Snatched After School: Was Jamie Grissim A Serial Killer’s Victim?
It is more than 50 years since 16-year-old Jamie Rochelle Grissim vanished, and her loved ones believe they know who took her.
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It was the winter of 1971, and 16-year-old Jamie Rochelle Grissim was working hard at school. Not only was she set to graduate a year early, but she was also a keen participant in extra-curricular activities and a talented writer.
However, after setting out to walk home one afternoon, she was never seen again — and what followed is a five-decade battle for justice that connects her to a dangerous killer and a host of other missing girls. As the years tick by, will there ever be justice for Jamie?
Jamie disappears
On the morning of December 7th 1971, Jamie left her home on 58th Street in Vancouver, Washington to catch the Fort Vancouver High School bus as she always did. The day started uneventfully, with evidence that Jamie attended the two scheduled classes on her timetable as usual.
She planned to walk the two miles back home after that and told her foster mother she should be no later than 1:30 PM. However, Jamie never showed up.
As with so many cases involving missing teenagers, the police were initially unconcerned about her disappearance. They pegged her as a runaway based on the fact that Jamie and her sister Starr were in foster care, despite them having been in a stable home for more than a decade until that point.
As a result, Jamie was not officially declared a missing person until January 1972. Her loved ones knew from the outset that Jamie would not have left home without saying a word, as she was a dedicated and responsible student who was devoted to her younger sister. Furthermore, her savings account had been left untouched since her disappearance.
The family’s worst fears appeared to be confirmed in May 1972, when Jamie’s purse, ID and a scattering of other possessions were found strewn by a roadside in Northern Clark County. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Jamie herself or of any other evidence, and the case slowly went cold.
