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<< Previous   of   Next >> HERALD STAFF  (click to enlarge) Playing cards with photographs of cold case victims issued to inmates to help solve the crimes. Vera Alex is on the eight of spades.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Tips sought in Monroe cold case from 2000 10/30/09 • Families plead for tips on cold cases 5/24/09 • Cold-case playing cards bring police new leads 5/24/09 • Family of slain Machias woman waits for answers 5/17/09 • Cold Case: Unsolved shootings ended mother-daughter trail hike 5/10/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, March 22, 2009 Police seek clues in 1982 Gold Bar slaying By Diana Hefley Herald Writer GOLD BAR -- Robert Alex told police his wife was missing. He first thought she left their Gold Bar home to visit relatives. She hadn't come back. He called police. A man walking his dog found Vera Lorraine Alex about two weeks later. Her battered body was lying between the north bank of the Skykomish River and U.S. 2 just across from town. The 34-year-old homemaker was beaten to death. The 1982 slaying remains an open investigation. Alex is part of the state's first deck of cold-case playing cards. She is featured on the eight of spades. Snohomish County sheriff's detectives created the playing cards last year in an attempt to solve homicides and missing persons cases dating back to the 1970s. More than 3,000 decks have been handed out to inmates in the state's prisons and jails in hopes of soliciting new leads for investigations that have stalled. Inmates are offered a $1,000 reward for valuable tips. Sheriff's detectives have received some calls but no arrests have been made in the unsolved cases. They are hoping that people who may have been afraid to speak up at the time, would feel compelled to step forward now. Alex was last seen alive on Oct. 22, 1982. Her remains were found on Nov. 9, 1982. Jack Pardee, Gold Bar police chief at the time, told reporters that Alex was well-known in town. "She was one of our locals, like me or anybody else," Pardee was quoted. Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. About this series Snohomish County sheriff's detectives created the state's first deck of cold-case playing cards. Each Sunday for a year, The Herald is publishing a story about a case featured on one of the cards. To see the 52 cards, go to www.heraldnet.com. Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or missing persons cases is asked to call 800-222-TIPS (8477). A reward of up to $1,000 is offered. Tips also can be left on the sheriff's tip line at 425-388-3845. Callers may remain anonymous, although tips have been more successful when callers speak with detectives, police said. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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