On the night of April 11, 1981, 17-year-old Dana Wingate of Quincy, California, was one of four people murdered at Cabin 28 in Keddie, Plumas County, in the case known as the Keddie Cabin Murders. Dana had spent the day with 15-year-old John Sharp, son of Sue Sharp, who also lived in the cabin. That night Dana and John returned to the Sharp household and were attacked along with Sue.

Dana was bludgeoned with a hammer and strangled. John and Sue suffered brutal beatings and stab wounds. The crime scene was bloody and chaotic, yet other Sharp children who were sleeping in another room were left unharmed. Sheila Sharp discovered the bodies the next morning. Twelve‑year‑old Tina Sharp was initially missing; her remains were recovered three years later in a remote area of Butte County.

Investigators produced sketches from an eyewitness account by a surviving child and pursued several leads. Neighbors Martin Smartt and John Boubede were among people who have been named as suspects, and a hammer believed to be one of the murder weapons was later found, but no one has been charged and the motive remains unknown.