Ep. 123 The Long Haul

There were so many active serial murderers in the Pacific Northwest and their often cross-jurisdictional crimes demanded the development of a system called HITS, designed to make connections between reported crimes, in order to better pinpoint suspects and make arrests. In 1991, this system made a match in Seattle, where HITS was based, to a murder in Portland, Oregon. This link would lead them to a man, who for years had worked the highways of the American West as a trucker, and possibly a serial killer.

Episode Host: Josh McCullough

Scott William Cox also known as the "Oregon Trucker Killer"

Photos from MLT News, Oregon Live, Yamhill County

Linda Ramos-Moore missing since November 4th, 1990, remains found in 2022.

Photo from Yakima Herald

Tia Maria Hicks reported missing December 13, 1990. Tia's body was found in April of 1991 near the Silver Dollar Casino.

Photo from Fox13

Victoria Rhone found strangled to death inside a truck trailer in a Union Pacific train yard February 19, 1991.

Photo from Oregon Live

Reena Ann Brunson found dead in a Northeast Portland Safeway parking lot. She was stabbed once in the heart.

Photo from Oregon Live

Virginia Rambus last seen leaving her apartment on May 20, 1985.

Photo from Renton Reporter

Diane Robbins went missing 25 years ago to the day, June 18th, 1985.

Photo from KOMO news

Molly Purdin-Clary went missing in June of 1985. Her body was found in August on the side of a road in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest she had been beaten to death.

Photo from findagrave.com

Doris Lavonne Mulhern missing since March 5th, 1987.

Photo from Namus

Erin MacGregor disappeared on September 19, 1990 after her car was found abandoned in a Seattle-Columbia City neighborhood. Her partial remains would found near I90 milepost 39.

Photo from KIRO7

Deborah Yvonne Wims disappeared while driving to a supermarket on South 216th Street on October 25, 1990.

Photo from International Missing Persons

Deborah's sister Cheryl Lee Wims's remains were found March of 1984. Her death was attributed to Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer.

Photo from Findagrave.com

Stephanie Douglas disappeared from McMinnville, OR on November 27th, 1990.

Photo from Charley Project.

Nguyet Thu Phung missing from Lynnwood, WA since May 9, 1991.

Photo from Charley Project

Cora Christmas McGuirk missing from Seattle, WA since July 12, 1991.

Photo from Charley Project

Hazel Gelnett was killed in 1988 and found on Highway 2 in Snohomish County, WA.

If you’d like more episodes of Murder in the rain, Patreon members of at least $5/mo, gain access to exclusive episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more.

Follow us on:

• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/murderintherain/

• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mintherain/

• Twitter https://twitter.com/murderintherain

• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@em_murderintherain

• Website https://www.murderintherain.com/

• Email murderintherain@gmail.com

Sources

Grand jury indicts pair in theft | Police and Courts | Marion County Records

Marion County Records | Police/courts | Police/courts | Man awaiting trial indicted on burglary charge | Disco ex-owner given year in jail | Tips lead to man's arrest | Police: Transient lied about killings | Drifter confesses to Portland murder | Police say Portland transient concocted murder tale | Part 4: Serial killers prey on the 'less dead' | Suspected of convicted serial killers in Washington | Wikipedia - Scott William Cox | Reopening investigation into Tia Hicks' death | Parents hold out hope for closure in 22-year-old murder case | Man Charged in deaths may be serial killer | Police Tracing Trucker's Routes In Probe Of Prostitutes' Slayings | Newberg man suspected of many killings | Oregon Slaying Suspect Probed In Local Cases | Trucker suspect in 20 slayings | Newberg trucker charged in deaths | Small police force caught a big shark | Police track trucker's route | Mom tells of slaying suspect's troubled past | Ohio sheriff doubts link to Portland suspect | Oregon suspect quizzed in killing | Identity of Woman Found in 1990 Leads to Oregon Murder Suspect | Judge rules out confessions | Appeal filed in murder confession case | Truck driver charged with aggravated murder | Serial killers at work? | Botched case shortens trucker's murder sentence | Corvallis Gazette-Times - Trucker slayings | Police rule out truckers in '83 slaying of woman | Identity of woman found slain in 1983 is still a mystery. | History of Newberg Police | HITS Overview | Washington State |Charley Project - Stephanie Douglas | Police Say Serial Murderer At Work In 3 Counties | The Seattle Times | Virginia Rambus, 19: Vanished In Her Own Apartment Complex

The Charley Project - Diane Nguyen Robbins | The Charley Project - Doris Lavonne Mulhern | DNA from partial skull identifies Redmond woman missing for 23 years – KIRO 7 News Seattle | Remains of Redmond teen missing 24 years finally identified | The Charley Project - Deborah Yvonne Wims | The Charley Project - Nguyet Thu Phung | The Charley Project - Cora Christmas McGuirk | Cora Christmas Mcguirk - Washington Missing Person Directory | Detectives Seek Information After Remains of Seattle Woman Missing Since 1990 Found in Snohomish County - SPD Blotter | Remains found in Snohomish County identified as Seattle woman missing since 1990 | HeraldNet.com | Who killed Linda Moore? Tri-City woman’s body found 30+ years after she disappeared | Northwest | yakimaherald.com | Suspects in slayings questioned in ex-Bellbrook woman's death | Krystal R. Barkmann - obituary | Body found in May was Tigard woman | Unsolved homicide - Hazel Gelnett | Man convicted in Portland murders to be released Friday | Truck driver convicted of two murders released from prison early | Busted: He smuggled chaw into jail, in shoe | Media Release | Yamhill County Corrections Community Alerts