The "Gresham Lumberjack" remains on the loose in Oregon. The tree serial killer is apparently responsible for chopping down more than 700 trees over the last year, all near a walking trail in a Portland suburb. The city has formed a task force to hunt down this evil force against nature. From the Wall Street Journal:
[Mike] Wallace, who has added detective work to his normal duties of caring for the city's natural areas, has placed several cameras around the forest to try to catch the perpetrator. Most of the images are of hikers and bikers, as well as teenagers smoking pot, according to Keri Handaly, Gresham's watershed community liaison, who serves as a spokesperson for the investigation[…]
Some locals have said they believe a homeless person in the area was harvesting wood to make shelters and fires. Others believe bikers were making their own trail. But the city investigation has found that none of the sawed trees have been moved or used for anything. Ms. Handaly wondered if it was someone practicing for a lumberjack competition.
"It's a very strange crime to continue to do when you don't have any gain from it," she said.
The suspect has proven difficult to catch in part because of his or her stealth. The tree cutter targets areas away from the trail. And only hand saws are used, making little noise, a detail Mr. Wallace discovered after closely examining the marks on the wood.
