More than 30 years ago, a group of young reporters waited in the cold along the highways ringing New Bedford, Massachusetts as body after body was discovered. Eleven women had gone missing in 1988 and, slowly, they were being found. Some by individuals stopping along the highway, others by cleanup crews, still others by search dogs.
The anguish of the families left behind as the searches, then the identifications, then the investigation dragged on was heartbreaking. The private frustration of the investigators could be seen just below the surface. It was a case that rocked the community. Who killed the women remains unknown.
Some of the reporters from that time are now retired, others died, still others found different jobs. I moved into academia to teach journalism and wrote a true crime book, Shallow Graves: The Hunt for the New Bedford Highway Serial Killer and giving talks on the case. One of the last reporters still actively working in journalism, Bob Ward, still does segments about the case as part of his series, New England's Unsolved, on Boston 25. His most recent piece notes that tips are still coming in to police and police are still working the case. You can watch his segment here: New England's Unsolved
One day we hope we can list this cases as one of New England's Solved.
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