Hazel Ann Gelnett, a 67-year-old Caucasian female, was found dead on May 8, 1988, in a wooded area just off U.S. Highway 2, east of Gold Bar, Washington. A man who was out gathering ferns made the grim discovery of her body approximately 100 feet from the road. The circumstances of her death were violent; she had been gagged, and her hands were bound behind her back.
The cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Hazel had fallen on hard times and was living a transient lifestyle. She was known to hitchhike along the I-5 corridor, often using the aliases "Mary" or "Jennifer James." Her life had taken a difficult turn years earlier after she was reportedly swindled out of her savings. This event seemed to be a catalyst for her drifting lifestyle, which ultimately led her to Washington state, where she had no known family or connections. It took investigators over a year to identify her body, which was eventually done through fingerprint records on file in Alaska. Her family in Pennsylvania was unaware of her fate until even later.
Despite the efforts of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, no arrests have ever been made in connection with Hazel Gelnett's murder, and the case remains unsolved. Investigators have theorized that due to the proximity of where her body was dumped to the highway, her killer may have been a long-haul trucker. In an effort to generate new leads, her case has been featured in the state's cold-case playing cards distributed in jails and prisons. Hazel Gelnett's death is one of several unsolved homicides that occurred in the area during that time, leaving a lingering sense of mystery and a family still searching for answers.
