The Case of Terry Rene Milligan

Terry Rene Milligan was 16 when she disappeared from the SeaTac area on August 29, 1982. She was last seen near Pacific Highway South during the first weeks of the Green River Killer investigation. Her remains were not discovered until April 1984, when they were found in a wooded area near Star Lake Road. Gary Ridgway later admitted murdering her.

Terry Milligan was 16 years old and was living in the Seattle-Tacoma area when she disappeared in August 1982. She was last seen on August 29, 1982, near the intersection of South 144th Street and Pacific Highway South, an area where Ridgway repeatedly encountered women and girls during his killing spree. Her disappearance occurred only two weeks after the bodies of Marcia Chapman, Cynthia Hinds and Opal Mills were discovered together in the Green River. By then, investigators were actively searching for the person responsible for the growing number of disappearances and murders.

Terry's remains were discovered on April 1, 1984, in a wooded area near Star Lake Road in southern King County. Her remains were found at the Star Lake site, an area where investigators would eventually recover the remains of several Green River victims. The location was significant because Ridgway had used secluded wooded areas around southern King County to conceal victims rather than leaving all of them in or immediately beside the Green River.

Terry's disappearance became part of the growing Green River investigation, which had already expanded substantially by the time her remains were found. Investigators had established a dedicated task force and were examining the disappearances of numerous young women and girls who had been seen around Pacific Highway South. Terry's remains were recovered almost 20 months after her disappearance. The discovery added another victim to the expanding list of women whose remains were being recovered from remote locations around King County. Ridgway became a suspect during the original investigation but remained free for many years because investigators lacked sufficient evidence to prosecute him. Advances in DNA technology eventually provided the breakthrough. Ridgway was arrested in November 2001 after forensic evidence linked him to several Green River victims. He later admitted killing Terry Milligan.

Gary Ridgway pleaded guilty in 2003 to Terry Milligan's murder as part of his plea agreement covering 48 aggravated first-degree murders. He received 48 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. Ridgway later pleaded guilty to the murder of Rebecca Marrero, bringing his known conviction total to 49.

Terry's case illustrates the difficulty investigators faced during the early Green River investigation. She disappeared during the initial 1982 wave of killings, but her remains were not recovered until 1984. Her recovery at the Star Lake site also helped establish that Ridgway was using multiple secluded locations across southern King County to dispose of his victims.