The Case of Lynda Ann Healy

Lynda Ann Healy, 21, disappeared from her basement bedroom in Seattle on 1 February 1974. Ted Bundy later confessed to abducting and murdering her, and her remains were discovered on Taylor Mountain more than a year later alongside those of three other victims.

Lynda Ann Healy was a senior at the University of Washington, where she was studying psychology. She lived in a shared house in Seattle's University District with several other young women. Lynda worked part-time for Western Ski Promotions, broadcasting ski-condition reports to radio stations throughout Washington and Oregon. She was also musically talented and had aspirations of working with children with disabilities. On the night of 31 January 1974, Lynda returned to the house and went to her basement bedroom. She was last seen by a housemate around midnight. In the early hours of 1 February, Bundy entered the residence and abducted her while the other occupants slept.

Lynda's housemates discovered that she was missing the following morning. Her bed had been made, but investigators found blood on the pillow and bedding. Her nightclothes were also found inside the house, while clothing she had been wearing and her backpack were missing. The circumstances indicated that Lynda had been abducted from the residence during the night. Her remains were eventually recovered on Taylor Mountain, east of Issaquah, Washington, in March 1975.

Seattle police immediately investigated Lynda's disappearance as a possible abduction. The case became increasingly significant as other young women began disappearing from the Pacific Northwest during 1974. Bundy was eventually identified as the perpetrator. Before his execution in 1989, he confessed to murdering Lynda and described disposing of her remains in the Taylor Mountain area. Her remains were among four sets discovered there in March 1975. The investigation ultimately established Lynda as Bundy's first known murder victim, although Bundy was never separately tried or convicted for her killing.

Ted Bundy was never convicted in court for Lynda Ann Healy's murder, but he confessed to killing her before his execution in 1989. Lynda's remains were identified following their discovery on Taylor Mountain in 1975, bringing an end to the uncertainty surrounding her disappearance.

Lynda's disappearance became the first in a series of missing young women that terrified the Pacific Northwest in 1974. Her case was particularly significant because it helped investigators recognise connections between seemingly unrelated disappearances.