Around 11pm on May 6, 1974, Roberta Kathleen “Kathy” Parks left her dorm room to meet friends for a late dinner at the campus cafeteria, which was common for her. She was upset after getting news that her father had recently had a heart attack, though he was expected to make a full recovery. Kathy stopped and chatted with friend and fellow student Lorraine Fargo before entering the Memorial Union cafeteria. Unfortunately, she never made it to dinner with her friends. Ted Bundy, who had previously killed 3 women from Washington universities, was on the prowl for his next victim on the University of Oregon campus. When he spotted Kathy, who likely looked upset, he approached her and convinced her to accompany him to his car where he abducted her.

During previous abductions Bundy had committed, he would render his victim unconscious by striking them over the head with a tire iron. Likely feeling more confident after getting away with prior 4 murders, he later confessed to keeping Kathy conscious while he drove her over 250 miles to Taylor Mountain where he raped and murdered her.

Kathy Parks’ remains were ultimately found on Taylor mountain along with the remains of several of Bundy’s other victims in 1975.