The Keddie Murders

0:00 Speaker 1: The quiet mountain town. In the spring of nineteen eighty one,

0:04 Speaker 1: the small mountain community of Ketty, California, was a place

0:07 Speaker 1: where people came to escape the noise of city life.

0:10 Speaker 1: Surrounded by the forests of the Sierra Nevada, Ketty was

0:14 Speaker 1: known for its rustic cabins, quiet atmosphere, and close knit residents.

0:19 Speaker 1: Children played freely between the cabins, Neighbors greeted one another

0:23 Speaker 1: by name, and visitors often described the town as peaceful

0:27 Speaker 1: and welcoming. Among the families living there was Sue Sharp

0:30 Speaker 1: and her five children. After separating from her husband, Sue

0:34 Speaker 1: had rented Cabin twenty eight at the Ketty Resort, hoping

0:38 Speaker 1: to give her family a fresh start. The cabin was modest,

0:42 Speaker 1: but had offered a chance to rebuild their lives in

0:44 Speaker 1: a quieter environment. The Sharp children quickly became part of

0:48 Speaker 1: the community. John, the oldest son, often helped around the cabin.

0:53 Speaker 1: Sheila had made friends with other teenagers nearby, while Rick,

0:57 Speaker 1: greg and Tina spent much of their free time exploring

1:00 Speaker 1: the woods, riding bicycles, and visiting neighboring cabins. Life wasn't easy.

1:06 Speaker 1: Money was limited, and Sue worked hard to provide for

1:10 Speaker 1: her children. Even so, friends remembered Cabin twenty eight as

1:14 Speaker 1: a place filled with conversation, laughter, and frequent visitors. It

1:19 Speaker 1: wasn't unusual for family friends to stop by during the evening,

1:22 Speaker 1: and the children often spent nights with friends in nearby cabins. Friday,

1:27 Speaker 1: April tenth, nineteen eighty one appeared to be an ordinary day.

1:31 Speaker 1: Residents went about their routines as the sun gradually disappeared

1:36 Speaker 1: behind the pine covered mountains. That evening, Sheila received permission

1:40 Speaker 1: to spend the night with friends in another cabin. It

1:43 Speaker 1: was a common arrangement in the small resort community, where

1:47 Speaker 1: neighbors trusted one another. Back at Cabin twenty eight, Sue

1:51 Speaker 1: remained with John, Rick, greg and Tina. Friends visited during

1:56 Speaker 1: the evening, and by nightfall, the cabin settled into what

2:00 Speaker 1: seemed like another peaceful spring night. No one in Ketty

2:03 Speaker 1: could have imagined that before the next morning, Cabin twenty

2:06 Speaker 1: eight would become the scene of one of California's most

2:09 Speaker 1: enduring unsolved homicide investigations. When daylight arrived on April eleventh,

2:15 Speaker 1: investigators would be called to a crime scene unlike anything

2:18 Speaker 1: the small mountain community had ever experienced. The discoveries made

2:22 Speaker 1: inside Cabin twenty eight would shock law enforcement, devastate local residents,

2:27 Speaker 1: and launch an investigation that, decades later continues to raise

2:31 Speaker 1: questions about what truly happened that night. A morning that

2:34 Speaker 1: changed Ketty Forever. Saturday, April eleventh, nineteen eighty one began

2:40 Speaker 1: like any other morning in the Ketty Resort. The sun

2:43 Speaker 1: rose over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, casting long shadows across

2:47 Speaker 1: the rows of cabins. Families slowly started their day, unaware

2:52 Speaker 1: that something was terribly wrong inside Cabin twenty eight. Around

2:56 Speaker 1: seven thirty am, Sheila Sharp returned from spending the night

3:00 Speaker 1: with friends. As she approached the cabin, nothing immediately appeared

3:04 Speaker 1: unusual From the outside. The doors and windows looked much

3:08 Speaker 1: as they had the evening before. Expecting to find her

3:11 Speaker 1: family beginning their mourning, Sheila stepped inside. Within moments, she

3:17 Speaker 1: realized something was horribly wrong. She immediately ran from the

3:20 Speaker 1: cabin in shock and sought help from nearby adults. Emergency

3:24 Speaker 1: services were contacted, and deputies from the Plumas County Sheriff's

3:28 Speaker 1: Office arrived at the scene. As investigators entered Cabin twenty eight,

3:33 Speaker 1: they discovered that several people inside had died. The scene

3:37 Speaker 1: was unlike anything many of the responding officers had encountered

3:41 Speaker 1: in the small mountain community. Detectives quickly secured the area,

3:45 Speaker 1: recognizing that this would require an extensive homicide investigation. At

3:50 Speaker 1: the same time, another alarming discovery was made. Three children,

3:55 Speaker 1: Rick Sharp, Greg Sharp, and a family friend, Justin Smart,

4:00 Speaker 1: were found alive in a separate bedroom. They had slept

4:03 Speaker 1: through the night's events and were physically unharmed. However, one

4:07 Speaker 1: member of the family was missing. Twelve year old Tina

4:10 Speaker 1: Sharp was nowhere to be found. Investigators immediately faced two

4:15 Speaker 1: urgent questions, what had happened inside Cabin twenty eight and

4:19 Speaker 1: where was Tina? Because one family member could not be located,

4:24 Speaker 1: authorities initially treated the case as both a homicide investigation

4:28 Speaker 1: and a missing person search. Officers searched the surrounding woods,

4:32 Speaker 1: nearby cabins, roads, and streams, hoping Tina had escaped or

4:36 Speaker 1: been seen by someone after the events of the night.

4:39 Speaker 1: News of the tragedy spread rapidly through ketty and neighboring communities.

4:44 Speaker 1: Residents who had always considered the mountain resort a peaceful

4:47 Speaker 1: place struggled to understand how such a crime could occur there.

4:51 Speaker 1: As more investigators arrived, they began documenting every detail of

4:55 Speaker 1: the cabin. Every room was photographed, Potential evidence was carefully collected.

5:01 Speaker 1: Detectives interviewed neighbors, friends, and anyone who might have seen

5:06 Speaker 1: unusual activity the previous evening. Several residents reported hearing sounds

5:11 Speaker 1: during the night, but none had recognized them as signs

5:14 Speaker 1: of a violent crime. Others recalled seeing unfamiliar vehicles in

5:18 Speaker 1: the area, though no one could say with certainty whether

5:21 Speaker 1: they were connected to the investigation. With Tina still missing

5:25 Speaker 1: and very few clear leads, detectives knew the first forty

5:29 Speaker 1: eight hours would be critical. The search expanded beyond ketty

5:33 Speaker 1: while investigators worked to reconstruct the final known movements of

5:36 Speaker 1: everyone who had been at Cabin twenty eight on the

5:39 Speaker 1: evening of April tenth. It was only the beginning of

5:41 Speaker 1: an investigation that would span decades, generate numerous theories, and

5:46 Speaker 1: become one of California's most enduring unsolved homicide cases. The

5:51 Speaker 1: investigation begins. As investigators continued processing Cabin twenty eight, they

5:56 Speaker 1: focused on establishing a clear timeline of the family's final

6:00 Speaker 1: known activities. Detectives interviewed residents throughout the Ketty Resort, hoping

6:05 Speaker 1: someone had seen or heard something unusual on the evening

6:08 Speaker 1: of April tenth or during the early hours of April eleventh.

6:12 Speaker 1: Because Ketty was a small community where many people knew

6:14 Speaker 1: one another, investigators expected that even seemingly minor observations could

6:20 Speaker 1: become important. Witnesses described seeing people coming and going from

6:24 Speaker 1: the area that evening, but the information was often incomplete

6:28 Speaker 1: or inconsistent. Some recalled unfamiliar vehicles parked near the resort,

6:33 Speaker 1: while others remembered visitors but could not identify them with certainty.

6:37 Speaker 1: Investigators carefully documented each statement, looking for details that overlapped.

6:43 Speaker 1: One of the investigation's highest priorities remained locating twelve year

6:47 Speaker 1: old Tina Sharp, who was still missing. Search teams, volunteers,

6:51 Speaker 1: and law enforcement officers searched the surrounding forests, nearby roads,

6:56 Speaker 1: and neighboring communities. Authorities also distributed missing person bulletins and

7:01 Speaker 1: asked the public for information Inside cabin twenty eight, detectives

7:06 Speaker 1: collected physical evidence and sent items to crime laboratories for analysis.

7:10 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty one, forensic science was far more limited

7:14 Speaker 1: than it is today. DNA testing was not yet available

7:18 Speaker 1: as a routine investigative tool, meaning detectives relied heavily on fingerprints,

7:23 Speaker 1: trace evidence, witness interviews, and traditional investigative methods. Attention also

7:29 Speaker 1: turned to the people known to have visited the cabin

7:31 Speaker 1: or interacted with the Sharp family in the days before

7:34 Speaker 1: the crime. Friends, neighbors, and acquaintances were interviewed, and investigators

7:40 Speaker 1: worked to verify their movements. As the days passed without

7:44 Speaker 1: finding Tina, concern grew that the case involved more than

7:47 Speaker 1: a single crime scene. Detectives could not determine whether she

7:51 Speaker 1: had left the cabin on her own, been taken away,

7:54 Speaker 1: or fled in fear. After the events unfolded, media coverage

7:58 Speaker 1: expanded across northern California, bringing national attention to the investigation.

8:04 Speaker 1: Tips began arriving from members of the public, but many

8:07 Speaker 1: proved impossible to verify or led nowhere. Although investigators worked

8:12 Speaker 1: around the clock, they found themselves facing a difficult reality.

8:16 Speaker 1: Despite the extensive search in numerous interviews, there was still

8:19 Speaker 1: no clear explanation of what had happened inside Cabin twenty

8:23 Speaker 1: eight or where Tina Sharp had gone. The investigation was

8:26 Speaker 1: only beginning, and every unanswered question made solving the case

8:31 Speaker 1: more challenging. A break in the search days passed, and

8:35 Speaker 1: the search for Tina Sharp continued without success. Law enforcement

8:39 Speaker 1: officers expanded their efforts beyond ketty. Following every tip they received.

8:44 Speaker 1: Search teams checked remote roads, wooded areas, abandoned buildings, and

8:50 Speaker 1: locations suggested by callers. Investigators refused to rule out any

8:55 Speaker 1: reasonable possibility. At the same time, detectives continued reconstruction the

9:00 Speaker 1: final hours before the crimes, they learned that several people

9:04 Speaker 1: had visited or been near Cabin twenty eight on the

9:06 Speaker 1: evening of April tenth. Each person's movements had to be verified.

9:11 Speaker 1: Interviews stretched for hours as investigators compared timelines, looking for

9:16 Speaker 1: inconsistencies that might reveal what had happened. Despite their efforts,

9:20 Speaker 1: the investigation remained frustratingly slow. Then, several weeks later, the

9:25 Speaker 1: case took a heartbreaking turn. On April twenty second, nineteen

9:29 Speaker 1: eighty one, a man searching for discarded bottles near a

9:32 Speaker 1: remote area in Plumas County made a tragic discovery. He

9:36 Speaker 1: immediately contacted authorities. Investigators responded to the location and confirmed

9:42 Speaker 1: that the remains belonged to Tina Sharp. The discovery transformed

9:46 Speaker 1: the investigation. What had first been treated as both a

9:49 Speaker 1: homicide investigation and a missing person search was now a

9:52 Speaker 1: case involving the deaths of four members of the same family.

9:56 Speaker 1: The news devastated the Ketty community. Residents who had hope

10:00 Speaker 1: Tina might still be alive, struggle to accept the outcome. Friends, neighbors,

10:05 Speaker 1: and volunteers who had participated in the search morned alongside

10:09 Speaker 1: the Sharp family. For detectives, however, the discovery also presented

10:13 Speaker 1: an opportunity. The remote location where Tina was found became

10:17 Speaker 1: a second crime scene. Investigators carefully documented the area, collected

10:22 Speaker 1: physical evidence, and searched for anything that could identify who

10:26 Speaker 1: had brought her there or how they had traveled. Unfortunately,

10:30 Speaker 1: the passage of time and exposure to the elements complicated

10:34 Speaker 1: the forensic examination. Investigators gathered everything they could, but many

10:39 Speaker 1: questions remained unanswered. Back at Cabin twenty eight, detectives reviewed

10:44 Speaker 1: their evidence once again. They revisited witness statements, they re

10:48 Speaker 1: examined timelines, They compared reports from neighbors. Several people mentioned

10:54 Speaker 1: hearing unusual sounds during the night of April tenth, but

10:57 Speaker 1: none had realized a violent crime was taked making place.

11:01 Speaker 1: Others recalled seeing unfamiliar individuals around the resort, yet no

11:05 Speaker 1: one could positively identify them. As weeks turned into months,

11:09 Speaker 1: investigators began developing theories about who might have been responsible.

11:14 Speaker 1: Some believed the victims had been specifically targeted. Others wondered

11:18 Speaker 1: whether someone known to the family had entered the cabin

11:21 Speaker 1: that night. With no arrests and no definitive suspect, the

11:25 Speaker 1: case gradually became more difficult. Evidence was boxed and stored,

11:30 Speaker 1: witnesses moved away, memories faded, but detectives refused to close

11:35 Speaker 1: the file. They believed that somewhere, in a forgotten conversation,

11:40 Speaker 1: an overlooked piece of evidence, or a witness who had

11:43 Speaker 1: never come forward, the answer still existed. The mystery of

11:47 Speaker 1: Cabin twenty eight was far from over. In fact, some

11:51 Speaker 1: of the most surprising developments in the Ketty investigation would

11:54 Speaker 1: not emerge until years later. Early leads and growing questions.

11:59 Speaker 1: In the months following the murders, investigators continued interviewing people

12:04 Speaker 1: connected to the Ketty community. They reviewed statements from neighbors, friends,

12:08 Speaker 1: and visitors who had been in or around the resort

12:11 Speaker 1: during the days leading up to April eleventh, nineteen eighty one.

12:15 Speaker 1: Several individuals drew investigator's attention because of their connections to

12:19 Speaker 1: the victims, or because parts of their accounts appeared inconsistent,

12:23 Speaker 1: As is common in major investigations. Detectives examined these leads carefully,

12:28 Speaker 1: but suspicion alone was not enough to establish responsibility. The

12:32 Speaker 1: investigation was also hindered by the forensic limitations of the

12:36 Speaker 1: early nineteen eighties. Modern DNA analysis did not yet exist

12:40 Speaker 1: as an investigative tool, and many techniques available today were unavailable.

12:45 Speaker 1: Detectives instead relied on witness interviews, physical evidence recovered from

12:50 Speaker 1: the scenes, and comparisons of timelines. As the case received

12:54 Speaker 1: widespread media attention, tips arrived from across California and beyond.

12:59 Speaker 1: Some call doll believed they had seen Tina Sharp before

13:02 Speaker 1: she was found. Others claimed to know who was responsible.

13:06 Speaker 1: Most of these leads could not be verified, but investigators

13:10 Speaker 1: documented each one. Over time, questions began to emerge about

13:15 Speaker 1: whether every possible lead had been fully explored during the

13:18 Speaker 1: initial investigation. Former investigators, journalists, and later researchers would revisit

13:24 Speaker 1: aspects of the case, identifying areas where opinions differed about

13:28 Speaker 1: investigative decisions made in nineteen eighty one, Despite the continued effort,

13:33 Speaker 1: no arrests were made for the Sharp family and the

13:36 Speaker 1: Ketty community. The lack of answers became increasingly difficult as

13:41 Speaker 1: months turned into years. The hope of a quick resolution faded,

13:45 Speaker 1: but the case remained officially open. Detectives believed that someone

13:49 Speaker 1: somewhere still knew what had happened at Cabin twenty eight.

13:53 Speaker 1: The challenge was finding evidence strong enough to transform suspicion

13:57 Speaker 1: into proof, a case that refused to disappear. As the

14:01 Speaker 1: years passed, the Ketty Cabin murders remained one of California's

14:05 Speaker 1: most well known unsolved homicide investigations. Although public attention gradually

14:11 Speaker 1: shifted to newer cases, investigators never officially closed the file.

14:15 Speaker 1: From time to time, detectives reviewed the evidence, hoping advances

14:20 Speaker 1: in forensic science or new witness information might provide answers

14:23 Speaker 1: that had not been available in nineteen eighty one. The

14:26 Speaker 1: case also attracted journalists, authors, and independent researchers. Their work

14:32 Speaker 1: brought renewed attention to the investigation and encouraged additional witnesses

14:36 Speaker 1: to come forward with information. Even decades after the crimes,

14:40 Speaker 1: some individuals who had lived in Ketty or visited the

14:43 Speaker 1: resort during that period agreed to be interviewed again. Memories

14:47 Speaker 1: had faded and not every recollection could be independently verified,

14:51 Speaker 1: but investigators documented new statements and compared them with the

14:55 Speaker 1: original case files. During these later reviews, detectives also reach

15:00 Speaker 1: examined physical evidence that had been preserved from the original investigation.

15:04 Speaker 1: Advances in forensic technology made it possible to test certain

15:08 Speaker 1: items using methods that did not exist in the early

15:11 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties. While some results helped clarify parts of the investigation,

15:16 Speaker 1: they did not conclusively identify the person or people responsible.

15:20 Speaker 1: The investigation also prompted renewed discussion about investigative procedures, evidence preservation,

15:26 Speaker 1: and the challenges faced by rural law enforcement agencies handling

15:30 Speaker 1: major crimes with limited resources. Even after decades of work,

15:35 Speaker 1: many important questions remained unanswered. Authorities continued to encourage anyone

15:40 Speaker 1: with first hand information about the events surrounding April tenth

15:43 Speaker 1: to eleventh, nineteen eighty one to contact law enforcement The

15:47 Speaker 1: Ketty Cabin murders remain an open case, and investigators have

15:51 Speaker 1: stated that they continue to review credible new information when

15:55 Speaker 1: it becomes available. Renewed attention by the early two thousands,

16:00 Speaker 1: dances in forensic science and renewed public interest prompted investigators

16:04 Speaker 1: to take another look at the Ketty Cabin murders. The

16:07 Speaker 1: original case files, photographs, witness statements, and physical evidence were

16:11 Speaker 1: reviewed again. Detectives compared the information collected in nineteen eighty

16:15 Speaker 1: one with newer investigative techniques, hoping that details, once considered insignificant,

16:21 Speaker 1: might reveal new leads. The case also drew increased media

16:24 Speaker 1: attention through documentaries, newspaper investigations, and books examining unsolved crimes.

16:31 Speaker 1: This coverage encouraged additional people to contact law enforcement with

16:35 Speaker 1: information they believed could be relevant. Investigators evaluated these tips carefully,

16:41 Speaker 1: as with any long running case. Some reports could be confirmed,

16:45 Speaker 1: while others could not. Detectives distinguished between evidence supported by

16:49 Speaker 1: documentation and claims based primarily on rumor or speculation. Advances

16:54 Speaker 1: in forensic technology allowed certain items of evidence to be

16:58 Speaker 1: re examined using methods unavailailable during the original investigation. Although

17:02 Speaker 1: these efforts provided additional information in some areas, they did

17:06 Speaker 1: not conclusively identify the person or people responsible for the crimes.

17:11 Speaker 1: Law enforcement agencies have continued to state that the investigation

17:14 Speaker 1: remains open and that they are willing to review credible

17:18 Speaker 1: new evidence. They have also emphasized that even information that

17:21 Speaker 1: appears minor could help clarify events from April nineteen eighty

17:25 Speaker 1: one when considered alongside the existing case file. More than

17:29 Speaker 1: four decades later. The Ketty Cabin murders continue to be

17:32 Speaker 1: studied because they illustrate both the challenges of investigating major

17:36 Speaker 1: crimes with the forensic tools available at the time, and

17:39 Speaker 1: the importance of preserving evidence for future review for the

17:42 Speaker 1: surviving family members and the community. The hope remains that

17:46 Speaker 1: continued investigation and advances in technology may one day provide

17:51 Speaker 1: definitive answers the legacy of an unsolved case. As the

17:55 Speaker 1: investigation continued over the years, the Ketty Cabin murders became

17:59 Speaker 1: one of California's most discussed unsolved homicide cases. The passage

18:04 Speaker 1: of time made the investigation increasingly difficult. Witnesses moved away,

18:09 Speaker 1: memories faded, and some individuals connected to the case died

18:13 Speaker 1: before investigators could fully clarify their accounts. Despite these challenges,

18:18 Speaker 1: law enforcement periodically revisited the case. Detectives reviewed preserved evidence,

18:24 Speaker 1: compared earlier witness statements, and assessed new information submitted by

18:29 Speaker 1: members of the public. Advances in forensic science allowed some

18:33 Speaker 1: evidence to be re examined. Although no single development resolved

18:37 Speaker 1: the case, the investigation also became the subject of books, documentaries,

18:42 Speaker 1: and news reports. This public attention helped keep the case

18:45 Speaker 1: in the spotlight and encouraged people with firsthand knowledge to

18:48 Speaker 1: contact investigators. Authorities have consistently distinguished between verified evidence and speculation,

18:55 Speaker 1: reminding the public that many popular theories have never been proven.

18:59 Speaker 1: The case has also been studied as an example of

19:02 Speaker 1: the difficulties investigators can face in long term unsolved homicide investigations.

19:07 Speaker 1: It highlights the importance of preserving evidence, documenting witness statements carefully,

19:13 Speaker 1: and revisiting older cases as forensic methods improve. Today, the

19:17 Speaker 1: Ketty Cabin murders remain officially unsolved. Law enforcement has stated

19:22 Speaker 1: that the investigation is still open and that credible new

19:26 Speaker 1: information continues to be evaluated. Families affected by the case

19:30 Speaker 1: have expressed hope that continued advances in forensic technology and

19:34 Speaker 1: renewed investigative efforts may eventually provide answers more than four

19:38 Speaker 1: decades later. The case remains a reminder that some investigations

19:42 Speaker 1: span generations, and that unresolved questions can continue to affect

19:46 Speaker 1: families and communities long after the original events.