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She was murdered by a serial killer and nobody reported her missing. Nearly 40 years later, cops finally know her name.

alaska
Source: Alaska Bureau of Investigation ; MEGA

Oct. 22 2021, Published 5:01 p.m. ET

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Thanks to DNA technology, a victim of Alaska serial killer Robert Hansen has been identified.

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On Oct. 22, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation announced they identified the woman known as “Horseshoe Harriet” for 37 years. Her name was Robin Pelkey.

Pelkey was one of Hansen’s victims who killed in Alaska between 1980 and 1983, according to the bureau. He was arrested in October 1983 and suspected of killing four women. But he eventually admitted to murdering 17 women.

Hansen joined investigators in a helicopter to point out where the bodies were buried.

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Investigators used DNA genealogy to help identify Pelkey. That process is when officials take DNA and build a family tree to help identify a specific person.

Pelkey was born in 1963 in Colorado and was living in Anchorage, Alaska, in the early 1980s when Hansen was killed. She would have been 19 years old when at the time of the murder and nobody reported her missing.

“I would like to thank all of the troopers, investigators, and analysts that have diligently worked on this case over the last 37 years. Without their hard work and tenacity, the identity of Ms. Pelkey may have never been known,” said Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell. “The Alaska Department of Public Safety will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to solve major crimes in our state, hold anyone that violates our laws accountable, and bring closure to a victims’ family.”

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