A cold case victim, known for 37 years as Horseshoe Harriet, of a serial killer in Alaska has been positively identified as a Colorado native.
Robin Pelkey, who was born in 1963, was identified in September as a victim of serial killer Robert Hansen, the Alaska Department of Public Safety announced on Friday.
Pelkey was 19 at the time of her murder and no record was found reporting her missing, according to an ADPS news release. Records do reflect that Pelkey was living in Anchorage in the early 1980s when Hansen was raping and murdering women.
Before positive DNA genealogy identification, Pelkey was known as Horsehoe Harriet because her unidentified body was found near Horseshoe Lake north of Anchorage, according to Alaska Public Media.
Hansen was arrested in October 1983 by Alaska State Troopers. In February 1984, Hansen pleaded guilty to four murders. He eventually admitted to murdering 17 women, the release said, and he accompanied investigators on helicopter flights to point out grave sites.
“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 Commissioner James Cockrell in the ADPS release.
Hansen died on Aug. 21, 2014, in an Anchorage hospital at age 75. He was serving a 461-year prison sentence at the time of his death, according to The Washington Post.
Pelkey’s surviving family “requested that they not be contacted directly while they come to grips with this heartbreaking news,” according to the release. A new grave marker identifying Pelkey’s final resting place in Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery has been purchased.