Clockwise from top left: Joanna Speaks, Bridget Leann Webster, Ashley Real, unidentified woman, Charity Lynn Perry, and Kristin Smith.
Oregon authorities are investigating the possible connections of six women found mysteriously dead across the Portland region in recent months.
Law enforcement have not said if Ashley Real, Bridget Leann Webster, Kristin Smith, Joanna Speaks, Charity Lynn Perry, and an unidentified woman are linked.
The women were found within 100 miles of each other along the sides of roads or in wooded areas since February — five of them in April and May.
Five different law enforcement agencies and a medical examiner's office are looking into the different deaths, but a spokesman for one of the departments emphatically pumped the breaks on any speculation that there could be a serial killer.
"When people on social media and in traditional media start speculating about a 'serial killer,' that causes a lot of anxiety and fear in our community, and I ask that you only report the facts about these cases," said Portland police Sgt. Kevin Allen, whose department is investigating Smith's death. "Certainly if we learn of an articulable danger, we will notify the public about it. That is not the case here."
Ashley Real
Real was last seen on March 27 at a fast food restaurant in the 12000 block of Southeast Division Street, Portland police said in an April 19 news release.
"We have information that she may have also been at the Gateway/NE 99th Ave Transit Center Max Station (9900 Northeast Multnomah Street) on that same day," police said. "Despite efforts to locate her, Ashley has not been found or heard from, and leads have been exhausted."
Ashley Real was last seen on March 27 at a fast food restaurant in Portland.
The search reached a tragic conclusion on May 7, when she was found dead on SE Judd Road near Eagle Creek, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office in Oregon.
"A man who was in the area to do some fishing at a nearby pond called 911 to report the discovery of human remains in a heavily wooded area," deputies wrote.
Deputies described the cause of death as suspicious in nature.
Police: 'Encourage anyone with information to contact us'
Detectives are looking for anyone who saw suspicious activity near that location between the end of March and beginning of May. Police also want to talk with anyone who had contact with Real this year.
Anyone with information can contact the sheriff's office tip line at 503-723-4949 or through an online form.
"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," said a spokesperson from Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating Real's death. "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. We would encourage anyone with information to contact us."
Allen confirmed to Law&Crime that Portland police are coordinating with Clackamas deputies.
"CCSO is calling it a suspicious death, but they are not concluding that she was the victim of a homicide," he said.
Bridget Leann Webster, left, was found dead on April 30 in Polk County, Oregon. Ashley Real was found dead May 7, in Clackamas County, Oregon. (Image of Webster: Polk County Sheriff's Office; image of Real: Clackamas County Sheriff's Office)
Bridget Leann Webster
Bridget Leann Webster, a resident of Milwaukie, Oregon, was found April 30 at approximately 2:23 p.m., according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Oregon. Deputies called her death suspicious.
"The last known area that Webster was known to frequent was the Portland metro area, particularly Portland, Oregon City, and Milwaukie," police said.
They ask anyone who knew her or has information about her death to contact Det. Martin Watson at 503-623-7550. Callers can remain anonymous.
Deputies of Polk County, Oregon, who are investigating Webster's death, also said they are speaking to partner agencies to find if there are possible connections, according to KGW.
Kristin Smith, 22, was found dead Feb. 19 in Portland, Oregon, according to local police.
Kristin Smith
Kristin Smith, 22, was found dead Feb. 19 in Portland, Oregon, according to police. Cops responded to a report of human remains in a wooded area near Southeast Deardorff Road and Southeast Flavel Street in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood. It took months, but authorities identified the remains as Smith, a resident of Gresham, Oregon.
The medical examiner said her cause and manner of death are undetermined so far, Allen told Law&Crime on Sunday.
If anyone has information about this case, please contact Det. Jeff Pontius at [email protected] or call 503-823-0433, or Det. Kristina Coffey at [email protected] or 503-823-1081.
Joanna Speaks
Joanna Speaks
Joanna Speaks, 32, was found dead on April 8 in Ridgefield, Washington, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office. The Ridgefield Police Department and Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue responded to a report of a dead person at an abandoned barn on a property near the 8000 block of S. 5th Street, deputies said.
"The deceased was located near an abandoned barn at 8004 S 5th St and there are indications the body was moved to this location," deputies wrote. "This is being investigated as a homicide and no further details regarding the circumstances of the body are being released at this time."
Clark County deputies ask that anyone with information to contact detectives if you know of any suspicious people or vehicles at or near 8004 S 5th St in Ridgefield during the previous few weeks. Authorities also want to speak with anyone who had contact with Speaks or knew where she was staying or had been associating with prior to her death.
Contact the Clark County Sheriff's Office major crimes tip line at 564-397-2847.
Charity Lynn Perry
Charity Lynn Perry, a resident of Longview, Washington, was found out in Multnomah County, Oregon, on April 24 at 1:35 p.m. in a culvert near E. Historic Columbia River Highway and NE Tumalt Road, according to Multnomah County deputies.
"The last known area that Perry was known to frequent was downtown Portland, around SW Washington Street and SW 4th Avenue, at the beginning of March," said the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies ask that anyone who knew her or has information about her death to call their tip line at 503-988-0560.
"Callers can remain anonymous," they said.
Charity Lynn Perry, left, and unidentified woman were separately found in Multnomah County, Oregon, on April 24. (Image of Perry: Mulnomah County Sheriff's Office; image of unidentified woman: Multnomah County Medical Examiner's office)
Unidentified woman
An unidentified woman died April 24 near Interstate 205 and Southeast Flavel Street in the Lents neighborhood of Portland, according to the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office.
Investigators suggested she was possibly Native American or Native Alaskan and between the ages of 25 and 40. They described her as having black, medium-length hair. She stood just over 5 feet tall, weighed 135 pounds and had two large scars on her left lower leg.
The woman had two tattoos, authorities said. One was a black music note with the letter V on the left side of her upper chest. The other was a depiction of Buddha on her right upper back, on her shoulder blade.
"She wore a green long sleeve shirt, black and white zip long sleeve jacket, blue denim jeans, black and white cleats (brand – Adidas Adizero; size US 11), rings and bracelets," they wrote.
Sarah Dean, a spokesperson for the Multnomah County Health Department, told the Oregonian that the county would not release any details about the unidentified woman's cause of death.
Police had found the woman in a tent in the 9500 block of SE Flavel St., Allen said.
"Officers assisted the Medical Examiner on the case, but the ME is primary investigator as they have the expertise to determine cause and manner of death," he wrote Law&Crime. "I don't see any indication that foul play was suspected by the ME responder on scene, or the officers who were there to assist. Toxicology testing will take several months to come back. Our Homicide Unit is not involved in this investigation at all."
Authorities ask that anyone who recognizes her to call the Multnomah County Medical Examiner at 503-988-0055. The reference case number is #MU-230424-999.
The unidentified woman had two tattoos, authorities said. One was a black music note with the letter V on the left side of her upper chest. The other was a depiction of Buddha on her right upper back, on her shoulder blade. (Images: Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office)
No reported links between the six women
Authorities have not released any links between the women.
"I will state clearly, we currently have no involvement with the Ainsworth State Park (Multnomah County), Polk County, and the Clark County Investigation," Allen wrote. "Like with all investigations of this nature we are routinely in contact with outside agencies. We have spoken to those agencies regarding these investigations but as of now we are not actively participating them."
"I realize that there is a lot of speculation surrounding these cases on social media, but I have heard some concerning conclusions made that are not supported by the facts available at this point. It's common investigative practice in all criminal investigations, whether they're retail theft, robberies, sexual assaults, or murders, to consider possible connections to other cases both in and out of our jurisdiction."
"So I cannot say we're not looking into it, but we do not want the public to jump to any conclusions. At least in the cases that I'm aware of, we don't even have a cause and manner of death established yet."
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