Cold Case: Murder, disappearance not forgotten
Published 10:31 pm Saturday, February 14, 2009
INDEX — Molly Purdin and Diane Robbins came over the mountains to meet up with friends.
Instead the pair found trouble.
A couple of weeks after leaving her Tri-Cities home Purdin’s body was discovered near a cabin outside of Index. Someone had raped her, bashed in her skull and left her in the woods.
There was no sign of 13-year-old Robbins. Detectives suspect the worst.
The 1985 homicide and disappearance remain a mystery.
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives have turned to an unconventional investigative tool to solicit new leads for the 24-year-old case. Purdin and Robbins are part of the state’s first deck of cold-case playing cards. The cards have been handed out in the state’s prisons and jails. Inmates are offered a reward for information leading to an arrest in dozens of unsolved cases.
Purdin and Robbins are featured on the queen of diamonds.
After Purdin’s body was found, three months passed before detectives determined her identity. She was the first person in the state to be identified using the state’s new computerized dental identification system.
Robbins was believed to be a runaway until Purdin’s body was discovered.
“Diane is assumed to be a homicide victim,” sheriff’s cold case detective Jim Scharf said.
Detectives traced the pair’s last steps to a parking lot of a Bellevue restaurant, where Purdin’s ex-boyfriend worked. Purdin reportedly asked the man if she and Robbins could stay at his apartment for a few days.
The man told detectives he declined her request.
The investigation stalled but it wasn’t shelved.
Investigators had genetic evidence tested in 1993 and again in 2004. Detectives hoped advancements in technology might lead them to a suspect.
Now, they’re hoping someone will step forward with answers about who crossed paths with Purdin and Robbins.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.
About this series
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives created the state’s first deck of cold-case playing cards. Each Sunday for a year, The Herald is publishing a story about a case featured on one of the cards. To see the 52 cards, go to cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet.
Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or missing persons cases is asked to call 800-222-TIPS (8477). A reward of up to $1,000 is offered.
Tips also can be left on the sheriff’s tip line at 425-388-3845. Callers may remain anonymous, although tips have been more successful when callers speak with detectives, police said.
