20-year-old Jay Cook and 17-year-old Tanya Van Cuylenborg from Victoria, Canada, had been dating for about five months. On the 18th of November, 1987, they left Victoria to travel to Seattle, Washington, to pick up furnace parts for Jay's father's business. They planned on doing some sightseeing along the way. It was their first trip away together; it would also be their last.
They took a ferry to Port Angeles and were last seen buying a ticket for the Bremerton-Seattle ferry. When they didn't arrive home, they were reported missing by their concerned families. A couple of days later, the body of Tanya was discovered in Skagit County. She had been raped and shot. She was bound with plastic ties. Police initially believe that Jay had murdered his girlfriend and then fled. He nor the truck were anywhere to be found. The following day, the abandoned van was found in Bellingham. Jay's body was soon discovered in Monroe. He had been been beaten and strangled to death. He too was bound with plastic ties.
As the investigation into the brutal murders was underway, the couple's families started to receive threatening letters believed to be from the killer. In these letters, the writer expressed hatred for Canadians and threatened to kill again. They received a letter a month for a year. On occasions such as Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, they received Hallmark cards. They could never be traced.
Tanya's father believed the couple picked up a hitchhiker or multiple who ultimately killed them. "They trusted the world. If they (the hitchhikers) were in the same age group, I guarantee that van would stop." Police theorise that they picked up a hitchhiker who wanted to sexually assault Tanya. They believe Jay was killed first and then Tanya as killed to cover up the sexual assault.
The case remains unsolved.
