Police investigate if deaths of 6 women in Portland are connected to possible serial killer
Authorities are investigating whether the mysterious deaths of six women whose remains were found in and around Portland, Oregon, over the past six months are connected and whether a serial killer is on the loose.
The bodies of the half-dozen women were found within 100 miles of each other on the sides of roads, in the woods or in secluded rural areas from February through last month, KGW8 reported.
Five different law enforcement agencies are investigating the women’s deaths — and at least three of the agencies have said they are working with the others to determine if the cases could be connected and have a single perpetrator, according to officials and the local publication.
In the most recent case, 22-year-old Ashley Real was found dead in a heavily wooded area near Eagle Creek on May 7 after she was last seen at a transit center in late March.
Another woman, Joanna Speaks, also vanished in late March and her body was found in a rural area of Clark County on April 8. She died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck, according to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office, which declared her death a homicide.
Speaks is the only woman whose cause of death has been revealed by authorities.
Her sister Robyn Speaks told KGW8 that she is concerned about the number of women in the area showing up dead.
“I don’t want to ever scare people, but reality is there are women dying at awful numbers,” Speaks said.
“With each one, we as a family, we’ve talked about it, shared it, looked at the details,” she added. “We’ve talked to the detectives to see if there are any similarities.”
A spokesperson for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating one of the deaths, said its detectives are looking into possible connections.
“As we do with all investigations of this nature, our detectives are following up on every lead in this case, including several tips that are coming in from the public and comments being made on social media,” the spokesperson told The Post. “We are working with our partner agencies to determine if there are any connections between this case in Clackamas County and any others in the region.”
The Polk County and Multnomah County sheriff’s offices also said they are speaking with partner agencies about the deaths.
Bridget Webster’s remains were discovered on April 30 in Polk County, the local sheriff said. A week before that grisly discovery, Charity Perry’s body was found in Ainsworth State Park on April 24. Perry had vanished in early March.
Also on April 24, the body of an unidentified Native American woman was found near Interstate 205 and Southeast Flavel Street in Portland.
Less than three miles away, Kristin Smith, 22, was found dead near Southeast Deardorff Road and Flavel Street in Portland on Feb. 19. She had been missing since December 2022.
Police are looking for a connection, but are giving up no information on any possible suspects they are eyeing.
