WA WA - Debra Otis, 17, Anacortes, 28 June 1979

[Gardener1850]

Debra L Otis
Skagit County, Washington
17 year old native american female

Height (inches)

Weight (pounds)

[TD="class: view_field"]60.0[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]120.0[/TD]

Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown

Previously broken collarbone

Clothing:
Yellow swimsuit
Light blue bell bottom pants
Dark blue sweater
Gold framed glasses


While with boyfriend, went missing on Pass Island at Deception Pass when in wooded and rocky area near water.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/18215/

 

[Moonwalker9]

Debra L. Otis – The Charley Project

Debra L. Otis

• 

Otis, circa 1979

• Missing Since06/28/1979
• Missing FromAnacortes, Washington
• ClassificationLost/Injured Missing
• Date of Birth04/05/1961 (57)
• Age18 years old
• Height and Weight5'0, 120 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA yellow swimsuit, light blue bell-bottom pants and a dark blue sweater.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsNative American female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Otis has previously broken her collarbone. She wears eyeglasses with gold frames.

Details of Disappearance
Otis was last seen in Anacortes, Washington on June 28, 1979. She was with her boyfriend on Pass Island at Deception Pass, in a wooded and rocky area near water, when she disappeared. She has never been heard from again. Few details are available in her case.

What happened to her boyfriend?

 

[Coffee56]

Justice for Native Women: Debra Otis, Missing from Washington since 1979.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Debra - it's now been over 42 years.

 

[alb1on]

The date of disappearance seems slightly wrong. Her death certificate gives a date of 25 June (and time of 17.00) rather than 28th. It gives other details of her parents, notes the body was not found and that she was presumed to have fallen off rocks and drowned. I attach the certificate.

 

[arleneotis]

The date of disappearance seems slightly wrong. Her death certificate gives a date of 25 June (and time of 17.00) rather than 28th. It gives other details of her parents, notes the body was not found and that she was presumed to have fallen off rocks and drowned. I attach the certificate.

I am her sister,can I answer any questions? I’d love to know what happened… I was with her earlier at the beach. I know the guy she was with lied , didn’t tell anyone for several days, he told different stories to the family. We were told when they found him that he was given a polygraph that he didn’t pass

 

[arleneotis]

Debra L. Otis – The Charley Project

Debra L. Otis

• 

Otis, circa 1979

• Missing Since06/28/1979
• Missing FromAnacortes, Washington
• ClassificationLost/Injured Missing
• Date of Birth04/05/1961 (57)
• Age18 years old
• Height and Weight5'0, 120 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA yellow swimsuit, light blue bell-bottom pants and a dark blue sweater.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsNative American female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Otis has previously broken her collarbone. She wears eyeglasses with gold frames.

Details of Disappearance
Otis was last seen in Anacortes, Washington on June 28, 1979. She was with her boyfriend on Pass Island at Deception Pass, in a wooded and rocky area near water, when she disappeared. She has never been heard from again. Few details are available in her case.

What happened to her boyfriend?

He still lives in Anacortes as far as I know…, he was guilty as he double l

 

[tricia]

I am her sister,can I answer any questions? I’d love to know what happened… I was with her earlier at the beach. I know the guy she was with lied , didn’t tell anyone for several days, he told different stories to the family. We were told when they found him that he was given a polygraph that he didn’t pass

Dear Arleneotis,
Welcome to Websleuths. I am so sorry you are going through this nightmare. On Websleuths we ask that family members be verified. This prevents trolls from coming on claiming to be a member of the family of a missing person. Can you please do the following:

Please email us at [email protected] and
please include ALL of the following information

1) In the subject line put your user name and which case you are asking to be verified on
2) Your real name and relationship to the victim or the case
3) Your phone number and a good time to call
4) Location (City and State)

Thank you,
Tricia Griffith.
Manager/Websleuths.com

 

[Pennysmom1]

Added 4/22/25

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/mp-main.html?id=5107DFWA

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available




Dec 18, 2018

Women Erased: How Washington Has Failed Missing Native Women

More Native American women have been counted as missing or murdered here than almost anywhere in the country. But authorities are at a loss on how to track, let alone stop, the trend.

www.seattlemet.com

<<Debra Otis went missing in June 1979 at the age of 18 when she was on a trip with a man she was dating and stopped by Deception Pass. The 5-foot, 120-pound woman left him and his motorcycle on the bridge to go to the bathroom in a wooded area nearby and never came back, according to his testimony. Though the man contacted her family, seeing if they’d heard from her, it took a few days before Otis was reported missing to the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office. A search and rescue operation about a week later was unsuccessful.>>