Images Released of Suspect in Lynn Burdick's Disappearance
The artist was working off a sketch of a man who attempted to grab a woman in Williamstown less than an hour before Burdick went missing.
The Berkshire District Attorney's Office and the State Police Berkshire Detective Unit are releasing a new forensic sketch and four age-progressed variations of a suspect.
State Police began investigating the disappearance of then 18-year-old Burdick on April 17, 1982, when she went missing at some point between 8 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. while working alone at the Barefoot Peddler's Country Store on Route 2 in Florida.
The DA's Office and State Police continue to actively investigate the case with a focus on a separate attempted abduction that occurred 45 minutes earlier, 13 miles away in Williamstown. The sketches released today are of the suspect in the Williamstown abduction attempt.
The office collaborated with a law enforcement forensic artist with the Lincoln Police Department to generate updated images based on recent case interviews.
Evidence indicates that the suspect is a white male, 5-foot-7 inches tall and is now approximately 70 years old. Further case data suggests that he may have ties to the state of Vermont. Investigators are releasing a new sketch of how the suspect appeared in 1982 and four aged-progressed sketches of how he may appear today, with assorted grooming alterations.
“I thank the witnesses and the entire Burdick family for their strength and dedication while continuing to work with investigators assigned to Lynn's case. My office, the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit, and the Massachusetts State Police Unresolved Case Unit remain steadfast in following up on every lead and bringing advanced resources to unresolved homicides," District Attorney Andrea Harrington said.
"I also thank the Lincoln Police Department for providing us the specialized forensic sketching resources to further assist in this investigation. I ask the public to share these images and if anyone has information about this case to contact the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit or the Massachusetts State Police Unresolved Case Unit."
Investigators ask that anyone with information to contact the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit at 413-499-1112 or email the Massachusetts State Police Unresolved Case Unit at mspunresolved@pol.state.ma.us.
Burdick's fate is one of several unsolved mysteries in the Berkshires. Two other women about the same age, Cynthia Krizack and Kim Benoit, had also been abducted and found strangled in the northern part of the county within the previous six years.
Eight years earlier, the body of Kim Benoit of North Adams was found off a lonely stretch of road in Hoosac Tunnel in the town of Florida after going missing two weeks earler. The DA's Office has offered a reward in that case after renewing the search for Benoit's killer last fall.
Burdick is about 5-foot-5 and had dark brown and glasses. Her family posted billboards around the region earlier this year in hopes of jogging memories. The McCann High senior would be 58 years old. The small store that she worked at was torn down years ago.
Tags: missing persons, search,
