Lake Sammamish is a popular summertime destination for residents of Issaquah, a suburb of Seattle. The park has several beaches and tends to get crowded during the summer months.

On July 14th, 1974, Lake Sammamish State Park was in the midst of the popular season with hundreds of Pacific-Northwesterners eager to soak in the good weather at the beach. Ted Bundy was also at the park that day prowling for his next victims. Several witnesses reported seeing a young, good looking man with his arm in a sling asking women for help with a sailboat. Although several refused to help, Janice Ott (23) agreed to help him and accompanied him to his light colored VW Beetle. Although there was no sailboat with the car, he convinced her that it was located just a short distance away, and she agreed to accompany him. She was never seen alive again.

A few hours later, Ted Bundy returned to the parking lot and started the ruse over, again asking young attractive women for help with his sailboat. This time, 19-year-old Denise Naslund agreed to help him, and was never seen again. Although it’s not clear if he killed Janice before returning to abduct Denise from the park, both women were killed and their bodies dumped along the side of a service road near Issaquah. Bones belonging to Georgeann Hawkins may also have been found at this location, although that remains unclear.

Because Bundy had unsuccessfully asked several women for help before finding his victims, police were able to put together a clear description of him and his car for the first time. Fliers were posted throughout the Seattle area and women were told to be weary of men matching the description.