MURDER ON WASHINGTON ISLAND (PART 9)

On the northern tip of the "thumb" of Wisconsin stood the small community of Washington Island. As the name suggests, it is in fact an island. The only way to reach it is to travel seven miles by ferry boat from the unincorporated community of Northport. The island itself boasts a year-round population of less than 700. In the summertime it can swell to over 2000 however, as people come to their summer homes. Tourism represents a large portion of the island's economy.

NORTHPORT FERRY DOCK WEBCAM

No one is sure how Buster Koons managed to get to Washington Island. But three days after the carnage he created in Manitowoc, he was there. He may have arrived a day earlier. Again, nobody knows. But what we do know is that this quiet little community where nothing bad ever happens faced a weekend they would never forget.

________________________________________________________


Tiffany Lucas was majoring in Communication Processes at UW Green Bay. She had aspirations to become a photographer. Taking pictures of nature was her favorite thing in the world. She loved the outdoors. Her twin sister Amber shared her passion. The two of them lived together in Sturgeon Bay and had planned to spend the weekend on Washington Island. But at the last minute, Amber got called into work. So Tiffany went up by herself on Friday afternoon. Amber wouldn't be able to make the last ferry which left Northport at 9:30 PM. So she planned to take the first boat out on Saturday morning.

With her sister stuck with going to work, Tiffany was able to get an earlier start than planned. She took an earlier ferry and arrived in Washington Island's Detroit Harbor around noon. She checked in at the Dor Cros Inn, threw her bags on the bed and headed back out - camera in hand. While most of the rest of the world had gone digital, Tiffany still preferred her 10-year-old trusty professional Canon EOS 630 - with real film.

Tiffany spent the next hour driving around the island, stopping periodically to take a few pictures. She even caught sight of a deer at one point. Garter snakes were also quite common. But she also enjoyed the trees and the various scenery that the quiet island provided.

While driving north on Deer Lane Road, she spotted what looked to be an old dirt driveway to the left. There was a tire path made into the grass. Although it appeared as if no cars were making regular appearances. She stopped and pulled over. To the south of the driveway was an address sign. So she wondered if in fact there was a property. Wanting to investigate, she turned in and drove a ways onto the land.



She hadn't driven more than 30 yards when the path became far too bumpy and treacherous. Rather than risk getting stuck, she ventured out and walked further, leaving her Suv parked on the path, under the clearing of some trees.



After another hundred yards, the woods opened up into a giant clearing. And the sun shone through as if finally allowed to breathe after being choked by the forest. To her right she spied what appeared to be a large abandoned cabin. The cabin was made up of full-length screened windows all the way around. It offered very little in the way of privacy. Some of the screens were ripped away. And the front door was clearly open. It looked like no one had been there in a couple of years. In front of it was a tree that appeared to be growing out of a large rock formation. Onviously this was something she needed to photograph.





For the next 20 minutes Tiffany basked in the beauty of the scene, snapping pictures by the dozens. Then looking at the tree protruding from the rock, a sly grin crossed her face. She glanced back down the path just to be sure there was no one approaching. The path was the only way in, as the forest around her was thick and devoid of any legitimate walking areas. So she felt confident of her isolation.

Tiffany set the camera on a nearby rock and focused in on the tree. She kicked off her flip-flops then quickly slipped the straps of her dress over her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. Sliding off her panties she then stood in the sun completely nude. She set the camera's timer then jumped onto the rock, swinging on the tree as if it were a stripper's pole. She stopped, posed, then smiled as the camera snapped. She repeated this several times with various poses.

After running back to the tree once again, she positioned herself behind it, wrapping both arms and legs around the tree, making sure that the camera wouldn't be able to catch any "naughty" parts of her this time. She had just poked her head around the corner and smiled while waiting for the snap, when she suddenly choked on her own blood as a machete was thrust into her back. She let out one blood-choked gurgle before her appendages went limp. Yet she didn't fall. The force of the machete was so strong that it had gone completely through her and had embedded itself into the tree. Blood trickled down her stomach and legs and formed a little pool on the rock as Buster Koons calmly strolled away - into the woods.