenagers being teenagers, living in the moment, forgetting the smaller 146 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:04.559 obligations to worried parents. But when Thursday night arrived and 147 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:08.440 neither Tanya nor Jay returned home, concern began to form 148 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:13.039 into something sharper. They should have been back. The trip 149 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:15.279 wasn't meant to last more than a day and a half. 150 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:19.759 The furnace pickup was a simple transaction, there was no 151 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:24.039 reason for delay. On Friday, the twentieth of November, two 152 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:27.879 days after Tanya and Jay had left, their families reported 153 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:40.360 the missing. The search titanniaan Jay got underway with the 154 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:44.159 methodical procedures that mark missing person investigations back in nineteen 155 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:48.879 eighty seven. This was before cell phones, before GPS tracking, 156 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:52.919 before the digital breadcrumbs that would later make disappearances somewhat 157 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:57.480 easier to trace. The tectives began with the basics, retracing 158 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:01.360 the couple's intended route. They quickly learned that Tanya and 159 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:04.960 Jay had indeed arrived at the ferry from Victoria to 160 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:10.440 Port Angele's on Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses confirmed their departure. The 161 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:14.480 ferry manifest included their vehicle. They had made it across 162 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:18.200 the Strait of Wan de Fuca without incident, but after 163 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:21.639 that the trail went cold. They never made it to Seattle, 164 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:25.039 at least not to pick up the furnace. Whatever had 165 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:27.639 happened to them had occurred somewhere between Port Angeles and 166 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:31.440 their destination, somewhere in the tangle of roads and small 167 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:37.240 towns that dotted Washington State's Olympic Peninsula. Detectives started checking 168 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:41.639 local motels and campgrounds, thinking perhaps there was an innocent explanation. 169 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:46.080 They were teenagers, after all, young in love on their 170 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:49.600 first trail trip alone together. Maybe they'd simply decided to 171 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:53.679 extend their adventure to steal a few more days of freedom. 172 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:57.519 It was a comforting theory that Tanya's family knew better. 173 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:01.799 Her father, Willem said, I know she would have called 174 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:04.759 home if she could. She always calls home when she's away. 175 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:08.399 When she went to Europe, she always called, and whenever 176 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:12.600 she goes over to Vancouver, she always calls. It wasn't 177 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:16.639 just parantel anxiety. It was knowledge based on pattern, on 178 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:21.200 the established rhythms of his daughter's behavior. Dania was responsible. 179 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:26.000 She understood that silence created worry. She wouldn't disappear without word, 180 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:31.480 not willingly, not by choice. Jay's family echoed the same certainty. 181 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.639 Gordon Cook insisted to detectives that his son had no 182 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:38.480 intention of going on a prolonged trip. This was supposed 183 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:42.679 to be a quick errand not an escape. Jay was reliable, 184 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:45.360 the kind of young man who showed up when expected, 185 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:49.799 who kept his word. But the days pressed forward and 186 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:54.080 nobody could offer any insights into the couple's whereabouts. Fort 187 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:58.679 Angele's police chief, Mark Clellan addressed the media, stating, they 188 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:01.840 have never reached Seattle, and that's all we know. There's 189 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:06.320 no indication of file play, no indication, but also no answers. 190 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:11.440 The search continued. William couldn't sit idle while others looked 191 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:16.159 for his daughter. He drove to Washington State himself, scarring 192 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:19.960 the Olympic Peninsula's winding roads, searching the streets for Seattle 193 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:24.120 for any sign of Tanya or Jay. He walked neighborhoods, 194 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:29.399 showed photographs to strangers, asked questions until his voice grew hoarse. 195 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:33.919 Police forces throughout Canada and the United States were alerted 196 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:36.080 to be on the lookout for the couple or their van. 197 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:40.320 The alerts went out across radio frequencies and fox machines 198 00:13:40.840 --> 00:13:44.919 distributed to jurisdictions that stretched from British Columbia to Oregon. 199 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:49.919 Somewhere someone must have seen them, somewhere, there had to 200 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:53.159 be a witness or a clue. But the days continued 201 00:13:53.159 --> 00:13:56.440 to pass with no word from the couple. The silence 202 00:13:56.440 --> 00:14:00.000 stretched from ours into days, from days into a wis 203 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:03.639 and with each passing or the likelihood of an innocent 204 00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:23.480 explanation grew smaller. It had been a week since Tanya 205 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:27.360 and Jay left for Seattle. The morning of November twenty 206 00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:31.759 fourth dawned cold and overcast, typical weather for late autumn 207 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:36.279 in Washington State. Around eleven thirty, a man was taking 208 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:40.240 his daily walk along an isolated road near Alger, a 209 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:46.200 small community just south of Bellingham. The area was quiet, rural, 210 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:48.840 the kind of place where you could walk for miles 211 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:52.559 without seeing another person. As he made his way down 212 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:56.279 the road, something in a ditch caught his eye. It 213 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:59.240 was difficult to say it. First fall had stripped the 214 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.960 trees bare, and leaves had accumulated in thick, wet layers 215 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:07.120 along the roadside. But there was something there, something that 216 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:13.000 didn't quite belong, something unnatural against the landscape. He moved closer, 217 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.919 trying to get a better look. Then he stopped in 218 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:22.200 its tracks. It was the lifeless body of Tanya van Kulemborg. 219 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:26.879 She was lying faced down over an embankment, her bodily 220 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:31.519 partially obscured by fallen leaves and branches. She was made 221 00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:34.320 from the waist down, wearing only a pair of socks, 222 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:38.200 her shoes were gone, her bra had been pushed up 223 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:41.639 over her breasts. She had been shot once in the 224 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:44.879 back of the head at close range. The bullet was 225 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:48.039 still lodged in her skull. Nearby, there was a shell 226 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:51.919 casing from a small caliber gun. The area was quickly 227 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:54.720 cordoned off with crime scene tape. As detectives descended on 228 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:59.320 the location. Debuty Jim Muherer would later recall the difficulty 229 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:03.080 of processing sing It rains a lot up there, and 230 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:05.240 the leaves were wet and it was hard to see. 231 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:07.600 You couldn't see the head or the shoulders of the 232 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:12.080 body because of the leaves and branches. Crime scene experts 233 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:16.080 arrived and documented everything as they found it. Once the 234 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:19.639 immediate area was secure, they expanded their search, coming through 235 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:23.440 the brush shoulder to shoulder, looking for any evidence, any 236 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:27.399 clue that might explain what had happened. They also believed 237 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:31.080 that Jay's body must be somewhere nearby. The theory that 238 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:34.200 Jay had killed Tanya and then fled was briefly considered 239 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:38.320 and quickly dismissed. The location where Tanya was found wasn't 240 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.799 on their route to Seattle. There was no logical reason 241 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:46.080 for them to have been in that isolated road near Alger. Furthermore, 242 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:50.440 the evidence told the darker story Tanya had been sexually assaulted. 243 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:55.360 Near her body, detectives found the zip pies. The evidence 244 00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:58.559 suggested that Tanya had been killed by a stranger, and 245 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:02.120 most likely Jay was dead as we well. The surrounding 246 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:07.759 area was meticulously searched, but Jay's body wasn't there. Detectives 247 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.440 put out an urgent appeal asking anybody who had seen 248 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:13.359 Jay or the family's brought on ford van to contact 249 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:17.720 them immediately. The next day, the Texas received their first 250 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:22.039 significant hip. Strange items had been discovered underneath the porch 251 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:25.119 of a local tavern in Bellingham, close to the bus station. 252 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.599 Among them, they found Tania's ID card, keys to the van, 253 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:32.480 an ammunition that mashed the bullet that had killed her. 254 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:38.359 There were also zip ties and disposable surgic gloves. Detectives 255 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:42.480 immediately shifted their focus to Bellingham. In a parking lot downtown, 256 00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:47.119 they found the van. Inside was even more crucial evidence, 257 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:51.440 more zip ties, Tanya's black pants, a blood stain on 258 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:55.400 a car seat, another blood stain on a comforter. The 259 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:58.519 van was a crime scene, but still there was no 260 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:11.079 sign of Jay. The next day, November twenty sixth, Scott 261 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:14.319 Walker and a friend were hunting pheasants south of Monroe, 262 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:17.519 about seventy miles from where Tania's body had been discovered. 263 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:22.319 They were walking near High Bridge when Scott's dog, Tess, 264 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:25.799 suddenly rushed into the tall brush beneath the wooden planks 265 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:29.599 on the eastern approach to the bridge. She didn't come 266 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:33.119 back right away, which was highly unusual. Tess was a 267 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:37.359 well trained hunting dog, responsive to commands, but now she 268 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:42.359 just stood there close to the bridge, almost in a daze. 269 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:46.960 Scott recalled, she was standing at a distance, I think 270 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:49.640 trying to figure out what she was looking at. You 271 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:53.240 could tell she didn't want to get any closer. Scott 272 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.880 approached his dog and looked in the direction of her gaze. 273 00:18:57.160 --> 00:18:59.640 Through the brush, He could see an ashen gray human 274 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:04.519 or protruding from the undergrowth. He didn't get any closer. 275 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:07.759 He and his friend immediately reported the discovery to the 276 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:12.440 nearest Washington State Police station. Sheriff Rick Board arrived at 277 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.880 the scene with other officers. They were directed to the 278 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:21.519 location and moved cautiously towards the body. It was Jay Cook. 279 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:33.960 He was lying in a fatal position, his face and 280 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:38.039 upper body covered by a tattered blue blanket. He was 281 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:41.759 bonded with the ziptize and gagged. Jay had been beaten 282 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.519 over the head with a rock and strangled to death 283 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:49.319 with twine and a dog collar. The missing person's investigation 284 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:54.119 had just become a double homicide. Sergeant Dave Richardson said 285 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:58.440 in the media they were clean cut individuals. It was 286 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:01.599 a statement meant to emphasize the senselessness of their deaths, 287 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:06.279 the randomness of the violence that had found them. Detectives 288 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:10.400 began piecing together a theory with what had happened. They 289 00:20:10.440 --> 00:20:13.839 speculated that Tanya and Jay had possibly offered their killer 290 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:18.640 a ride, perhaps picking up a hitchhiker, common enough occurrence 291 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:21.920 in nineteen eighty seven, especially for young people who saw 292 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.680 helping a stranger as an act of kindness as opposed 293 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:29.960 to a risk. Detectives believed that Jay had been killed first. 294 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:33.720 Their theory suggested that the killer had ordered him to 295 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.839 park the van out of sight in a location where 296 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:41.319 the violence could unfold without witnesses. While Tanya was zip 297 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:44.440 tied and gagged in the van, unable to help or escape, 298 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:48.480 the killer took Jad the isolated spat beneath high Bridge 299 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:52.920 where he was murdered. Sergeant Rick Bart noted there wasn't 300 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:55.720 much of a struggle. Whoever killed him knew how to 301 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:58.799 park the van out of sight. He was fairly confident 302 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:02.759 nobody was going to see what he was about to do. Afterwards, 303 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:05.559 the killer returned to the van where Tania was held captive. 304 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:10.160 She was sexually assaulted there, then she was driven to 305 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:13.359 the isolated road near Alger and shot once in the 306 00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:17.279 back of the head. Detectives didn't believe that this was 307 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:20.720 a robbery gone wrong, even though some items were missing. 308 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:24.680 Tanya's from an old camera had been taken, a black 309 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:28.839 and red jacket, a green backpack, but the violence spoke 310 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:34.200 to something darker than simple theft. Jay's father, Gordon, examined 311 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:37.160 the fan with the detectives, looking for anything out of 312 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:41.559 the ordinary. He said that everything seemed normal, nothing obviously 313 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:46.279 disturbed beyond the bloodstains and the evidence of violence. A 314 00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:49.319 crucial part of the investigation was determining where Tania and 315 00:21:49.400 --> 00:21:52.640 Jay were last seen alive, to narrow Down, where they 316 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:56.680 had encountered their killer. Detectives soon learned that the couple 317 00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:00.440 had purchased gas in the small Mason County town of 318 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:05.480 Alan on November eighteenth. Witnesses confirmed that they were together 319 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.759 and they seemed to be in high spirits. There was 320 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:12.400 nobody else with them, nobody else in the van, but 321 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:16.400 Alan wasn't on their planned route. Detectives believed they had 322 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:20.799 taken a wrong turn, a simple navigational error that would 323 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:23.920 prove to be fatal. Records showed they had purchased a 324 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:27.359 ticket for the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle at ten 325 00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:30.799 sixteen p m. It was presumed that they made it 326 00:22:30.839 --> 00:22:33.400 on to the ferry, but nobody could say for certain 327 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:37.319 the crossing would have taken about an or they may 328 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:40.960 have met their killer there or perhaps on the roads afterwards. 329 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:45.880 Dania's father, Wilhelm, had his own theory. He remarked, in 330 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:49.359 my mind, I'm satisfied they met their misfortune on the eighteenth. 331 00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:52.799 They would have picked up two hitchhikers as readily as one. 332 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:56.440 They trusted the whole world. If the hitchhikers were in 333 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:59.880 the same age group, I guarantee you that van would stop. 334 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:03.799 It was the kind of heartbreaking observation that only a 335 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:08.880 parent could make, knowing your child's kindness, their generosity of spirit, 336 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:13.440 and recognizing how those very qualities might have made them vulnerable. 337 00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:18.240 Detectives weren't quite sure whether there was one killer or multiple. 338 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:22.400 Posters featuring photographs of Tanya and Jay were printed and 339 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:26.720 distributed along two routes they or their killer may have taken. 340 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:31.039 The posters went up in store, service stations and businesses 341 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:35.480 along Interstate five and Highway nine. The investigation was then 342 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:38.799 ramped up. A fifteen thousand dollars reward was offered for 343 00:23:38.839 --> 00:23:42.599 information leading to the conviction of the couple's killer, but 344 00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:45.119 detectives admitted it wasn't going to be an easy case. 345 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:47.920 Tania and Jay were believed to have been killed by 346 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.359 a complete stranger in an area that neither of them knew. 347 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:55.960 There were no obvious witnesses, no clear motive beyond random violence. 348 00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:00.079 Police spokesman Roy Reid acknowledged the difficulty and set and 349 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:04.039 I understand it's a pretty cold trail at this point. 350 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:08.799 While detectives worked around the clock processing evidence and chasing leads, 351 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:12.640 the community gathered to mourn. Around two hundred and fifty 352 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:15.799 people assembled at the University of Victoria Chapel for a 353 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:21.000 memorial service for Tania. The chapel was full standing room only, 354 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:25.559 filled with classmates and teachers and neighbors. Reverend Francis a 355 00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:28.240 Day spoke to the assembled mourners with words meant to 356 00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:31.960 transform grief into purpose. Tanya and Jay will not have 357 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:34.440 died in vain if each of us is motivated to 358 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:36.839 go from this room to try to make the world 359 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:40.160 a safer place in which to live. She urged everyone 360 00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:43.440 to work towards raising children who wouldn't need violence, who 361 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:48.200 could resolve conflicts without brutality. It was not domestic message 362 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:52.279 delivered into her room that was heavy with loss. Tanya 363 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:54.240 was fondly remembered as the sort of girl who was 364 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.839 there whenever he needed her. Oak Bay High School Principal 365 00:24:57.880 --> 00:25:01.160 Court Brusom recalled her as the Jorden who had persuaded 366 00:25:01.240 --> 00:25:04.960 him to form a senior girls basketball team and coach 367 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:09.240 it himself. It was classic Tanya, saying something that should 368 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:14.920 exist and refusing to accept its absence. Jesy's memorial service followed. 369 00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:18.839 He was remembered as a peaceful, easygoing young man who 370 00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:22.559 enjoyed meeting people and a good joke. His friend Kathy 371 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:26.480 Clark said simply, he was a warm, peace loving person. 372 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:32.759 Very easy going and mild tempered. These were the testimonials 373 00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:36.440 of lives cut short. Not the grand eulogies of people 374 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:40.319 who had lived long enough to accumulate impressive achievements, but 375 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:44.920 the smaller, more intimate observations of character. Tania and Jay 376 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:47.160 had been killed before they could become whoever they might 377 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:52.279 have been, before college, before careers, before the life they 378 00:25:52.359 --> 00:26:04.799 might have built together. In early December of the investigation 379 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:09.400 struggled to gain traction, detectives started looking outward, searching for 380 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:12.200 patterns that might connect Tanya and Jay's murders to other 381 00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:16.960 unsolved cases. What they found was disturbing. There had been 382 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:20.880 several unsolved double murders in Washington State over the past 383 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:24.960 two years. Since nineteen eighty five, three other couples on 384 00:26:25.079 --> 00:26:29.440 sightseeing or camping trips had been found killed, or disappeared 385 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:34.359 under mysterious circumstances. Deputy Pete Panissy had investigated the August 386 00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:37.920 nineteen eighty six disappearance of sixty four year old Robert 387 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:42.279 Linton and his sixty two year old wife, Dagmar. He 388 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:44.599 said he had a gut instinct that the cases were 389 00:26:44.599 --> 00:26:48.319 somehow connected. Robert and Dagmar had been on their way 390 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:52.039 to Vancouver when they parked their trailer at the Naco 391 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:55.519 West Camground near Brennan. They took their truck on a 392 00:26:55.599 --> 00:27:00.000 day trip and were never seen again. An unidentified suspect 393 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:03.400 produce their gasoline card and was tracked the previous year 394 00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:07.359 through Alger just north of where Tanya's body had been found. 395 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:12.680 Then the suspect dropped out of sight. The deputy noted 396 00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:16.759 the similarities. Tanya and Jay had a van, the Lintons 397 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:19.440 had a truck with a canopy. The Linton's truck was 398 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:22.559 left in a public parking lot. The van belonging to 399 00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:25.039 his Tanya and Jay was found in a parking lot. 400 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:28.799 The suspect in the Linton disappearance was described as a tall, 401 00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:32.920