The Unsolved 1952 Crater Lake Murders: A GM Executive Double Homicide

The Discovery of the Victims

• 🎯 Two General Motors executives, Albert Marston Jones (56) and Charles Patrick Cohane (52), went missing on July 19, 1952, while on a fishing holiday near Crater Lake National Park.
• 🚗 Their car was found abandoned with doors open and keys in the ignition near Annie Creek, indicating a hurried departure.
• 🌲 After extensive searches, their bodies were discovered on July 21st, a quarter-mile from the road in a wooded area.
• 🔫 Both men were found shot execution-style in the back of their heads at close range, with evidence of powder burns.

Peculiar Circumstances of the Murders

• 👔 The victims were found in their business suits, but their shoes were missing, and their socks were clean, suggesting they didn't walk after their shoes were removed.
• 🦷 Both men's dentures were found in their shirt pockets, which is unusual as they typically wore them.
• 💰 While $300 in cash and expensive watches were stolen, their wallets and luggage were left untouched, leading to theories that the robbery was staged.
• 🔫 Two bullet casings found at the scene indicated a .32 caliber semi-automatic pistol was used, but ballistics tests on the bullet have never matched a weapon.

Investigation Challenges and Theories

• 🕵️ The FBI had jurisdiction due to the crime occurring in a national park, but early investigators trampled the crime scene, potentially destroying evidence.
• 🗺️ The FBI spent years tracking license plate numbers of all vehicles entering the park, but no suspects were identified.
• 📝 Albert Jones's letter to his daughter expressing dire circumstances shortly before his death remains a significant mystery.
• 💳 A stolen credit card attempt in California provided a lead, but it did not result in a suspect.
• 🚗 A peculiar incident involved a man calling a garage to pick up the victim's car, claiming Jones was hospitalized, but the caller and address were fake.

Potential Suspects and Motives

• 💼 Virginia Jones Cox, Albert's daughter, believes the murders were an organized execution, not a simple robbery, suggesting knowledge of the victims' business dealings.
• ⛰️ A theory involving a local 'mountain man' named George Duncan was dismissed due to alibis.
• 🔫 Two young men, Ray Shanklin and Ross Gallaer, with criminal records and found with pistols and cash, were questioned but not pursued.
• 👷 A local mechanic working for a construction contractor, who suddenly had cash and a new wristwatch, disappeared after the murders, but his involvement is unconfirmed.
• 🔪 The FBI considered Jack Santos and his 'Mountain Murder Mob' gang, known for robbery and murder, but none of the convicted members confessed.
• 🤝 A theory suggests a labor union hit was intended for Charles Cohane due to a controversial contract negotiation, with Albert Jones being an unfortunate bystander.
• 🌲 Deputy Sheriff Alvie Youngblood suspected Kenneth Moore and John Wesley Cole, who had a history of murder, but they died in 1962, making confirmation impossible.
• 🚗 A student witness reported seeing suspicious individuals and a car near the crime scene, but authorities did not take his report seriously.

Lingering Questions and Family Pursuit

• ❓ The case remains unsolved, with the primary killers likely deceased, but the victims' families continue to seek closure.
• 🔎 Alice Sims, Albert Jones's granddaughter, has dedicated herself to investigating the case, reviewing FBI files and remaining convinced of Jack Santos's gang's involvement.
• 🧬 Sims continues to petition the FBI for DNA testing on any remaining evidence.
• ⏳ The passage of nearly 70 years makes solving the case exponentially more difficult, with limited physical evidence remaining.