Still waiting for answers...

There haven't been any groundbreaking developments in this case since last August, however, I wanted to share an article that ran in my local newspaper today about Jason and Lindsay. My mom recently met up with Jason's mom and talked about the loss with her. However, I chose not to share because I didn't know if I should publicly release everything I hear on this weblog. My first priority is to not do anything to upset Jason's family, as they are obviously experiencing something tremendously difficult and they do not yet have the closure of having identified and prosecuted the perpetrator(s). But since this article was published in our newspaper, I wanted to include it.

Please continue to pray for the Allen and Cutshall families as they try to move on after having so senselessly lost their beloved family members. It still breaks my heart to think about this. Jason was such a sweet, genuine, and funny person. I have so many memories of him... especially from my childhood. I never would have imagined his life would end as it did. It is hard for me to understand why this happened, but it is remarkable to see the good that God can bring from something as tragic as this.

Family waits for answers in double murder...
Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall were shot in their sleep while camping in California.

Sunday, November 21, 2004

By RICHARD HARROLD
Staff writer

There are moments when dealing with her son's death becomes more difficult than at other times, says Delores Allen.

Her son, Jason, and his fiancee, Lindsay Cutshall, were shot to death three months ago on a California beach where they slept for the night. Their bodies were discovered Aug. 18. Their killer's identity remains unknown.

"Hunting season is here and Jason and his father hunted together," Allen said. "And the holidays are coming. We miss him so much."

But overall, the Zeeland resident said that she and her husband, Bob, are doing well as they await news to come from Sonoma County, Calif., where the murders occurred.

"They want this case solved, too," she said.

Lt. Dave Edmonds, lead investigator for the crimes at the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, said his team is keeping all options open.

"This case is a big deal for us," Edmonds said.

Edmonds wouldn't say if police have a suspect or a suspect profile, but he said investigators have collected a tremendous amount of evidence and information that is slowly filling in the many blanks the case presents.

"This case is a peculiar one," he said. "It has very sinister markers to it. The case is absolutely disturbing."

What police have released is that Jason Allen, 26, and Cutshall, 23, of Fresno, Ohio, were shot to death, probably in their sleep, with a .45-caliber rifle. Their bodies were found on a remote beach near Jenner, Calif., side by side in separate sleeping bags after a sheriff's helicopter crew was sent out to rescue a hiker who had fallen down a nearby bluff.

Edmonds said that investigators have been in contact with the FBI about the case.

"If we have to gut this thing out, work consistently on it, we will," he said. "My feeling is, from experience, it's very uncommon that there isn't someone out there who can deliver to us information about this."

In the meantime, Delores Allen said she's been going through the many cards and letters she's received from people who knew her son and his fiancee, both friends and students who attended the Rock-n-Water camp in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento, Calif., where the couple worked last summer.

"I'm trying to answer all of them," she said. "It gives us a lot of comfort that their death was not in vain, that their ministry is going on."