This Family Vanished From Their Campsite in 1974 — Seven Months Later, a Chilling Discovery Was Made in the Woods…
This Family Vanished From Their Campsite in 1974 — Seven Months Later, a Chilling Discovery Was Made in the Woods…
The Beginning: A Labor Day That Became a Nightmare
It was supposed to be a peaceful Labor Day weekend beside Carbury Creek, deep in the cool forests of Oregon. The Cowen family—Richard, Belinda, their energetic five-year-old son David, and baby Melissa, only five months old—had chosen their favorite spot to camp. They were simple folks from White City, Oregon: Richard drove trucks for a logging company, Belinda was a devoted mother, always tending to her children. They loved nature and cherished their quiet escapes into the wilderness.
On the morning of September 1, 1974, Richard stood beside his red 1956 Ford pickup, gazing at the pines. Belinda unpacked supplies inside the camper. David played with a stick, fighting imaginary monsters, while Melissa giggled in her playpen. No one could have guessed these would be the last moments anyone saw the Cowen family alive.
Vanished Without a Trace
Later that afternoon, Richard took David for a walk to the general store a mile up the road to buy milk. Witnesses remembered seeing them—nothing seemed unusual. They walked back toward the campsite and were never seen again.
The next day, Belinda’s mother grew uneasy when the family didn’t show up for dinner as planned. She drove out to check the campground. What she found was deeply unsettling: the pickup truck was parked neatly, all their belongings were in place, dirty dishes sat in a pan, the baby’s diaper bag rested beside a folded blanket, Richard’s wallet was on the table, and the keys were still in the ignition. The camper door was closed but not latched; food was left half-eaten, Belinda’s purse was open and full. There were no signs of a struggle, no chaos, no note, no footprints—just silence. The family had simply vanished.
She immediately notified the police. Search teams were dispatched. At first, they thought the family had gone for a walk and gotten lost, but the facts didn’t add up: why leave the diaper bag, food, wallets, and keys behind? Why was the campsite so undisturbed, as if they’d just walked away mid-sentence?
A Desperate Search
Hundreds joined the search: police, rangers, volunteers, dogs, and helicopters scoured the woods. They searched under logs, in caves, along the creek, but found nothing. The Cowen family seemed to have been swallowed by the forest.
Newspapers ran headlines: “Family of Four Vanishes from Campsite. No Signs, No Leads.” Theories ranged from drowning to getting lost, but none explained the abandoned supplies. Darker ideas emerged: kidnapping, murder, someone watching them.
A miner reported a foul smell from a cave about six miles from the campsite, but deputies found nothing. The case went cold. The Cowens became another tragic mystery haunting White City.
Seven Months Later: The Forest Gives Up Its Secret
On April 12, 1975, as the snow melted in the Siskiyou Mountains, two local hikers from Copper, Oregon, ventured deep into the backcountry. Near a rocky hillside above the creek, one spotted a child’s shoe, half-buried and rotting. Nearby, they found the skeletal remains of a child and an infant. Horrified, they ran and alerted authorities.
Police quickly cordoned off the area and began a thorough search. Not far from the children’s remains, they discovered a shallow grave containing the body of an adult male—identified as Richard Cowen. The most chilling discovery came inside a nearby cave, the same one the miner had reported seven months earlier: the decomposed body of Belinda Cowen, tied with electrical cord, showing signs of having been moved after death. David had been shot execution-style, his body left exposed. Melissa’s cause of death was undetermined, but evidence suggested either exposure or blunt force trauma.
Richard had suffered violent trauma—his skull fractured and bones broken, likely from a struggle or ambush. The family hadn’t died together, nor in the same way. The killer had led them nearly seven miles through rough terrain, murdered them, and hidden the bodies separately. This wasn’t random. It wasn’t a robbery. It was a calculated, methodical crime by someone who knew the land and how to erase their tracks.
The Suspect: A Shadow in the Woods
From the beginning, police suspected Dwayne Lee Little—a man with a violent past. He’d been convicted of rape and murder in 1964, sentenced to life, but released just months before the Cowens vanished. After his release, Little frequented the woods near the Cowen campsite, had access to firearms, and lived nearby. Witnesses saw a man matching his description in the area around the time of the disappearance. Police found .22 caliber shell casings at his home, but lacked enough evidence to charge him.
In 1980, Little was arrested again for the rape and attempted murder of a pregnant woman. This time, he was sentenced to three life terms. The Cowen case, however, remained unsolved—officially closed in the 1980s, with Little as the primary suspect but no charges ever filed.
Unanswered Questions and Haunting Details
The Cowen case stands apart for its chilling details. There was no robbery, no ransom, no known motive. The family was happy, well-off, and loved. The campsite was left almost peaceful, food laid out, diaper bag and purse untouched. It was as if the forest had swallowed them whole—or someone had calmly walked up and said, “Come with me.” And they did.
Some believe the killer knew the land, the trails, even the family. Perhaps he watched, waited, and blended in, maybe even chatted with them. All it might have taken was a moment of trust—a single decision.
Richard’s brother once told reporters, “Richard would never leave his family behind. If something pulled him away, it wasn’t willingly.” There are still no answers, no convictions, no justice—just a family wiped from the map, and a forest that returned to silence.
Years later, a retired deputy confided to a local reporter, “We were close. Damn close. But the mountain always stayed one step ahead.” When asked what he meant, he replied, “That land doesn’t give up its secrets easy. You could walk right past a grave and never know it.”
Maybe that’s what happened. Maybe people did walk right past. Maybe a rainstorm uncovered just enough of a shoe or bone to nudge the world toward finding them again. Or maybe the only reason they were found was because the forest was done keeping the secret.
A Family Lost, A Story Never Forgotten
There’s a photo still shared on forums—a grainy black-and-white shot of Belinda smiling, holding baby Melissa, David proud and goofy in front, Richard’s quiet hand on his son’s shoulder. They look like any family from the 1970s: ordinary, happy. And that’s what makes their story so devastating—because they were, and now they’re not.
In 2011, a plaque was quietly placed near the original campsite. No press, no fanfare, just a simple memorial: “Forever loved, forever lost.” Campers sometimes find it, take pictures, leave flowers, or feel a chill they can’t quite explain.
Maybe what happened that weekend in 1974 will never be fully known. Maybe Dwayne Lee Little was the monster the police missed. Maybe it was someone else—someone who moved like a shadow through the woods. Or maybe it was the kind of evil that doesn’t need a reason. It just waits. And when no one’s looking, it walks in like a friend.
Today, the Copper campsite disappears beneath tall summer grass. Trail markers are worn, nature has reclaimed the land. But some stories can’t be covered by moss. Some endings echo forever in the stillness. A lunch packed for four, a warm afternoon by the river—and then, silence.
