In a news release on Sunday, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) responded to social media posts about the discovery of six deceased women in and around Portland over the past few months; and said there is “no reason to believe these 6 cases are connected.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, all the women were found in secluded or wooded areas within 100 miles of each other and are believed to have regularly visited or lived in Oregon. The bodies of two women were found the same day, while two of the deceased were discovered less than three miles from each other in southeast Portland.
The women’s deaths have prompted concerns among some Portland residents that a serial killer may be the connecting link, NewsNation reports.
Joanna Speaks (pictured top left), vanished in March and her body was found in early April in Ridgefield, Washington, inside a barn on an abandoned property. Ridgefield is about 22 miles north of Portland, Oregon, the epicenter of the deaths.
On February 19, remains belonging to 22-year-old Kristin Smith (picture top center) were found in a wooded section of the Pleasant Valley neighborhood in Portland. She was reported missing on December 22.
Sheriff’s deputies in Multnomah County found 24-year-old Charity Lynn Perry (pictured lower left) on April 24 in a culvert near Ainsworth State Park. Authorities have not released information about Perry’s death except to say it was suspicious and under investigation.
Perry was known to visit an area that once was an open-air fentanyl market in downtown Portland.
Also on April 24, the body of an unidentified woman (pictured bottom center) was found in the Lents neighborhood of Portland, less than three miles from the scene where Smith’s body had been discovered.
The victim may have been Native American or Native Alaskan and likely between 25 and 40 years of age. She was described as having black, medium-length hair and was slightly over 5 feet tall at about 135 pounds.
The unidentified woman had two scars on the lower part of her left leg. She also had a black music note tattoo on the upper left side of her chest and a Buddha tattoo on her upper right back.
When she was found, the woman was wearing a green long-sleeved shirt, black-and-white zip-up jacket, jeans, and black-and-white Adidas cleats. She also was wearing bracelets and rings. On Sunday, Portland police also foul play is not suspected in her case, 11 Alive reports.
On April 30, the body of 31-year-old Bridget Leann Ramsey Webster (pictured top center) was found in northwest Polk County on Harmony Road near Mill Creek. Police are investigating the death as suspicious.
And on May 7, the body of 22-year-old Ashley Real (pictured top right) was found in a wooded area near Eagle Creek by a man fishing near a pond. Real vanished on March 27 in southeast Portland, where she was last seen leaving a fast-food restaurant. Her death also is being investigated as suspicious.
“The Portland Police Bureau has been hearing widespread questions and concerns about the death investigations of 6 women throughout the region, especially after widely distributed social media posts and news media articles appeared to suggest a connection between them,” PPB said Sunday.
“These discussions have led to some anxiety and fear in our community, and we want to provide reassurance that the speculation is not supported by the facts available at this point.”
“While any premature death is concerning, and we will diligently investigate deaths that happen in our jurisdiction in collaboration with the Multnomah County and Oregon State Medical Examiner’s offices, PPB has no reason to believe these 6 cases are connected.
“To be clear, PPB currently is not involved with the Ainsworth State Park (Multnomah County), Polk County, and the Clark County death investigations. We have spoken to those agencies regarding these investigations but as of now we are not actively participating in them.”
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photos: PPB/Handouts]
