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Dateline has revisited one of Oregon's most haunting murder cases — the chilling 2016 homicide of 23 year old Kaylee Sawyer. Dateline: Into the Night takes to the quiet town of Bend, where a normal summer night spiraled into something unimaginabgle.
Kaylee was a daughter, a student, a friend, and her life ended at the hands of a man with a security badge, turning what should have been a short walk into a nightmare.
This Dateline episode doesn't just tell her story — it demands we remember who she really was and how her life was stolen.
Dateline: Into the Night — A summer night that took a dark turn
According to court documents as cited by the official website of the United States Attorney's Office, District of Oregon, Kaylee Sawyer was murdered on July 24, 2016. Her night had begun like any other 20-something's — dressed up, out with friends, laughing, dancing. However, as the night wore on and she returned home with her boyfriend, things unexpectedly turned tense.
A disagreement between them led Kaylee to step out alone into the dark. It was something she had done before — walk it off, clear her head. This time, however, she never made it back.
Her last message to her boyfriend was brief and chilling: her phone was dying, and she said "goodbye." That final text would be the last anyone heard from her. Within hours, Kaylee's disappearance sparked panic.
The community launched a search, unaware that the predator she had encountered wore a uniform and drove a vehicle that looked like it belonged to the police.
A predator in disguise
The perpetrator, Edwin Lara, wasn't a police officer but he looked the part. As a campus security guard at Central Oregon Community College, he had access to patrol cars that resembled law enforcement — siren lights, police like decals, and even a backseat divided by a cage.
The illusion of authority is what Kaylee likely saw that night, though behind the badge was a man with sinister intent.
Per Dateline, Lara lured her into his vehicle, activated the child locks, and drove to a remote lot. There, he r*ped and murdered her. This was no accidental act and he later admitted to having an "urge to kill."
Lara's brutal crime didn't end with Kaylee. The next day, he fled, beginning a violent two-day spree across Oregon and into California, leaving more victims and scars behind.
The descent: From Kaylee’s murder to a multi-state crime spree
After murdering Kaylee, Lara fled. But he didn't hide. Instead, he carjacked a young woman in Salem, made her believe he was a police officer, and showed her news headlines about what he had done to Kaylee. Along the road, he chained her in a hotel, made disturbing advances, and kept her under constant threat.
Then, in Yreka, California, Lara shot a man in the abdomen during a failed car theft, kidnapped an entire family at gunpoint, and confessed to all of them that he had killed Kaylee and had an "urge to kill."
One of the kidnapped teens later said Lara kept talking about the girl he had run over. When police finally caught him, Lara was ready. He told them:
"I came to throw down."
The aftermath: Justice, heartbreak, and Kaylee’s legacy
Kaylee's body was discovered two days after her disappearance, off a highway in Redmond. The pain of that discovery never left her family. Her mother, Juli VanCleave, told Dateline that speaking about her daughter publicly wasn't easy, but she wanted to protect Kaylee's memory.
"I don't want people to remember Kaylee as 'the murder victim...I want people to remember her," Juli said.
In court, Lara pleaded guilty and received two life sentences — one for Kaylee's murder and another for kidnapping and carjacking. Later, her family sued Central Oregon Community College, saying the school failed to vet Lara properly and let him appear like a real cop.
The lawsuit led to Kaylee's Law, which now mandates strict rules about how campus security uniforms and vehicles must differ from the police.
Kaylee Sawyer's story, as shown on Dateline: Into the Night, is not just a case file. It is a gut-punch reminder of how quickly life can unravel when trust is misplaced. Her name now stands for change, not just tragedy.
Through her mother's voice, through legal reform, and through her community's love, Kaylee is remembered. The Dateline episode is at attempt to ensure we never forget her.
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