OR OR - Laronda Bronson, 18, Portland, 19 Nov 1982

meggilyweggily

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Laronda Marie Bronson

I've never heard of this girl before but her poster just got added to the NCMEC even though she was 18 when she vanished. I don't know why King County police are investigating the case but it occured to me -- wasn't that where the Green River task force was? Does anyone have any info about Laronda and whether Gary Leon Ridgeway was a suspect in her case? The age is right, and the timing, and I think he claimed victims in Portland as well as Seattle.
 
Laronda Marie Bronson

I don't know why King County police are investigating the case but it occured to me -- wasn't that where the Green River task force was?

Yes, the task force was created by [SIZE=-1]King County Sheriff’s Office and as you imply that's more than likely the reason why they are investigating Bronson's disappearance. No idea if they decided to include her on their own or if the case was forwarded to them by Portland PD. It's probably the former since there is no mention of the FBI getting involved as I would assume they would if LE from two different states thought that a suspected abduction in OR was related to a possible murder in WA. [/SIZE]
 
I agree with both of you, it seems possible this girl might have been a victim of GR. Especially if she had any history of prostitution, since we know GR trolled for his unfortunate victims in "high prostitution" areas.
 
I agree with both of you, it seems possible this girl might have been a victim of GR. Especially if she had any history of prostitution, since we know GR trolled for his unfortunate victims in "high prostitution" areas.

As did Robert Pickton who is presently on trial in Vancouver for the murder of an impressive number of alleged prostitutes in that city. He appears to constitute a more likely suspect in some of the murders claimed by Ridgway.

There are speculations that some of the murders Ridgway confessed to may have been committed by someone else instead, because of the sheer number of victims he claimed (50+) and the fact that Ridgway couldn't locate the bodies of victims whose cases had produced no evidence leading to him, which is odd considering that Ridgway always could locate the bodies of victims whose cases could directly be attributed to him.

The most likely suspect for some of the "missing body" murders would be Pickton, who is known to have disposed of the bodies of his victims in a gruesome yet efficient manner. Even though a Canadian citizen Pickton owned property in WA and had business ties there so I would assume he traveled there on a regular basis, maybe even to OR where he could have come across Bronson.

Unfortunately it is doubtful that Pickton will ever be questioned regarding murders he may have committed in WA since he will likely be spending the rest of his life behind bars for the Vancouver killings and has no interest other than moral considerations in implicating himself in more cases than those he is currently facing charges for. In any case I don't think Canada extradites convicts already serving a life sentence there, and I doubt WA LE would be willing to re-open cases considered closed following Ridgway's confessions unless Pickton could prove his involvement.
 
In any case I don't think Canada extradites convicts already serving a life sentence there, and I doubt WA LE would be willing to re-open cases considered closed following Ridgway's confessions unless Pickton could prove his involvement.

Good point, I had forgotten about Pickton. I feel that it is highly unlikely any of the cases closed after Ridgway's confessions will ever be reopened unless some very persuasive evidence comes to light implicating someone else. Pickton would not be extradited to the US under any circumstances, in my opinion, since we have the death penalty here. Unless, of course, the U.S. agreed not to seek that punishment.

Regarding Ridgway's confessions, I agree that he confessed to crimes he probably didn't commit. He seemed to enjoy the attention given to him after his arrest, and knew that nothing but a long stretch of prison time, or death, awaited him. The longer it took him to confess, the longer he could avoid his fate. The fact that he couldn't provide locations for the bodies of many of the women he confessed to killing makes me wonder.

This brings to mind Henry Lee Lucas, who confessed to numerous crimes he didn't commit.
 
Good point, I had forgotten about Pickton. I feel that it is highly unlikely any of the cases closed after Ridgway's confessions will ever be reopened unless some very persuasive evidence comes to light implicating someone else. Pickton would not be extradited to the US under any circumstances, in my opinion, since we have the death penalty here. Unless, of course, the U.S. agreed not to seek that punishment.

I believe that they usually don't extradite individuals wanted on capital charges in states that have the death penalty unless, as you say, the state in question formally renounces to seek capital punishment. But nevertheless, they did extradite Charles Ng to California once he had served his sentence for a lesser crime he had committed in Canada. If I recall well he was extradited despite CA not providing a 100% guarantee they wouldn't seek the death penalty against Ng. Perhaps this was due to the lack of public support towards Ng in Canada because of the unusually revolting nature of his crimes. It's difficult to guess what would have happened with Pickton who is a Canadian citizen, unlike Ng.

Regarding Ridgway's confessions, I agree that he confessed to crimes he probably didn't commit. He seemed to enjoy the attention given to him after his arrest, and knew that nothing but a long stretch of prison time, or death, awaited him.
Not to mention that his confessions were part of the plea bargain that spared him the death penalty. There's a very strong incentive to claim responsibility for crimes he had nothing to do with.

The fact that he couldn't provide locations for the bodies of many of the women he confessed to killing makes me wonder.
Same here, Ridgway is said to be the kind of serial killer who knows exactly where the bodies are yet he couldn't locate a very large number of his presumed victims, specifically those where no evidence existed to support Ridgway's claim that these women had been his victims.
 
Ridgway is said to be the kind of serial killer who knows exactly where the bodies are yet he couldn't locate a very large number of his presumed victims, specifically those where no evidence existed to support Ridgway's claim that these women had been his victims.

Absolutely, which makes me look elsewhere when it comes to some of the cases he claims credit for.

As for being a victim of the Green River Killer, who knows. While it is possible there are unknown victims of GRK, I feel it is more likely that at least one other serial killer was at work at the same time as Ted Bundy and/or GRK. There are cases that just don't fit with the "MO" of Bundy or GRK that may have incorrectly been attributed to one or the other of these two individuals.
 
Also, please remember that he was caught 20-something years after the murders in some cases. The forests where he dumped the poor women are now condos and apartments. Those women are now buried under tacky condos and parking lots.
 
About Ridgway, You have to remember that he was apprehended and asked to give locations twenty years later. Most of the places he took them to were where he had at least 5 victims there, I think he could have easily forgotten where he dumped some of the women


Gary Ridgway was proven active from 1981-(Late eighties, early nineties)

Dayton Leroy Rogers was active in 1987 (But that doesn't necessarily mean he couldn't have killed sooner, and he WAS in the Portland area, he wouldn't have had to drive +3 hours)

Robert Yee Lates could be also be possible, although unlikely.


But if you guys think that Robert Pickton could have been the murderer then that opens the area range up quite a bit.
 
Bumping with Laronda's NAMUS: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/5284/
7772
7773

circa 1982 and age-progressed to 40 years (03/07/2005)

Circumstances: Laronda was last seen standing by a bust stop on November 19, 1982. She has not been seen since.
 
Laronda Marie Bronson – The Charley Project
Laronda Marie Bronson

  • laronda_marie_bronson_1.jpg
  • laronda_marie_bronson_2.jpg
Bronson, circa 1982; Age-progression to age 47 (circa 2011)

  • Missing Since11/19/1982
  • Missing FromPortland, Oregon
  • ClassificationEndangered Missing
  • Date of Birth09/09/1964 (55)
  • Age18 years old
  • Height and Weight5'6 - 5'7, 110 - 120 pounds
  • Distinguishing CharacteristicsAfrican-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Bronson's nickname is Bird. Her ears are both pierced twice. She has scars on the back of her neck and on her chin. Bronson may use the alias name Michelle Marie Hall or the alias date of birth July 29, 1964.
Details of Disappearance
Bronson was last seen standing at the bus stop in Portland, Oregon on November 19, 1982. She has never been heard from again. Few details are available in her case.

Bronson has a history of involvement in prostitution. King County, Washington police are investigating her disappearance.
Investigating Agency
  • King County Sheriff's Office 206-296-3111
 

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