Kristin David’s dismembered remains still a mystery 40 years later

Kristin Noel David, a 22-year-old senior at the University of Idaho, vanished on a sunny summer day in 1981 while bicycling along a quiet stretch of Idaho highway. 

Nine days later, her dismembered remains were discovered in plastic bags floating in the Snake River, wrapped in newspaper pages and scattered across the current.

More than four decades later, questions remain about whether the aspiring journalist was the victim of a serial killer.

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The 22-year-old was a senior at the University of Idaho, pursuing a double major in broadcast journalism and political science. She disappeared June 26, 1981. (FBI)

David was last seen alive June 26, 1981, pedaling her blue 10-speed bicycle from Moscow to Lewiston, Idaho, along U.S. Highway 95. She had planned to visit friends and reconnect with former professors, the FBI said.

According to the FBI bulletin on the case, multiple witnesses that day reported seeing a woman matching David’s description being approached by a man in a brown van just south of Genesee, Idaho.

Her body was found July 4, 1981, in the Snake River, about 6 miles west of Clarkston, Washington. 

Her remains had been dismembered, placed in black plastic trash bags and wrapped in pages from The Lewiston Morning Tribune dated April 7, 17, 19 and 24 of that year. 

Mysteriously, her right leg was missing, as was her bicycle and clothing.

The South Fork of the Snake River flows through scenic canyons of southeastern Idaho and is accessible from U.S. Highway 26. (Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The popular true-crime podcast “Crime Junkie” revisited the case in a July 2025 episode, “Serial Killer: The Lewis‑Clark Valley Murders.” 

Host Ashley Flowers emphasized the bizarre detail of the newspaper wrapping.

“Each body part was wrapped in newspapers, and they realized that the newspapers were from four different issues of the Lewiston Morning Tribune … not just one random paper,” Flowers said. 

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“That takes forethought,” she said. “Kristin’s case has always been the outlier because of how this young woman was found. Dismembered and in garbage bags floating in the Snake River.

“I think she very well could be a victim of a serial killer … just not that one.”

On July 4, 1981, dismembered body parts began washing up about 6 miles west of Clarkston, Washington, in and along the Snake River.  (FBI)

Kristin’s killing has long been compared to the unsolved Lewis–Clark Valley murders, which include the disappearances of Christina White in 1979 and the 1982 deaths of Kristina Nelson, Brandy Miller and Steven Pearsall.

All were young victims who vanished in the same region within a few years.

But Kristin’s case is different.

“She’s never fit neatly into the Lewis–Clark Valley cluster,” said “Crime Junkie” co-host Brit Prawat. “This could have been someone else entirely.”

Brian C. Stewart, an Idaho trial attorney at Parker & McConkie, told Fox News Digital investigators would need to look for “consistent signatures” to tie David’s murder to the Lewis-Clark Valley murders.

“To connect these cases, investigators look for consistent signatures — behavioral patterns, methods of abduction, victim profiles and disposal techniques,” he said. “Here, you’re talking about a relatively small region and a tight time window. When young people keep disappearing or turning up dead under unusual circumstances, you have to ask whether there’s a common perpetrator.”

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According to the FBI’s official missing persons bulletin, the main suspect was described as a White male, about 30 years old, 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds with a stocky build and a beard.

He was seen driving a “well-kept brown van with yellow license plates and swing-out rear doors.” 

Authorities also noted he may have changed his appearance after the David’s murder.

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The same suspect was seen by several witnesses approaching or speaking with other female cyclists or pedestrians the same day David vanished, the FBI said.

Stewart believes modern advances in DNA technology can “breathe life” into murder cases that are 40 years old.

“In the past, investigators had fingerprints and instincts. Today, DNA technology, digital evidence databases and genealogy tracing can breathe life into even the coldest of cases. Evidence that once sat dormant in an evidence locker now has the power to speak. With those tools, even a 40-year-old case like Kristin’s can still break wide open,” he told Fox News Digital.

“We’ve seen decades-old cases solved across the country using modern tools. If the right piece of evidence is reanalyzed — or the right person finally comes forward — Kristin’s case could absolutely be solved.”

The seal of the FBI at the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington, D.C., March 10, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite decades passing, the case remains open. On the 40th anniversary of her death, the FBI Salt Lake City appealed for help.

The FBI believes there are still people from the community who have not come forward with information that could help solve the case. 

FBI Salt Lake City Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Zach Schoffstall said at a June 2021 press conference the case is not considered “cold” and that investigators still need assistance from the public.

“Let me be clear: at this time, Kristin’s murder is not a cold case. It’s not going away, and we are dedicated more than ever to solving it. But we need your help,” he said.

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“Today, we are renewing our call for the public’s assistance. We believe there are members of the community, whether they remain local or not, who haven’t yet come forward with information that could help solve this case. If you haven’t talked to law enforcement about what you know, please come forward now,” he said. “No tip is too small or insignificant.”

Anyone with information is urged to visit tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI Salt Lake City for comment.