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On Thursday, July 22, 1999, 50 FBI agents arrived in Ferasta on the Western edge of Yosemite National Park.

The win-tory conditions that had clouded the region months earlier had since dissipated,

replaced by warmer weather and greener scenery. The area where the female human remains were found

was relatively unknown to tourists. Its dense woodland and grassy meadows were split by a rushing

stream. The granite summits of Yosemite Valley were visible in the distance.

Trampled vegetation revealed what had likely taken place there. It appeared the woman had

been chased into the woods by an assailant before they got into a struggle. She put up a fight,

wounding her wrist in the process, but her attacker roved her.

The victim was then cleanly and forcefully decapitated with a large sharp instrument.

Although the victim's head was nowhere to be found, investigators were still able to identify her.

Less than 100 yards away was the cabin where missing 26-year-old and naturalist Joey Armstrong lived.

In the 1990s, the Cedar Lodge in El Portel was owned and operated by a man named Gerald Fischer.

Located on Highway 140, the lodge was a popular rest stop for visitors to Yosemite National Park.

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