The murder of Mary Tracy, a young Idaho mother, has been linked to convicted killer Charles Strain through DNA evidence from over four decades ago. Tracy’s body was found stabbed to death off a highway in Boise after she went missing in June 1980. Despite the discovery of a mysterious newspaper clipping from 1967 with her body, no substantial leads or suspects emerged in the years that followed.
Tracy’s daughter pushed for a reopening of the investigation in August 2023, which led to a match with Strain through fresh DNA analysis on a sexual assault kit. Strain, who had a criminal history in the Pacific Northwest and was living in Idaho at the time of Tracy’s murder, confessed to killing a woman around the same time. He was later convicted in the 1981 murder of his stepdaughter and passed away in 2007 while serving his prison sentence.
Although the DNA match has connected Strain to the crime, investigators are still seeking additional information. They are reaching out to individuals who worked at the Sunliner Motel in 1980, where Tracy may have been killed, as well as a friend named “Lisa” who could have been one of the last people to see her alive. The Ada County Sheriff’s Department continues to actively pursue leads and gather evidence in order to bring justice for Mary Tracy and her family.
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