Lady Of The Dunes
What would you do if you came across what might be a clue to a 44-year-old unsolved murder case?
What if that clue came from one of the most well-known movies of all time?
Well, Joseph Hillstrom King, better known by his pseudonym, Joe Hill—and in general as the son of famed horror writer Stephen King—feels he may have actually stumbled upon just that.
While watching a re-release of Jaws on the big screen a couple years ago, Hill found himself leaping from his seat during a rather innocuous scene where passengers board a boat.
What caught Hill's attention, though, was a woman whose appearance matched quite well with the description of a cold case murder victim who died shortly after the time (and in within the same area—Cape Cod) that the movie Jaws was being filmed.
The case is known as the Lady of the Dunes. The woman was never identified because her hands were cut off and many of her teeth removed. She was found lying on a towel with her head resting on a blue bandana and jeans, just like the woman in the scene wore. The victim even had auburn hair.
No one knows who the woman, an extra, was, nor have they since been able to identify the Lady of the Dunes, even though her body was exhumed in the early 2000s for DNA testing.
The story has resurfaced recently. Until someone can identify either woman, this cold case will remain as one of the greatest murder mysteries of all time. A tragic puzzle yet unsolved.
And now, even more compelling because of the potential, though unlikely link to Jaws.
This post is inspired by today's five-minute freewrite prompt—puzzle.
Image source—Tumbler
An interesting one @glenalbrethsen. Did you know you were going to write about this when you started writing? i.e. Did you do some research first? presumably you must have done. #😊
I did read about the the Lady of the Dunes prior to writing the freewrite, but it was independent of it at that point. I didn't know that I was going to do anything with the information. Then, when the prompt word 'puzzle' came I started thinking about puzzles and to puzzle but didn't really like anything I was coming up with, so then I started to consider writing about this. I went back and looked at some information to get my facts straight, and then basically summarized them here from memory. I didn't get to a whole lot of facts. This turned out to be another short blip.
You are so much more dedicated them I am @glenalbrethsen. 😂
Mind you I haven't tried the original five minute free write yet. I'd be more likely to if the timing was a little different, i.e. if the theme was announced in the morning my time.
I'd never heard of this before Glen, but interestingly enough, @simplymike and I were just having a conversation yesterday about Stephen King and his son...we were talking about their writings, but this is something really interesting too!
Don't you just love where freewrite sometimes takes you? :)
It's been pretty fun so far. I don't know what others have thought about what I've been doing, but I've been enjoying it.
Well, I saw simplymike commenting on paulag's new post about Stephen King. I've never read any of his books (not a horror fan), nor had I heard of Joe Hill before this story, so I really know nothing about their writing.
I just find it sad that no one seems to know who either woman is. Or at least the right people aren't aware it's becoming a news item again.
I've always found that to be one of the saddest things; for someone to go missing and no one notice or like here, where no one knows either woman. Very sad indeed.
Waoh, i so much love it when real life occuremce is inculacted into a story.
Since the story of Joe Hill and his theory is making the rounds in the online media again, I figured I'd try to add to the reach. :)
Plus, it seemed to fit quite well with today's five minute freewrite prompt. I almost managed to leave it out. :)
Strange. I hadn't heard of that case. That would be spooky to be watching the movie only to see the person for whom they had been searching. Hopefully they're able to solve the case.
It truly is an amazing set of parallels, but other than circumstantial evidence, there's not really anything currently tying the two women together. It's strange that no one put two and two together like Hill did before, and now, people who could have been asked, such as her parents, are probably dead. Her siblings, if she had any, might still be alive, and would be in their 60s to potentially 80s. Apparently the person in charge of the movie archives for Jaws died, so they can't even ask them about the extra.
It'll be interesting to see if this recent round of stories picks up anything.
My concern is that anyone who might care about the woman is dead, and that her killer is the only one left alive.
what the?? is this fiction? I can't tell, it sounds like a perfectly true story. excellent sir Glen, excellent!
Sadly, the story of the Lady of the Dunes is true, and so is the theory of Joe Hill's that the unidentified victim appears to be just like the female extra in the movie. I didn't have to make anything up this time. :)
You would think in this day and age of the internet that someone would step forward with information if they had it. It's been 44 years, though, so a lot has happened since then, including the potential for all loved ones being deceased.
sir Glen..wow. So you knew this story, you just had to put it in your own words? yes it's a sad story but after 44 years I doubt it if will ever be solved.
I first read about it yesterday. Since then, a bunch of other news outlets have been running the story.
Right. I just basically summarized in my own words using facts I remembered from the story and angling it to fit the prompt.
Well, stranger things have happened, apparently. If they could get anyone who was there who might know who the woman was in the scene, or even some kind of relative, that might prove or disprove things. It's just odd that no one ever seemed to know who the victim was, and now no one can identify her possible twin from the movie.
wow that IS awful strange and just plain awful what happened to her but I'm sure you'll hear about it if something breaks.