Delia D'Ambra

And really, up until this incident, there hadn't been a need for Rangers like Danny and Jack to be armed.

Thus far, the worst thing that Rangers had dealt with in Oswald West State Park were parties on the beaches.

A public services manager for the state's Parks and Recreation Department told the Daily a story in, quote, I can tell you that this is the only time in state park history we've had anything like this happen, end quote.

The newspaper later reported that Danny was believed to be the first state park ranger slain while on duty.

But service weapons or not, it wasn't like the parks in that part of Oregon were the Wild West with little to no supervision.

Jack and Danny were on a team of several rangers who were responsible for addressing issues in Oswald West State Park and other area recreation spaces in the region.

In 1999, the unit of rangers Danny and Jack were part of was based out of Nehalem Bay State Park, which was just a few miles south of Oswald West.

Jack told me that Nehalem was considered the main attraction of the region because you could rent horses there and camp at some 200 campsites, whereas Oswald West was more scenic and less developed.

Jack said that at the time of the murder, he'd been employed with Oregon State Parks for 28 years and was planning to retire after 30 years.

Danny had worked for the agency for 15 years, and his plan after retirement was going to be riding a motorcycle across the country to see all 50 states.

Originally from Hood River, Oregon, Danny had wanted to be stationed there, but that didn't come to be, and he ended up staying in Oswald West State Park.

He was extremely dedicated to his job as a park ranger, and the way Jack put it, Danny was just a super reliable, polite, and endearing guy.

He was described as very close with his immediate family, generous to those around him, and well-liked by locals who knew him by the nickname Ranger Dan.

He was also a divorced father with grandchildren and quite active in a singles community where he lived in Wheeler, Oregon.

Jack told me that Danny always made it his mission to get his single friends together on holidays to make sure no one spent Thanksgiving or Christmas alone.

He was also admired by his former wife's extended family, too.

His ex-wife's mother told the Observer that Danny was still part of their family picture in many ways, and he made an effort to attend gatherings as well as maintain friendships with people on that side of the family.

She described Danny as a dreamer who loved Oregon's parks, especially Oswald West.

Jack Kerwin was a married father of two whose children were in their early 20s, and he explained to me during our interview that leading up to his shooting and escape, he found himself repeatedly thinking of his wife and sons and how grateful he was for them because he genuinely believed he was going to die.

It was evident from our conversation that this part of Jack's story still gets him choked up.