Questions/Theories
Although Law Enforcement suspect that Jamie Grisim was the first victim of reported serial killer, Warren Forrest, there arises some questions along those lines. Because Jamie was not found, there is no conclusive evidence of this. True, her ID and some possessions were, five months after her disappearance, found near the trail that led to the graves of the unidentified female and Carol Valenzuela. According to the medical examiner, they were placed there approximately one and one half years after Jamie disappeared in December, 1971, over a year since her possessions were found. These two were found to have died approximately within 2 months of each other. Their graves were about 100’ apart.
Carol Valenzuela was found to be a victim of serial killer Ted Bundy. The UID, with long dark brown hair, also fits the profile of Bundy’s victims.
Questions:
Was it just coincidence Grisim’s items were this close?
Are these two females connected to Forrest?
Are these two victims actually Bundy’s victims and not Forrest’s?
Derry, Blake, Countryman, and Wightman were known hitchhikers,
according to associates and witnesses. These four young women lived within
15 miles of Jamie. The pickup points were more or less straight north and
south.
Derry ----Hwy 14 East from Vancouver (toward Camas) along Columbia River.
Blake ----29th & K, just off (now) I-205
Countryman----State Hwy 502, east of Ridgefield ( highway west from suspect’s
home in Battleground)
Wightman----Downtown Portland (off I-5)
Home addresses of victims, in relation to Grisim home:
Derry – 3.7 miles,
Blake – 4.3 miles
Countryman 15.5 miles
Wightman 15.5 miles
The victims’ “pick up points” were all within this 15 mile radius. All were/had been hitchhiking at the time of disappearance. There was no evidence that Jamie was/had been a hitchhiker at the time of her disappearance. It was about a 30 minute walk from Ft. Vancouver High School to her home. It was very cold that day.
Questions:
Did Jamie accept a ride that afternoon from someone, because of the cold?
Was that someone Warren Forrest?
Was that someone, somebody else?
If she accepted a ride, did she know the person?
Was it someone from her school?
Was the possibility that it could have been someone from school ever checked?
Was it a stranger?
Did she willingly go with this person?
Was she forced to go?
Could she have made the mistake of hitching a ride that cold day?
In 1988, a detective said they would probably never find Jamie’s body because a road had been built in the area where they thought she was. This was 17 yrs after her disappearance. Her possessions were found at a bridge crossing a very short distance from the trail where the UID and Valenzuela was found. The report from the Sheriff’s office states that a team of search dogs found no trace of Jamie in the area where her possessions were found, nor in the area where the UID and Valenzuela were found.
When a road is built, even a two lane, and a bridge replaced, the construction crew clears more than just the 50’ needed for a road bed. It would extend at least 50’ on each side, making an area of at lease 150’ wide, wider perhaps in the area of a bridge replacement. This could be approximately 75’ plus (from road center) on each side. During construction, remains could have been spotted, in particular, since the victims were covered with debris or in shallow graves. Whether the widening was done by a dozer, (the blade would have turned up the soil in front of it, exposing remains if found) or with a “belly dump” (heavy equipment with a blade that cuts the soil, loading it into the “trailer” part), when emptied at a holding site, again, some remains would have been spotted by those on the ground.
Questions:
Even during the 17 year period, if Jamie was in that area of construction,
wouldn’t some sign of remains been found?
If the search dogs did not alert on any other remains, could it be because
Jamie was not in those areas?
One victim stated Forrest mentioned taking her to Texas or “selling”
her to some other men. If he did take Jamie, could this have been what happened
to her?
Could the person that took Jamie have tossed her possessions in that location
as a decoy?
Was the person responsible for her disappearance local, or just “passing
through”?
Could she have been “just a target of opportunity”?
Could she still be in the area, just undiscovered?
Could she be anywhere in the US?
Possible Theory:
Jamie is not connected to Warren Forrest’s victims. She was last seen
the morning of December 7, 1971, before school, so approximately, 8:00 AM.
She walked to school, approximately 2 miles away. She planned to be home at
1:00 pm. Even as a foster kid, her life was reasonably stable, she was a good
student, talented in the arts, was close to her sister, her only known relative,
liked her foster mother, worked and maintained a savings account. It was verified
by police she attended school that morning. No indications prior that she
was a potential runaway. She was last seen one month, 10 days prior to being
officially declared missing.
She did not fit the profiles of Forrest’s victims, hitchhikers. She did fit in physical statistics of his victims; between the ages of 15 and 20 years, 5’1” to 5’7” tall, weighing 115-125 pounds. She also did not fit Bundy’s victim’s profile, in that she had red hair, instead of the dark hair his victims shared.
She was taken somewhere along the route home. She was possibly taken by someone passing through or from out of the area. She may have been taken from the area. In that case, she could be found anywhere in the United States. It is only supposition that she remained somewhere in the county.
Web Page 1/11/2005