The Case of Lori Anne Razpotnik

Lori Anne Razpotnik was 15 when she ran away from her family home in Lewis County, Washington, in 1982 and was never seen again. Her remains were discovered in Auburn in 1985 and became known as "Bones 17." In December 2023, advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy identified her as a victim of Gary Ridgway, finally restoring her identity more than four decades after her disappearance.

Lori Anne Razpotnik was 15 years old when she disappeared from her family's home in Lewis County, Washington, in 1982. Her family never saw her again after she ran away from home. At the time, there was no known connection between her disappearance and the growing series of murders being investigated in the Seattle area. Gary Ridgway later admitted killing Lori and told investigators that he had murdered her in 1983, placing her death after the initial 1982 wave of Green River killings. For decades, however, investigators did not know her name.

On December 30, 1985, City of Auburn employees investigating a vehicle that had gone over an embankment near Mount View Drive Southwest discovered human remains. The Green River Task Force was called to the location. A subsequent search uncovered a second set of remains nearby. The two unidentified victims were designated Bones 16 and Bones 17. Lori's remains became known as Bones 17. In 2002, Ridgway led investigators to the same area and admitted that he had placed victims there. He subsequently pleaded guilty to their murders in 2003.

Bones 17 remained unidentified for almost four decades. Investigators had attempted to determine the victim's identity using the forensic methods available at the time, but no match could be established. Advances in DNA technology eventually reopened the possibility of identification. Investigators obtained a DNA sample from Lori's mother, Donna Hurley. Parabon NanoLabs used forensic genetic genealogy to develop a profile from the remains and identify a possible family connection. The University of North Texas subsequently performed DNA comparison testing that confirmed the remains belonged to Lori Anne Razpotnik. The identification was publicly announced in December 2023, approximately 38 years after her remains were discovered. The identification was particularly significant because Lori was one of the last previously unidentified victims connected to Ridgway.

Lori's identity was confirmed in December 2023. Gary Ridgway had already admitted murdering her and had pleaded guilty to her murder in 2003. Her identification therefore did not lead to a new prosecution, but it finally restored her name to a case in which she had been known only as Bones 17 for decades. The identification also provided long-awaited confirmation to Lori's family that she had been one of Ridgway's victims.

Lori's case demonstrates how advances in forensic genetic genealogy can resolve unidentified homicide victims decades after their remains were recovered. Her identification in 2023 was widely reported because she had remained unidentified since 1985 and was only 15 years old when she disappeared.