Here’s what I’ve gathered about a possible common link of drug use. To be clear, this is not a point to chalk this up about addiction or to suggest that these were just overdoses. It’s clear that steps were taken to conceal some of these women in similar ways. Rather, I think it’s possible that these women frequented similar areas with the intention of using/purchasing drugs and potentially came across someone intentionally scoping those areas out.
KS
-At the time she disappeared she was in a relationship with an abusive boyfriend, however he was briefly in jail during that time so seems like he has been ruled out as a suspect. With some of the details about the areas her family was searching, the information about the boyfriend and another male friend she was frequently with, it’s very easy to make the inference that drugs were part of her life. Much of SE PDX is beautiful, but the stories one hears about homeless camps, drugs, and human trafficking occur in very specific parts of SE. The detail about her boyfriend being in jail is notable in that she was newly by herself possibly frequenting some of these areas.
JS
-family has already confirmed that she was using again during the period she disappeared. JS also stands out as the only victim found in Washington, and according to a local, found in an abandoned barn that someone would not pick at random. Perhaps she’s unrelated to the rest, or is a single perp local to Washington and not PDX? Chooses a specific familiar place in Washington, and more random woodsy areas off of main roads in OR?
CP
-not a lot of information, but the phrasing “she was frequently seen in downtown Portland” seems specific without another qualifier like, “because she was employed at/attended ____.” As a former PDXer familiar with downtown, it suggests she was known to spend time in some of these rougher areas with frequent drug use.
UI
-unknown, but was found in a camp in Lents with frequent drug use.
BW
-not much known, just that it’s a suspicious and similar manner/ time frame in which she was found.
AR
-not much known, but found very close to the other victims and was last seen in same general area as KS. With the potential knowledge that she was close friends with KS, one can infer there was overlap in lifestyle, routines, or friends.
Anyone familiar with PDX will know that the locations where the women were found really aren’t too disconnected. KS, UI, AR, all found in SE PDX close to areas with homeless camps. The freeways coming out of Portland take you North to Washington (I used to live about 15 minutes from the border) where JS was found, West towards the Columbia River Gorge where CP was found, and Southwest towards the Coast where BW was found. These are the three common directions where any Portlander goes on a Saturday. One could even consider if there’s a tactic involved in leaving the remains in differing districts.
Were these women victims of random, unrelated bad actors due to the current situation with mental illness/housing/drugs? Or is there one perp intentionally scoping out these areas looking for a particular type of female? I have to admit there’s a world where I can see some organized pattern here.
