Police Fear Serial Killer After 6 Women Found Dead

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the term "serial killings" refers to "a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the same actor or actors committed the crimes." Police are generally hesitant to identify potential suspects as a "serial killer" as the term alone incites fear in a community. However, after six women have been found dead around Portland, Oregon, law enforcement agents are investigating a potential connection. Read on to discover more.

Over the past six months, six women have mysteriously died around Portland, Oregon, within a radius of 100 miles. Remains have been found on the sides of roads, in woods, and also in secluded rural areas starting in February and extending until last month, per KGW8.

While people have been speculating about a possible serial killer, The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) responded to social media posts reporting about the women last week, maintaining they have "no reason to believe these 6 cases are connected."

They added that reports "have led to some anxiety and fear in our community, and we want to provide reassurance that the speculation is not supported by the facts available at this point."

Five separate law enforcement agencies are investigating the deaths, with at least three working together to see if any or all are connected. The most recent was Ashley Real, 22, found dead near Eagle Creek on May 7. She was last seen in March near a transit center.  

Joanna Speaks also vanished in late March, with her body found on April 8 in a rural area of Clark County on April 8. According to Clark County Medical Examiner's Office, the death was a homicide via blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

Her sister Robyn Speaks is concerned the deaths are connected. "I don't want to ever scare people but reality is there are women dying at awful numbers," she said. "With each one, we as a family, we've talked about it, shared it, looked at the details. We've talked to the detectives to see if there are any similarities."

"As we do with all investigations of this nature, our detectives are following up on every lead in this case, including several tips that are coming in from the public and comments being made on social media," a spokesperson for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office The New York Post. "We are working with our partner agencies to determine if there are any connections between this case in Clackamas County and any others in the region."

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Other deaths being investigated include Charity Perry, Kristin Smith, Bridget Webster, and an unidentified Native American woman.