Finch surveyed the structures.

Concrete [music] foundation blocks are mossy.

One of them has graffiti and paint.

TVL 2009.

It’s an acronym for timber valley [music] logging.

The lake indicated by the second coordinates was a half mile to the east.

Diameter about 200 ft.

The depth is unknown.

The shores are marshy.

The water’s dark, covered with cassava.

No signs of human activity.

Finch photographed both sites back to the department at 1740.

On September 26th, Finch wrote an interim [music] report.

Key points: vehicle location corresponds to the beginning of the official route.

Coordinates [music] in the glove compartment indicate a completely different direction.

Distance between routes, 6 mi.

Holloway never mentioned an abandoned campground.

Print out found in the car, but not taken on the hike.

question is, [music] why would Bert print out the coordinates if he wasn’t going to go there? Or did he but changed his mind? Or did someone else put the sheet in the glove compartment? On September 27th, the search operation was officially suspended.

Total manh hours over 800.

Area searched 23 square miles.

Result: vehicle, piece of tarp, coordinates of unknown destination.

Bert Holloway and Tessa Morgan remained missing.

On November 23rd, 2015, the case of Bert Holloway and Tessa Morgan was officially placed on hold.

Detective Robert Finch wrote a 37page final report.

Conclusions: No bodies, no witnesses to the crime, no direct evidence of violent death.

Circumstantial evidence.

Military tarp of unidentified origin.

Coordinates of an abandoned campground in the glove compartment of a car, disabled satellite beacon, not enough to prosecute.

Sheriff Coleman signed the document.

[music] The case has been filed.

Families have been notified.

Kyle Morgan filed a petition to have his sister declared deceased.

The procedure requires a 7-year absence.

Janice Holloway has refused a similar application.

In an interview with the newspaper, she said, “While there is no body, there is hope.

” The winter of 2015-16 passed with no new leads.

Snow covered the Cascades Mountains in [music] December.

The National Wildlife Refuge is closed to hikers until April.

The Triisters Loop route is inaccessible.

The search is impossible.

In January of 2016, Ranger Thomas Barrow made a routine detour through the area on a snowmobile.

The route included checking information boards, checking for poachers, and fixing damage from winter storms.

On January 8th, at 11:00 in the morning, Barl was driving along a clearing 4 mi north of an abandoned logging camp.

He spotted snowmobile tracks, fresh, no more than 2 hours old.

The trail led off the forest road and into the back country.

Barrow followed the trail for half a mile.

The trail led to a small clearing.

In the clearing was a white Chevrolet Express cargo van.

Nearby, two men in dark jackets were unloading crates.

Barrow stopped 100 yards away.

The men spotted him.

One raised his hand in greeting.

The other pulled out a walkie-talkie.

Barrow drove closer, asked if he had a permit to be in the preserve.

The first man, Tall, about 45 years old, said they were under contract [music] with Cascade Security, a private security company.

They’re guarding equipment for a geologic expedition in the spring.

Barrow asked for identification.

The man showed a plastic ID card with a photo and company seal.

Name: Derek Wood.

Position: Senior Security Guard.

Barrow wrote down the information, informed him that commercial activity in the reserve required approval from the administration.

Wood nodded, said paperwork [music] was in process.

Barrow left.

In a report dated January 9th, documented the incident.

Requested information on Cascade Security from the district office.

The answer came January 21st.

The company was incorporated in Portland in 2013.

The line of business, site security, cargo escort, security consulting license.

Valid no violations reported.

Cascade security was a facade.

Founder and owner Derek Wood, 46, used a legitimate business to cover a smuggling ring.

The route cocaine from Southern California through Oregon’s National Wildlife Refugees to Portland and Seattle.

Abandoned camps served as trans shshipment points.

The product was transported in small shipments in vans labeled security or logistics [music] companies.

Wood hired eight men, all with criminal records, all recruited with the promise of high pay and minimal risk.

Work schedule, two or three trips a month, 10 to 20 kilos of cargo.

Payment of $5,000 per flight.

The territory of the reserve is minimally [music] patrolled in winter.

The likelihood of encountering rangers is low.

Wood served 12 years in the US Marine Corps specialty.

Military corman participated in operations in Iraq in 2005 8 years.

Fired in 2009 for abuse of authority.

A court marshal recorded three cases of medical procedures on detainees without command authorization.

Wood claimed he acted out of efficiency.

Tribunal deemed actions to be ill treatment disciplinary dismissal.

After the army, Wood worked as a paramedic at a private clinic in Eugene.

Fired after a year for conflicts with [music] co-workers, then an orderly at a slaughter house in Bend.

Fired for violating procedures.

[music] In 201212, opened a security agency.

In 1913, he made contact with a cocaine dealer in Los Angeles.

Wood maintained access to medical equipment through a veterinarian he knew in Redmond, purchased veterinary drugs ostensibly to put large animals to sleep on the ranch.

Pantoarbital ketamine tranquilizers.

The veterinarian didn’t ask questions.

On February 14th, 2016, Ranger Barrow met [music] Wood’s men again at the reservation.

Same van, three men.

Wood recognized Barrow.

Said permission was granted.

Expedition would begin in March.

Showed a forged document stamped with the sanctuary authority seal.

Barrow doubted it.

Went back to the office, checked the database.

No permit had been issued for Cascade Security.

Barrow reported the incident to Sheriff Coleman.

Coleman relayed the information to the DEA.

Drug Enforcement Administration agent Kevin Madden began surveillance of Cascade Security in March.

Company office on the outskirts of Portland.

Warehouse in an industrial zone.

Four registered vehicles.

Madden requested a wiretap [music] warrant.

It was denied.

Not enough probable cause to suspect a serious crime.

Surveillance continued without technical means, visual inspection, movement patterns.

By April, Madden found Woods vans regularly visiting the reserve.

Frequency twice a week.

Dwell time 3 to 5 hours.

Route stable.

On April 9th, 2016, a major mudslide occurred in the Triisters Mountain area.

Cause: Sudden warming, intense snow melt, soil moisture saturation.

The flow displaced over 200 tons [music] of soil, rocks, and fallen trees.

An area of old growth forest, previously inaccessible due to dense undergrowth, was opened.

Wood halted flights until the situation could be assessed.

On April 20th, he personally visited the area, noticed the changes in the landscape.

He became concerned, contacted the team, ordered them to avoid the area until further notice.

On May 8th, loggers discovered the coffin.

On the 9th, the investigation began.

On the 10th, the FBI got involved.

Derek Wood learned of the discovery on the news.

On the evening of May 10th, he burned some of the files, destroyed two cell phones, ordered the team to stop all movement, said the operation was indefinitely frozen.

He didn’t know the FBI was already looking at a piece of military tarp.

He didn’t know his name was about to come up in the investigation.

He didn’t know his background was already being checked.

The cold case was thawing.

On May 8th, 2016, at 11:43 a.

m.

, a crew from the Timber Valley Logging Company found a wooden coffin at the foot of Three Sisters Mountain.

It was 7 ft long, 3 and 1/2 wide, [music] carved from the solid trunk of a red cedar.

Inside are the bodies of Bert Holloway [music] and Tessa Morgan.

Medical examiner Ela Crosby arrived at 1305.

The bodies were [music] transported to the Bend County Hospital Morg at 1520.

The autopsy began on May 9th at 9:00 a.

m.

Present.

Crosby, assistant David Lowe, forensic scientist Anna Peterson, FBI detective Nathan Ortega.

First examination.

Body of Bert Holloway, male Caucasian, age 31 years.

Height 6 feet 1 in.

Weight [music] 178 pounds.

Clothing clean, no damage.

Skin pale.

Waxy signs of mummification.

Body temperature consistent with room temperature.

Rigor mortise.

Absent time of death.

Estimated 7 to 8 months ago.

Crosby started the external examination.

No signs of trauma.

No fractures.

No abrasions.

No hematomas.

No ligature marks on the wrists or ankles.

Fingernails are intact.

No foreign tissue or blood under the fingernails.

Face is calm.

[music] Eyes are closed.

Skin is covered with a thin layer of waxy substance.

Crosby took samples.

Lab identified the composition [music] as beeswax with conifer resin.

The coating is uniform.

It was applied postmortem.

Internal examination.

Lungs without signs of drowning.

Heart without abnormalities.

Liver, normal kidneys, unchanged.

Blood taken for toxicology analysis.

Stomach contents, water and plant fibers.

Peterson examined the fibers under a microscope.

Result: Douglas fur needles.

Second examination.

Tessa Morgan’s body.

Caucasian female, age 29.

Height 5’6 in.

Weight 132 lb.

Clothes are clean.

Skin waxed.

Mummification identical to Holloway’s body.

External examination, no trauma, no fractures, no signs of violence.

The skin is waxed.

Internal examination, no abnormalities of the organs.

Stomach [music] contents, water, and fur needles.

Blood results came back on May 11th.

Toxicologist Robert Marshall, age 63, found high concentrations of pentabarbital in samples from both bodies.

Dose 300 mg per kilogram of body weight.

Lethal dose for humans 100 mg per kilogram exceeded three times.

Pentabarbatital is a barbiterate used in veterinary medicine to euthanize animals.

In medicine, it was used as a sleeping pill until the 70s, now banned for use on humans [music] in most US states.

Marshall found that the drug was administered orally, no injection marks on the bodies.

Time of action 30 to 45 minutes.

Death is caused by respiratory arrest.

The process is painless.

The person falls asleep and doesn’t wake up.

Crosby recorded both died within [music] 24 hours of disappearance.

Date of death, September 13th or 14th, 2015.

Cause, penttoarbital overdose.

Method of administration, voluntary or involuntary, undetermined.

CSI Peterson [music] examined the coffin.

A metal fragment measuring 5×7 mm was found on the bottom.

It’s rectangular in shape.

Material: plastic and metal.

Technical forensics identified a chip from a Garmin inReach satellite tracker.

Serial number matches the beacon from Holloway’s car.

Question: How did the beacon chip end up in the coffin if the beacon itself was left in the car? Experts answer.

The device was [music] disassembled.

The chip was removed.

The chip was separated by mechanical force.

Peterson examined the woodworking tools.

There are traces of professional tools on [music] the inside of the coffin.

Chisel, planer, sander.

Embossing techniques [music] indicate a skilled carpenter.

Time of manufacturer, 40 to 60 hours of work.

The inscription on the wall, they stayed together.

The letters are burned with a soldering iron or a red hot rod.

The handwriting is even.

It’s the same depth.

On May 11th, Detective Ortega wrote an interim report.

Conclusions: death was violent.

Murder disguised as a peaceful demise.

Killer has medical knowledge, has access to veterinary drugs, possesses carpentry skills.

He was methodical.

Bert Holloway and Tessa Morgan were murdered.

Their bodies were preserved, buried with honors.

On May 12th, 2016, FBI detective Nathan Ortega requested data on Oregon shipments of pentabarbital over the last 3 years.

The drug is controlled.

Every shipment is logged.

The manufacturer is required to submit reports.

The results came in on May 14th.

The pharmaceutical company VetMed Pharma of Eugene confirmed a series of the drug found in the bodies was supplied to veterinary clinics in Oregon from January through July of 2015.

19 recipients in all.

Ortega narrowed his search, requested data on clients within a 50-mi radius of Bend.

the list.

Five veterinary clinics, two ranches, one research lab.

Ortega and Detective Finch visited each location.

On May 17th, they checked out the Redmond Vet Care Clinic.

The owner, Peter Summers, 52 years old, provided a medication log.

Ortega [music] noticed a discrepancy.

According to the log, 20 ampules of pentabarbital were purchased, 16 were used.

The balance should be four.

Actual balance zero.

Summers explained [music] four ampules were sold to a regular customer to sedate large animals on a private ranch.

Customer’s name Derek Wood.

Date of last purchase, August 2015.

Ortega requested Wood’s background, age 46, owner of Cascade Security.

Address, Portland.

Military background.

Marine Corps corman [music] disciplinary discharge in 2009.

Finch remembered Cascade Logistics supplied military tarps found by the Creek Ortega checked the connection between the companies.

Result: both used the same warehouse in a [music] Portland industrial zone until 2015.

On May 18th, CSI Peterson completed her analysis of the casket.

The woodworking techniques indicated specific skills.

Peterson contacted woodworking expert Mark Turner, 61 years old.

Turner studied the photographs.

Conclusion: The craftsman used professional tools, mastered a gouging technique typical of boat building or traditional coffins.

Ortega requested data on Wood’s background.

[music] Military records showed Wood had participated in a cultural engagement program in Iraq.

He learned from local carpenters how to make traditional woodwork.

Commanders noted his passion for the craft.

On May 19th, Ortega obtained a search warrant for Cascade Security’s office and warehouse.

The search was conducted on May 20th at 6:00 in the morning.

Wood was not present.

An employee reported the boss left for Portland 3 days ago.

In the warehouse, they found rolls of military tarp identical to the one found by the creek, woodworking tools, chisels, planers.

In the office, computer, documents, maps of the preserve.

On May 21st, FBI agents set up surveillance on Wood’s home in Portland.

Address: Milwaukee Avenue, private residence.

Wood left the house at 9:00 a.

m.

, got into a black Ford F-150 pickup truck.

The license plate matched a vehicle caught on video outside a sister’s general store on September 12th, 2015.

Wood was arrested at 10:45 in the supermarket parking lot.

There was no resistance.

All he said was, “I knew you’d find it.

” The search of the house began at 11:30.

In the garage, a medical kit with surgical instruments, eight ampules of pentabarbital of the same series as the drug from the bodies, a roll of tarpolin, a soldering iron, jars of beeswax, and conifer resin.

In the study, a leatherbound notebook on the page from September 13th, 2015, the entry, objects B [music] and T, mistaken route.

Saw a truck by the lake, thought they were agents, took a picture of the license plate, had to take action.

I calmed them down, gave them a drug and water with pine needles.

They fell asleep quietly.

They weren’t afraid.

I made the coffin in 3 days.

I waxed the bodies like they learned in Fallujah.

They deserved [music] to rest together, buried them with honor.

On May 22nd, Wood testified in the presence of a lawyer.

He spoke calmly without emotion.

On the record, I didn’t mean to kill them.

They were just in the wrong place.

We were taking [music] a load to the lake.

They were walking through the woods.

They came to a clearing, saw a van.

The girl pulled out her camera, took a picture of the license plate.

The guy asked what we [music] were doing.

I said geological expedition.

He didn’t believe me.

Said he’d tell the rangers.

I couldn’t afford it.

The route was worth millions.

Offered them water.

added the drug.

They drank it.

Half an hour later, they fell asleep.

I carried them into the woods.

They didn’t scream.

They weren’t afraid.

They just fell asleep.

Then I thought, they loved each other.

Planned a wedding.

They deserved a decent funeral.

I made a coffin.

Treated the bodies to preserve them.

I put them together.

I wrote the truth.

They stayed together.

It’s better than rotting separately in the woods.

Ortega asked [music] about the tracker.

Wood replied, “Disassembled the device, threw the chip in the coffin.

I don’t know why.

Maybe so they’d be found someday.

” On May 23rd, Derek Wood was charged with firstdegree double murder, possession, and transportation of narcotics, and forgery.

Bail has not [music] been set.

Derek Wood’s trial began on August 23rd, 2016 in Dashuites County Court.

Judge Margaret Hullbrook, aged 61, presided.

There were 12 jurors.

The prosecution was represented by Assistant District Attorney Daniel [music] Kaine.

The trial lasted 19 days.

The prosecutor presented 137 exhibits, Woods journal entries, vials of pentabarbital, tools, a coffin, toxicology reports, a videotape from the store’s parking lot, 42 witnesses.

Forensics confirmed death from an overdose of an orally administered drug.

No signs of a struggle.

The defense [music] did not dispute the facts.

Wood’s attorney, Robert Stevens, argued the defendant acted under duress.

The murder was not premeditated.

Wood believed the pair were federal agents, acted out of fear of exposure.

The prosecutor denied the theory.

Holloway worked as a forester.

Morgan was a social worker.

They went hiking before the wedding.

They strayed off the trail by accident.

Saw a truck by the lake.

They took pictures out of curiosity.

They weren’t agents.

No real threat.

Wood killed them out of paranoid caution.

On September 11th, the jury reached a verdict.

Guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

Guilty on the count of possession of narcotics.

Guilty on the count of [music] forgery of documents.

On September 13th, Judge Hullbrook announced the verdict.

Life in prison without parole.

Two life sentences [music] for each murder to be served consecutively.

An additional 20 years for the drug conviction.

Wood listened to the sentence standing.

Face calm.

no emotion.

Before he was led away, he turned to the victim’s families.

He said, “I gave them dignity.

They deserved better than to just disappear.

” Kyle Morgan stood up, shouted, “You took her life.

” Guards led Wood out of the Hall.

On September 20th, [music] 2016, Bert Holloway and Tessa Morgan were buried in Pilitb Cemetery in Bend.

one grave.

Two coffins lowered side by side.

112 people attended the ceremony.

Relatives, [music] co-workers, friends.

Priest Thomas Wells, 72 years old, conducted the service.

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