Can you help solve the New Bedford Highway Killings? Dawn Mendes, a 25-year-old multiracial female, was last seen on September 4, 1988, after leaving her apartment in the South End of New Bedford. She was reportedly on her way to a family christening but never made it to the celebration. A week later, on September 10, she was officially reported as a missing person to the local police. For months, her whereabouts remained a mystery, leaving her family to wonder what had become of her.
The answer to her disappearance came on November 29,
1988, when her skeletal remains were discovered. A K-9 unit from the Connecticut State Police found her body along the westbound ramp of Interstate 195 leading to the Reed Road exit in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Her death was ruled a homicide. Investigators soon realized that Dawn's case was not an isolated incident. She was the fourth of what would become a string of women found murdered in the greater New Bedford area between 1988 and 1989.
The discovery of Dawn Mendes's remains, along with several other women in similar locations along highways, sparked fear in the community and led investigators to believe a serial killer was responsible for the "New Bedford Highway Murders." Many of the victims, including Dawn, had histories of substance abuse and were involved in prostitution. Despite extensive investigations and public attention on the series of slayings, no one has ever been charged or convicted for the murder of Dawn Mendes. Her death is part of a collection of unsolved homicides attributed to the elusive "New Bedford Highway Killer." Over the years, several men have been considered persons of interest in the string of murders, including Kenneth C. Ponte and Daniel Tavares Jr., but a definitive link to Dawn's death has not been established, and her case officially remains cold.
