Debora May ’Debbie’ Abernathy was 26 when she went missing from Seattle on September 5, 1983. A Dallas native who had recently moved to Seattle with her boyfriend and young son, she had been doing sex work in the weeks before she disappeared and was last seen near Rainier Avenue, an area noted at the time for its danger to women in vulnerable situations.

Her remains were found March 31, 1984, in a wooded area east of Enumclaw near Highway 410. Because of the condition of the remains, the exact cause of death could not be determined, but the death was classified as a homicide. Dental records later identified her in May 1984. Debbie Abernathy was listed among suspected victims of the Green River killings.

Her case underscores the risks faced by marginalized women and the long, painful process families endure when a loved one vanishes and is later found. Did anyone who knew Debbie in Seattle or along Rainier Avenue in 1983 ever hear anything that might still help clarify her last movements?