The morning of September 12th, 2015, dawned crisp and clear over the Cascades Mountain Range in Oregon. Bert Holloway, a 31-year-old forest engineer, and his fiancée, Tessa Morgan, a 29-year-old social worker, were ready for their three-day hike through the wilderness. It was meant to be a final adventure before their wedding, a chance to escape the chaos of planning and reconnect with nature.
Bert had spent years working in these forests, mapping trails and studying ecosystems. Tessa, a city girl at heart, had grown to love the outdoors through their relationship. She was particularly excited to see the beauty of the Three Sisters Mountains, a place Bert had described as magical.
At 6:30 a.m., the couple left their apartment in Bend, Oregon, with their gear packed neatly in the back of their Subaru Outback. Neighbor Jason Craig heard Tessa laughing as they headed out. The couple stopped at the Sister’s General Store at 7:10 a.m., where they bought water, snacks, matches, and a topographical map of the Cascades. The cashier, Sharon Delaney, remembered Tessa’s cheerful demeanor and Bert’s focus as he studied the map.
As the couple exited the store, Bert paused, his eyes narrowing at a black Ford F-150 pickup truck parked at the far edge of the lot. He said something to Tessa, who turned to look as well. The truck stayed parked for a few minutes after Bert and Tessa drove off, then followed in the same direction.
By 9:20 a.m., the couple arrived at the Cinder Cone Loop Trailhead. Forest Ranger Kevin Horton greeted them and recorded their names and intended route in the visitor log. Bert assured Horton they were prepared for the chilly nighttime temperatures. The couple set off hand in hand, their laughter fading into the trees.
It was the last time anyone saw them alive.
When Bert and Tessa failed to return as planned on September 15th, their families grew worried. Tessa’s brother, Kyle Morgan, was the first to raise the alarm after his calls to her phone went unanswered. Bert’s mother, Janice, also tried reaching her son, but her calls went straight to voicemail.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office launched a search-and-rescue operation the next morning. Forest rangers, volunteers, and canine teams combed the trail, but there were no signs of the couple. Their locked Subaru was still parked at the trailhead, its tank full, and their gear untouched in the back seat.
Despite the massive effort, the search turned up nothing. The trail was well-marked, the weather had been cooperative, and Bert was an experienced outdoorsman. It was as though they had vanished into thin air.
By late November, with heavy snow making the search impossible, the operation was called off. The case was officially classified as a missing persons investigation.
Eight months later, on May 8th, 2016, a logging crew from Timber Valley was clearing debris from a mudslide near Three Sisters Mountain. The slide had displaced hundreds of tons of soil, exposing a part of the forest that had been inaccessible for years.
As the crew worked to clear the area, they stumbled upon a massive red cedar trunk buried in the mud. At first, they thought it was just another fallen tree. But as they cleared away the debris, they realized it was something far more sinister.
The trunk had been hollowed out and fashioned into a wooden coffin. Its lid was tightly fitted and pinned down with heavy rocks. The brigadier, Ronald Keefe, immediately called the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Marcus Drake was the first to arrive on the scene. He examined the coffin, noting its smooth walls and precise carpentry. It was clear this was no amateur’s work.
At 12:17 p.m., the lid was pried open. Inside were the bodies of Bert Holloway and Tessa Morgan. They were dressed in clean clothes—Bert in a flannel shirt and jeans, Tessa in a white blouse and gray slacks. Their arms were folded across their chests, fingers intertwined. Their faces were calm, almost serene, and their skin was waxy and mummified, preserved by the cold and the cedar’s natural properties.
On the inside wall of the coffin, an inscription had been burned with precise, uniform letters:
“They stayed together.”
The discovery sent shockwaves through Deschutes County. The sheriff’s office reopened the case, now treating it as a double homicide. At a press conference on May 11th, Sheriff David Coleman confirmed the investigation was in its “active phase” and promised to find answers.
The FBI was brought in to assist, with Detective Nathan Ortega leading the investigation. Ortega, a seasoned investigator from Portland, was immediately struck by the bizarre details of the case.
“Three questions,” Ortega wrote in his first report. “Why haven’t the bodies decomposed in eight months? Who made a coffin of such quality? And what does the inscription mean—a confession or a message?”
The investigation began with an analysis of the coffin itself. Forensic experts determined it had been carved from a single red cedar trunk, a tree native to the region. The craftsmanship was extraordinary, suggesting the work of a skilled carpenter or woodworker.
Samples of the wood and wax were sent to a lab for analysis. The wax, which had been used to seal the coffin, contained a mix of natural beeswax and pine resin, a combination known for its preservative properties.
The area where the coffin was found was also examined. The mudslide that exposed it had occurred on April 9th, 2016, displacing over 200 tons of soil. Before the slide, the coffin had been buried deep in an inaccessible section of old-growth forest. The probability of it being discovered without the mudslide was nearly zero.
As Ortega delved into Bert and Tessa’s lives, he found no obvious motives for murder. The couple had no debts, no enemies, and no history of conflict. They were described by friends and family as kind, hardworking, and deeply in love.
But the investigation took a turn when Ortega reviewed the surveillance footage from the Sister’s General Store. The black Ford F-150 pickup truck seen in the parking lot caught his attention. The truck had followed Bert and Tessa out of the lot, heading in the same direction as the trailhead.
The license plate wasn’t visible in the footage, but witnesses described the truck as an older model with a dented tailgate. Ortega issued a public request for information, hoping someone might recognize the vehicle.
As tips poured in, one lead stood out. A retired carpenter named Gerald Evans claimed to have seen a similar truck parked near his property several times in the months before Bert and Tessa’s disappearance. Evans lived near the logging site where the coffin was found and had spent decades working with red cedar.
When Ortega visited Evans’ property, he found a small workshop filled with woodworking tools and partially carved cedar logs. Evans admitted to owning a black Ford F-150 but denied any involvement in the murders.
However, a search of Evans’ truck revealed traces of soil that matched the mudslide area. Forensic analysis also found traces of beeswax and pine resin in his workshop, similar to the mixture used to seal the coffin.
Under mounting evidence, Evans confessed. He claimed he had encountered Bert and Tessa on the trail that day and had offered to show them a “hidden gem” off the beaten path. Once they were deep in the forest, he attacked them, killing them quickly and without struggle.
Evans said he had no personal grudge against the couple. He described the murders as a “compulsion,” something he couldn’t control. The inscription, “They stayed together,” was his way of “honoring” their love, he claimed.
The case of Bert Holloway and Tessa Morgan was finally closed, but the scars it left on the community of Deschutes County would never fully heal. The couple’s families held a joint funeral, burying Bert and Tessa side by side, just as they had been found.
The wooden coffin, a macabre symbol of their tragic fate, was destroyed as evidence. But for those who knew and loved Bert and Tessa, the memory of their love—and the horror of their final moments—would never fade.
