When unprecedented international demand for gourmet wild mushrooms drives up prices, a mycological gold rush strikes the remote Oregon forests where choice varieties are harvested. Decades later, investigators are still trying to solve the murders of two men who were killed and robbed of their harvests in this episode of Last Seen Alive.

Note: we were unable to locate any photos of the victims, Thorng Mao and Phay Eng.

Sources used to research this episode:

Mushroom Picker Slain (Associated Press)

Picker’s Death May Be Theft-Related (Associated Press)

Robbery Suspected as Motive in Death of Mushroom-Picker (Roy Scarbrough / The Oregonian)

Mushrooms, Money and Violence (Dana Tims and Richard Cockle / The Oregonian)

Wild Mushrooming Season Hits Its Peak (Associated Press)

Northwest Mushroom Pickers Are Armed, Shooting Each Other (Gannett News Service)

Mushroom Gold Rush Turns Deadly (Peter Gillins / The San Francisco Examiner)

Mushroom Killing (Peninsula Daily News)

Mushroom Picker Killed in Apparent Robbery (Tri-City Herald)

Police Say Forest Killing “Not Random” (East Oregonian)

Mushroom Picker Found Dead; Police Seek Killer (The Oregonian)

Morels Sales Picking Up in Oregon — Big Burns Bode Well for Wild Edible Delicacy (Seattle Times)

Police Still Looking for Murder Suspect (The Observer)

Suspect May Be Spending $100 Bills (East Oregonian)

Autopsy Specifics Not Released in Murder (East Oregonian)

Police Seek Information from Public in Homicide (Baker City Herald)

Murder Suspects Questioned (Baker City Herald)

Burgeoning Mushroom Harvest Keeps Police on Alert (Richard Cockle / The Oregonian)

Authorities Look for Clues to Help Solve Murder Cases (Julie Johnson / The Observer)

Dodging Death Among the Fairy Rings (Michael McRae / The Sacramento Bee)

Death in the Forest (Joshua Hunt / eater.com)

Phay Eng (Oregon State Police Cold Case Unit)

If you have any information on the deaths of Thorng Mao or Phay Eng, please e-mail the Oregon State Police Cold Case Unit at: OSP.CCU@osp.oregon.gov