Delise Louise Plager, a 22-year-old Caucasian woman, was a young mother of two whose life was marked by hardship and a longing for connection. Known affectionately as "Missy," she had a twin brother from whom she was separated at a young age after being taken from their mother by the state. This separation deeply affected Delise throughout her life. She faced further challenges, including a diagnosis of ADHD and being placed in a school for special children.
A severe car crash in 1977 left her with serious injuries, including a broken hip and jaw, and a fractured skull. Despite these difficulties, she was a loving mother to her two children.
In the early 1980s, Delise moved to Washington state from Florida, where her adoptive family lived. She managed to reconnect with her twin brother in Seattle, which also led to finding her biological father and mother. However, her reunion with her mother was strained. By 1983, Delise's life was becoming increasingly precarious. She struggled with drug addiction and had intermittent custody of her youngest child, a nine-month-old son. Fearing she would lose her children, she became involved in sex work. It was during this vulnerable period that she crossed paths with Gary Ridgway, a truck painter from Auburn. Friends later recounted that she had stayed with Ridgway for a short time before moving in with them.
On October 30, 1983, Delise Plager vanished. She was last seen at a bus stop in a southern suburb of Seattle. Her disappearance was a terrifying mystery until February 14, 1984, when her skeletal remains were discovered east of North Bend, near Interstate 90. For years, her case remained one of the many unsolved tragedies that haunted the Seattle area. The investigation into a string of murders of young women eventually led to a suspect.
In 2001, Gary Leon Ridgway was arrested, and through DNA evidence, he was linked to numerous murders. In 2003, as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, Ridgway confessed to the murder of Delise Plager, along with dozens of other women. He admitted to strangling her, and she was officially recognized as a victim of the notorious Green River Killer. Ridgway was sentenced to multiple life terms without the possibility of parole, closing the long and painful chapter of uncertainty for the families of his many victims, including the loved ones of Delise Plager.
