There is about $170,000 left in the grant to help law enforcement agencies investigate more cold cases. Of the 43 identified homicide cases dating back to 1968, at least 14 Authorities said Smith's family was grateful for the crowdfunding to identify the remains. Date Missing: June 9, 2013. WebSeattle, WA Area Cold Cases | SpotCrime Get Alerts Seattle, WA Area Cold Cases Crime Map Neighborhoods Trends Analytics Cold Cases Missing Persons Daily Archive Name Russell Elliott Age 73 Cause of Death Gunshot Info Shot and killed Agency Indiana State Police View Source Name Cameron Wilson Age 17 Cause of Death Gunshot Info Gun Between 1920 and 1950, as many as 10 people mysteriously disappeared in a patch of woods surroundingGlastenbury Mountain in southwestern Vermont. On the same day, Kenneth Downing pleaded guilty in Whitman County to four counts of first-degree rape and one count of second-degree assault with sexual motivation in connection to a pair of Pullman home invasions in 2003 and 2004. Case Info: Pruitt left from the Glacier Gorge parking lot on February 28, 2019, for a day hike to an unknown destination. A five-part Showtime documentary "Murder in the Bayou" profiled the cases and featured footage of one of the victims, Necole Jean Guillory, telling investigators about rampant misconduct and trafficking inside the jail. Flynt Lee disappeared in Simpson County in August 2009. Reinhard usually carried a large fannypack. While the forest is popular with hunters, her death was ruled a homicide. Editor's Note: Warning that these accounts may be upsetting to some as they describe details of real-life cases. The DNA profiles had been uploaded to CODIS, the national criminal DNA database, with no results. Jentz was left with broken bones, and Weiss was left blind. ", The case has been featured on true crime podcasts as well as "Unsolved Mysteries.". Please scroll through this roster of cold cases being investigated by Special Agents of the NPS Investigative Services Branch. SEATTLE Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that his offices DNA forensic genetic genealogy program has now helped solve three cold cases, including one with multiple victims: Before Fergusons office got involved, these cases did not have active leads. He put her back in the car and drove her back to near her home. Haataja had attempted suicide before, leading some to believe that he took his own life. More than 30 years later, police are reopening the investigation. larry griffin Authorities made their first conviction and sentencing due to results from the genetic genealogy program on Friday. Investigators said Bieker taped her head and hands with zip-ties so tight it cut the circulation off from her hands, duct-taped her hoodie to her face, then bound her legs and put her in the trunk of her own car. Description: Melton was 58 years old when she went missing. Police officers examined her and took evidence from her. The group arrived at Sunrise at about 3:00 pm on July 17, 1981. Ferguson said program resources are reserved for unsolved cold cases of felony crimes with sexual motivation. The father, John Mathis, was shot in the arm, but survived. A 2013 book and a 2014 documentary, both called "Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere" explore the case. LaDonna Mathis, 30, and her two sons, aged 4 and 2, were shot dead on September 8, 1981, in Mount Vernon in Davidson County, South Dakota. At one point, she said the attacker made small talk and asked about her pets. The North Kingstown Police Department created a Facebook pagein 2012 in an attempt to gather more information about the cold case. Deputies reportedly lost evidence during the investigation, and a detective bought a truck from an acquaintance of one of the victims and was seen in it the day she disappeared. Description: Ficery was 51 years old when he went missing. Police in Eastern Washington said this week they have solved the 62-year-old cold case murder of a 9-year-old Camp Fire girl who disappeared while selling I think that was the problem, Steven Fisher, 20, and his girlfriend Melisa Gregory, 17, She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed 18 times, the evidence against him was circumstantial. With only her pocketbook missing, they ruled out robbery as a motive. These details provide an active lead for law enforcement to investigate. Local authorities from all five states enlisted the help of the FBI to track down the serial killer, but they have continued to elude arrest. In 2020, a detective from the county sheriffs office approached the Attorney Generals Office requesting funding for forensic genetic genealogical testing of the 2003 crime scene DNA. 24-year-old Joanne Lee Reynolds was found stabbed to death in her apartment on February 16, 1980. Witnesses say that they saw her standing next to a maroon car driven by a man in his 30s on August 9, 1970. He had been on his way to the bank when he was shot and robbed of $10,000. Her father was at home and told law enforcement officers that she had duct tape on her and nylon wire tied around her ankles. If you have any information that can help, contact Detective Winfield at 503-846-8671 or visit the Washington County District Attorneys Office website for information on how to submit tips for the investigations. New information could come from new witness testimony, new or retained physical evidence, activities of a suspect, or other sources. A family friend namedGlenn Davis was a suspect in the murder, but the evidence against him was circumstantial. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. As there was no suspect at the time, the county issued an arrest warrant for a John Doe and the case went cold. After the assault, he drove her near her home and told her if she told anyone about what happened, "her dad would be dead and the house would be burned down and the rest of her life would be miserable.. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed 18 times. He was last seen at about 2:40 pm on June 17, 2011 at the top of Upper Yosemite Falls. Dental records helped identify the remains as Salgado, NBC News reported. Case Info: Gibson was last seen hiking with a high school group from Knoxville, Tennessee. Description: Gibson was 16 years old when she went missing. This office is confident many of these cases can be solved, the victims associated with them can receive the justice they deserve, the community at large can receive a sense of resolution and those who committed these crimes can finally be held responsible. Authorities said Smith is fromSequim, about 20 miles east from where her foot was found. Investigators interviewed dozens of suspects, but the case went unsolved for almost two decades. White male, 60 tall, 175 pounds, blond hair and blue eyes. Her husband Dominic told authorities that they had been planning to divorce and that Mary took off with $100,000 in exchange for their home. But others on the police force didn't think all of the cases were connected. The search for Heimer is in continuous, limited mode. When a woman walking her dog found a human bone in 2009, she had no idea she had come across one of the biggest crime scenes in US history. Missing from: Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Fergusons Office has approximately $170,000 remaining to assist agencies with additional cold cases. Kim Raffo, Molly Dilts, Barbara Breidor, and Tracy Roberts were found dead behind the Golden Key Motel in Atlantic City in 2006. Mary Badaracco disappeared on August 19, 1984. Nick's family founded theMorgan Nick Foundationto provide immediate assistance to families of missing children. He was starting a day hike to Poly Domes. His remains were identified 47 years later. New information could come from new witness testimony, new or Jentz returned to Cline Falls 15 years later to investigate the crime herself, but the attacker was never found. Police declined to provide specifics but said they're bringing additional charges against Knapp. Then Mike Riemer disappeared, while his girlfriend, Diana Robertson, was found dead. The gun was recovered in Central Park three days later, and police released a sketch of the suspect, but the case is still unsolved more than 20 years later. White female, 5'10" tall, 180 pounds, brown eyes, red hair. She asked, did he follow you here? Shes been living this crime every day., Walker called the 2003 rape "deliberately cruel" and "vile. "My office will continue this initiative to help law enforcement close these cases.. Case Info: Knadjian was last seen in Curry Village in Yosemite Valley on July 24, 1972. The match was so solid that a June 15, 2021 motion to the court said the chances of it not being Bieker were one in 35 quadrillion.. Grays Harbor County detectives then arrested Bieker in McCleary and charged him with the 2003 crime. Ferguson said the funding, provided by the United States Department of Justice, was instrumental in solving a 2003 violent rape of a 17-year-old in McCleary, 2003 and 2004 home invasion sexual assaults in Pullman, and a 1995 murder in Kitsap County. Between 1968 and 1982, seven women affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison were killed by strangling and stabbing. Info. Case Info: Barnes was last seen walking north from the Murphy Creek Trailhead at Tenaya Lake at 9:00 am on July 5, 1988. In 1977, 19-year-oldTerri Jentz and her college roommate Shayna Weiss spent the night at Cline Falls State Park while on a cross-country bike trip. A witness saw a man in a compact car throw her body in a ditch along the side of the road and helped police draw up a sketch. The Lizzie Borden House where her parents were found murdered is now a popular tourist attraction and was featured on an episode of "Supernatural.". You may also contact theNPS Investigative Services Branch (ISB)and/or theUS Park Police. Attorney General Ferguson has prioritized clearing the rape kit backlog and improving the states response to sexual assault. Our thoughts are with the family, and we thank the person who submitted the tip to us. He was carrying a blue cloth bag. These circumstances and the overall lack of progress in cracking the case led some to suspect that the police were involved in the deaths or in covering them up, the New York Times reports. The murders remain "one of Houston's most infamous unsolved slayings," according to KHOU11. White male, 511 tall, 170 pounds, brown/grey hair and brown eyes. Once on scene officers discovered an occupied, light blue pick up truck, which crashed into a tree. He sexually assaulted her three times. Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter:@jordan_mendoza5. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at a news conference to announce the first convictions stemming from a forensic genealogy grant program his office created to help local police agencies solve cold cases. Our hope is to bring justice and closure for the victims and their families, no matter how long it takes., Date:October 9, 1982Time:EveningLocation:8025 SW Miller Hill Road, Lori Billingsley was a junior at Aloha High School who helped tutor students in the counseling section. She left her home on Southwest Heritage Court in Aloha withfriends at about 9 p.m. on October 9, 1982. Her body was found 12 hours later in a ditch. Lori was 17 years old at the time of her murder.. Mary Schlais was found dead in Spring Brook Township in 1974, stabbed 15 times. The killer would then clean the kids' clothes and arrange their bodies in a sort of display on the streets of Metro Detroit for investigators to find. Steven Harkins and his girlfriend, Ruth Cooper, were found dead. Both home invasions resulted in "violent" rapes, authorities said. "My office will continue this initiative to help law enforcement close these cases.. 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