Eklutna Annie
Since her body was found in 1980, a young woman has only been known as Eklutna Annie, named for the location she was found in in Alaska. Her killer, a well-known serial killer, claimed she was his first victim, though he remembers little about her. He told troopers that she may have been a topless dancer or was a sex worker, but he doesn’t recall which. He also said she may have family in Kodiak.
In his statement to investigators, he said that he told her they were going to his house in Muldoon, but as they passed by the road and did not turn, she tried to get out. To keep her in the vehicle, he pulled a gun on her. His intent was to bring her to a location where he knew there was a bear stand, but his truck became stuck along the way. Ultimately, when she decided to run, he chased her and used the knife she’d kept in her purse to stab her to death. Her body was found by men working along the power lines.
Though he claimed she was his first victim, investigators and those familiar with his case, have their doubts. Almost a decade earlier, he’d threatened a real estate receptionist with a gun. He received time in prison for this. Around the same time, he’d also kidnapped a woman and brought her to the wilderness to assault her. He claimed he’d killed women before. Though this did not go to trial, likely because prosecutors were unwilling to take up a case where the victim worked as a sex worker, it does provide important information about his earlier years in Alaska.
This reluctance to pursue these cases also meant that there were few repercussions for his assaults on women working in various sex industries. Toward the 1980s, he targeted this population using the similar methods each time and often flying them into the wilderness where he would hunt them down.
In the end, investigators were able to use 2 aviation maps with marks on them to identify where they should look for the women. In total, there are 24 marks on the maps. While some of the women’s bodies have been found, some remain missing. In some cases, the only clue is the mark on the map, leaving investigators to guess who the victims might be. Robin Pelkey, known as Horseshoe Harriet, was identified in 2021. Eklunta Annie remains the last unidentified victim though it seems that investigative genetic genealogy is being used in her case.
Though this man is well-known, we are not using his name here as part of our general practice. If you would like to read more specifically about his history and case, we recommend the book Butcher Baker by Walter Gilmour and Leland E. Hale.
People and Cases Mentioned in this Episode:
Eklutna Annie (solved murder, unsolved unidentified person)
Cindy Paulson (solved abduction and sexual assault)
Robin Pelkey (solved murder)
DeLynne Frey (solved murder)
Paula Goulding (solved murder)
Celia van Zanten (unsolved murder)
Megan Emerick (unsolved missing person case)
Mary Kathleen Thill (unsolved missing person case)
Joanne Messina (solved murder)
Roxane Easland (solver murder, unsolved missing person case)
Lisa Futrell (solved murder)
Sherry Morrow (solved murder)
Andrea Altiery (solved murder, unsolved missing person case)
Sue Luna (solved murder)
Malai Larsen (solved murder)
Teresa Watson (solved murder)
Angela Feddern (solved murder)
Tamara Pederson (solved murder)
Guest reader
Kelly Moneymaker
Kelly Moneymaker has been a professionally represented musician since age 14. She is best known as a member of platinum-selling trio Exposé, whose singles have collectively spent 207 weeks on Billboard’s The Hot 100, had more Top 10 Hits than The Supremes, and was named one of Billboard’s Top 10 Girl Groups of All-Time.
Ms. Moneymaker also co-wrote and co-produced a soundtrack album for NBC’s Days of Our Lives, and her music has been placed in over 25 other media productions. She has shared stages or studios with Todd Rundgren, Enya, Diana Ross, George Clinton, Jewel, Meatloaf, Ringo Starr, Keith Urban, Mike Post, Johnny Winter, Mandy Moore, and more. Ms. Moneymaker broke into the Billboard Chart as an independent artist, and won New Music Weekly's Best AC40 Song with "Can't Live Without Your Love".
Kelly remains active within the music industry as a songwriter-artist-producer and mentor. She constantly updates her music business education in order to evolve with the rapid-fire progress of technology and trends. She obtained a Music Business Certificate from Berklee School of Music, a Bachelor of Creative Media Production degree, and a Master of Creative Enterprise degree at Massey University, Wellington, NZ.
Kelly's multicultural roots have inspired her passion for indigenous storytelling and the environment, which led to her directing the Award-winning documentary VAKA. Her current project, Drum Song: The Rhythm of Life, is about Indigenous climate adaptation in her homeland, Alaska. It is being co-created with rural native communities and Arctic researchers. Kelly says, "You can take the woman out of Alaska, but you can never take Alaska out of the woman. It has been an honor and privilege to return to my homeland and learn from the co-creators of Drum Song: The Rhythm of Life. Each stage of the research and filmmaking process has been and will continue to be led and approved by the local Indigenous communities who’ve co-created it so we may “lift the diversity of our voices and resound together.”