Posted 11/1/22
Investigators identified the body of a 37-year-old Tennessee woman who was found dead with head injuries off the coast of Massachusetts nearly 50 years ago.
A method of genealogy led to a break in the cold case that puzzled investigators since finding the now-named Ruth Marie Terry on July 26th 1974.
Investigators described the crime scene as brutal, and it is believed Terry had died from a blow to the left side of her head several weeks before her naked body was discovered in the dunes near Cape Cod National Seashore.
Terry’s body had been discovered by a young Provincetown girl who had been looking for her beagle that had run off.
Decades would pass before technology advanced in a way that made it possible to identify the homicide victim’s body.
Massachusetts State Police continue to investigate the case as a homicide and ask anyone with information to contact them at 1-800-KAPTURE (1-800-527-8873) or the FBI’s toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
