WA WA - Heidi Peterson, 4, Seattle, 21 Feb 1974

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Betty P said:
Here are some archived newspaper articles about Heidi. It sounds as though her disappearance made the national news. I don't recall it at the time, but was in college, busy with other things, and of course there was no 24 hr news reporting.

Acording to this article, her clothing was found with her remains. I wonder if police kept any of the evidence, if it could be tested for DNA?
http://news.google.com/newspapers/u...tz04R0RyBSnSI8UcrDcHKLsMA&source=gbs_pub_info
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The reports are suspiciously different.
 
<modsnip - quoted post was removed>
So if the suspect/s were identified as early as 1975, one has to wonder why there have been no arrests. Several generations of law enforcement must know their names. Is there no compelling evidence? Have they died? Or, are they protected?
 
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OddOneOut said:
Was her body or skull ever found? One post says her body (and possibly her clothes) was found in a trash can. Another says only her skull was found in a vacant lot among black berries bushes. Does anyone have a way to check the original paperwork from the police?
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Here's a link to a newspaper article with a photo of the area. The location where she was found was actually in a city park, on a hillside in a brushy area. It looks very steep, its below a scenic bluff.

"Park Dept. employees retrieving a garbage can from a hill below a scenic bluff found bones of a child and clothing matching that of the missing girl Thursday afternoon."
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The assistant police chief is quoted as saying the area was thoroughly searched several times by police and volunteers the previous year. Heidi's body was found Jan 23, 1975, not quite a year from the date she went missing. The article and quotes from LE very much indicate they don't think her body was placed there after her death.

Let me know if you can't read it and I'll upload a photo of the news clip.

The Bellingham Herald 24 Jan 1975, page 10 - Newspapers.com

View the digital scanned newspaper from The Bellingham Herald dated 24 Jan 1975, page 10.
www.newspapers.com www.newspapers.com
 
Betty P said:
This article and the two linked above both state that Heidi's remains were found with the clothing she was wearing that day.

Jan 24, 1975, page 1 - Longview Daily News at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

View the digital scanned newspaper from Longview Daily News dated Jan 24, 1975, page 1.
www.newspapers.com www.newspapers.com
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Betty P, thank you for your research. And isn’t it odd the differing reports? No clothes were found to clothes were found. I just pray that justice prevails and the killer will be caught. Growing up near there, this case has haunted me for decades. Thanks again for posting the articles.
 
Blueskiesunshine said:
Betty P, thank you for your research. And isn’t it odd the differing reports? No clothes were found to clothes were found. I just pray that justice prevails and the killer will be caught. Growing up near there, this case has haunted me for decades. Thanks again for posting the articles.
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Yes, I'm from that area and remember the Heidi posters.
 
Blueskiesunshine said:
Betty P, thank you for your research. And isn’t it odd the differing reports? No clothes were found to clothes were found. I just pray that justice prevails and the killer will be caught. Growing up near there, this case has haunted me for decades. Thanks again for posting the articles.
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I believe the multiple news reports stating that the clothes were found with her remains. They were written by reporters who were there at the scene the day she was found, who had talked with LE and the park employees who found them.

If it was Ann Rule who alleged they weren't found with Heidi, she did occasionally get facts wrong.
 
Betty P said:
This article and the two linked above both state that Heidi's remains were found with the clothing she was wearing that day.

Jan 24, 1975, page 1 - Longview Daily News at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

View the digital scanned newspaper from Longview Daily News dated Jan 24, 1975, page 1.
www.newspapers.com www.newspapers.com
Click to expand...
Yes, her bones were in her coat
Betty P said:
View attachment 482464
Another view of the hillside in the park where Heidi's remains were found. The area is to the left of the stairs.
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would be interesting to know if the detectives and / or the crime lab still have the clothes. Couldn’t they do DNA testing?
 
Blueskiesunshine said:
Yes, her bones were in her coat

would be interesting to know if the detectives and / or the crime lab still have the clothes. Couldn’t they do DNA testing?
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They might. I can't find any recent news articles about her case, but they may have saved some of her clothes. Seattle PD were sure on a learning curve that year. Searching these articles about Heidi, I ran across so many articles about missing women - mostly all victims of Ted Bundy. They were trying to find Ted at the same time.
 
scottagain said:
Remembering Heidi today, 50 years after that tragic day. You left an impression on me as a 7 year old boy. I always hoped, and still do, that you will have justice. You are not forgotten!
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Same here. Her disappearance, her murder, change the fabric of feeling safe to be outside in your yard playing. For her family, for so many I hope that the killer will be found.
 
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