In the summer of 1983, a young woman named Keli Kay McGinness, just 18 years old, vanished from the Seattle, Washington area, beginning a long and painful mystery for those who knew her. She was last seen on the evening of June 28, 1983, near the Three Bears Motel in Des Moines, a location situated along the busy Pacific Highway. Keli, who sometimes spelled her first name as Kelly, had a history of running away from home after a traumatic childhood and had become involved in sex work.
Despite the difficult circumstances of her life, she was a devoted mother to her young daughter, who was temporarily in foster care. Keli had plans to reunite with her child, a hope that was tragically cut short. She left some personal belongings in her motel room, indicating she may have intended to return, but she was never heard from again.
The initial investigation into Keli's disappearance was complicated by her transient lifestyle. Two days after she was last seen, her pimp reported her missing. At first, authorities considered the possibility that she might have left on her own. However, as more women began to disappear from the same area, a more sinister pattern emerged. Investigators soon suspected that Keli could be a victim of the then-unidentified serial killer who was terrorizing the region, a figure who would later be known as the Green River Killer. Her case was officially added to the list of suspected victims in July 1983, as law enforcement grappled with a growing number of missing and murdered women, many of whom, like Keli, were in vulnerable situations.
Years later, the investigation into the Green River killings would lead to the arrest of Gary Ridgway. In a plea bargain to avoid the death penalty, Ridgway confessed to numerous murders, including that of Keli McGinness. He claimed to have killed her in June 1983 and disposed of her body near Lake Fenwick. Despite his confession, Keli's remains have never been found. At one point, while leading investigators to presumed burial sites, Ridgway misidentified the remains of another victim as Keli's, citing confusion over their similar physiques. Due to the lack of physical evidence to corroborate his statement about Keli, Ridgway was never formally charged in connection with her disappearance. The overview of this case is a deeply tragic story of a young life lost amidst a series of horrific crimes. Although a notorious serial killer admitted responsibility, the absence of Keli's remains means her case officially remains an unresolved disappearance, leaving a painful void of closure for her family.Last Seen: Jun 28, 1983
