In December 1949, Gerald Leonard and William Weick, were onthe hunt for Christmas trees. They parked

In December 1949, Gerald Leonard and William Weick, were onthe hunt for Christmas trees. They parked on McNamee Road, about a mile west ofBurlington, and proceeded to scour the woods just northwest of Portland. Beforetoo long they came across a small 8x10 cabin with the door slightly ajar. Asthe Oregonian reports “on pushing open the door they saw they muzzle of a gunpointing directly at the entrance.” Recognizing that the gun was most likely abooby trap the men returned to town and reported the cabin to the Sheriff’soffice.When authorities returned the next day they were able todisarm the trap and gain entry to the cabin. On the bed they found thedecomposing remains of Fred Stern, a local hermit last seen two months prior,splayed out with a shotgun wound to the side and a single riflewound to the head. It was speculated that Mr. Stern accidentallyset off one of his own devices, wounding himself, and then took his own life.Authorities determined that the booby trap was set so thatthe trigger of the 12 gauge single barrel shotgun was attached to the spring ofa rat trap under a loose floorboard. When the board was stepped on it wouldhave caused the gun to fire. In addition to the shotgun authorities found anumber of other traps, including “a homemade bomb of flashlight batteries,”scattered throughout the cabin.Elsewhere in the article the cabin was described ascontaining “a clutter of notes on chemical formulas and other data which thehermit had copied in careful handwriting.” The cabin, with “lovely views of theColumbia River valley”, also contained a large number of Popular Sciencemagazines, blow torches, rusty axes and shotgun shells. A decomposing pigshead, small bag and jacket were found just outside the front door, leadinginvestigators to speculate Mr. Stern had returned from running errands in townprior to the shooting. -- source link

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