Lesser-known Ted Bundy ‘Facts’ as Well as Myths.

I’ve had this sitting in my drafts folder for a while, and I decided I’m going to publish what I have and add to it as needed.

Sam Cowell is Ted’s Father: there’s a pretty commonly spread myth that Ted’s grandfather Samuel Cowell is his father... but a blood test performed in 2020 by psychiatrist Dorothy Otnow-Lewis determined this to be not true.

Ann Marie Burr: there’s a myth that Ted’s Uncle Jack was Ann’s piano teacher, he wasn’t (although he did live about three miles away)’; there’s also a rumor floating around that Ted was the Burr’s family paperboy, he wasn’t. He also lived over three miles away from her and not exactly in her neighborhood.

Karen Sparks: before she was brutally attacked on the night of January 4, 1974, Sparks recalled being watched by an older-looking man at the laundromat that she usually went to.

Lynda Ann Healy: on the day after she vanished Lynda had plans of making her family a home cooked meal called ‘company casserole;’ additionally, there’s also some evidence that Bundy stalked her before he abducted her in the early morning hours of February 1, 1974, as it was proven by the King County Sheriff’s Department that on the day she was last seen alive he was behind her in the check cashing line at the Safeway they both shopped at. Ted also frequented Dante’s, the bar Lynda went to on the evening that she was last seen alive.

Donna Gail Manson: there are some whispers that Ted was acquainted with Donna, and that she had been seen in the presence of a man that matched his description prior to her disappearance on her school’s campus.

Susan Rancourt: before Ted abducted Sue he approached two other women: Kathleen D’Olivio and Jane Curtis. He approached D’Olivio earlier in the evening on the April 17, 1974 (the same night Sue disappeared), however there’s some discrepancy as to when he approached Jane: in multiple sources it’s alluded that it occurred the same evening, however Curtis said she was approached on a Sunday (Sue was abducted on a Wednesday), so that means she encountered him either on April 14, 1974 or April 21,1974.

Georgann Hawkins: the day after Ted abducted Hawkins he returned to the area close to the crime scene and (very discretely) recovered a pair of her hoop earrings and one of her shoes from an adjoining parking lot (that had all flown off of her because he attached her with such incredible force).

Brenda Carol Ball: according to Bundy’s death row confessions, he admitted that he took twenty-two-year-old Ball back to his rooming house in Seattle after abducting her on June 1, 1974, and the two had consensual sex; he then claimed to he strangled her while she slept. This is inconsistent with the physical evidence, as her skull (which had been discovered in 1975 on Taylor Mountain), showed significant damage from blunt force trauma, proving that she had been severely beaten.

Lake Sammamish Murders: there’s multiple theories as to why he took two women in the same day. One is that because Jan Ott was so small he killed her ‘too quickly’ by accident, and his ‘urges’ weren’t completely satisfied so he had to go back and get another victim. The second theory is that he kept Janice alive and brought Denise back to where he was keeping her and killed the one in front of the other.

Nancy Wilcox: It’s speculated that Bundy may have been grooming Wilcox, as members of her family said she mentioned an older man who would come into the Arctic Circle drive-in that she briefly worked at and flirt with her. 

Laura Ann Aime: there were apparently several reports made to police by people that knew Aime that said she claimed that a man matching Bundy’s description had hung out with her at Brown’s Café in Lehi, Utah, and at one point had called her his girlfriend. The man also had said he was going to rape her, and its thought she had been introduced to him by her friends. Additionally, Laura’s family has stated they believe Bundy stalked her and approached her on multiple occasions before he abducted her. 

Pulled Over in Florida: before his final arrest in Florida in early 1978 Ted was pulled over in Tallahassee driving a stolen vehicle and as he was being questions by an officer. He simply, ran away… and he got away. This took place just four days before his final arrest on February 11, 1978: when the officer walked back to his patrol car to check the license plate, Bundy ran away and escaped into the night.

Valerie Ann Duke: a student at FSU at the time of Bundy’s Chi Omega murders, Duke had gone home the weekend of the murders and because of that her life was spared (Bundy’s fingerprints were found on her doorknob, meaning had she been there she would have been attacked); she lived with immense survivors guilt and shot herself in her vehicle on May 1, 1979, at the age of 22. She was born on July 27, 1956 and is buried at the Cenizo Hill Cemetery in Mathis, Texas.

Deborah Wharton Beeler: one of Ted’s Seattle attorney’s John Henry Browne dated a woman that was brutally murdered in the same fashion that Bundy killed his victims. Beeler had been found in her rented cottage on February 22, 1970 wearing a housecoat over a nightgown; the twenty-three-year-old had been strangled with an electric hotplate cord. Investigators initially believed she committed suicide because within reach were a pair of pliers that had apparently been used to righten the wire, however an autopsy showed she had been hit over the head and had crashing blows to the side and front of her head (injuries that may have been made by a fist).

A Third Escape?: in July 1984 guards at Florida State Prison found a cut bar, hacksaw blades, and a pair of gloves hidden in Bundy’s cell. Another inmate, Manuel Valle, also had a cut bar in his cell, which suggested a coordinated effort between the two men.

Two Beetles?: Ted actually owned two Volkswagen Beetles, not just one (Liz owned a pigeons egg blue VW Bug as well). In April 1966 he sold his a 1933 Plymouth Coupe to put money towards a pale blue 1958 VW Bug. At some time in the spring of 1973 he purchased his infamous tan 1968 VW Bug from a woman named Martha Helms

Susan Roller/Sara A. Survivor: a (living) supposed repeat victim of Ted named Susan Roller has published three books under the pseudonym ‘Sara A. Survivor;’ Roller also claims to be a friend of Georgann Hawkins as well, as the two were Daffodil Princesses (in different years)… however, I could find any proof that she knew either Bundy or Hawkins. In her book ‘Reconstructing Sara,’ Roller told her story about being repeatedly assaulted and raped by the SK; as of February 2026 is has been pulled from publication to be rewritten.

Zak Bagan’s, ‘Ghost Adventures’ Episode, ‘Serial Killer Spirits: Ted Bundy Ritual House’ that took place in Bountiful, Utah: also known as the ‘Anson Call house,’ Zak and his crew went in and investigated the old, abandoned house located in Bountiful, that he claims Ted took Debra Kent to after he abducted her on November 8, 1974… but, come to find out, the house was lived in at the time Kent was abducted from nearby Bountiful High School, so there’s no way he brought her back here to be murdered.

‘New’ Living Victims: in recent years multiple women have come forward claiming to be surviving victims of Ted Bundy, and only recently had the courage to come forward and tell their story: Susan Roller. Sotria Kritsonis. Rhonda Stapley. Sherry Deatrick. Rose Warriner.

Janla Carr: there’s some documents in a FBI file in relation to a woman from Philadelphia that alleged Bundy was her ‘half-brother.’ She also claimed he had a twin brother and made various other assertions about his family history that were widely considered by investigators and psychologists to be ‘unsubstantiated’ and ‘full of leaps.’ She passed away at age 45 in January 1997.

Lake Sammamish State Park, May 2025.

A road sign for Lake Sammamish State Park, picture taken in May 2025.
The entrance to Lake Sammamish State Park, picture taken in May 2025.
The front parking lot at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2025.
A yellow VW Bug in the back part of Lake Sammamish State Park, picture taken in May 2025.
Another shot of a yellow VW Bug at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2025.
A paved walkway at the front part of Lake Sammamish State Park, picture taken in May 2022.
A paved walkway at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A parking lot located in the front part of Lake Sammamish State Park, picture taken in May 2022.
LolAnother parking lot at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A soccer net in a field at Lake Sammamish State Park, picture taken in May 2022.
Another parking lot at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A parking lot overlooking the water at Lake Sammamish State Park, picture taken in May 2022.
Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A road that takes you to the back part of Lake Sammamish State Park, picture taken in May 2022.
A bathroom in the front part of Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another shot of the bathroom at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A grassy area at Lake Sammamish located on the side of the road that takes you to the back portion of the park, picture taken in May 2022.
A parking lot n the back part of Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A walkway at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Some dumpsters at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A parking lot at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another shot of a dumpster at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another shot of a parking lot at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A sign at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another sign taken at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another sign taken at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another sign taken at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another sign taken at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another sign taken at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A walkway heading towards the back part of Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A sign for a ciccyusac tree in Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Some barren land at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A grassy part of Lake Sammamish with a picnic table, picture taken in May 2022.
More picnic tables at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Even more picnic tables at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Some picnic tables by the water at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
The beach at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
The water at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A sign at the beach at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
The beach at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Some grassy land by the water at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
The bathroom at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
The beach at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another shot of the beach at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
The water at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
The water at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A sign by the water at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
The water at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A shot of the bathroom and the water at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another sign at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another sign at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
Another sign at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A sign for Tibbetts Beach at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A playground at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A parking lot at the back of Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A parking lot in the back of Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
One of the back parking lots at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A sign at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2022.
A sign for the front office at Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2025.
The guard stations in the beginning of Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2025.
Another shot of the guard stations in the beginning of Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2025.
Another shot of the guard stations in the beginning of Lake Sammamish, picture taken in May 2025.

Tipsheets related to the Ted Bundy Investigation: Information from the King County Sheriff’s Archives, Part One.

Due to the sheer mass of information I am dividing these documents into two separate articles.

Ted Bundy’s Issaquah Dump Site, May 2025.

As of now, I have been to Seattle three times: In April 2022, April 2024, and May 2025… During my first trip I couldn’t find the Issaquah Dump Site and was driving around the same two mile radius for almost two hours with absolutely no luck. During my second trip in April 2024, I had a friend help walk me through exactly where to park and how to navigate to the actual site (his name is Cole Kaiser, and he is awesome and deserves another shout out). Like with Taylor Mountain this time around I decided to explore ALL of it, and to my surprise learned it was quite a bit bigger than I previously thought.

The bridge that takes you to the Issaquah Dump Site outside of Seattle, Washington. Picture taken in May 2025.
The bridge over the roadway that takes you to where the Issaquah dump site is located. Picture taken in May 2025.
The well-worn trail in the Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
A fallen tree at the Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
A fern at the Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The end of the well-worn path at the Issaquah dump site that leads you to the paved bike path. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.
The trail around the Issaquah dump site. Picture taken in May 2025.

Lake Samammish: Information from the King County Sheriff’s Archives.

Ted Bundy’s Issaquah Dump Site.

When I went to Seattle in April 2022 there were a few places I never got around to seeing, one of them being Bundy’s Issaquah dump site… but it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying: I drove around the same three mile area for almost two hours one day trying to find it (Google Maps really dropped the ball with that one, IMO). I finally had to give up because it was taking precious time away from other places I needed to see, and as I was driving away I remember thinking to myself that I’d never get back there again and I blew it. But, thankfully in May 2024 I was able to spend a few days in Washington state during my vacation to Oregon and I was finally able to locate it, with a little help with my friend Cole Kaiser, who is awesome and deserves recognition for his help.

Issaquah is a small city located about fifteen miles east of Seattle. Back in 1974, it was much (much) less populated than it is today, going from 4,500 residents to roughly 40,000. The Issaquah dump site is where Ted Bundy dumped the bodies of Janice Ann Ott, Denise Marie Naslund, and (most likely) Georgann Hawkins (despite her body never positively being identified). A University of Washington student, Hawkins was last seen in the early morning hours of June 11, 1974 after leaving a party early and stopping by her boyfriend’s dormitory room to get some Spanish notes for an upcoming final she was worried about. She stopped and chatted with a male friend named Duane (who was a Beta Theta Pi fraternity brother, like her bf) out his window then walked off into the night and was never seen again. Twenty-three year old Ott and nineteen year old Naslund both disappeared on July 14th, 1974 from Lake Sammamish State Park, which is located just ten minutes away from the dump site. All three girls vanished without a trace until later that year on September 6th, when two hunters discovered what they strongly suspected were human skeletal remains while out looking for grouse.

Upon arrival Seattle based LE discovered a variety of human bones, most of which had been dispersed throughout the wooded area thanks to local wildlife (including, but not limited to, bobcats, bears, coyotes, and cougars). Among the bones found were teeth, a jawbone, pelvis, a skull, five femurs, and a spine, and investigators quickly determined that some of them belonged to Ott and Naslund. During Bundy’s death row confessions he also claimed that he buried Hawkins at the site as well, but investigators were never able to positively confirm this.

At the time of the murders in the mid-1970’s forensic experts (in most cases) needed either a mandible or skull to make a positive ID, as they often relied on matching teeth against dental records due to the fact that DNA testing wasn’t a ‘thing’ back then. Some of the bones that were found at the site were cremated and as a result were never able to be tested, as it was apparently ‘department policy’ to incinerate bones that were left unidentified in storage for too long. As I said earlier, the search team recovered five femur bones from the area, which retired King County Detective Dr. Robert D. Keppel said proved that Bundy dumped at least three victims there.

Looking at the pictures that I included below (of the site from the 1970’s to now), it’s obvious the area has undergone quite a transformation over the past fifty years. For example, Highlands Drive wasn’t there at all, and the Swedish Issaquah Campus wasn’t built until over 30 years after the murders took place. Additionally, back in 1974 the area could only be accessed through a narrow and winding dirt pathway, and the railway line that ran through the city’s Olde Town neighborhood was taken out and replaced by the Rainier and Issaquah-Preston walking trails that are still there today.

Despite The Issaquah dump site being the first one that was found it wasn’t the first one that Bundy utilized: six months after its discovery in March 1975 a second dumping ground of bodies was discovered at nearby Taylor Mountain (also called Tiger Mountain) when two forestry students from nearby Green River Community College stumbled upon skeletal remains while marking trees for a school project. I wonder what Bundy’s logic was for switching up his dump sites, moving from Taylor Mountain (where he left Lynda Healy, Brenda Ball, Kathy Parks, and Sue Rancourt) to Issaquah. Did he want to move somewhere else in an attempt to throw off law enforcement? We also know that he was impulsive and often made decisions quickly and without much thought: did he just stumble across this location one day and decide to utilize it? Or did Ted maybe have a close call at Taylor Mountain, possibly running into other (late night) hikers or even a policeman out on patrol?

During his January 1989 confession Ted told Dr. Keppel that he buried Georgann’s head in an area that was very close to the dump site, roughly 25–50 yards north parallel to the dirt road before turning left and walking about ten years ‘through the trees, eventually coming across an area he described as ‘very rocky’ and ‘very rocky.’ Investigators didn’t wait long to go looking for Hawkin’s remains after Bundy was put to death, and on February 15, 1989 search teams combed through the Issaquah dump site once again, but were unable to find any trace of the young co-ed. We do know that Ted was known to imbibe during his murders, and very well could have been drunk, high, or both. When you consider that and the fact that the murder was committed nearly fifteen years prior to his confession it might explain why no trace of George was ever found. Or… was Bundy purposefully giving investigators the bare minimum in an attempt to get another stay of execution. Or, was it all just another lie?

Jan Ott, Bundy’s first Lake Sam victim.
Denise Naslund, who Bundy abducted roughly four hours after Jan Ott.
Nine different shots of the dirt road leading to the Issaquah dump site in September 1974. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.
A photo of the search of the Issaquah dump site. Picture courtesy of OddStops.
Denise Naslund’s skull found in the dump site, was found by two hunters on a hillside just east of Issaquah less than ten miles from Lake Sammamish. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.
Denise Naslund’s hair at the Issaquah dump site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.
Another shot of Denise Naslund’s hair at the Issaquah dump site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.
A rib cage at the Issaquah dump site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.
Another shot of the rib cage at the Issaquah dump site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.
A picture from the Issaquah dump site. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.
A mapping of where the different bones were found at the Issaquah dump site.
Ted at the Issaquah dump site; he was there with Liz that day.
This aerial photo was taken roughly two years before Bundy started using it as a dump site in September 1972. Picture courtesy of OddStops.
An aerial photo taken of the dump site by the United States Geological Survey in 1977. Picture courtesy of OddStops.
This is an aerial photograph taken by police of Bundy’s Issaquah dump site. Picture courtesy of OddStops.
A map of map of Issaquah from 1950. Bundy’s dump site is just north of an abandoned cabin on the north side of the railway. Picture courtesy of OddStops.
On the left is an older map that pinpoints the exact location of the dump site taken from ‘Ted Bundy: A Visual Timeline’ by Rob Dielenberg. On the right is a recent aerial photograph of the area. As of June 2024 the region was turned into a walking trail.
The dump site as it looks today. Photo courtesy of OddStops.
A snapshot taken at the Issaquah dump site on February 15, 1989 when investigators were looking for the remains of Georgann Hawkins after Bundy discussed her murder during his death row confessions. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.
Another picture taken at the Issaquah dump site on February 15, 1989. Photo courtesy of MSNBC.
A picture of the possible dump site of Georgann Hawkins taken in February 1989. Photo courtesy of MSNBC.
A screen grab of the map Cole Kaiser sent me that helped me get to the Issaquah dump site. Thanks homie.
Driving by the Issaquah dump site as it looks today.
A photo I took of the Issaquah Dump Site in May 2024.
A photo I took of the Issaquah Dump Site in May 2024.
A photo I took of the Issaquah Dump Site in May 2024.
A photo I took of the Issaquah Dump Site in May 2024.
A photo I took of the Issaquah Dump Site in May 2024.
A photo I took of the Issaquah Dump Site in May 2024.
A photo I took of the Issaquah Dump Site in May 2024.
A photo I took of the Issaquah Dump Site in May 2024.