On a summer weekend in 1985, Steven Harkins, a 27-year-old White/Caucasian male, and his girlfriend, 42-year-old Ruth Cooper, ventured from their Tacoma, Washington, home for a camping trip. The couple, who worked together at a vocational school, chose a spot near Tule Lake in Pierce County for their getaway on August 10th. When Monday arrived and neither Harkins nor Cooper appeared for work, their families grew concerned and promptly reported them missing.
The search for the missing
couple came to a grim conclusion four days later, on August 14, when hikers stumbled upon a remote campsite. There, they discovered the body of Steven Harkins. He was still inside his sleeping bag, having been shot in the head as he slept. Nearby lay the couple's dog, also shot to death. The immediate and pressing question was the whereabouts of Ruth Cooper. Investigators initially considered the possibility that she had been abducted, as it seemed the couple had been taken by surprise.
Months would pass before the fate of Ruth Cooper was known. On October 26, a skull was discovered near Harts Lake, about a mile and a half from where Harkins' body had been found. Dental records confirmed the remains belonged to Cooper. Two days later, searchers located the rest of her body and her purse. The autopsy revealed she had died from a gunshot wound to her abdomen, and a tube sock was found tied around her neck.
The brutal murders of Harkins and Cooper remain unsolved, and no arrests have ever been made in the case. Their deaths became part of a series of unsolved homicides in the region, sometimes dubbed the "Tube Sock Killings." Investigators noted similarities to another double homicide that occurred in December of that same year, where a tube sock was also used. For a time, a man connected to that later case was considered a person of interest in the Harkins and Cooper slayings, but his own remains were eventually found years later, leading authorities to believe he was also a victim of the same killer or killers. Despite being featured on television's "Unsolved Mysteries," the case has grown cold, leaving the identity of who killed Steven Harkins and Ruth Cooper a mystery.
