Talkeetna woman unveils book about Cache Creek murder investigation

MAT-SU -- It was the early 1900s, and much of Alaska was consumed with gold fever. But, as often happens when riches are involved, the fever was marked by the dismal stain of bloodshed.

The Valley was not immune -- either to gold fever or to shed blood. In fact, in 1939, four people were murdered in the Dutch Hills area, and the case remains unsolved.

The case is often referred to as the Cache Creek Murders, and "The Mystery of the Cache Creek Murders," a book that will soon be appearing on bookshelves in Carrs and Fred Meyer, takes a closer look into the events surrounding the murders, as well as their subsequent investigation.

But author and longtime area resident Roberta Sheldon said she doesn't attempt to solve the case, but instead hoped to show how the case was treated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

It was the FBI that investigated the case, Sheldon said.

"I like to think a little bit of justice has been done in the respect that the investigation is now being made public," Sheldon said. "I have a lot of respect for the FBI in this -- they worked really hard."

This is not Sheldon's first book. Six years ago, she wrote and self-published "The Heritage of Talkeetna," a book that has sold approximately 2,000 copies and has occasionally surprised her by being on the shelves of stores such as Wal-Mart.

Writing has long drawn Sheldon's attention, but it has not been easy for her to find time to put pen to paper. She has written a few things that were well-received, however.

Sheldon worked as a flight attendant out on the Aleutian Chain when she was young.

"I had some interesting experiences," Sheldon said, with a gleam in her eye. She wrote about some of her adventures and sent the story to Alaska Magazine, where it was published.

After moving to Talkeetna in 1964, Sheldon said she began learning about the area and, every so often, would hear someone mention the Cache Creek Murders, but was never given a satisfactory explanation of the events.

As a young wife with children, her writing time diminished, but she became increasingly interested in the history of the area. As she learned, she thought others would find the information valuable and decided to compile it into

"Heritage."

After asking about the murders, Sheldon said not much was known by those still in the area. It wasn't until she was researching "Heritage" that a door opened for her to begin researching the issue.

Sheldon said the wife of a Cache Creek miner she was interviewing about the area was the person who led her to more information.

"At one point in her life, she interviewed old-timers who told her about the Cache Creek Murders," Sheldon said. The woman was able to pinpoint dates and suggested a place to begin further research. "So I went into Anchorage and reviewed the newspapers of that year and, sure enough, there were huge headlines."

Although the deaths seemed the result of an ongoing feud between neighboring miners in the Dutch Hills, some nearby miners were more skeptical.

"People began to believe that the feud between those miners had been ruthlessly exploited for the gold on their property," Sheldon said.

Three of the victims, Sheldon said, came to the Cache Creek area in the early 1900s to mine for gold. Dick Francis, at one point, filed on some claims next to Frank Jenkins. Jenkins objected to Francis' filings, claiming the tailings from his activities would affect Jenkins' water ditch, and soon the matter became a drawn-out court battle.

By 1938, the court ordered the auction of Francis' claims to satisfy the damages awarded by the court to Jenkins. Like many small communities, everyone in the area knew about the feud and had a perspective on the issue.

In 1939, the case was still being settled when, in the fall, Jenkins and an employee were headed to the cabin of a man who had recently started mining in the area. Sheldon said Jenkins was headed to pick up a radio at the cabin, but he and his employee were killed along the way.

Three miles away on the same day, Jenkins' wife, Helen, was murdered near their cabin on Little Willow Creek. And, on the same day, Francis was murdered in his cabin on Ruby Creek.

The murders, and the lack of available law enforcement in pre-statehood Alaska, incensed people across the territory.

"Alaskans became outraged that there was not proper law enforcement to investigate the crimes," Sheldon said. "People just started demanding an investigation by the FBI."

Sheldon said during territorial days, there was only one FBI agent in all of Alaska, and he was based in Juneau. He started investigating the case in September of 1939, and continued working on the case until 1943.

But the investigation was hampered by a small detail -- the beginning of World War II.

"Suddenly America was electrified," Sheldon said. "All FBI manpower was immediately put to World War II responsibilities, and they were quite overwhelmed."

Sheldon said her search through hard-to-obtain FBI records about the case showed FBI agents attempted to follow leads and keep working on the case through the war.

"They did have a very strong suspect," Sheldon said. "But he was never charged."

Sheldon does mention in the book who the suspect is, but said she didn't want to give away the ending and reveal it outside the bounds of her book.

After working six winters researching and writing the book, Sheldon said it's nice to see the project finished. But the mystery still lingers, she said.

"I think there's closure in a sense that the people of Alaska were outraged and demanded justice, and what is in my book shows how the FBI treated the case," Sheldon said. "I'd like to think there's a measure of justice in granting it the attention it deserves."