Nineteen-year-old Gloria Nadine Knutson was a senior at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington. Described by those who knew her as outgoing and independent, Gloria had plans for the future, but like many young people in the 1970s, she enjoyed the social scene of her hometown. Vancouver, a growing city near the Columbia River, was a place where teens could explore nightlife without much fear, at least until the string of disappearances that plagued Clark County in the early 1970s.
On the evening of May 31st, 1974, Gloria had been invited to a housewarming party but chose instead to head to a popular downtown Vancouver nightclub called The Red Caboose. She was seen by several acquaintances throughout the night, appearing to enjoy herself in the lively atmosphere. However, as the early morning hours approached, something went horribly wrong.
According to witness accounts, Gloria approached a male acquaintance in distress around the early morning of June 1st, 1974. She claimed that an unknown man had attempted to rape her and was now stalking her. Frightened, she begged for a ride home, but the witness’s car was out of gas. Distraught and with no other immediate options, Gloria decided to walk home alone. That was the last time she was seen alive.
Her disappearance was reported soon after, sparking a search in the Vancouver area. Friends and family distributed flyers, and local media covered the story, but leads quickly dried up. Gloria’s case joined a growing list of missing young women in Clark County, a pattern that would later point to a sinister force at work.
For nearly four years, Gloria’s fate remained unknown. Then, on May 9th, 1978, a fisherman stumbled upon skeletal remains in a densely forested area near Lacamas Lake, about ten miles northeast of Vancouver. Dental records confirmed the remains were those of Gloria Nadine Knutson. The cause of death was determined to be homicide, though the exact manner was not publicly detailed due to the advanced decomposition.
The remote and hidden location of her body suggested foul play by someone familiar with the area’s parks and trails. Investigators noted similarities to other unsolved cases in the region, including shallow graves and proximity to county parklands.
As detectives pieced together the puzzle, suspicion fell on Warren Leslie Forrest, a local man with a dark history. Born in 1949, Forrest worked for the Clark County Parks Department, giving him intimate knowledge of secluded areas like Lacamas Lake and Tukes Mountain. He had been arrested in October 1974 for kidnapping, raping, and attempting to murder a nineteen-year-old woman near Lacamas Lake, the same area where Gloria’s remains would later be found. That victim survived and testified against him.
Forrest was convicted in 1979 for the murder of twenty-year-old Krista Kay Blake, whose body was found in a shallow grave on county park property in 1976. In 2023, he was convicted of another murder—that of seventeen-year-old Martha Morrison—thanks to advances in DNA technology. Now seventy-six years old and serving two life sentences, Forrest is suspected in at least seven other disappearances and homicides between 1971 and 1974, including Gloria’s.
Key evidence linking Forrest to these cases includes a blue Ford van he owned, which several victims were reportedly seen entering. Over seventy hair samples, many described as “post-mortem,” were recovered from the van and are being re-examined with modern forensics. The disappearances in Clark County abruptly stopped after Forrest’s arrest in 1974.
Other suspected victims include sixteen-year-old Jamie Rochelle Grissim, who disappeared in December 1971 and has never been found; eighteen-year-old Barbara Ann Derry, who was murdered in February 1972; fourteen-year-old Diane Sue Gilchrist, who disappeared in May 1974 and has never been found; and twenty-year-old Carol Platt Valenzuela, who was murdered in August 1974.
Investigators have noted the proximity of discovery sites: Gloria’s remains were found just 125 feet from those of another victim, underscoring the pattern.
In recent years, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office has revitalized its cold case unit, leveraging DNA advancements to revisit these 1970s crimes. In 2025, family members of other victims expressed hope that new evidence could bring justice, noting the broader impact on multiple families.
Gloria Nadine Knutson’s murder remains officially unsolved. While Warren Forrest remains the prime suspect, no charges have been filed in her death.
Crime Immemorial 