Murder-Suicide Indicated in Deaths of 3 Campers

The shotgun slayings of three campers whose bodies were found last weekend at a remote lake in the San Bernardino Mountains may have been a murder-suicide, authorities said Friday, but they have not determined a motive.

The bodies of Craig Mabry, 26, and Kenneth McDow, 17, both of La Puente, were found Sunday in their sleeping bags at Lost Lake in Cajon Pass about 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles. An autopsy showed that both men died of shotgun wounds to the head, said Phil Alexander, San Bernardino County chief deputy coroner.

Nearby, sheriff’s investigators found the body of Kenneth Glass, 33, of Ontario, in the cab of a pickup truck submerged in 14 feet of water.

Gun Found in Cab

Glass, who had been camping nearby, died of a shotgun blast to the chest, Alexander said, and a shotgun was found in the cab. An autopsy found that “the barrel of the shotgun was sticking in his chest when the trigger was pulled,” he added.

Investigators said shotgun shells found on the ground next to Mabry and McDow matched shells found in the cab of Glass’s truck and in the chamber of the shotgun.

The windows of the pickup truck had been rolled up and its doors closed when it entered the lake with the ignition on.

“Every bit of evidence we have so far points to Glass having shot those guys, then committing suicide,” said sheriff’s spokesman Jim Bryant. “But we still do not know if Glass knew those guys before.”

Friend Nearby

A 20-year-old man, whom investigators have not identified, was camping with Mabry and McDow and was sleeping in a truck 10 feet away when the shootings occurred, authorities said. He told investigators he did not hear any shots and had no knowledge of Glass.

Bryant said Glass had a clean record in San Bernardino County and investigators have found no indication of psychological or drug problems in his past. He lived with his parents and worked for a temporary job service. Acquaintances described Glass as a “likable person who didn’t like to burden people with his problems,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Peppler.

“We can’t find anything on him that makes him unusual,” Bryant said. “The investigation is not over.”