Gail Lynn Mathews (February 5, 1959 – April 10, 1983), known as Jane Doe B-2 or Bones 2 while unidentified, was a young woman who was murdered by Gary Ridgway in SeaTac or Auburn, Washington, on April 10, 1983. She was Ridgway’s twenty-first murder victim. She was identified in February 1985.
Background
Gail was born on February 5, 1959 in Seattle, Washington. Details about Gail’s childhood are unknown. She married and got divorced shortly before her murder.
Disappearance
Gail was last seen in SeaTac, Washington, on April 10, 1983. She was along Pacific Highway South, climbing into a truck. It’s unknown what happened to her afterward.
Discovery
Gail’s remains were discovered in Auburn, Washington, near Star Lake Road, on September 19, 1983. Her cause of death couldn’t be determined, though her case was deemed a homicide.
Aftermath
Gail’s family reported her missing in April 1984, a year after she was last seen. When her remains were discovered, she was linked to the Green River killings, though she wasn’t identified.
Identification
In presumably 1985, one of Gail’s cousins was reading a newspaper article about the Green River Killer. The newspaper provided detailed descriptions of the killer’s unidentified victims, including Gail.
The cousin realized that one of the victims had previously fractured her pelvis and dislocated her shoulder, which matched injuries Gail sustained from a boating accident in 1980. Once the cousin submitted a tip, Gail was identified after a medical record from the accident was compared to the remains in February 1985.
The Green River Killer was identified as Gary Ridgway in 2001. He confessed to most murders attributed to him, including Gail’s. He was convicted of her murder, along with the murders of forty-eight other women.
Credit by: Fandom