Korean War Veteran, Stanley Eugene Svendsen, Fatally Beaten in Phillipsville – The 54-Year-Old Cold Case Remains Unsolved

Stanley Eugene Svendsen

Cold cases grow cold because their stories stop being told. Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office published an interactive map and timeline last year with over sixty missing and murdered people whose cases remain unsolved. We have taken on the task of writing about each and every one of those cases, to keep their stories alive and hopefully find justice for the victims and families. Remember, as Jean Racine, the French playwright once said, “There are no secrets that time does not reveal.”

The death of Southern Humboldt resident, Stanley Eugene Svendsen, 36, was reported days after the discovery of his body. His death remains a mystery fifty-four years later.

On Wednesday, October 4th, 1967, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) was notified that Svendsen’s body was located in a mountain cabin in Phillipsville. Investigators eventually determined the likely time of death occurred October 2nd at approximately 2 p.m. The reporting party had made the grisly discovery at 2 a.m., Wednesday, but did not report it until 8:43 a.m. An additional party had made the original discovery of Svendsen’s body on Tuesday, October 3rd around 11:30 a.m. but did not come forward until later. According to lead detectives, Roy Simmons and Pete Vanderklis, although the detectives were perplexed by the delayed reporting, neither party were considered suspects.

Investigators determined that Svendsen had died from a skull fracture, and had multiple bruises on his body, his death the result of a fatal beating.

Svendsen was born November 24th, 1930, to Leo and Thelma Svendsen in Eureka, California. Svendsen grew up in Southern Humboldt, living in Redcrest and Miranda.

He was drafted into the United States Army in February of 1952 at the age of 21. At the beginning of his Army enlistment, Svendsen served in southern Germany as a rifleman for Company B of the 172nd Division during the Korean War and was discharged on January 20th, 1954.

After returning to the Southern Humboldt area, Svendsen worked in the lumber mills and doing construction work locally.

He married Muriel Patterson in 1957. Stanley and Muriel had their daughter, Betty, in 1958 before divorcing in 1963.

Svendsen ran into a bit of trouble after his divorce. He was wanted by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for a felony hit and run after he allegedly wrecked his car, smashing through a fence and flipping the vehicle multiple times, 220 feet into a field on October 26th, 1965. The passenger, Floyd Lyons, was found at the scene of the accident on the Old Mattole Road. Lyons said he only knew the driver that fled the scene, as ‘Stanley’.

Before Svendsen was arrested on the hit and run charges, Charles Oliver notified the Eureka Police Department that he had loaned Svendsen his vehicle on October 28th with instruction to bring it back later that day. When Svendsen did not return the vehicle, Oliver filed a stolen vehicle charge on November 1st. An EPD officer found Svendsen asleep in the car at 3 a.m. in Eureka on the morning of November 2nd. Svendsen was arrested.

He was arraigned on car theft charges, but they were dropped December 3rd, 1965. The investigation into the alleged hit and run was ongoing at the time.

After the discovery of Svendsen’s body in the mountain cabin in Phillipsville on October 4th, 1967, investigators identified Harold F. James, as the lead suspect. James, 26, of Ferndale, was picked up October 30th by Ferndale Police, who turned him over to the HCSO. James was arraigned for non-malicious manslaughter with a bail of $5000, that was later reduced to $2200. James remained in custody until the Eureka Municipal Court dismissed the charges against him on November 20th, 1967, in a motion filed by the District Attorney’s Office.

The death of Stanley E. Svendsen remains unsolved 54 years later.

HCSO asks that if anyone has information to share about this case, “please contact our Crime Tip Line at 707-268-2539, submit information using our Online Crime Tip Form, or email [email protected]. Please reference the case number associated with the case when reporting information.” The case number for the death of Stanley E. Svendsen is 196708211.