Remains found in Green River killer case

The skull of a victim of the Green River killer was found by a hiker in a wooded area off highway 18 near Issaquah Sunday afternoon.

It appears the skull had been recently moved to the area, according to the King County sheriff's office.

Detectives have believed that whoever found the skull originally could lead authorities to other evidence of crimes by the Green River killer, Gary Ridgway, who left victims in close proximity to one another.

The person who found the skull Sunday, a 45-year-old man from Startup, discovered it off an old logging road near Tiger Mountain. No other bones were found.

Investigators with the King County Medical Examiner's office used dental records to positively identify the skull as that of Tracy Winston.

Those with information are asked to call 206-296-3311 or Crimestoppers, 206-343-2020

Tracy Winston was 19-years-old when she disappeared Sept. 12, 1983. Detectives believe they found some of her remains at the base of a tree in Kent's Cottonwood Park in March 1986. The park is near the Green River about a quarter mile from the Peck bridge where the body of Ridgway victim Wendy Coffield was found in July 1982.

In June 2003, Ridgway admitted he killed the woman found at Cottonwood Park. He was charged and convicted of Winston's murder in 2003. However, according to sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart, Ridgway was unable or unwilling to account for parts of Winston skeleton that were not found.

Green River Detective Tom Jensen and Tony McNabb notified Winston's mother of the find this morning.