'Gingerbread' Treehouse Full Of Child Porn Found In WA Forest

NORTH BEND, WA - In November 2016, a state Department of Natural Resources employee set out to find a legend: a strange treehouse known to hikers and U.S. Forest Service employees located in a remote area of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, about 50 miles east of Seattle.

The DNR employee was able to find the treehouse that day. When he came out of the woods, he contacted the King County Sheriff's Office to report what he'd found inside: child porn, including pictures in frames screwed into all four walls depicting "fairy-like figures or of what appeared to be young girls, approximately 8-12 years old."

Two photos, in particular showed individual girls standing naked, facing the camera, with exposed genitalia," an FBI agent wrote in a probable cause affidavit.

[King County Det. Christopher] Myers described the cabin as an elaborate tree house that resembled a fairy or gingerbread house. lt was dark brown in color and built approximately 8 feet off the ground. There was a porch around the structure, a front door, and windows on the side, as well as a pitched roof, and a ladder from the ground to the porch. lnside the cabin was a variety of items that included a bed with storage area underneath, bedding, clothing, book, electronic keyboard, basic supplies such as food, dishes, candles, as well as various knickknacks.

Last week, the alleged owner of that cabin, Daniel Wood, 56, of Mill Creek, was charged in King County Superior Court for possession of child porn.

After the DNR employee's discovered in November 2016, the King County Sheriff's Office and the FBI began investigating the cabin. A member of a local search-and-rescue team told police that he had seen the same Toyota SUV parked near the cabin, about 9-1/2 miles north of North Bend up Southeast Middle Fork Road.

According to court documents, police took items from the cabin to gather fingerprints. Meanwhile, investigators observed that Toyota SUV parked near the cabin and traced its license plate back to Wood. Using DNA and fingerprint information, investigators were able to link Wood to the cabin and its contents, according to court documents.

On Feb. 12, police searched Wood's Mill Creek home and recovered a trove of digital information.

On a single digital storage card, an FBI agent found "thousands of images of child erotica and child pornography," some depicting prepubescent girls engaging in sexual activity. The FBI agent also found images of a young girl posing inside the cabin, according to court records.

Wood has been issued a summons to appear in court on March 26 for an arraignment. He has been ordered not to have any contact with minors

The approximate location of the cabin, according to investigators:

File photo Neal McNamara/Patch