‘The woman known for 50 years as “LADY OF THE DUNES” has finally been identified after 50 years. Police are now trying to find her killer. The Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Office of the Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe, the Provincetown Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, today announced that after nearly a half-century, the oldest, unidentified homicide victim in Massachusetts, dubbed the “Lady of the Dunes,” has been identified as Ruth Marie Terry of Tennessee.

The FBI identified Ruth Marie Terry, previously identified by investigators seeking her identity as the “Lady of the Dunes” using investigative genealogy. This is a unique method that can generate new leads for unsolved homicides, as well as help identify unknown victims.

On July 26, 1974, Terry was found deceased in the dunes about a mile east of the Race Point Ranger station inside the Cape Cod National Seashore in Provincetown, MA. The cause of death was determined at the time to be a blow to the head and is estimated to have occurred several weeks prior. Her hands were missing, presumably removed by the killer so she could not be identified through fingerprints and her head was nearly severed from her body.

For nearly five decades, investigators have worked tirelessly to identify this victim through various means, including neighborhood canvasses; reviews of thousands of missing-person cases; clay model facial reconstruction, and age-regression drawings. Since this crime was committed, many investigative and scientific techniques have either improved or been created through new advances in technology. One of these methods is Investigative Genealogy and combines the use of DNA analysis with traditional genealogy research and historical records to generate investigative leads for unsolved violent crimes. Recent FBI investigative efforts through genealogical examination of this infamous cold case have led to the positive confirmation of Terry’s identity.

In addition to Tennessee, investigators believe Terry had ties to California, Massachusetts, and Michigan.

The case is being investigated as a homicide by the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Office of the Cape and Islands District Attorney, the Provincetown Police Department, and the FBI.

The public is being asked to review Terry’s Seeking Information Poster that includes newly released photographs.

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the FBI’s Toll-Free tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Massachusetts State Police at 1-800-KAPTURE (1-800-527-8873) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov or MSPtips@pol.state.ma.us.

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REMARKS OF MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE COLONEL CHRISTOPHER MASON FROM PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING IDENTIFICATION OF MURDER VICTIM RUTH MARIE TERRY

I would like to start by thanking our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their collaboration and work on this case and recognize the value of their extraordinary capabilities in investigative genealogy. Thank you to both the Boston Field Office, and the Lakeville RA in particular and for the leadership of Special Agent in Charge Joseph Bonolovonta.

Today, over 48 years after her murder and discovery, we can finally say her name, Ruth Marie Terry.

We know Ruth had family and friends who loved her. And we are aware that this development has not been an easy one for them; so we keep them in our thoughts today during this difficult time. Certainly, during the years they were in contact with her, they never envisioned this outcome for the child, the teenage girl, the young woman they knew, loved and cared about. We hope today’s announcement help shed light on some of the many questions they have had these many years and marks another step to answering more.

For many police investigators at the end of their careers, there is often an unresolved case that haunts them, that intrudes upon the days, years and decades of their rest of their lives.

This case has been that for generations of Provincetown Police Officers and Massachusetts State Troopers. To the many investigators, forensic and evidence technicians and countless others that have played a role in the investigation to date, we are appreciative of and grateful for your tireless work.

To the people of Provincetown, Cape Cod and the Commonwealth who never forgot her, thank you.

Today’s identification of the Lady of the Dunes is not the end of this case, or even the beginning of the end. But this achievement does mark an important milestone towards holding the offender accountable. It represents a critical discovery which makes possible the rest of the work that lies ahead.

Now, almost a half century since her own voice was silenced in the most horrible of ways, we focus our work entirely on determining what Ruth Marie Terry did in life, on what led her to the very easternmost point of our state, what led her to the dunes of Provincetown, and to who did this to her.

To her loved ones and friends, today we express our heartfelt condolences and pledge to continue walking the hard road toward justice for Ruth.

The Massachusetts State Police, the Provincetown Police Department, Cape and Islands District Attorney Office, and the FBI will not rest easy until we complete the unfinished work still ahead. We now must diligently and methodically learn everything we can about Ms. Terry’s life, what she did, where she went, who she associated with — all in the hope that those details and that timeline will lead us to her killer.

That work has already begun. We ask that the public continue to partner with us and provide whatever information they may have that could assist investigators in the resolution of this case. If you know anything about the victim or the murder, please contact either the FBI or the Massachusetts State Police at the numbers and email addresses provided on the poster you see here and posted on our social media sites.

So now, almost a half-century after that terrible discovery in the Cape Cod dunes —

for this victim,

for all who knew, loved and missed her,

for the sake of justice —

We redouble and reaffirm our mission to speak for Ruth Marie Terry.

Thank you.

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Provincetown Police Department
FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation