Missing Lake Tahoe casino employee linked to Zodiac case finally identified
A human skull found on a highway in California's Sierra Nevada has been confirmed to belong to Donna Lass, a woman who disappeared in 1970 from the Sahara Hotel and Casino in South Lake Tahoe.
Russ was a 25-year-old casino nurse whose disappearance was linked to the Zodiac Killer case. In the late 1960s, the unknown serial killer terrorized Northern California by sending messages to police, taunting them with codes and codes. The case is arguably the most famous unsolved murder in American history.
Russ's last entry in the nurse's log was at 1:50 a.m. on September 6, 1970. She disappeared after finishing her last shift in the Sahara Desert (now known as Nugget Lake Tahoe).
DNA Breakthrough
In 1986, the Placer County Sheriff's Office discovered an unidentified skull in the Spaulding Lake area. With no further evidence, the case was referred as a John Doe inquiry and may one day be reopened, pending further advances in forensic technology.
Last year, the cold case team sent the skull to the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Forensic Services. Fifty-three years after her disappearance, authorities successfully compared the skull's DNA to that of one of Rath's sisters. South Lake Tahoe police shared identification with the Russ family last week.
"We are grateful for the efforts of this team that brought closure to the Russ family's case and hope detectives can continue to make progress on these cases," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Zodiac News
Speculation that Russ was a victim of the infamous Zodiac Killer came from a postcard sent to the San Francisco Chronicle in March 1971. She showed up to the Sierra Club in Lake Tahoe and carried Zodiac's infamous business card, the signature consisting of a circle with a cross.
"Twelve victims are wanted," it said. "Through the pine trees...through the Lake Tahoe area...in the snow..."
A handwriting expert with the California Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification told the Sacramento Bee at the time that the font "is consistent with all other zodiac fonts I've examined."
The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969, but claimed to have killed many more. Written communications from the killer ceased in 1974.
sergeant. David Smith of the Placer County Sheriff's Office told The Bee that investigators have not yet connected Russ' death to the Zodiac case.
Read also:
- Blackjack Casino Advantage: How to Beat the Odds
- Football 101: What is relegation in football?
- Curacao moves one step closer to iGaming reform as reform package submitted to parliament
- Casino crime summary: Arson leads to arrest
Source: www.casino.org
