Roberta Joseph “Bobby Jo” Hayes (June 9, 1966 – February 7, 1987) was a young woman who was murdered by Gary Ridgway in Seattle or Enumclaw, Washington on February 7, 1987. She was Ridgway’s forty-seventh known murder victim.
Background
Bobby Jo was born on June 9, 1966 in Seattle, Washington. She ran away from home when she was twelve. During her teenage years, Bobby Jo featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary “Streetwise”, released in 1984, which documented the lives of kids living on Seattle’s streets. She was working as a waitress at the time of her murder.
Disappearance
Bobby Jo was last documented leaving a Portland, Oregon jail on February 7, 1987. She is believed to have made her way back to Seattle, but it’s unknown what happened to her after that.
Discovery
Bobby Jo’s remains were discovered along Highway 410, ten miles east of Enumclaw, Washington, on September 11, 1991. Her cause of death couldn’t be determined, but her case was deemed a homicide.
Aftermath
Bobby Jo’s stepmother reported her missing in 1988, after not hearing from her. Details surrounding police’s investigation into Bobby Jo’s disappearance are unknown.
When Bobby Jo’s remains were recovered, she wasn’t identified immediately, but police began suspecting the remains may have been a victim of the Green River Killer, due to the proximity of the remains to other victim’s remains. Despite this, police discounted the theory after they couldn’t find a match between the remains and other missing victim of the killer.
Police correctly estimated the remains as being between seventeen and twenty-four year old, but incorrectly determined the remains belonged to a black woman. Due to this and numerous other reasons, Bobby Jo remained unidentified.
Identification
During King County police detective Tom Jensen’s review of the area’s unsolved missing persons cases, he came across Bobby Jo’s missing persons report. Her file was supposed to be added to the National Crime Information Center, but no results appeared when Jensen searched.
He added Bobby Jo’s file to the database, and the computer immediately flagged a match between Bobby Jo and her unidentified remains. A comparison of dental records soon confirmed the match. Despite the identification, police held their belief Bobby Jo wasn’t a Green River victim.
Confession of killer
Bobby Jo’s murder remained unsolved until 2001, when Gary Ridgway, a man who was identified as the Green River Killer, confessed to her murder, despite police’s belief. He would be convicted of Bobby Jo’s murder, along with the murders of forty-eight other women.
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