Marcia told kids she was going to store, her mother said in the missing-person report. She was a murder victim of Gary Leon Ridgway, known as "The Green River Killer" who was responsible for the murders of 49 women in Seattle, Washington, between 1982 and 1984. Please reset your password. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Gary Ridgwaypled guilty to the homicides of the 49people listed below. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, in the Seattle and Tacoma areas of Washington, fear walked alongside the night owls and hustlers as the bodies of numerous young women were found in or near the Green River in south King County. Patricia Yellowrobe On August 2nd, 1982, Marcias mother reported her missing. Ridgeway was charged with the murder of Wendy in April of 2003. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Shawnda Leea Summers Toys, Gifts, Collectibles, Board Games & Horror Lifestyle Items. 14 An autopsy confirmed that Coffield died as aresultofstrangulation. Sadly, this was just the beginning of Ridgway's killing spree. I was able to hold it together until toward the end, where my defenses finally started falling apart, she said in an interview, her voice still tinged with disbelief. Ridgway's decision to dump his victims in this river earned him the nickname "the Green River Killer." So grief, Ms. Gaspar said, is lonely. The last time Kenneth saw his wife was sometime in 1982, when she dropped off their daughter for the last time. He was a truck painter raised near SeaTac, and a Tyee High School graduate. However, Hinds was believed to have been in the river for a period of only several days. June 2003:In exchange for the prosecutor not seeking the death penalty, Ridgway agreed to plead guilty to all murders that he committed in King County. You can change your choice at any time by using the Privacy Center link in our footer. On July 15, 1982, the body of Wendy Lee Coffield was found in the Green River. Her remains were found July 15, 1982. Somebody reached out to Colleen and said, Id like to see what you can do with one of Ridgways unidentified victims, remembered Dr. Press, who asked if the victim had another name. She was remembered by friends as an extremely generous girl who didnt have a malicious bone in her body. She was last seen on March 3rd, 1983, on Pacific Highway South. Debbie using her street name Betty Lorraine eventually agreed to work with police in hopes of filing charges against her rapist. While she was walking in an area where the Green River Killer was known to operate, Carol Ann was not a sex worker; shed just finished having lunch at the Tavern and was planning to return there later that night for her shift as a waitress. By 1982 Mary had been through quite a lot. Her parents, Tom and Carol Estes, still live in the Auburn home where they last saw their teenage daughter. Anthony McNabb, got right to the point: Theyd come with news about Ms. Gaspars daughter, Wendy. From there, the genealogists quickly pieced together the family tree, filling in distant cousins and eventually drawing a line connecting the mother and father, or the smoking gun couple, as Ms. Binder calls them. To avoid the death penalty, Ridgway agreed to plead guilty to every murder he had committed in King County. Before her disappearance, Wendy was, in her mothers words, a magical kid. Born on Oct. 10, 1968, she was the only daughter of Ms. Gaspar and her then-husband, Charles Stephens (who died in 2014). You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. As he drifted slowly downstream, he noticed a middle-aged balding man standing by the riverbank and a second, younger man sitting in a nearby pickup truck. Coffield, The Seattle Times says, had been discovered on July 15 of the same year, and by August 16, the body count had risen to five. If your kid doesnt come home, somethings wrong, she said. Ms. Gaspar sought professional help for her daughter, hoping counseling could elicit answers: Where did she go? July 15, 1982 - Body of Wendy Lee Coffield, 16, Puyallup, found floating in the Green River south of Seattle. A support group for parents of runaways only intensified her feeling of alienation. Does Your Horror Feature or Short Need Worldwide Distribution? There is little information available on 20 year old Sandra Major. Terri was 16 years old at the time of her disappearance. Call (collect if necessary): 206-263-2130, Call between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. to arrange to speak with a detective. Pammy Avent Below, you will find the address and the GPS coordinates for this location. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Some of them had histories of prostitution, and many were last seen along Pacific Highway South near Sea-Tac airport. Ridgway's first confirmed victim was 16-year-old Wendy Lee Coffield who was living in foster care and working as a sex worker. My mind had gone in a lot of different directions, she said. The second body was identified as Cheryl Wims, 18, while the first remained a mystery Jane Doe B-10, or Bones 10. We use cookies to deliver personalized advertisements, improve your online experience, and to analyze our site's performance. Looked like a body. He found a third body, that of a young girl who was partially clothed. Everybody was a potential friend, she said. Anyone can read what you share. She eagerly agreed to testify in court when she was last seen by detectives on September 20th. We thought: This is great. You will receive a link to create a new password via email. She sometimes said that it would be better for the baby if her mother adopted Shaunt. One week later her body . She was one of those people you meet that would be like, Thats too much information!. Mary Bridgett Meehan 49 young women with their own hopes, dreams and goals, sniffed out far too soon all because some monster dubbed them disposable for their high risk lifestyles. Rather than give any more attention to Ridgway (and his seemingly endless slew of mommy issues), lets flip the script and shine the spotlight on the lives he stole, focusing on how they lived rather than how they died. Her last phone call had been to her brother on August 12th, 1982 asking for a ride. Over time, the combination of advancing technology, science, and determined investigative work advanced the case until an arrest was made in 2001. This time she took quite a few things from the family home (all her clothes, her Christmas gifts, the familys stereo and some money) so, in the hopes that a warrant might assist in locating her sooner, Colleens father filed criminal charges against his daughter. She would just take off, she said, describing disappearances that might last days or even weeks. As they later learned, the invisible match was Ms. Gaspar, who had uploaded her results to GEDMatch in early 2019, on the slim chance it could lead her to Wendy. Failed to delete flower. He claimed self-defense and was released, the charges dropped. During his confession, Ridgway stated that he picked the young girl up on a highway. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Because the first victims were in or near the Green River, the killer became known as the Green River Killer. Maureen Sue Feeney 2. . The only one it hurt was herself.. Our outings would be in the mountains, she said. She was everybodys dream of a kid, she said. You have all the time to be a grown-up with all those problems. But she wanted to be an adult so bad.. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Her reason for doing so was never disclosed. Even her birthday appears to have been lost to time. Her body was found July 15, by two teenage boys riding their bikes across the bridge of the Green River, Wendy was under the Peck Bridge. The body of Wendy was recovered and the cause of death was determined to be . Wendy Lee Coffield was 16 years of age and last seen on July 8, 1982 in the Tacoma, Washington area. Oops, something didn't work. Following her parents divorce in 1979, Wendys behavior only got worse with her mother describing her as, wild in a lot of ways but I dont think it was a harmful kind of wild. While they were cycling home, they noticed that an object was stuck against an old post in the river. By 1984, the number of dead or missing women . They remain missing today, and their cases remain uncharged. Resend Activation Email. Top $76,000-a-year New Jersey boarding school admits 'more should have been done' to stop bullying of boy, 17, who took his own life after being falsely accused of rape by cruel peers Linda Rule Required fields are marked *. She was just another kid that ran away that they didnt care about, she said. Around the country, Mr. Ridgways sentencing brought renewed attention to the investigation. Photos taken over the past three decades tell part of the story of serial killer Gary Ridgway's crimes against Norhtwest women and girls. In the book Green River, Running Red Kimi-Kais mother recalled that She wanted to see how life worked and never took anyones word for anything. When she returned, she acted like nothing was wrong, nothing had taken place, she hadnt been absent, Ms. Gaspar said. and secret tears still flow, Advertise With Wicked Horror. Police investigated and later identified this young woman as Wendy Lee Coffield. Pammy Avent July 15, 1982: Children found Wendy Coffield (16 years old), strangled in the Green River Aug. 16: After the bodies of four more young women are found in or near the Green River, King County police set up the biggest police task force since the Ted Bundy murders of the 1970s. When she became pregnant for a third time, Mary decided to give the baby boy up for adoption, though she regretted it soon after. It was published on August 19th, 1982, just over a month after Wendy's remains were discovered. All kinds of things go through your head, she said. If you call after hours, please leave voice mail so we can get back in touch with you. Gail decided not to go, instead announcing she would go to work so that they can keep their motel room for a few more nights. Gisele Ann Lovvorn, 17, July 17, 1982, near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. no time to say goodbye Thats when we knew that we had a serial killer, Mr. Reichert said. Led by a volunteer, Cairenn Binder, a team of five forensic genealogists began building out a family tree. She loved everybody. I thought of putting her on a milk carton. She kept her home phone number listed, just in case Wendy ever came looking. Thus began one of the longest and largest serial murder investigations in United States history. Within a month, four other bodies were found on the riverbank: Debra Lynn Bonner, Marcia Faye Chapman, Opal Charmaine Mills and Cynthia Jean Hinds. Enter your email address to follow Stolen Lives and receive notifications of new posts by email. Cynthia Jean Hinds Soliciting sex made it possible to live a lifestyle of traveling and being able to purchase heroinWhile Dub would go to the streets looking for business, Carl would spend time lurking in the taverns in Tacoma., The couple lived out of various motels as they traveled up and down the West Coast working the circuit. Sorry! The inset photograph in the top right-hand corner shows the police removing her body from the river. There was an error deleting this problem. Dr. Kathy Taylor, who worked the case as a forensic anthropologist and died last year, was a teenager at the time of Wendys disappearance. She was found on August 12, 1982, and her death was almost immediately linked to the deaths of two other area sex workers, Wendy Coffield and Leann Wilcox. 9 May 1967 - 11 Mar 1988. According to true crime author Ann Rule Gail was living a precarious, day-to-day existence with a man shed met at Trudys Tavern near the airport, a 34 year old man named Curt. She learned to rely on Wendys friends as informants whod share tips on her whereabouts and reassure Ms. Gaspar that her daughter was safe. Try again later. Cynthia had also been working as a sex worker since she was 14 years old. to target victims of opportunity (women walking home, hitchhiking, etc.). Colleen Renee Brockman Ridgway's decision to dump his victims in this river earned him the nickname "the Green River Killer.". Patricia Yellowrobe Kelly Kay McGinnis was 18 years of age and was last seen on June 28, 1983 at South 216h Street and Pacific Highway South. The police got a lead on her identity after they published photographs of her tattoos in local newspapers. Andrea Childers was only 19 the last time she saw her grandmother in 1983. Now, the detectives said they finally had answers: Wendy Stephens, 14, had been identified as the youngest victim of the serial murderer Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer. Seattle? Shed been very close to her grandmother. After dropping out of Junior High she enrolled in Kent Continuation School to catch up. April 2003: Ridgway was charged with three additional murders (Wendy Lee Coffield, Debra Lynn Bonner and Debra Estes). On Aug. 12, 1982, detectives found Debbie Bonner, 23, in the Green River. Several days earlier, the body of a woman named Deborah Bonner was discovered. There is little information readily available on 17 year old Delores Williams. Learn more about managing a memorial . Coffield's body was found in the Green River in 1982 a week after she went missing. Lets get their DNA profiles in, remembered Dr. Taylor. Not enough sleep. July 15, 1982: Body of Wendy Lee Coffield, 16, Puyallup, found in the Green River south of Seattle. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Our investigation continued for decades. Two boys riding their bicycles across a bridge spotted the tennis shoes first of fully clothed body. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Kimberly Nelson The man replied that he had not. The discovery of the body behind a meat packing plant was the first clue police had to the developing nightmare of the Green River serieal killer's actions. Sandra D. Major I just kept waiting for somebody to call and say, My young daughter ran away, Dr. Taylor said. A young black woman's face was floating just beneath the surface of the water, her body swaying beneath her with the current. Everett, Snohomish County, Washington, USA . He has been a suspect for a long time, but before now, detectives had not found adequate evidence to build a case against him. Wendy Stephens, formally known as Jane Doe B-10 or Bones 10, was Gary Ridgways youngest known victim and was only recently identified in January of 2021. Enjoy yourself. It was a huge dark cloud over this community, he said. Within a month, fourother bodies were found on the riverbank:Debra Lynn Bonner, Marcia Faye Chapman, Opal Charmaine Mills and Cynthia Jean Hinds. Women, many of them just girls, really, started disappearing in 1982. Tom Estes yesterday acknowledged that charging Ridgway in his daughter's death was good news, but he declined further comment. She was only 15 and pregnant. Today, the remains of two women are still unidentified, and others are suspected but unconfirmed victims. The medical examiner's office determined that the young girl had been strangled to death and then thrown into the Green River, where she remained in the water for several days. Moreover, six months prior to Coffield's discovery, the body of her friend Leanne Wilcox was found several miles from the river in an empty lot. On August 15, 1982, Robert Ainsworth, 41, stepped into his rubber raft and began his descent south down the Green River toward the outer edge of Seattle's city limits. Shed drive around looking for Wendy, once even tracking her footsteps through the snow. She would leave in the winter without a coat., Ms. Gaspars sister, Judy Dove, remembered hearing about the change in Wendy, but never thought her disappearances were more than a phase. Thus began one of the longest and largest serial murder investigations in United States history. Photo filed July 11, 1983. The victim was Wendy Lee Coffield, a 16-year-old girl from Puyallup. Gary Ridgway admitted to killing of all of these women, but could not supply any significant information that would assist in the identification of these women. you were gone before I knew it, And my sister she was a sweet person, a caring person and she was loved by a lot of people., There is no documented of 16 year old Opal Mills being involved in any kind of prostitution. and only God knows why. she wondered, as she searched for her face mask. I find that very ironic, in reference to Ridgways plea deal that would spare him from the death penalty in exchange for confessing and disclosing the locations of victims bodies. For more information, please read our Privacy & Cookie Policy. GreenRiverKillings. She was born in June of 1965. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); If tears could build a stairway, Dubs mother, Shirley, described her as kind hearted and fun loving she had so many friends, black and white. This is the first of 49 bodies found of suspected victims of a serial killer. You can set your cookie preferences below. According to Gallan, the body was on the southern side of the bridge. Marcia Chapman and Cynthia Hinds, victims of the Green River Killer. Please enter your username or email address. The arrested suspect, Gary Leon Ridgway, was a longtime resident of the area. Oops, we were unable to send the email. She had been killed by ligature strangulation. With whom? Accidentally, the raft overturned as he tried to dislodge the figure from a rock and Ainsworth fell into the river. (He believes that he took at least three victims before Coffield, going back as early as the 1970s.) Kimi-Kai whose name translated to golden sea at dawn in Hawaiian was described by her mother as an adventurous girl who loved unicorns and anything purple. Thus began one of the longest and largest serial murder investigations in United States history. They struggled financially, often living in many low-income housing units and tents, and would pick blackberries in the fields during the summer in order to afford food. But he denied knowledge of the murders, and the police lacked further evidence to proceed. Mary Sue Bello Maureen Sue Feeney Two boys found her body seven days later in the Green River. The body of Wendy Lee Coffield, 16, of Puyallup, was found floating in the Green River on July 15, 1982. Are You A Horror Filmmaker? She dropped out of middle school, left her family home by 14 and was an occasional drug user (marijuana and Ritalin) who turned to sex work to financially support herself. They sat in the living room, masked and at a distance, as the outline of Mesa Verdes distinctive peaks darkened through the window. Wendy was 16 years old and last seen on July 8, 1982 in the Tacoma, Washington area. Marta Reeves 3 Unidentified victims, Find certified small business contractors and suppliers. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. The two separated soon after, but Ms. Gaspar, 17 at the time, said raising Wendy as a single, teenage mother was surprisingly easy. She had shown advanced signs of decomposition. The teenage girl was a runaway who had recently escaped from a juvenile detention center in Pierce County. The assailant was dubbed the Green . At the park, just off Des Moines Memorial Drive, detectives followed the man to a swampy area outside the diamond where they found the rest of the remains. Kimi Kai Pitsor Martina T. Authorlee Born sometime in 1965, Shawnda was one of three children and had a history of prostitution. For more details, please read our Privacy & Cookie Policy. The wondering became an obsession. Ms. Gaspar struggled to grasp what shed been told. Eventually, the deaths of at least 48 women would be linked to the Green River killer. She was just an immature teenager who was trying to find her way in life. Within a month, five bodies of young women had been discovered in and along the Green River. Not a crier. If you call after hours, please leave voice mail so we can get back in touch with you. They stopped on the bridge over the Green River to rest. Giselle enjoyed the Charlie Daniels Band and collected antique Jack Daniels whiskey labels. Alma Ann Smith Tina Marie Thompson Wendy Lee Coffield, 16, July 8, 1982, at state receiving home, Tacoma. JOSHUA GUNTHER COMPTON and MASON WALKER JONES, JUANITA DENEA NICOLE RENEE CASTLEBERRY-BESS, LILIANA CASAS-RIOS, KATHRINNE RIOS, and THANNYA RIOS, JESSICA NICOLE and MACKENZIE DAWN SULLIVAN BUTTS, CHRISTOPHER & KYLEIGH HAMM & AUSTIN BROWN, RYAN PATRICK BELLAR and ZACK JAMES BELLAR, BRYAN, DANIEL, DIANE BARNETT and JAVON NELSON. Seconds later he saw another floating corpse of a half nude black woman, partially submerged in the water. Wendy was 16 years old and last seen on July 8, 1982 in the Tacoma, Washington area. Despite Sandra turning to sex work to support them, they were barely able to afford motel rooms and fast food. Ms. Coffield had run away from home and was making extra cash working the Strip, a motel-lined stretch of Pacific Highway South near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that had long been a hub for transients and sex workers. She was the first victim found.. At first, it looked like a bag. and bring you home again. By 1982 Gail was living on welfare, moving from one friends house to the next and trying to see her daughter as much as possible. Take a second to support Fallon Gannon on Patreon! The body of Wendy was recovered and the cause of death was determined to be murder by strangulation using the victim's own clothes. Opal Charmaine Mills Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Mr. Ridgway, one of Americas most devastating serial killers, terrorized King County, Wash. Despite almost everyone in her large family having allergies to them, as a child Mary would often bring home stray cats and try to hide them in her room. She loved everybody. This is the location where the body of Wendy Lee Coffield was found. Their daughter was born later that year. With sparse evidence, her murder remained unsolved. Mary Exzetta West This browser does not support getting your location. At Ridgways trial, her sister Michelle gave this moving speech about her sister: Gisele was very much loved by her family and has been missed very much every day for the last 20 years. No farewell words were spoken According to this newspaper article in the Tacoma News Tribune, Coffield was partially clothed. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Following an examination of the bodies at the scene, Chief Medical Examiner Donald Reay determined that all three girls died of strangulation. Delise Louise Plager After taking a closer look, they realized that it was a dead body. There is also very little information available on Shawnda Summers. She was only 15 years old. Garrett had worked late the night before and was asleep when the phone rang. The body was that of Wendy Lee Coffield, a dropout and runaway. They shared a couple of beers and played Pac Man. Found September 25, 1982, south of airport. Dub seemed to have a good relationship with her parents but things were tense by July of 1982. After strangling Coffield to death, he dragged her down to the river and pushed her into it. Deborah Bonner, victim of the Green River Killer. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. She also showed signs of a struggle, because she had bruises on her arms and legs. April Buttram By 1982 Wendy was working as a sex worker, had multiple run ins with police and was drinking and doing drugs often. A former resident of Walla Walla, Washington, Alma dropped out of school at 17 and went back and forth between Seattle, where her father lived, and Walla Walla, where her mother resided. Year should not be greater than current year. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. The body is later identified as Wendy Lee Coffield, who was 16 years old. Thus began one of the longest and largest serial murder investigations in United States history. She went missing in July and her body was discovered in August 1982. She was last seen on the Sea-Tac Strip on July 17th, 1982. Kelly Kay McGinnis was 18 years of age and was last seen on June 28, 1983 at South 216h Street and Pacific Highway South. Her body was found by two teenage boys riding their bikes across the bridge of the Green River, Wendy was under the Peck Bridge. At the time of her death, the 16-year-old was reportedly living in a foster home. However she was an incredibly talented artist who began to rebel in middle school. "I'm saying, stop moving and I'll let you go. Colleen was last seen alive on December 28th, 1982. She was last seen on August 29, 1982 near South 144th Street and Pacific Highway South. Quickly, Ainsworth swam toward the riverbank where the truck stood earlier. She was going through those rebellious ages, said Ms. Gaspar, who was at a loss for what had caused the sudden change, aside from a new, more freewheeling set of friends. To this day, he doesn't like the sight of hair under water. Investigators believe she was killed not long after her arrival in Washington. Ridgway was also expected to "provide complete, truthful and candid information concerning the crimes he had committed in King County." And, unbeknownst to her family, Marie was also a sex worker. CreditPhoto Illustration by Aubrey Trinnaman for The New York Times. November2001: Gary Leon Ridgway was arrested and subsequently charged with the murders of Cynthia Jean Hinds, Marcia Faye Chapman, Opal Charmaine Mills and Carol Ann Christiansen. A few days later, a tattoo artist came forward to say that he recognized them. At some unknown point she turned to sex work and, shortly before her disappearance, she became a resident of the Echo Glen Childrens Center, which helps girls involved in prostitution to break the cycle and get out of that lifestyle. Until investigators knocked on her door, she had no idea what had happened.
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