What Happened to Elsia Anderson?
Written by: Kenzie Desrosiers
In 1980, 20-year-old Alaskan Native, Elsia Anderson, welcomed her first child, a daughter named Serena Marie, with military man, Russell Duncan. By 1981, Elsia welcomed a son with a man named Tyrone, who Serena believed to be her birth father.
Because her children were mixed-raced, Elsia’s parents disowned her. Struggling with abandonment and addiction, Elsia turned to the Alaskan Department of Child Services to place her children up for adoption. While she waited in the lobby, she was approached by a woman she had met previously. After listening to Elsia’s story, Diane offered to foster her children. At just 18 months old, Serena and her younger brother were placed with Diane who maintained open communication with Elsia. In 1983, Diane officially finalized the adoption and changed Serena’s name to Serena Rene Dunn.
In 1983, Elsia welcomed another girl, the result of an affair she had with a married man. Elsia once again turned to Diane, who had become her confidant. Unable to take the child, Elsia’s daughter – nicknamed Lee Lee – was raised by her birth father and his wife. The following year, Elsia gave birth to her fourth child, a beautiful baby boy, who she placed for adoption. One day, Elsia dropped by to visit her children, however, when she gave her son a bath, she was unable to determine if the child she was holding was hers. That was the last time Diane and Serena saw Elsia.
Elsia moved from Alaska to Washington and lost contact with her family in 1986. Private investigators were brought in to search for Elsia, but they were unable to locate her. In January of 1988, Elsia’s half-sister contacted the FBI in Anchorage to report Elsia missing as she feared that she could have fallen prey to the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgeway. Gary was a notorious serial killer known for strangling prostitutes between 1982 and 1998. While living in Seattle, Elsia was arrested several times for prostitution.
In June of 1993, skull remains were found by a group of loggers on the Weyerhaeuser property off North Fork Road, northwest of North Bend. According to officials, the victim had blunt force trauma to the back of the head and died from bludgeoning. Police released a sketch of the victim.
In 1999, Elsia’s oldest son tragically drowned after his high school graduation.
In 2006, Elsia’s remains were finally identified after the FBI passed along her case to the King County Sheriff’s Office and a detective from the Sheriff’s Violent Crimes Review Team reopened the case. They were able to pass along their information to the Washington State Patrol who were able to match the skull to dental records and make a positive identification.
In recent years, Serena discovered an Alaskan based blog titled Kotzebue and Barrow. In 2006 – the year Elsia’s remains were identified – the author ‘Karl’ published an article in which he mentioned “drinking brew and gittin’ stoned with this killer whilst standing around a bonfire.” He continues his mad ranting by stating, “what I need is a lad that is merely perceived as a ruthless killer yet armed with an alibi 24/7.” He added that the Green River Killer most likely had nothing to do with the Alaskan Native’s remains that were found near the Skagit River, however, that location is 115 miles from North Bend where authorities located Elsia’s remains. He danced around the idea that the victim’s drug habit likely became larger than the revenue she brought in and she was killed because of it. While the blog points to ‘Karl’ having insider knowledge of the crime and/or culprit, he signs off stating that his words were entirely fictional.
Till this day no one has been charged in the death of Elsia Anderson. Her daughter Serena is looking for answers, help us share her mother’s case in the hope that someone will remember something.
Comments