Do you know who committed the \Keddie Cabin Murders\ in 1981?
On the night of April 11, 1981, Dana Wingate, a 17-year-old from Quincy, California, was brutally murdered along with three others in what has come to be known as the Keddie Cabin Murders. The crime took place at Cabin 28 in the small resort town of Keddie, located in Plumas County. Dana had spent the day with his friend, John Sharp, the 15-year-old son of Sue Sharp, who also lived in the cabin. That evening, Dana and John returned to the Sharp household, unaware of the grisly events that would soon unfold.
At some point during the night, Dana, John, and John's mother, Sue, were attacked. Dana was bludgeoned with a hammer and strangled, while John and Sue were also brutally beaten and stabbed. The killers left a bloody and chaotic scene, but oddly, Sue’s other children, who were sleeping in another room, were left unharmed. When Sheila Sharp, Sue’s daughter, returned home the next morning, she made the horrifying discovery of the bodies in the cabin.
A fourth victim, 12-year-old Tina Sharp, was initially missing and presumed abducted. Her remains were not discovered until three years later, in a remote area of Butte County. Despite several promising leads, including sketches of possible suspects based on eyewitness accounts from one of the surviving children, the case remains unsolved, and the true motive for the murders continues to elude investigators.
The Keddie murders have haunted the community for decades, with theories ranging from a personal vendetta to possible organized crime involvement. Although there were suspects, including neighbors Martin Smartt and his friend John Boubede, no one has ever been charged with the crime. Recent developments in the investigation, such as the discovery of a hammer believed to be one of the murder weapons, have given investigators hope that the case may eventually be solved.
