Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Gary Ridgway abducted and murdered dozens of women in the state of Washington. Dubbed the “Green River Killer,” Ridgway eluded law enforcement agencies for nearly twenty years -- before DNA evidence finally helped police catch up with him. Ridgway was arrested in 2001 and pleaded guilty to murdering 49 women in King County, Washington. He is currently serving a life sentence without parole.
Among his victims is a woman who has remained nameless since the 1980s, according to officials with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. She has simply become known as “Jane Doe.” Although Ridgway confessed to murdering her, he did not know who she was nor did he give investigators any information about her.
Now, according to NCMEC, technology is giving investigators important clues that may lead to her identity.
The agency facilitated chemical isotope testing her teeth and bones samples. According to NCMEC officials, the results indicate “Jane Doe” may have been from -- or spent several years in -- Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming or several portions of southern Canada including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Along with the new isotope information, investigators believe “Jane Doe” was between 14 and 18 years old, was Caucasian, and stood between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall.
NCMEC has created facial reconstruction in the hope that someone will recognize the woman.
If you have any information about “Jane Doe,” you are urged to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-263-2090 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
