Green River murders Author: Lootens, Tricia ProQuest document link Full text: green river murders SEATTLE -- Over three years after the first woman's body was found in Green River, south of Seattle, police still seem to have no clues as to the identity of the killer or killers responsible for what have come to be known as the Green River Murders. The official police list names 34 women dead and another 11 missing and presumed dead; the Women's Coalition to Stop the Green River Murders points out that 101 women have been found dead or missing in Washington state and the Portland area since 1981. According to the Women's Coalition, the average age of the victims is 20. A few have been as young as 15. One young woman disappeared while selling Girl Scout cookies; several women have vanished on their way to the store. In most cases, their bodies could only be indentified on the basis of dental records. The Seattle police Green River Task Force began with only five officers, and even this team was disbanded after two months when no more bodies were found. More discoveries forced the department to reform the task force, which was expanded to include as many as forty officers. Still, despite the processing of over 16,000 pieces of evidence, the elimination of over 200 suspects, and the spending of over ten million dollars, the police seem no closer to a solution. Area feminists point to one possible reason for the delay and perhaps the ineefectuality of investigations: the murdered women frequently belonged to groups the community as a whole may consider "expendable": teenaged runaways, women who had drug or alcohol abuse problems, and women who worked as strippers or as prostitutes. At least half the victims are women of color; of these women, most are Black. According to an article in Lesbian Contradiction, local media have sensationalized the lives of the victims (implying or even saying outright that "nobody could be surprised" when such women are murdered) at the same time as they underplayed the seriousness of the murders. Local, county, and state officials, LesCon reports, seem to be thinking along similar lines: their emphasis is on "cleaning up" prostitution rather than ending the murders. Feminists organizing to end the killing have thus also moved to assert prostitutes' rights as well. In 1984, some 1,400 women rallied for a Take Back the Night march focused on ending the Green River Murders. A small group of women retained the name of the rally's organizing group, Women's Coalition to Stop the Green River Murders, and continued to publicize in formation about the killings. The group may be reached at P.O. Box 95589, Seattle, WA 98145. Project Censored, which gives annual awards for the ten most censored stories in the U.S., is considering choosing the Green River Murder story. To stress the importance of the story, contact Carl Jenson Director, Project Censored, Sonoma State University, Rohners Park, CA 94928. Copyright: Copyright Off Our Backs, Inc. May 31, 1986 ______Contact ProQuest  Copyright 2016 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. - Terms and Conditions