TV movie helps identify 16th victim of Green River killer
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SEATTLE -- A 20-year-old woman who went missing on Christmas Eve in 1982 has now been positively identified as the 16th victim of Green River Killer Gary Ridgway.
The remains were identified as Sandra Denise Major after DNA samples were obtained from family members, said Sgt. Cindi West with the King County Sheriff's Office.
The remains were found at the Mountview Cemetery in Auburn on December 30, 1985 along with the remains of murder victim Kimi Pitsor and another still unidentified Green River victim, West said. Detectives had named the remains "Bones 16" because they did not know enough to positively identify her and she was the 16th set of remains found.
The victim's cousin, who lives in Rochester, N.Y., called the King County Sheriff's Office in April after watching "The Capture of the Green River Killer", the Lifetime made-for-TV movie about the Green River murders, West said. After the show, family members suspected Major may have been one of Ridgway's victims.
Police obtained DNA samples from Major's family members and testing just confirmed they were her remains found at the cemetery.
"I talked to two of Sandra's sisters this morning and they were relieved," said Det. Tom Jensen with the King County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives learned Major was reported missing on Dec. 24, 1982 by a friend who saw her get into a truck near N. 90th Street and Aurora Ave. N in Seattle.
West said detectives didn't know enough about Major to positively identify her when her remains were discovered in 1985. Investigators since then obtained advanced DNA profiling on the remains, but didn't have any family to test for a match before that fateful call.
"It's huge for the families and I think it's huge for the investigators that have spent a lot of time over the years trying to figure out who these girls were," Jansen said.
Major's family said in a statement Monday that they had received a letter from her in 1982 with a Seattle postmark but no return address. "We never heard from her again and did not know what happened to her. We are grateful to finally know what happened to Sandra after all these years."
Ridgway already admitted to killing the three women who were found at the cemetery. He pleaded guilty to murder in 2003 and is serving a life sentence without parole in Walla Walla.
West says the Green River case still has three sets of unidentified remains and welcome tips as to the identities of those women. Anyone with information about the victims' identities is asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office at 206-296-7530.
The remains were identified as Sandra Denise Major after DNA samples were obtained from family members, said Sgt. Cindi West with the King County Sheriff's Office.
The remains were found at the Mountview Cemetery in Auburn on December 30, 1985 along with the remains of murder victim Kimi Pitsor and another still unidentified Green River victim, West said. Detectives had named the remains "Bones 16" because they did not know enough to positively identify her and she was the 16th set of remains found.
The victim's cousin, who lives in Rochester, N.Y., called the King County Sheriff's Office in April after watching "The Capture of the Green River Killer", the Lifetime made-for-TV movie about the Green River murders, West said. After the show, family members suspected Major may have been one of Ridgway's victims.
Police obtained DNA samples from Major's family members and testing just confirmed they were her remains found at the cemetery.
"I talked to two of Sandra's sisters this morning and they were relieved," said Det. Tom Jensen with the King County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives learned Major was reported missing on Dec. 24, 1982 by a friend who saw her get into a truck near N. 90th Street and Aurora Ave. N in Seattle.
West said detectives didn't know enough about Major to positively identify her when her remains were discovered in 1985. Investigators since then obtained advanced DNA profiling on the remains, but didn't have any family to test for a match before that fateful call.
"It's huge for the families and I think it's huge for the investigators that have spent a lot of time over the years trying to figure out who these girls were," Jansen said.
Major's family said in a statement Monday that they had received a letter from her in 1982 with a Seattle postmark but no return address. "We never heard from her again and did not know what happened to her. We are grateful to finally know what happened to Sandra after all these years."
Ridgway already admitted to killing the three women who were found at the cemetery. He pleaded guilty to murder in 2003 and is serving a life sentence without parole in Walla Walla.
West says the Green River case still has three sets of unidentified remains and welcome tips as to the identities of those women. Anyone with information about the victims' identities is asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office at 206-296-7530.
