Serial killer fears confirmed as deaths of four women are linked say police
Serial killer fears have sparked terror into a community as police reveal the grisly deaths of four women found in wooded areas ARE linked - and they have a "person of interest".
The deaths of Kristin Smith, 22, Charity Perry, 24, Bridget Webster, 31, and Ashley Real, 22, have sent shockwaves through the area and traumatised families as their corpses were left dumped near creeks, forests and in state parks.
After initially insisting the separate discoveries of the four women's bodies did not appear to be connected, police prosecutors have now dropped a bombshell in a shocking about-face.
The bodies of the four women began appearing in wooded areas in northwest Oregon, US, in February.
But today, in an about-face from a June 4 Portland Police Bureau statement which insisted a total of six deaths did not appear to be connected, the Multnomah County District Attorney's office in Portland announced that these four ARE linked - and "at least one person of interest" has been identified.
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The state medical examiner has not determined the cause or manner of death for any of the women, prosecutors said in a statement.
Kristin Smith was found in a wooded area, she was 22 (Portland Police Bureau)
Kristin Smith was reported missing in December but not found until February (Supplied)The prosecutor's office said: "Investigators and prosecutors from multiple law enforcement agencies have been working collaboratively...and they have determined that there are links between four cases: Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster, and Ashley Real.
"Investigators have interviewed multiple people in connection with these cases and have identified at least one person of interest that is linked to all four."
The Multnomah County District Attorney's office in Portland says no charges have been filed against anyone but that the community is not currently in any danger.
Local media reported a man is in custody.
The announcement led to online reports of a serial killer, but officials did not use those words in announcing the connection between the deaths.
The women's bodies were found in Portland and rural areas starting on February 19, with the latest one found on May 7.
One body was found about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southwest of Portland, near a creek in Polk County.
The first body discovered was that of Kristin, 22, found in a wooded area in a suburb southeast of Portland.
Kristin's disappearance was reported to police in suburban Gresham on December 22, 2022.
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"It's quite like a piece of you is missing, that's really the only way you can describe it," Hailey Smith, Kristin's sister, told KPTV, a Portland television station, as family members searched for the then-missing woman.
The locations of the four grisly discoveries of the women's bodies (Multnomah County District Attorney's Office; Portland Police Bureau)Family members hung up fliers and looked for Kristin near homeless shelters and other sites in downtown Portland.
And a private "Justice for Kristin Smith" Facebook page with over 600 members was created over four months ago.
Charity was 24 when she died.
Her body was found on April 24 near a state park alongside the Columbia River, east of Portland.
Bridget's body was found on April 30 near Mill Creek in rural northwest Polk County. She was 31.
Ashley, 22, was last seen at a fast-food restaurant near Portland on March 27, police said.
She was reported missing on April 4.
Her body was found on May 7 in a forest southeast of Portland.
Investigators from nine law enforcement agencies, including the prosecutor's offices in three Oregon counties and the Oregon State Police, have been collaborating on the cases, authorities said.
This story has been updated to correct the location where two of the women's bodies were discovered.
While two of the women were from Gresham and Milwaukie, the bodies were found elsewhere in rural areas.
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