ForeverMissed
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Her Life
February 26, 2011

"The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them".

--Lois McMaster Bujold

This memorial website is created to honor the memory of Alma Ann Smith, who died at age 18.  Alma was murdered by Gary Ridgway, the "Green River Killer" on March 3, 1983.  This website is being put up on the 24th anniversary of her death. Although the webmaster is not related in any way to Alma Smith or her family, she felt that this young woman deserved to be remembered, and so put up this website.

Alma Smith was born on August 1, 1964, in Walla Walla, Washington. According to research done by Ann Rule for her book GREEN RIVER RUNNING RED, Alma was a very quiet, kind girl who didn't have much.  She repeatedly ran away to Seattle because her father lived near there, and she would go from one parent to the other.  A friend, Brook Beiloh, said that Alma was a very good friend to everyone.  She characterized Alma as a girl who "didn't have a mean bone in her body."
According to her mother, Mary Smith, Alma disappeared on February 22, 1983.  Mrs. Smith characterized her daughter as "the most lovable child one minute, and the next minute she would run away," according to an article from the Eugene Register-Guard of April 23, 1984.
Before Alma disappeared, she was a resident of the Echo Glen Children's Center, which helps girls involved in prostitution to break the cycle and get out of that lifestyle. However, according to administrators at the Echo Glen Children's Center, pimps are very persistent and have been known to call the center to find out when a certain girl will be released.  Despite being a resident of Echo Glen, and evidently receiving counseling, Alma returned to prostitution once she left the center, and then she disappeared.

It is unknown how Alma became involved in prostitution, but somehow, she got involved in it.  Not much is known about her life while she was in Seattle, but there are reports that on the day of her disappearance, she was working the area at Pacific Highway South and 188th Street, which was in the heart of the prostitution zone where Gary Ridgway prowled, looking for victims.  Alma was last seen by a friend, Cynthia Bassett-Ornelas, according to Bob Keppel's book THE RIVERMAN.   Ornelas left the area for about thirty minutes and when she returned, Alma Smith was no longer there.  She never saw Alma again.

Ridgway confessed to Alma's murder when he was arrested in 2001, saying that he took her to his house and strangled her there.  Ridgway never kept victims very long; he put Alma's body in the woods that same evening she was killed.  She was found April 2, 1984, at the Star Lake Road site.

Information about Alma will be added to this website as it becomes known.  It is unknown where she is buried.  

Rest in peace, Alma.

WEBMASTER'S NOTE: This site is checked regularly for inappropriate or derogatory posts. Any such posts will be immediately removed and the offender permanently banned from this site. The offending poster's computer IP address will be noted and authorities contacted, as this constitutes website abuse. This site is to honor the memory of a young woman who was brutally murdered much too young.
The webmaster did not put up this site for personal gain. She has not made any money off this site, nor does she intend to do so.  As stated above, she put up this site to honor the memory of an 18 year old girl who was troubled and who met a terrible end at the hands of a very vicious man.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF SOMEONE LIKE ALMA ANN SMITH, PLEASE SEE THE WEBSITE FOR CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT, WHICH GETS THESE GIRLS SOME HELP AND OUT OF THIS DANGEROUS LIFESTYLE. SEE: http://www.childrenofthenight.org
Background Music: "GONE TOO SOON" by Michael Jackson.
Teen prostitution continues to be a problem in Seattle. Please see a recent article from the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER at: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/368594_prostitution27.html. The title of the article is: "No Way Out: Teen Girls Sell Bodies in Seattle."
For more information on the disappearance of Alma Ann Smith, please see:
"Green River Victim Led An Unpredictable Life," The Eugene Register-Guard (April 23, 1984), at: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TmoVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h-EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5293,5729006&dq=green+river+victims&hl=en
Eric Sorenson, "Ridgway once tied to 5 other victims", THE SEATTLE TIMES (Dec 4, 2001), at: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20011204&slug=threewomen04m