Couple found shot to death on beach

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Two soon-to-be-married Christian camp counselors reported missing earlier this week were shot to death in their sleeping bags on a remote beach, authorities said.

The bodies of Lindsay Cutshall, 23, and Jason Allen, 26, were discovered Wednesday when deputies rescuing a stranded hiker spotted the crime scene from their helicopter.

“They were shot in the head, presumably in their sleep,” Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Edmonds said. “It appears to be a terrible crime absent of motive, which is a concern to us.”

There were no signs of sexual assault or robbery, and the possibility of a murder-suicide was ruled out because no weapon was found, authorities said. The bodies were found fully clothed, side by side in sleeping bags near their belongings, which included a Christian book, wedding literature, camping gear and backpacks, police said.

“From all indications, the victims were very upstanding citizens, they were very honorable people. They had an absolute absence of enemies,” Edmonds said. Police said they had no suspects.

Authorities believe the couple arrived last Saturday in the area, about 60 miles north of San Francisco, and apparently were camping overnight on Fish Head Beach in Sonoma County.

Cutshall and Allen were missionaries who were spending the summer as whitewater rafting guides at Rock-N-Water, a Christian adventure camp in Coloma, in the Sierra foothills about 40 miles east of Sacramento. They were supposed to return to the camp Sunday; they were reported missing Monday.

“Jason and Lindsay were two incredible people that loved God, his creations, and loved to share them with youth,” camp leaders said in a statement.

Rock-N-Water closed for the season after the two disappeared, and campers were sent to other camps nearby, said office manager Patty Salee.

“They were great kids, shining beacons of Christian young adults,” Salee said of the victims.

Authorities said the slaying apparently occurred Sunday or Monday. Autopsies were being performed Friday.

The couple had planned to marry in September and to spend their honeymoon camping in West Virginia on the Gauley River, one of the nation’s wildest whitewater rivers. Friends and family members said they aimed to start their own Christian camp.

The couple’s families gathered Friday at a Baptist church in Placerville, Calif.

They were “grateful to God for taking our children home,” said Cutshall’s father, the Rev. Chris Cutshall, an evangelical minister in Fresno, Ohio. He had planned to preside over his daughter’s wedding to Allen, a Michigan native.

Cutshall said justice would ultimately be served for the “cold-blooded insane killers.”

“If not in this life, certainly in the life to come,” he said.