Account
Jun 08, 2016
Jan 12, 2024
Gail
Doyle
68
60
62 inches
63 inches
100 lbs
110 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
In the early summer of 2016, a 60-year-old grandmother named Gail Doyle vanished from Olympia, Washington, leaving her loved ones in a state of desperate uncertainty. She was last seen on the evening of June 2, 2016, at the Boulevard Tavern. Reports indicate she was with a longtime friend, James Stidd. The two were seen leaving the tavern together in Stidd's vehicle, a blue 1996 Honda Civic with a distinctive gray hood. This would be the last time anyone reported seeing Gail Doyle. Stidd later claimed to police that he and Doyle had an argument and she asked to be let out of his car on Martin Way, which he stated was his final contact with her. From that point on, her whereabouts became a mystery, and she was never heard from again. The investigation into Gail's disappearance quickly focused on James Stidd. Authorities uncovered troubling evidence at his home in Thurston County. Investigators found Gail Doyle's blood and DNA in Stidd's garage and on a hammer. Further suspicion arose when it was discovered that Stidd had purchased a pressure washer just two days after Doyle was last seen, which appeared to have been used to clean his garage floor. Witnesses also reported seeing Stidd at a local garbage transfer station after Doyle's disappearance was reported by her family. These discoveries led to Stidd's arrest in connection with her disappearance. Despite the absence of Gail Doyle's body, James Stidd was charged with her murder. In 2018, after a five-week trial, a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, four counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, and tampering with physical evidence. The court also noted Stidd's egregious lack of remorse. He was subsequently sentenced to 41 years in prison. Although investigators searched a landfill where they believed her remains might be, Gail Doyle's body has never been found. The case stands as a somber example of a murder conviction secured through compelling circumstantial evidence, though it leaves Gail's family without the final closure of laying her to rest.
Jun 02, 2016
Olympia
Washington
Thurston County
No
24871
Thurston County Sheriff's Office
Olympia
Washington
Thurston County
98502
Ben Elkins
Detective
2000 Lakeridge Drive Southwest, Washington
3607865500
County
Law Enforcement
16-3033
Thurston County Sheriff's Office
Blond/Strawberry
Green
Green
06/16/2026
