Officials ask for public’s help solving cold case from 1970s
By Bridget Chavez
Click here for updates on this story
VANCOUVER, Washington (KPTV) — The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in solving a cold case from the 1970s.
Sandra Morden’s remains were found in Amboy, Wash., near Fly Creek back in 1980 but it wasn’t until 2019 that deputies were able to identify her and start to piece together her story. Now, investigators are asking that anyone with information come forward in hopes of finding her killer.
“This is the second release we’ve done on this and a couple years have gone by since we did the first release and we’re just looking for additional investigative leads to help us with any directions we can go any people we can talk to that may have additional information on where they may have seen her, areas that she may have frequented often, friends houses,” Sgt. Jason Granneman, with the Clark Co. Sheriff’s Office, said.
Granneman said they know Sandra was born on April 29, 1962. Her parents were Andrew and Kathryn Morden. She moved to the Portland area with her parents in the late 1960s and the couple divorced in 1971.
Sandra’s father was awarded custody and at the time of his daughter’s disappearance is believed to have been living in a mobile home north of Hazel Dell in Vancouver. Sandra attended Gaiser Middle School and Wilson High School. She was often seen walking with her dog, Rusty.
“She usually had that dog with her so we’re hoping somebody may remember that, it’s kind of a distinctive feature,” Granneman said.
Sandra went through multiple foster care homes because her father’s job often kept him away from home. Investigators said Sandra was 16 years old when she disappeared. She was tall with long, dark hair.
“When her father returned to the, her residence, which was a, like a mobile home, the dog was still inside the mobile home and Sandra was gone,” Granneman said.
He also said they still don’t know if she was taken from her home and they only have a general time frame of her disappearance.
“There’s always a victim involved in these cold cases especially when somebody has died, a family member whose lost somebody and we’re victim-driven at the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and when it comes to these types of investigations that’s what we’re doing it for we’re trying to get closure for the families and we’re also trying to solve the crime,” he said.
If you have any information, please call the cold case tip line at 564-397-2036 or email coldcase@clark.wa.gov.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
