Mystery

OLYMPIA, Wash. — In a folder on his work computer labeled "Personal Pics," Steve Powell maintained a peculiar collection of photos: 55 depicting his daughter-in-law Susan but few if any showing his son.

Thousands of images and emails on his Washington state government-issued laptop provide a small glimpse into his increasingly scrutinized world. Authorities said this week that he is a person of interest in her 2009 disappearance in Utah.

OXNARD, Calif. -- Found partly sunken in leafy ground at a secluded makeshift camp near Oxnard, Calif., the unidentified man's skeleton was surrounded by what was likely everything he owned.

For six years, none of the roughly 50 found items led authorities to the man's identity. The mystery persisted as his dental X-rays and DNA profile provided no match.

Now, investigators at the Ventura County Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office are hoping that a long-forgotten disposable camera will give this John Doe his real name.

BELLINGHAM, Was. -- For thousands of people who attended the weekly farmers market in Bellingham, Wash., he was the circus boy -- entertaining visitors with juggling, magic tricks and acrobatics delivered with unbelievable aplomb.

But 10-year-old Caleb Kors died suddenly this week while apparently rushing around the house to construct a new circus costume, leaving Bellingham residents grief-stricken over a boy they knew mainly for his four-club juggle toss -- performed with a wisecrack and a rakish smile -- and for his fearless compulsion to perform.

Whatcom County sheriff's officials said Caleb died in an accidental hanging -- though exactly what happened still is unclear. "As far as we know, the young man died in what appears to be an accidental hanging. How he got there, we're not actually sure. There did not appear to be anything suspicious or nefarious," Chief Criminal Deputy Doug Chadwick told the Los Angeles Times.

SAN DIEGO -- A postmortem examination has confirmed that Umoya, a 21-year-old elephant at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, was fatally attacked by another elephant, but other details of the death remain a mystery.

No one witnessed the attack and it is unknown which elephant or elephants in the herd were responsible for Umoya's death or what may have prompted the deadly confrontation Nov. 17.

BOUNTIFUL -- Family members in Bountiful, Utah, are relighting a Christmas tree to mark two years since a then-30-year-old man disappeared in Henderson, Nev., with hardly a trace.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The passenger aboard the Northwest Orient flight from Portland to Seattle on Thanksgiving Eve 1971 wore sunglasses, a suit and a polyester black clip-on tie. He politely asked for a bourbon and 7-Up. Then, he handed the flight attendant a note declaring he had a bomb and demanding a $200,000 ransom.

Was this the beginning of a deeply flawed hijacking plan that would end with a suicidal nighttime parachute jump from the Boeing 727 jet by the man who would become known to the world as D.B. Cooper?

SEATTLE -- The refusal to take a polygraph examination by the mother of a missing 2-year-old "looks suspicious," Bellevue, Wash., police said during a media briefing Wednesday.