Lady of the Dunes

This post contains material that may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is strongly advised. 

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She was an attractive woman between 25 and 40, being brutally murdered in 1974. It was summertime in Provincetown, Massachusetts when someone walking their dog when they came across a naked body, probably not the best thing for a young teen to witness.

At the crime scene, the remains along with a towel, a size ten footprint, and jeans were found, some of her teeth ripped out of her mouth along with her hands severed. Why would someone want to take it this far to prevent  authorities from identifying someone?

The Lady of the Dunes has had her face reconstructed many times in the past thirty-nine-and-a-half years since the discovery. What is interesting is that many of them bare little resemblance to each other. It's a likely reason why she hasn't got her identity back. With this recent one, created in 2010, I'm not exactly happy with either, since she looks a bit too old to be in the age range. Hopefully, someone will come up with an age regression that was created by a scan of the skull, like the one pictured.

Lady of the Dunes was athletic and weighed 145 pounds, even though she was only five-foot-six inches tall. Her hair was in a ponytail when she was found, giving a stereotypical appearance of an athlete (I imagine a jogger or a tennis player). I wonder if she actually did participate in sports when she was alive.

The case remains unsolved, even though a serial killer confessed to killing this woman. Since he has paranoid schizophrenia, many don't believe him. Another theory, which I believe strongly in, is that there may be a connection with Whitey Bulger, who was an FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted for years, who was apprehended recently. People in Provincetown at the time Lady of the Dunes died claim to have seen him with a woman who looked like one of the reconstructions of the victim.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Provincetown Police Department at:

508-487-1212  or 508-487-1213
mhimes@provincetown-ma.gov

26 Shankpainter Road
Provincetown, MA 02657

You may remain anonymous when submitting information.