Image of unknown Green River killer's victim developed with DNA technology

The victim died more than 35 years ago and her remains were discovered, along with another victim, on Jan. 2, 1986. She is known to King County sheriff's investigators only as "Bones-17."

Although the victim was unidentified at the time, and remains so today, notorious Green River Killer Gary Ridgway pleaded guilty to killing her and 48 other women in 2003. All of the victims were strangled and their bodies were then dumped in forested and overgrown areas of King County.

The portrait of unidentified victim Bones-17 was developed by Parabon Nanolabs, working with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, using their proprietary snapshot DNA analysis.

The investigative team, including detectives with the King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit and forensic anthropologist Dr. Katherine Taylor, are sharing the image with the public in the hope that someone will recognize her and help put a name to her face.

Forensic evidence indicates she was potentially in her mid-to-late teens at the time of her murder, said Sgt. Tim Meyer of the King County Sheriff's Office.

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, Meyer said.

King County Sheriff Mitzi G. Johanknecht said, “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.”

Anyone with any information that will help investigators identify Bones-17 are asked to contact The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) and refer to case Case TA 1151979.