Fly Creek Jane Doe (Episode)

Updated cover art following Morden's identification

"**Fly Creek Jane Doe**" was the first and inaugural episode of *True Cold Case Files* that was uploaded to YouTube on January 5th, 2019. The episode also marked the Jason Futch's debut into true crime media. The episode was done as a pilot, to show that he had done extensive research on the case and see if the information he found could be beneficial to assisting in the Fly Creek Jane Doe's identification.

## Synopsis

On February 24th, 1980, Jack Bannister and his son Jack Jr. of Yacolt, Washington discovered the bones of a young female scattered along the Fly Creek. The location is close to Amboy, Washington; where the Fly Creek and Canyon Creek merge. The approximate location of where her remains were found was close to the Canyon Creek bridge that spans over Canyon Creek. They had been panning for gold that morning when the bones were located.

Jason highlights the events before, during and after the discovery. Additionally, Jason highlighted the events that were occurring in the case at the time the episode was recorded. Additionally, Jason elaborated on a theory about how Fly Creek Jane Doe's case may have been connected to a string of disappearances and homicides in southwest Washington State and how serial killer Warren Forrest may have been involved. However, in light of the current events surrounding this case, he can be ruled out.

## After the Episode

After the episode aired, it was the first of many attempts by Jason to stimulate interest in the Fly Creek Jane Doe case. His research led him to believe that if pressure was applied to the Clark County Sheriffs Office (Washington), then perhaps a greater interest to solve the case would occur. It eventually led to Jason and some of his friends posting flyers on the case around rural Clark County, specifically near Amboy, and offered a $1500 reward for information that led to her identification.

### **Identification**

On October 29th, 2019, the Fly Creek Jane Doe was identified as Sandra Renee "Sandy" Morden of Portland, Oregon. The Clark County Sheriffs Office announced in a press release that they were seeking more information regarding Sandy's life and who she may have known in 1977. It was listed that her father, Andrew Bain Morden, was employed in the maritime trades at the time Sandy disappeared. He had been away on a work assignment when she disappeared. Her mother, Irene Morden, had divorced Andrew in the 1970s and had bounced around the West Coast. Andrew died in 1999 and was interred at the state veterans cemetery in Spokane, Washington, while Irene passed away in 1988 in San Francisco, California.

Jason interviewed Detective Lindsay Schultz one day after the identification of Sandy Morden and posted it in tandem with the first episode of *TCCF* season two on Laurie Depies

## Reception

Following the release of the episode, it was received very well, with comments posted positively about the show and its future. When the Fly Creek Jane Doe was identified as Sandy Morden, the episode received a boost in viewership and was given a great review by YouTubers. At its peak, the episode was viewed by nearly 6,000 people.

The video was removed in June 2020, replaced by the podcast version of the episode. The podcast episode also included the interview with Det. Lindsay Schultz merged with the episode to serve as an update to the program.

## Trivia

* Jason camped out at Fly Creek for a weekend in 2018 to record activity in the area after hours. He made several notes about the event that can be found on *Websleuths* and *Crimewatchers.*
* In the original video, Jason is seen wearing a white jersey. It is a Jacksonville Jaguars jersey, with the number of Maurice Jones-Drew's, which is 32.
* It took about 3 hours to record the episode, and an additional two days to edit before it was released.