In the winter of 1982, a 15-year-old White female named Colleen Renee Brockman vanished from Seattle, Washington. The last time her family saw her was on December 23, 1982. She was officially reported as missing around Christmas Eve of that year. Described as a trusting individual, Colleen had been known to spend time on the streets. Prior to her disappearance, she had taken some belongings from her family's home, prompting her father to report them stolen in the hopes that a warrant might help
in locating her.
For nearly a year and a half, Colleen's whereabouts remained a mystery. Then, on May 26, 1984, her remains were discovered in Pierce County, not far from Sumner. The identification was made possible by the braces still on her teeth. The discovery of her body was part of a horrifying pattern of young women and girls disappearing from the Seattle-Tacoma area during the early 1980s. These disappearances and the subsequent findings of remains in and around the Green River sent a wave of fear through the community.
The investigation into these murders, which became known as the Green River case, spanned decades. A major breakthrough came with advancements in DNA technology. In 2001, a truck painter from Auburn named Gary Leon Ridgway was arrested. His DNA had been linked to several of the victims. In a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, Ridgway confessed to a staggering number of murders, including that of Colleen Brockman. He admitted to killing her around December 24, 1982. In his chilling confession, he recounted how he had killed her in the back of his truck. Ridgway was convicted of 48 murders initially and later pleaded guilty to a 49th, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in American history.
