A .PDF document of reports related to the extensive searches made in the Issaquah and Taylor Mountain areas in relation to Ted Bundy.
According to the Issaquah Dump Site report, the skeletons were badly scattered by animals and no evidence of trauma, dismemberment or assault could be detected, and no clothing, jewelry, or other personal effects were near the scene. The report concluded that the victims were probably killed elsewhere and dumped at the dump sites shortly after they disappeared. After the search made in the area, three sets of bones were found, and two of them were determined to have belonged to Janice Ott and Denise Naslund. The skull of Janice Ott was still missing as were the skull and mandible of the third person, and for the third set of bones the two possible victims were thought to have been Georgann Hawkins and Donna Manson. A large quantity of immature elk bones were found 1/4 mile east of the scene on ‘Sunset Highway.’
According to the Taylor Mountain DS report, the skulls and/or mandibles of Lynda Healy, Susan Rancourt, Kathy Parks, and Brenda Ball were found at this location; several other bones were also found at this location, but were eventually determined to be non-human. The report specifies that this gave rise to the theory that the girls had been decapitated, but no cervical vertebrae were found in the search. The report further specifies that animals in the area included coyotes, bears and rodents, adding that the possibility of their consuming all bones of the body was slim.
The Taylor Mountain Dump Site report also states that the area at all times of the year was very brushy and would have been extremely dense during June when Brenda Ball disappeared, positing that the killer could have dumped the bodies in an area of evergreens nearby where there was less underbrush but no grease spots were found in that area either.
Courtesy of ‘archives.org’ user ‘Marionumber’ and the Pitkin County DA.
Georgann Hawkins was born on August 20, 1955 in Sumner, Washington to Warren and Edith Hawkins. She had an older sister named Patti and both girls were brought up in an upper middle class, Episcopalian household. Affectionately nicknamed ‘George’ by family and friends, Mrs. Hawkins described her daughter as a ‘wiggle worm’ because she was always full of energy and was unable to sit still. Georgann seemed to be universally adored by everyone around her, and she was always surrounded by a close-knit group of friends. At one point in her early childhood Hawkins went through a bout of Osgood-Schlatter Disease, which is described as painful inflammation found just below the knee that is made worse with physical activity and made better with lots of bed rest. One or both knees can be affected by this disease and flare-ups may occur after the initial episode has passed. Thankfully it never came back after George’s initial bout (although she was left with several small, barely noticeable bumps just below her patellae).
Despite her health challenges, Georgann went on to become a star athlete at Lakes High School in Lakewood, Washington: she was on the swim team in her early years but eventually gravitated towards cheerleading, winning numerous medals and competitions while on her high schools cheerleading squad (where she cheered all four years). In addition to her impressive athletic accomplishments, Hawkins was also a straight A student throughout the entirety of her academic career. During her senior year in 1973, Georgann was awarded with the title of princess to the royal court of the annual Washington Daffodil Festival. As Daffodil Princess, she traveled around Washington State with the other court members and their ‘duties’ involved being interviewed by newspapers, meeting children, riding in parades, attending concerts, and signing autographs at charity events. Georgann even gave a speech in the spring of 1973 addressing lawmakers at the Washington State Legislature.
Patti Hawkins went to Central Washington University in Ellensburg, which is the same school that Susan Rancourt attended before she was abducted by Bundy in April 1974. Georgann originally planned on following in her sisters footsteps and attending CWU as well, however her mother was strongly against it; she wanted her younger daughter to attend college at the University of Washington Seattle Campus, which was only about 30 minutes away from Sumner. Agreeing to this arrangement, Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins paid for Georgann’s tuition, books, room and board. To earn some extra spending money, she worked in Seattle throughout the summer, occasionally returning to her family home on weekends. The final time Georgann saw her parents was on Mother’s Day weekend of 1974.
Georgann’s freshman year at the University of Washington was a busy one: she joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and decided to major in either broadcast journalism or reporting. Despite having some troubles with a Spanish course she maintained a straight A GPA and found love with a Beta Theta Pi fraternity brother named MarvinGellatly. Georgann planned to return to her parents house for the summer on June 13th and had plans to start a summer job on Monday, June 17th.
At the time of her disappearance in spring 1974, Georgann stood at a petite 5’2” and weighed a mere 115 pounds. She has long chestnut hair that went down her back and big, doe-like brown eyes. Earlier on the day on June 10th, Hawkins called her mother to tell her she was going to study as hard as she possibly could for her next days Spanish final so she wouldn’t have to retake it later. But before hitting the books she went to a party, even imbibing in a few mixed cocktails. But, because she needed to study didn’t stay long; Hawkins did mention to a sorority sister that she was planning on swinging by the Beta Theta Pi House to pick up some Spanish notes from her boyfriend. She arrived at the frat at 12:30 AM on June 11 and stayed for approximately thirty minutes. After getting the notes and saying goodnight to her beau, Georgann left the fraternity house for her sorority house, which was only about 350 feet away.
Although typically a very safe and cautious young woman, Georgann thought nothing of this short walk that she took hundreds of times before, as it was in a well lit and busy area. While on her way of what should have been just a quick jaunt home, a friend called out to her from his window and she stopped to chat for a few minutes. She said goodnight to him and continued her short walk back to her dorm. Hawkins sorority sisters knew something wasn’t right when the typically reliable George didn’t arrive home two hours later. One of them even called her boyfriend, who informed her that she left his place at around 1 AM. After hearing this, the sister woke the housemother, and together they waited up for Georgann until morning. When morning came and she still didn’t arrive home they called Seattle police, and because of the recent disappearance of fellow University of Washington student Lynda Ann Healy, they immediately sprung to action. They later were informed that one of the other housemothers had awoken that night to a high pitched scream: she thought it was some people joking around and went back to sleep. Bundy confessed to Georganns murder moments before his execution, and though he was foggy on some of the more specific details he distinctly remembered how kind and trusting she was. He went on to say that he asked her for assistance carrying his briefcase to his car (because of his prop cast), and she happily obliged. As Bundy was approaching the young coed he pretended to fumble with the briefcase he was carrying. This was a common practice Bundy used in order to gain his victims trust and get them to lower their defenses; he later switched things up a bit and used an arm sling during his Lake Sammamish abductions (most likely because he couldn’t drive with a ‘broken leg’). As she bent over to put the briefcase in his vehicle, Ted grabbed a conveniently placed crowbar and knocked her out with a single blow to the head. He then put George’s tiny body in the passengers seat of his car and drove off into the night, never to be seen again. Haewkins briefly regained consciousness and in her confused state asked Bundy if he was there to help study for her Spanish exam. He then knocked her unconscious again, pulled his VW Bug over to the side of the road near to Lake Sammamish State Park and strangled her using a piece of rope. Before his execution he claimed that part of her remains were included in those found at his Issaquah dump site.
The day after her brutal murder, Bundy returned to check on Georgann’s body and discovered that one of her shoes was missing. He immediately began to worry that it had fallen off in the parking lot during the abduction and that someone might remember seeing his car parked in the area. Ted was also worried people were going to piece things together because just two weeks prior he had attempted the exact same abduction technique on a different young woman, but something spooked him and he decided against it. He was terrified that this unknown woman might come forward and mention the strange encounter if Hawkins belongings were discovered in the same parking lot. The morning after Hawkins abduction, law enforcement taped off the alley and searched it thoroughly for any evidence… but they left the parking lot where Bundy first approached her untouched. Because of this oversight, he was able to return at roughly 5 PM the next evening and retrieve the missing shoe as well as both of Georgann’s earrings that were misplaced as well.
Bundy also claimed he returned to Hawkins body again on June 14th, and at that point made the decision to cut off her head. His third (and final) post-mortem visit to her remains occurred about a week or two later, when he came back to ‘see what was going on.’ During his death row confession, Ted also hinted at acts such as necrophilia, so who knows what he meant when he said he went back to ‘see what was going on’ with poor Georgann’s corpse. While going through the bones recovered from the Issaquah dump site, forensic experts found a femur they strongly thought to be Hawkins but is considered ‘impossible to identify.’ It’s also been said that Bundy himself admitted that one of her femur bones discovered at the Issaquah dump site was Georgann’s, but this statement has never been confirmed.
I’ve always wondered about Georgann Hawkins’ family and how they coped with the loss of their daughter. Many family members of other Bundy victims have been vocal with their opinions regarding Bundy’s fate and what happened to their loved ones (specifically Lynda Healy’s sister (Laura) was active in the Amazon mini-series “Falling for a Killer” as well as Susan Rancourts Mom and Sister) but it was tough for me to find anything about Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins. I did stumble across an article Georgann’s mother did with “Green Valley News” titled “Georgann Hawkins died at the hands of Ted Bundy, but that’s not how her mom wants her remembered” that was published on June 11, 2014. In it, Mrs. Hawkins fondly remembers her daughter, saying that “she was a very self-confident little girl … she wasn’t vain, she wasn’t arrogant and she wasn’t snooty. That’s why kids liked her.” She went on to say that her daughter was an avid swimmer who was active in the Brownies (however swimming eventually fell to the wayside once she discovered boys). Years after Theodore Robert Bundy was executed for his crimes against humanity by the State of Florida Georgann’s friends held a memorial for her at their alma matter: Lakes High School. Warren and Edie Hawkins did not attend. She explained, ‘my feeling at the time was, ‘What was it for,’ you know? It wasn’t going to help me any.’ She went on to elaborate that she didn’t keep in touch with anyone in her daughters life nor did she want to. Over the years many newspapers and magazines reached out to the Hawkins family for interviews about their beloved daughter but they turned them all down (aside from a single sentence Edie gave to the associated press after Bundy was executed, saying ‘I’ve never, ever, ever dwelt on how she died. I didn’t want to know how she died’). She didn’t like the idea of anyone making money off the death of her daughter.
THIS was an incredibly eerie experience for me. I felt a lot of sadness and fear at this particular site. When my Google Maps alerted me when I came to the supposed exact location (figured right down to latitude and longitude) I didn’t linger long, plus there was a cop just sitting there, watching the area.
Georgann Hawkins sophomore picture from the 1971 Lakes High School yearbook.Georgann Hawkins junior picture from the 1972 Lakes High School yearbook.Georgann Hawkins in a group cheerleading picture from the 1972 Lakes High School yearbook.Georgann Hawkins and a friend from the 1972 Lakes High School yearbook.Georgann Hawkins senior picture from the 1973 Lakes High School yearbook.A photo of George from the 1973 Washington State Daffodil festival.As Hawkins had previously lost her key to the house, Dee Nichols, Hawkins’ roommate, had been waiting for the familiar rattling sound of small stones hitting the window, signaling her to run downstairs to let Hawkins into the house. When Hawkins failed to return by 3:00 AM, Nichols became concerned, and informed the housemotherPhoto courtesy of ‘hi: I’m Ted.’Georgeann Hawkins from her high school cheerleading days.Georgeann and her pom poms, Lakes High school.Georgeann Hawkins and the Lakes High School cheerleading squad pose for a yearbook photo.Photo courtesy of the Lakewood Historical Society.A photo of Georgeann Hawkins for her high school yearbook.Georgeann Hawkins top left, 1972.A black and white picture of Hawkins during her time as daffodil Princess.Bundy’s statement regarding the identity of the partial skeletal remains being those of Georgann Hawkins has never been confirmed. Although Hawkins is presumed dead, she is still officially listed as a missing person and no public records indicate that she has been declared legally dead.During his death row confessions, Bundy claimed he decapitated Hawkins and buried her head 25-50 yards from the rest of her body, and buried it roughly 10 yards from the roadside on a rocky hillside. He stated that a leg bone and vertebrae found with two other victims belonged to Georgann. However, Bundy’s confession has never been confirmed and Hawkins’ case remains open.Georgann and Phyllis Armstrong.Georgann Hawkins, 1973 (I’m not sure why but this is my favorite picture of Georgann. She seems so confidant and sure of herself, I’m envious of people like that).Phyllis Armstrong and Georgann Hawkins (the two in the front). Bundy went on to tell Seattle Detective Robert Keppel that Georgann was quite lucid in the car, and that ‘she thought she had a Spanish test the next day, and she thought I had taken her to help tutor me for a Spanish test. It was kind of odd. An odd thing to say.’Phillis Armstrong and Georgann Hawkins, 1973.The 1973 Daffodil Royal Court visit the WA Senate (Georgann is at the top right).Georgann Hawkins in the Seattle Police Files.Hawkins.Georgann and her Father, Warren.At the time of her abduction (because of Hawkins’ near-sightedness) Seattle Police theorized that if the perpetrator of her abduction had been surreptitiously lurking in the shadows of the alleyway and had overheard Hawkins’ name after overhearing her friend refer to her by her nickname ‘George,’ that he could have easily called to her using her nickname as means to lure her in his direction. This would have given her abductor the chance to overpower and silence her. However, no witnesses reported seeing or hearing any signs of a struggle at the time of her disappearance. As Georgann was walking the 350 foot walk home from her boyfriends fraternit, Ted Bundy approached her using crutches and faking a limp. He often used this technique to appear more vulnerable and less dangerous, thus helping garner sympathy from his victims and earn their trust.Hawkins was nearsighted, and typically wore eyeglasses or contact lenses to correct her vision, although she had neither in her possession at the time of her disappearance. Her roommate told police that the reason why Hawkins did not have her eyeglasses or contact lenses with her that evening was because ‘she’d worn her contacts all day to study, and after you’ve worn contact lenses for a long time, things look blurry when you put glasses on, so she wasn’t wearing them either.Georgeann Hawkins at a party during her freshman year at the University of Washington in 1974.Georgann Hawkins with Phyllis Armstrong (fellow Daffodil Princess and student at the University of Washington). Photo of Georgann Hawkins and friends from the Seattle Police Files.Photo courtesy of ‘hi: I’m Ted.’A photo of Georgann Hawkins from the Seattle Police Files.Newspaper clipping of photographs of Ted Bundy victim Georgann Hawkins and her father. Photo courtesy of the Seattle Police Files.A copy of the last check Georgann Hawkins wrote before her death, for $10 to the University of Washington bookstore.A B&W photo of the alley where Georgann was abducted, 1974.A photograph of where Georgann stopped to briefly chat with a friend through his window minutes before her abduction.A B&W photo of Georgann Hawkins dorm room taken in 1974.Alley where Georgann Hawkins was abducted from in B&W, 1974.The morning after Georgann’s abduction, students and news crews started to gather at Greek Row.A photo taken at Taylor Mountain upon the discovery of Bundy’s dump site, courtesy of Tiffany Jean.Taylor Mountain, courtesy of Tiffany Jean.Taylor Mountain, courtesy of Tiffany Jean.A photo of the possible burial site of Georgann Hawkins, courtesy of Tiffany Jean.A photo of the possible burial site of Georgann Hawkins, courtesy of Tiffany Jean.A computer generated map of the crime scene of Georgeann Hawkins in 1974.A newspaper clipping about the abduction of Georgann Hawkins.Diagram of the crime scene surrounding the abduction of Georgann Hawkins as it was in 1974, photo courtesy of King County Archives.A 1965 map of Issaquah, photo courtesy of King County Archives. This aerial photograph is from 1977: the blue line shows the route that Bundy and Georgann walked the night of her abduction. Photo courtesy of OddStops.1. Georgann leaves her boyfriends fraternity, the Beta Theta Pi House. 2. As Hawkins is walking back to her sorority house, Bundy approaches her on crutches and asks for help carrying his briefcase to his car. 3. Once they are in the parking lot, he hits her over the head with a crowbar and kidnaps her. Photo courtesy of OddStops.A map of the Issaquah crime scene from King County Archives.A hand drawn map of the Issaquah dump site with the alleged location of Georgeann’s body labeled. This was drawn by Bundy in 1989 before he was executed. From ‘Terrible Secrets’ by Bob Keppel and Michaud.Hand-written notes surrounding Georgann Hawkins murder case. During Bundy’s abduction of Hawkins he misplaced both of her hoop earrings as well as one of her shoes. Luckily for him, he was able to retrieve all three items the next evening while the police was busy investigating other crime scenes.Georgann Hawkins Missing Persons Photo.News Bulletin released by the Seattle Police Department regarding the mysterious disappearance of Georgann Hawkins.An article about Georgann published by The News Tribune on December 12, 1972.A photo of Georgann (front row to the far left) published in The Tacoma News Tribune on February 18, 1973. Photo courtesy of Julia Larina and her group ‘The Study of the material for educational purposes and research: TRB.’ Georgann featured in The Tacoma News Tribune on February 22, 1973.An article about Georgann published by The Tacoma News Tribune on March 4, 1973. Photo courtesy of Maria Serban.A newspaper article about the disappearance of Georgann Hawkins.An article about Georganns disappearance from the Statesman Journal (a local paper from Salem, Oregon), published in June 1974.A newspaper article about the disappearance of Georgann Hawkins.A newspaper article mentioning the disappearance of Georgann Hawkins.A newspaper article about the disappearance of Georgann Hawkins.An article about Georganns disappearance published by The Tacoma News Tribune on June 13, 1974.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Ellensburg Daily Record on July 24, 1974.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Vancouver Sun on July 25, 1974.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Bulletin on August 7, 1974.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokane Chronicle on August 7, 1974.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Daily News on September 8, 1974.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Ellensburg Daily Record on September 10, 1974.A newspaper article about the disappearance of Georgann Hawkins published by The Bulletin on September 11, 1974. A newspaper article about the disappearance of Georgann Hawkins published by The Ellensburg Daily Record on September 11, 1974. A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokane Chronicle on September 25, 1974.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Lodi News-Sentinel on September 25, 1974.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Ellensburg Daily Record on September 25, 1974.fA newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Ellensburg Daily Record on October 16, 1974.
A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokane Chronicle on October 16, 1974.
A newspaper article about Kathy Parks that mentions Georgann Hawkins published by The Eugene Register-Guard on March 7, 1975.A newspaper article about Kathy Parks that mentions Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokane Chronicle on March 7, 1975.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Lewiston Tribune on March 8, 1975.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Eugene Register-Guard on March 10, 1975.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The News Tribune on March 18, 1975.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokane Chronicle on August 28, 1978.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokane Chronicle on August 28, 1978.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokesman-Review on August 28, 1978.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Deseret News on August 28, 1978.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Lewiston Tribune on August 28, 1978.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokesman-Review on August 19, 1979.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Edmonton Journal on September 8, 1979.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Ellensburg Daily Record on July 2, 1986.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokesman-Review on July 2, 1986.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Longview Daily News on July 2, 1986.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Corvallis Gazette-Times on July 2, 1986.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The St. Petersburg Times on January 26, 1989.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Ocala Star-Banner on February 6, 1989.A newspaper article mentioning Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokesman-Review on August 7, 1995.A newspaper article about a memorial service for Georgann Hawkins published by The Spokesman-Review on February 6, 1989.Gravel roadway at the Issaquah dump site, September 1974. Photo courtesy of King County Archives.The ‘little dirt road that went up the hill, across some railroad tracks’ and entrance to the dump site in Issaquah, from September 1974. Photo courtesy of King County Archives.Sight of Georgann Hawkins Abduction, 2022.Photo of the alley where Georgann was abducted, April 2022. Photo of the alley where Georgann was abducted, April 2022. Photo of the alley where Georgann was abducted, April 2022. Photo of the alley where Georgann was abducted, April 2022. Photo of the alley where Georgann was abducted, April 2022. Ted Bundy lured Georgann Hawkins to this parking lot, hit her over the head then abducted her. During the attack, he hit her head with such force that both of her hoop earrings flew off as well as one of her shoes. However, Bundy was able to retrieve these the next evening while the police were busy investigating the alley and searching local parks. According to his confession in 1989, he observed the police from afar and watched as they cordoned off the alley but completely overlooked the parking lot. The following quote from Bundy’s confession in 1989 confirms the location of this lot: ‘About halfway down the block I encountered her (Georgann) and asked her to help me carry the brief case, which she did. We walked back up the alley, across the street, turned right on the sidewalk in front of the fraternity house on the corner, rounded the corner to the left, going north on 47th. Well, midway in the block there used to be a… y’know… one of those parking lots they used to make out of burned-down houses in that area. The university would turn them into parking lots… instant parking lots. There was a parking lot there… (it had a) dirt surface, no lights, and my car was parked there.’Georgeann’s dormitory, photo taken in April 2022. Georgeann’s dormitory, photo taken in April 2022. Silvia Storaasli, left, Jamie Mayberry Rogers, right, and Sarah Williams, foreground, share tearful memories of Georgann Hawkins at a tribute at Lakes High School in suburban Tacoma on February 5, 1989.A photo of Mrs. Edie Hawkins taken for the Green Valley News in 2014, who commented: ‘I haven’t thought about forgiving him. How could you forgive somebody who hurts your child? I’m not that gracious an individual.’
Before I started this piece all I really knew about Brenda Ball was that she had recently dropped out of college and disappeared from a dive bar just outside of Seattle (which I went to during my visit in April 2022); she (obviously) also fit his typical victim profile: she was young, thin, and beautiful, with dark chocolate eyes and brown hair that she wore long and parted down the middle.
Brenda Carol Ball is Theodore Robert Bundy’s fifth (confirmed) murder victim. She was born on November 4, 1952, to Duane Kaye and Rosemary (nee Rupp) Ball; Mr. Ball was born on April 12, 1930 in Seattle, and Rosemary was born in September 1930; the couple were wed on March 31, 1953 and Brenda was their only child. They parted ways in November 1971 and the reason listed on their divorce certificate is ‘cruelty.’
Brenda was twenty-two years old, 5’3” tall, and weighed a mere 112 pounds at the time of her disappearance… just a short side note, most of Bundy’s victims were incredibly ‘dainty’ and petite women: both GeorgannHawkins (5’2”) and Lynda Ann Healy (5’6”) only weighed 115 pounds, Donna Gail Manson was 5’ even and 100 pounds, and Janice Ott was 5’1” and 105 pounds. I wonder if this was due to his sexual preference or because smaller women (in theory) would be easier to subdue.
In 1970 Ball graduated from Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines, WA and at the time she disappeared in 1974 was taking classes at Highline Community College but mysteriously dropped out roughly two weeks before she vanished. She lived with two roommates in a five-bedroom house in Normandy Park, and according to them, she was content and happy regarding her decision to leave school, but was beginning to ‘party a lot.’
In the early morning hours of June 1, 1974,Brenda Ball seemingly vanished into thin air after seeing a band play at The Flame Tavern in Burien, WA. The topless dive bar had a seedy reputation for being a bit rough back in the 1970’s (it definitely isn’t in the greatest of neighborhoods), and has changed hands/names a few times since that fateful night in 1974: at one point it was called ‘El Baron’ before most recently being named ‘Fiesta del Mar.’ As of April 2022 the building sits abandoned (complete with multiple mattresses conveniently located in the back parking lot, for relaxation purposes). The night Brenda disappeared she was wearing blue jeans, a turtleneck with long sleeves, a ‘shirt-style’ jacket, and brown clog-like wedge-heeled shoes; she arrived at the establishment alone to see the band play and stayed until last call.
Immediately following Ball’s disappearance no one seemed overly concerned: her roommates said that she was an adventurous person and would often disappear on trips for days at a time without telling anyone (this reminds me so much of Donna Manson). I further feel that the two young women were similar in the sense that their almost nomadic lifestyles, casual drug use, and frequent habit of hitchhiking put them both in a higher risk pool. However, as time passed by it was glaringly obvious that something very serious was wrong, as Brenda wouldn’t leave for weeks on end without reaching out to somebody. Only adding to the mystery: all of her clothes and personal belongings were left behind, and eventually her roommates decided to reach out to her bank to inquire if there had been any recent activity related to her account. When they learnedthat there was none, alarm bells started to go off, and it was at this point they called her parents in nearby Kent. They told them that they hadn’t heard from their daughter either, and upon hearing that no one had heard or seen from her daughter, Mrs. Ball immediately called the police. This is why she was not reported missing until June 17, 1974: two and a half weeks later.
According to police reports, the day before she disappeared at roughly 2 PM on Friday, May 31, 1974 Brenda did tell friends that she was thinking about catching a ride to go camp with some friends at Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park in the eastern part of the state the Memorial Day weekend after her night at The Flame. The park is located a little over two hundred miles away, and is roughly a four hour drive from Normandy Park.
At first, police didn’t link Balls disappearance to the other missing Seattle girls: by this time in mid-1974, Lynda Ann Healy, Donna Gail Manson, Susan Rancourt and Roberta Kathleen Parks were all abducted from places directly related to a college campus (except Healy who technically lived in an off-campus apartment, but I’m being nitpicky and I think you understand what I’m getting at). Brenda, on the other hand, was a bit older than the other victims (at a whopping 22 years old) and had disappeared from a seedy dive bar. She also had a well-established history of disappearing then reappearing, usually for days at a time.Former King County Detective Bob Keppel claimed that her disappearance didn’t have anything in common with the other missing women, and because of this law enforcement didn’t release any information about her case to the media until August 7, 1974. The police weren’t the only ones that were hesitant to publicly connect the dots between Brenda and the other missing girls: it was incredibly challenging to find newspaper articlesrelated to her, andmaybe if her disappearance was treated the same as Lynda Ann Healy’s or Georgann Hawkins they would have caught Bundy sooner.
Although not calling Brenda by name, Seattle based paper ‘The Sunday News’ published an article about her disappearance roughly one month after her case became public. She wasn’t brought up again until the gruesome discovery of her skull at Taylor Mountain in March of 1975 (I’ll talk more about that shortly).
Towards the end of the night after the band wrapped up their set, Ball asked one of its members that she knew for a ride home back to her shared house, but he told her that he was heading in the opposite direction and couldn’t. Now, there are two conflicting possibilities regarding how Ms. Ball possibly left the tavern on the night she disappeared: the first being that she left alone with plans of hitching a ride home, and the second one is that she left with an unidentified man wearing an arm sling.
It was reported by an employee at the Flame Tavern that Brenda was seen talking to a good-looking man that had his arm in a sling towards the end of the evening on May 31, 1974. It is worth mentioning that this statement was probably made at some point later in time (most likely after the initial police report was made in mid-June), because if the witness told law enforcement about the assailant using an arm sling at the beginning of the investigation, then it is highly likely that they would have immediately made the connection between Brenda’s disappearance and the other missing Seattle girls. By August of 1974, King County law enforcement knew that the man they were looking for was using a fake injury ruse, and because of this, it would make one think that any report of Brenda talking to a good-looking man with his arm in a sling would have been more important or prioritized.
On May 31, 1974 Ted was spending the evening with his girlfriend Liz Kloepfer, her daughter Molly, and her parents that were visiting Seattle from Utah. Kloepfer said that Bundy took everyone out for a pizza dinner but was reportedly in a hurry to leave and get out of there at the end of the night. The following is a transcript from one of her interviews: ‘it was a Saturday night, and my parents came out from Utah. The tradition in the Mormon faith is that when you’re eight years old, you get baptized. And so I was going to have my daughter Molly baptized, and my father was going to do the baptism. We went out to dinner the night before, and Ted treated us all to pizza. He was in a big hurry to go after we were done with pizza. The next day, he didn’t show up. He completely missed the baptism. He was probably two hours late. And after it was all done, he showed up at the church. I forget what he said was the excuse. Car trouble or something like that. I was mad because he was making me look bad in front of my parents. But, you know, never in our wildest dreams did we think he was out abducting people.’
Personally, I think Ted was practically giddy at the thought of committing another murder and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. The last time that he killed was on May 6, whenhe drove almost four and a half hours to Oregon State College in Corvallis to abduct Kathy Parks. Furthermore, the fact that he was late for Molly’s baptism the following morning citing ‘car troubles’ almost makes one think he was held up trying to get rid of Ball’s body and clean up any lingering mess and simply lost track of time… or, maybe he went back to the body that morning for sexual reasons and his girlfriend was the absolute furthest thing from his mind. We’ll never know.
I think I own every single piece of literature ever written about Ted Bundy (I’m joking, but I do have quite a few and between two jobs, school, and my husband I may one day get through them all). In Michaud and Aynesworth book ‘Conversations with a Killer,’ Ted would frequently speculate about what ‘may have’ happened to the victims while talking in the third-person, and according to him ‘the killer’ may have intentionally changed his modus operandi slightly in Balls case by picking up a hitchhiker. Also, going after a victim that was in a slightly different population helped him fly under the radar a bit as missing young women on college campuses were getting a lot of attention at the time. He furthered that in his journey that night, the killer stumbled upon Brenda, who was looking for a ride home from a bar and after picking her up the two got friendly, and her assailant attempted small talk in an attempt to help keep her distracted and unafraid. When he learned that she didn’t have any plans for the rest of the night/early morning he asked if she wanted to go to a party back at his place, an invitation that she accepted. The drive back to his rooming house may have seemed casual on the outside but it was coldly calculated on the inside: her killer wanted to appear friendly and jovial so as not to alarm and frighten her, as he wanted to keep her relaxed and at ease. But of course, when they arrived there was no gathering, and he then concocted a story about why it was just the two of them. Bundy said that at first Ball seemed slightly hesitant on coming in, however the boredom and drunkenness eventually took over and she went inside. He went on to say that they continued drinking until she was ‘exceptionally intoxicated’ and apparently the two had a ‘consensual’ sexual encounter.
Unfortunately for Ms. Ball, a night of drinking and sex that was ‘more or less’ consensual was not enough to completely squash her killer’s dark desires, and because of this, he waited until she was asleep then strangled her to death. Many members of law enforcement and true crime scholars doubt this pseudo-confession (for obvious reasons): if we pretend Ted is telling the truth then it means that he brought Brenda back to his room at the Rogers Rooming House, and considering that he had lived there for quite a few years by then and was in a well-established relationship with Liz Kloepfer, this would have been an incredibly risky move on his part. What if he ran into another resident, or Ernst and Frieda? I mean… It was 2:00 AM, and Ted lived there for quite a few years by then so I’m sure he knew the nocturnal patterns of his fellow tenants (especially since he was such a night owl himself). But… When you think about the fact that Bundy was often drunk and/or high during his murders, it makes me lean towards him being an impulsive person that didn’t seem to think through his attacks very well. I’m sure for the most part Bundy scholars are overthinking things a bit: drunk Ted didn’t think, he acted… therefore, I think he most likely had a tough time keeping his shit together during the 15-minute drive back to his room from The Flame, and it would have made more sense that he drove Ball to a remote location then killed her.
The following is a quick but super interesting snippet from Michaud and Aynesworth’s book ‘Conversations with a Killer’ regarding Balls disappearance: Michaud: ‘He’d take her home?’ Bundy: ‘Sure.’ Michaud: ‘It would seem terribly risky.’ Bundy: ‘If you live with someone. But he had his own house.’
Obviously, we know part of this ‘confession’ isn’t true if Bundy is talking about himself: he obviously lived with the Rogers as well as MULTIPLE other people at the time of Brenda’s murder, not in a house, alone. Now what would have happened if he wasn’t perfect in his attempt to kill Ball and she put up a struggle, and let’s say (just a theoretical) she started kicking and screaming while trying to put up a fight? That would have drawn a LOT of attention to him and probably would have gotten him caught, and I think that was the very last thing that he wanted. During interviews while on death row, Bundy told investigators that he cut off the heads of twelve of his victims, and according to Dr. Robert Keppel, he told FBI Agent Bill Hagmaier once that he kept ‘as many as four heads’ in his room on 12th Avenue in Seattle. Was Brenda’s one of them?
I’m not exactly sure why but I absolutely adore Phyllis Armstrong from Netflix’s ‘Falling for a Killer.’ I found her very sweet and easy to like, and I could tell she genuinely loves Georgann, and misses her. In one of her segments during the documentary, Armstrong said that at around 11 PM on May 31, 1974 (roughly three hours before Ms. Ball disappeared) a man using crutches asked her for help carrying a can of gas to his VW Bug on the campus at the University of Washington. She said yes, and when they reached his vehicle he asked her to get inside and push a button located underneath the steering wheel, starting it. At this point Phyllis was starting to get the willies, and after making up an excuse and apologizing she quickly dropped the can got the heck out of there. That gut instinct probably saved her life.
Now think about it: this encounter took place just a few hours before Brenda Ball went missing, which means if the man Bundy was talking about was indeed himself, then his confession about ‘the killer’ changing up his MO to hunt an ‘older woman’ in order to avoid getting caught was just another lie. Meaning, he didn’t switch it up as part of a well thought out plan: he just bombed out with Phyllis and needed to find another girl to kill. I mean, look at what happened when he crapped-out with Carol DaRonach in SLC? He drove to a high school roughly twenty miles away and abducted Deb Kent. After Balls abduction Ted went back to taking his victims from a school setting: Georgann Hawkins was next, and her abduction took place not even two weeks later on June 11th, 1974. She was taken early in the morning on her way home from a party outside of her sorority house at the University of Washington.
It’s also worth bringing up that Ball’s skull had a large fracture in the back of it when it was found on Taylor Mountain, and the King County Medical Examiner determined that she was missing one of her temporal bones, suggesting that her assailant may have struck her in the head with a blunt object (like a crowbar, as TB was known to have used). Bundy never mentioned this during his ‘confession,’ so if he really strangled her to death, then why was a large part of the right side of her skull missing? This injury completely contradicts the statement he made that he strangled her until she expired.
However, thinking in an ‘outside the box’ sort of way, what about foraging animals? Could they have been responsible for the giant hole that was found in Brenda’s skull? The wildlife population in Washington state is pretty diverse… It’s home to bobcats, lynxes, multiple types of bears, wolverines, deer and many other large animals. Could a large outdoor creature have stepped on her skull after Bundy dumped her in the forest, causing the fracture, maybe a bear? The area is home to both grizzly and black bears: an average sized adult male grizzly weighs anywhere from 300-650 pounds, and a male black bear can exceed 600 pounds. Well, apparently I wasn’t the only person that thought of this: according to the King County ME, there is a zero chance that Ball’s skull fracture occurred because of local wildlife. This means that if Bundy was telling the truth about strangling the young woman to death, then it is difficult to see why he would have also needed to inflict such a traumatic injury upon her as well.
The following is a short excerpt regarding Brenda Ball from ‘The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer,’ written by Dr Robert Keppel: ‘The dentition of the skull contained a pattern of silver fillings that were familiar to me. I had memorized the dental work detailed on [victim’s dental] charts and easily recognized the jawless expression of Brenda Carol Ball. My crude on-site identification was to be confirmed by a forensic odontologist three days later. We photographed the cranium from all angles and measured its position to two temporary triangulation stakes. We carefully picked up the skull and preserved it in the position in which it was resting. Since dusk was setting in, we decided to wait until the next day to resume our search for the remainder of the skeleton.’
Despite the fact that LE was hesitant to link Ball to the other missing Washington state girls, ironically it was because of her that they were discovered in the first place: on Sunday, March 1st, 1975, two forestry students from a nearby community college were doing a project at Taylor Mountain when they spotted her skull lying among the damp, moss-covered trees. Shortly after, investigators unearthed the craniums of Lynda Ann Healy, Susan Elaine Rancourt, and Kathy Parks; in addition to skulls, search parties also found clumps of hair as well as an array of human bones, including a mandible and a femur that is strongly believed to have belonged to Georgann Hawkins (however they had nothing else to compare it to and it was eventually misplaced).
The following is an excerpt from the ‘SurivingSara’ GoodReads blogspot; I will include the direct link below if anyone is interested in reading all of it. Just as a side note, I wrote an article about ‘Sara A. Survivor,’ which is a pseudonym for her real name of Susan Roller. She reportedly is a surviving Bundy victim and claims that she suffered from long term abuse by him, and by this I mean she said they had a relationship (of sorts) and she sustained repeated physical and psychological abuse as a result, trauma that she alleges that she still suffers from today. I won’t go too far into her as there’s an entire separate article written about her, but she’s a real piece of work and REALLY has it out for the King County Sheriff’s, specifically Bob Keppel: ‘Skeletal remains at the scene, marked with evidence numbers, were sent to Superior Court, then returned back to the King County Sheriff Office and then sent to the ME: all the evidence numbers of the skeletal remains line up and those numbers verify they were found on site in March of 1975 at the time of the discovery of Taylor Mountain. Further, those remains were sent to Texas in 2005 and identified via DNA three of the four girls found on Taylor Mountain and another who could not be identified. In addition, records show that at least 1-2 individuals besides Ott and Naslund were found at Issaquah and at least 1 individual not matching the four girls found at Taylor Mountain was found at Taylor Mountain. Both crime scenes had girls’ clothing, jewelry, and other evidence. None of this appears to have been preserved.’
On Memorial Day weekend of 2022 I went on an overnight trip to explore Bundy’s former hood in Philadelphia, PA, and I made the drive from Attica, NY which was about a 6.5 hour drive, one way. Making that drive two days in a row was a bit nuts, but I absolutely LOVED it because I renewed my Audible subscription, put on ‘The Phantom Prince,’ and just drove… and I’m really glad I did that because it provided me with a lot of smaller details regarding Balls murder that I wasn’t aware of previously… Because Liz’s Mom kept a detailed journal, there is a detailed account as to exactly what happened on the evening of May 31, 1974:(as I said earlier), Ted treated everyone to dinner at Pizza & Pipes, however she mentioned that the meal seemed rushed and it only lasted for roughly an hour and a half. She went on to say that after everyone was finished eating, Bundy dropped them all off at Liz’s house and said that he was going home.
I am absolutely flabbergasted by how fearless Bundy was: for a good amount of his atrocities he operated VERY close to home, and when I was in Seattle I saw first hand just how close in proximity everything was to one another. When I went to the site of where Karen Sparks once lived (the residence was torn down to make room for apartment buildings) I literally looked up and there was The (former) Sandpiper! Also, The Flame Tavern is only 4.2 miles away from the Rogers Rooming House, which is less than a 15-minute drive. Plus he lived in the general Seattle area since he was a young boy: HOW DID HE NOT RUN INTO ANYONE HE KNEW??! I know if I was going to feign injury while committing multiple felonies I would at least do it in an area where I was positive that I wouldn’t be recognized. Piggybacking off that, the fact that he killed women from the same university that he attended further amazes me. He must have had gigantic stones.
As far as the truth goes… I really think Bundy liked screwing with his audience, whoever it was. Journalists. Members of law enforcement. Carole Ann Boone. He’d tell one person one thing then turn around and tell another something completely different. He would literally change his story for his audience, and lied so frequently about so much… Obviously, like so many other Ted related things, we’re going to have to take his pseudo-confession with a grain of salt, and unless someone discovers his long-lost diary, we’ll probably never know what happened to Brenda Ball. However, one thing is for certain: her life was cut short because of Ted Bundy.
Thanks to the website OddStops (which is amazing, and if you haven’t checked it out yet you totally should), I found some interesting facts about the former Flame Tavern, most recently called ‘El Baron Rojo:’ the building was built in 1928 and in 2007 it sold for $990,000. During the 1970’s, the tavern was known for its live music, anddrunken brawls would frequently break out in their parking lot. Denise Naslund (another confirmed victim of Ted’s that he would go on to abduct then kill exactly one month and two weeks later from Lake Sammamish)was a frequent patron of the bar. In addition to Brenda Ball’s abduction, in 1977 twenty-one year-old Rhonda Louise Burse was last seen getting into a car in the tavern’s parking lot and was never seen or heard from again. At one point the watering hole went by the name ‘MVP Sports Bar,’ and in 2008 a man was shot and killed somewhere on the premises with an AK-47 assault rifle, and in 2020, former owner Sonia Olvera Jimenez was arrested for the murder of a gentleman that was renting a room in her house.
Mr. Ball passed away on August 13, 1988 somewhere in Pierce County, WA. Brenda’s mother remarried a man named Donald Arnaud on March 9, 1974 and despite looking EVERYWHERE (Google, Ancestry, MyHeritage, etc…) I was unable to find any record of her passing away (even though she would currently be in her 100’s, but it’s not completely unheard of). According to an Associated News article regarding Bundy’s execution: ‘Rosemary Arnaud, mother of 22-year-old Brenda Ball, who disappeared outside a Burien, Wash., tavern in 1974, said Bundy’s death will be a relief only in the knowledge that he will never be able to kill again.’
Brenda Ball’s sophomore picture from the 1968 Mount Rainier High School yearbook.Brenda Ball’s junior picture from the 1969 Mount Rainier High School yearbook.Brenda Ball’s senior picture from the 1970 Mount Rainier High School yearbook.A grab from Ball’s 1970 Mount Rainier High School yearbook of her senior activities.A barefoot Brenda.Brenda Ball’s ID card.Brenda Ball.Brenda Carol Ball.A missing persons bulletin about the disappearance of Brenda Carol Ball.An article about the disappearance of Brenda Ball published by The Olympian on August 7, 1974.An article mentioning Brenda Ball published in The Daily Herald-Tribune on March 5, 1975.An article about the murder of Brenda Ball published in The Spokane Chronicle on March 5, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Sun Post News on March 5, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Corpus Christi Times on March 5, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Lewiston Tribute on March 5, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Spokesman-Review on March 6, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Daily Herald on March 6, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Middlesboro Daily News on March 7, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Corpus Christi Caller-Times on March 7, 1975.An article mentioning Brenda Ball published in The Minneapolis Star on March 8, 1975.An article mentioning Brenda Ball published in The Herald on March 8, 1975.An article mentioning Brenda Ball published in The Statesman Journal News on March 9, 1975.An article mentioning Brenda Ball published in The San Francisco Examiner on March 9, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Longview Daily News on March 11, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Statesman Journal on March 11, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Gazette on March 12, 1975.An article about Brenda Ball published in The Idaho State Journal on October 3, 1975.An article about Bundy that mentions Brenda Ball published in Florida Today on July 9, 1979.An article about Ann Rule’s true crime classic ‘The Stranger Beside Me’ that mentions Brenda Ball, published in The Miami News on October 22, 1980.In his statement to the media, Lt. Richard Kraske said that there seemed to be no link between Brenda’s case and the other women. Photo courtesy of ThisInterestsMe.In the days leading up to Bundy’s execution, Brenda’s mother Rosemary Arnaud said that his death will be a relief because it means that he will never be able to kill again. Photo courtesy of ThisInterestsMe.The Sunday News published this article one month after Brenda’s case became public; it did not mention her nor feature her picture among the missing. Photo courtesy of ThisInterestsMe.Brenda Ball’s death certificate.The prayer card for Brenda Balls funeral service.Brenda Balls grave. I apologize it’s not a better quality picture, it was the only l one could find. When I go back to Seattle next year I’ll get a better one.An older image of a sign for the tavern from the 1970’s. Photo courtesy of OddStops.The band ‘Child Jam’ performing at The Flame Tavern in the 1970’s.The former Flame Tavern as it looked in the 1970’s’; it’s located at 12803 Ambaum Boulevard in Burien, WA.An older image of the tavern from the 1970’s. Photo courtesy of OddStops.This Google Street View image of the bar was taken in 2011. Photo courtesy of OddStops.The former Flame Tavern as it looked in April 2022; it’s located at 12803 Ambaum Boulevard in Burien, WA. I stopped by as I was on my way to Gary Ridgway’s house (which is shockingly close to where Bundy operated).The front sign from former Flame Tavern as it looked in April 2022.The back parking lot of the former Flame Tavern as it looked in April 2022.The former Flame Tavern as it looked in April 2022.The former Flame Tavern as it looked in April 2022.Pizza and Pipes Restaurant, where Bundy took Liz and her family before he killed Brenda Ball.A Google map route from The Flame Tavern to Taylor Mountain.Google Maps directions route from The Flame Tavern to Taylor Mountain.The old Rogers Rooming House on 12th Ave in Seattle in April 2022.Highline Community College.Ted Bundy’s Taylor Mountain dump site.Ted Bundy’s Taylor Mountain dump site.Taylor Mountain, April 2022.Brenda Balls skull. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Jean.Brenda Balls skull. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Jean.Brenda Balls skull. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Jean.Brenda Balls skull. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Jean.Brenda Balls skull. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Jean.A grid of skulls testifies to the changing nature of the case police faced. Theirs was no longer a missing persons investigation. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Jean.A grid of skulls testifies to the changing nature of the case police faced. Theirs was no longer a missing persons investigation. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Jean.A Google Earth image of the layout of the Taylor Mountain site. Photo courtesy of OddStops.A map of the skulls found on Taylor Mountain. Photo courtesy of OddStops.Molly, Liz and her parents on the day of Molly’s Christening, the day after Ted abducted then killed Brenda Ball.Duane Ball’s senior year picture from the 1948 West Seattle High School yearbook.Brenda’s mother, Rosemary Arnaud.Rosemary Arnaud.Donald Arnaud’s WWII draft card.A newspaper blurb mentioning Brenda’s mother Rosemary joining the Spokane naval reserve published in The Spokesman-Review on October 21, 1949.Mr. and Mrs. Ball’s marriage certificate. Mr. and Mrs. Ball’s divorce certificate. Brenda’s mothers second marriage certificate.Rhonda Louise Burse, who was last seen at The Flame Tavern in Burien, Washington on August 8, 1977.
Another Bundy Blog. 