The woman featured here is a victim of the notorious Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway. Her remains were discovered, along with another Green River victim, on January 2nd,1986 by detectives in southeast King County. Her death was included in Ridgway’s 2003 guilty plea agreement, but the convicted killer cannot remember her name.
She is currently known only as Bones-17. Detectives with the King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit, and forensic anthropologist Katherine Taylor, need help to determine her true identity.
Forensic evidence indicates she was potentially in her mid-to-late teens at the time of her murder. The path and circumstances that brought her to the Puget Sound area remain unknown. Isotope analysis, already done in this case, suggests she may be a native of the eastern United States or Canada.
Parabon Nanolabs, Inc., working in concert with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, utilized their proprietary Snapshot DNA Analysis to develop this composite profile of what the young woman would have looked like.
“There is renewed urgency in this case. Thirty-five years have passed since Bones-17’s discovery and investigators want to connect with family before memories and other evidence fade,” said King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht.
In the words of Taylor, every person needs their name. It will take the help of a nation to give Bones-17 hers.
Those with any information that will help investigators identify Bones-17 are asked to contact the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311, or email [email protected]. Please reference case 86-000818.
Republished courtesy of King Counry Sheriff's Office. Photo credit: KCSO/Parabon.