Remains of Green River victim identified

KNKX Public Radio | By The Associated Press

Published June 18, 2012 at 1:39 PM PDT

The King County Sheriff's Office says it has positively identified the remains of a woman killed by Green River Killer Gary Ridgway.

Authorities say the remains found in Auburn, Wash., in 1985 belong to Sandra Denise Major.

The victim's family in Rochester, N.Y., contacted police after watching a television show about Ridgway, and the King County Medical Examiner's Office found the DNA of the remains matched the family's DNA.

The 20-year-old was reported missing on Dec. 24, 1982, and was last seen getting into a pickup in North Seattle.

Ridgway has admitted to killing Major and 48 others. He is serving a life sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Several of his victims were dumped in or posed along the Green River.

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