What We Know About Link Between Four Dead Portland Women

The deaths of four young women in Oregon have been linked to a "person of interest," authorities have confirmed, while playing down suggestions a serial killer was responsible.

Nine different law enforcement agencies issued a joint statement on Monday about the cases, which have spanned areas across Northwest Oregon, with human remains being found in remote areas outside Portland over several months earlier this year. The statement, issued by the Multnomah County District Attorney's office, said authorities haven't determined a cause of death in any of the cases, and that investigators "have identified at least one person of interest that is linked to all four of the decedents."

There had been fears that a serial killer was operating in the area, with residents' alarm reported by The New York Times, but the authorities said: "Based on the available information to investigators, there is not believed to be any active danger to the community at this time."

The women whose deaths are being linked had been reported missing before their bodies were found.

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), some 600,000 people go missing in the U.S. every year and an estimated 4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered annually. Analysis of missing adults over the age of 21 by number-crunching website Statista revealed that 62,552 women went missing in 2021.

The bodies of the four Oregon women, who were aged between 22 and 31, were recovered in wooded areas or waterways in the state between February and May. The victims were Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster and Ashley Real.

Charity Perry and Bridget Webster shared similar "personal histories" and were known to frequent the same areas in Portland, an unidentified source close to the investigation told local newspaper The Oregonian. Perry was known to frequent an area in downtown Portland known for open-air fentanyl dealing, the Daily Mail newspaper reported in June.

It had previously been thought that the deaths of two other women were also connected to the case, after the body of 32-year-old Joanna Speaks was found in a barn just across the state line in Ridgefield, Washington, on April 8. She died from blunt force head trauma and neck injuries.

An as-yet unidentified woman was also found on April 24 near Interstate 205 in Portland; investigators believe she was a Native American or a Native Alaskan woman aged between 25 to 40, although other details about that case are scarce. Neither of those two women were referenced in Monday's statement.

The authorities said they were drawing a link between the following four cases:

• Kristin Smith, 22, whose body was found on February 19 in a wooded area southeast of downtown Portland. She had been reported missing on Dec. 22.

• Charity Perry, 24, whose body was found in a culvert near Ainsworth State Park on April 24. She had been missing for more than a month. Officers from Mulnomah County Sheriff's Office described the case as a "suspicious death."

• Bridget Webster, 31, whose body was found near a creek in Polk County, about 70 miles southwest of Portland, on April 30. The Polk County Sheriff's Office said at the time that her death was considered "suspicious."

• Ashley Real, 22, whose body was found on May 7 in a wooded area about 20 miles southeast of Portland. She had been reported missing to the Portland Police Bureau on April 4.

Monday's joint statement stressed that: "The cause and manner of death in each case remains undetermined by the Oregon State Medical Examiner.

"Investigators and prosecutors from multiple law enforcement agencies have been working collaboratively on numerous death investigations in Northwest Oregon, and they have determined that there are links between four cases: Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster, and Ashley Real.

"These Investigators and prosecutors, from nine different law enforcement agencies, have been in regular communication and have been working collaboratively on these investigations for several months[...]

"No charges have been filed against anyone in connection with any of these four death investigations. Investigators have interviewed multiple people in connection with these cases and have identified at least one person of interest that is linked to all four of the decedents. Based on the available information to investigators, there is not believed to be any active danger to the community at this time.

"No additional information, including the nature of the information that links these four cases together is being released at this time, as these are ongoing death investigations."

The families of the women involved have not yet publicly commented.

Newsweek reached out to the Multnomah County District Attorney's office by email on Tuesday for further information and comment.

The agencies behind the joint statement included the Gresham Police Department, Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Clackamas County District Attorney's Office, Polk County Sheriff's Office, Polk County District Attorney's Office and the Oregon State Police.

The Portland deaths come amid heightened fears of serial killers living undetected among unsuspecting neighbours, following the recent arrest of 59-year-old architect Rex Heuermann. He faces a string of homicide charges after police alleged he was the prime suspect for a string of murders that terrorized the Gilgo Beach area of New York.