DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (May 8) -- A California desert cabin that became cult leader Charles Manson's last hideout has been gutted by fire.
Death Valley National Park spokesman Terry Baldino said Thursday that the isolated cabin was discovered burned on Tuesday. The cause is unknown and the fire is under investigation, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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The cabin was last seen intact Friday and may have burned over the weekend. Its stone walls and tin roof remained intact, but its hand-cut wooden beams and window and door frames were destroyed, Baldino told the Times. An outbuilding also was ruined.
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Manson and his followers hid at the cabin after killing actress Sharon Tate and seven others in the summer of 1969. Manson was arrested there that fall -- he was found hiding in one of the cabin's cupboards -- and is serving a life sentence.
The cabin, which was used by backcountry campers, is part of an area of the park called Baker Ranch. It was built in the 1930s and later bought by the Baker family, who worked a gold claim on the property, according to the Times.
"The thing that is really sad is that a month ago we had a restoration crew out to stabilize the place," Baldino told the newspaper. "We were afraid the wood lattice and tin roof would come off. We replaced wood timbers in the sagging roof and cleaned up the interior and the grounds. It was actually in fairly good shape when we finished."
