A visitor to Portsmouth goes missing, is later found murdered In the late summer of 1977, a promising young Caucasian woman named Jaclynne Snyder, aged 22, embarked on a trip that tragically became her last. A recent honors graduate from the University of Washington with a degree in Russian, Jaclynne was traveling from her home in Spokane, Washington, with plans to interview for a position at the United Nations in New York. Her journey brought her to the historic coastal city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for a visit.
On Sunday, September 4, 1977, she was last seen in the late afternoon, leaving the Strawbery Banke area of Portsmouth. She was dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt with dark blue checks, dark blue jeans, and brown shoes, carrying a small dark blue day pack.
Ten days later, on the morning of September 14, 1977, a grim discovery was made in a wooded area off Route 155 in the nearby town of Lee. It was the body of Jaclynne Snyder. Due to the significant decomposition of her remains, an autopsy was unable to determine the precise cause and manner of her death. However, investigators have consistently treated her case as a homicide. The medical examiner was able to rule out gunshots and stab wounds, but could not exclude other causes, such as a neck injury. There were no signs of a struggle or sexual assault.
The investigation into Jaclynne's death has spanned decades, yet it remains unsolved. In the initial stages of the investigation, authorities followed a lead that suggested she may have been at a Ramada Inn in the neighboring city of Dover on September 5th, the day after she was last seen. However, this lead did not publicly develop further. Despite numerous interviews and appeals to the public for information over the years, no suspects have ever been officially named or arrested in connection with her murder. The case of Jaclynne Snyder continues to be an active cold case, a somber reminder of a life cut short and a mystery that has endured for over four decades.
