Carol Christensen, 21 -- May 2, 1983, after lunch Carol Ann Christensen walked out of the Barn Door Tavern on Pacific Avenue South. That was the last time she was seen alive.

She planned to return later for her evening shift as a waitress. It was her 2nd day on the job.

A young mother separated from her husband, she was determined to make it.

Her remains were found 6 days later, Mother's Day, May 8, 1983, by a family hunting for mushrooms in a wooded section of Maple Valley, just off SE 244th Street and Hwy. 169.

There was no sexual intercourse.

She had been strangled.

It appeared her body had been dunked in water and reclothed backwards, she had one shoe on the wrong foot, the other shoe was not found.

She had a bag placed over the head.

Two cleaned fish were laid across her body. She had raw sausage around her, a wine bottle in her hand, and two cleaned fish across her chest, believed by some to symbolize the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ.

And there was one stone placed inside her common to the Green River Killer victims.

She had no arrests or contacts with prostitution, but was last seen in an area where the killer was known to operate.

Carol, a registered member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Browning, Mont., moved to Grays Harbor, WA in 1969 from Weippe, Idaho, where she grew up in Hoquiam in a large family. Her parents, Robert and Patricia Holmin, still live in Hoquiam.

In 1980 she married Dennis Christensen. They had a daughter, Sara.

Carol's sister, Pepper (Holmin) Arambula, was just 6 years old when her sister was strangled. Pepper bears a strong resemblence to Carol. Arambula and her brother, Don Holmin, of Satsop, hope to attend Ridgway's trial.

Ridgway was questioned about Christensen moments before his arrest. He admitted to knowing her but denied having sex with her. Lab tests concluded he is the contributor of semen on Christensen's body. DNA extracted from the saliva of Ridgway matched the DNA of semen found on Carol.

Carol is buried at Sunset Memorial Park in Hoquiam, WA.

Copyright Kari Sable 1994-2006