INFAMOUS: Highway 20
Over several decades, women and girls have encountered a monster whose full reign of terror might not even be fully known. He hunted his own backyard, the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, and there could be victims out there that have yet to be discovered.
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From top left to right: Karen Lee, Rodney Grissom, Marlene Gabrielsen, Elizabeth Mussler. From bottom left to right: Kaye Turner, Rachanda Pickle, Melissa Sanders, Sheila Swanson.
Timeline:
The remains of the Swamp Mountain Doe are found.
Karen Lee and Rodney Grissom are reported missing.
Marlene Gabrielsen is attacked and sexually assaulted by John Ackroyd off of Highway 20.
Elizabeth Mussler disappears from Lebanon, OR.
Elizabeth Mussler’s remains are discovered in the Thistle Creek area of Green Peter Reservoir.
Kaye Turner disappears from Camp Sherman, OR.
Rachanda Pickle goes missing from Santiam Junction, OR.
Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson are last seen alive on a camping trip in Newport, OR.
Roger Dale Beck is arrested for the murder of Kaye Turner.
John Ackroyd is arrested for the murder of Kaye Turner.
The remains of Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson are found.
John Ackroyd is found guilty for the murder of Kaye Turner and is sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years.
Roger Dale Beck is found guilty for the murder of Kaye Turner and is sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years.
John Ackroyd is indicted for the murder of Rachanda Pickle, and he pleads no contest.
Camp Sherman, OR
Kaye Turner goes missing from a run.
Santiam Junction, OR
Rachanda Pickle goes missing.
Newport, OR
Melissa and Sheila went go missing from their campsite.
Lebanon, OR
Karen Lee, Rodney Grissom, and Elizabeth Mussler all disappear from here.
Green Peter Reservoir
Elizabeth Mussler's body is found.
Please contact the authorities if you have any information:
If you have any information about John Ackroyd, or any of the cases discussed in this episode, please contact the Linn County Sheriff’s office tip line at 866-557-9988.
We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.
If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- Lost Women of Highway 20 (Limited Series). Aired 2023. Accessed October 21 and 22, 2024 via Max. https://play.max.com/show/900d3f40-99ff-4275-b730-e4d7a09b4d0f
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Ghosts of Highway 20 (Longform article), by Noelle Crombie. Published Date not listed. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/marlene/
https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/stories-annotated.pdf
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Ghosts of Highway 20, Kaye Turner, by Noelle Crombie. Published date not listed. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/kaye/
https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/stories-annotated.pdf
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Ghosts of Highway 20, Rachanda Pickle, by Noelle Crombie. Published Date not listed. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/rachanda/
https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/stories-annotated.pdf
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Ghosts of Highway 20, Melissa Sanders, Sheila Swanson, by Noelle Crombie. Published date not listed. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/melissasheila/
https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/stories-annotated.pdf
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Ghosts of Highway 20, John Ackroyd, by Noelle Crombie. Published date unlisted. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/ackroyd/
https://projects.oregonlive.com/ghostsofhighway20/stories-annotated.pdf
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Ghosts of Highway 20 – Complete Series. Published December 28, 2018. Accessed October 22, 2024 via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilj8fZroRw0
- Statesman Journal (Salem, OR): Missing jogger’s jawbone identified, by Associated Press. Published August 15, 1979. Accessed October 23, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/198912180
- Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, OR): Death probe, by Associated Press. Published August 21, 1979. Accessed October 23, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/441957062
- Oregon Journal (Portland, OR): Skull identified as Eugene jogger, by UPI. Published October 10, 1980. Accessed October 29, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1094144297
- Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, OR): Climber’s body found; girl lost, by Marilyn Montgomery. Published July 12, 1990. Accessed October 29, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/442468976
- Corvallis Gazette-Times (Corvallis, OR): Man arrested in Corvallis charged in woman’s slaying, by Associated Press. Published June 13, 1992. Accessed October 29, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/385764141
- The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR): Two Men indicted in ’78 killing of Eugene woman, by Pat Kight and Robert E. Shotwell. Published June 14, 1992. Accessed October 30, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1091941379
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Interest in coast deaths grow, by Carmel Finley and Robert E. Shotwell. Published October 14, 1992. Accessed October 30, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1092702351
- Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, OR): Man convicted in 1978 murder, by Associated Press and Democrat-Herald. Published October 6, 1993. Accessed October 30, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/442502678
- Statesman Journal (Salem, OR): Convictions solve 1978 murder, by Associated Press. Published November 24, 1993. Accessed October 30, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/201774881
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Man gets life term for rape and murder of jogger in 1978. Published December 7, 1993. Accessed October 30, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1091873525
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Killer of jogger gets life term, from correspondent and wire reports. Published January 5, 1994. Accessed October 30, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1092996792
- Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, OR): Six years later, search for daughter continues, by Marilyn Montgomery. Published March 16, 1996. Accessed October 31, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/442670561
- Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, OR): Skull continues to be puzzle, by Marilyn Montgomery. Published March 30, 1996. Accessed October 31, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/442671708
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR): Details of plea deal in 1990 cold case killing revealed, by Noelle Crombie. Published April 7, 2017. Accessed October 31, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1082806454
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