Julie Weflen
Real Name: Julie Ann Weflen
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Location: Spokane, Washington
Date: September 16, 1987
Bio[]
Occupation: Power Equipment Technician
Date of Birth: May 3, 1959
Height: 5'2"
Weight: 110 pounds
Marital Status: Married
Characteristics: Caucasian female with brown hair and brown eyes. She has a metal rod implanted in her spine, a scar on her back, and pierced ears.
Case[]
Details: Twenty-eight-year-old Julie Weflen was one of the few female operators for the Bonneville Power Administration in Spokane, Washington. On September 16, 1987, there was a report that the nitrogen was low in one of the transformers at the Spring Hill substation near Riverside State Park. At around 2pm, Julie went there to check it out. She signed in there at 2:30pm and is believed to have completed her work an hour later. She was never seen or heard from again.
At around 9pm, a neighbor noticed Julie's truck abandoned in the gravel lot next to the substation and called the police. Several of her belongings, including her hard hat, toolbox, sunglasses, and water bottle, were found next to it. Its driver-side door and back hatch were open, and her purse was inside. There were apparent drag marks at the scene, suggesting that she had dug her feet into the ground while being taken away. A fresh tire pattern, not belonging to her truck, was also found there. Police believe that she was abducted by two men and was later murdered, although she has never been found.
Suspects: Evidence at the scene indicated that at least two people may have been involved in Julie's abduction. Her abductor(s) have never been identified. However, they are believed to be local.
Julie's husband, Mike, was initially considered a suspect until it was confirmed that he was painting a house fifty miles away at the time of her abduction. He has been actively involved in the search for her. Her ex-husband was also investigated and ruled out.
One person of interest in this case is a man who lived close to the substation where Julie vanished. Police received several tips about him in the months following her disappearance. He allegedly refused to cooperate in the investigation. Interestingly, he also knew Deborah Jean Swanson, a Coeur d'Alene, Idaho teacher who vanished in 1986. It is believed that he sent Mike a threatening letter a few months after Julie's disappearance. However, investigators reportedly later cleared him as a suspect in this case.
Extra Notes:
- This case first aired as a part of a missing persons special alert on the October 25, 1989 episode along with those of Stefanie Stroh. Kyle Clinkscales, Carlos Alvarez, Diana Braungardt, David Tyll and Brian Ognjan, John Simmons, Lily Mae Huff, David Thies, and Susan Cappel.
- It was excluded from the FilmRise release of the Robert Stack episodes.
- It was also featured on West 57th and Good Morning America.
In 2004, true crime author Ann Rule included a chapter about Julie's abduction in the book, Kiss Me, Kill Me.
Some sources call the substation "Springhill".
Results: Unsolved. Police now consider this case a homicide, however, Julie's body has never been found and there are still no suspects. Police have ruled out serial killers Robert Lee Yates and Gary Ridgway, also known as "Green River Killer". Amateur investigator and Julie's former coworker, John Polos, has suggested that her abduction may be related to other unsolved disappearances and murders of young women in the area around the same time, including Deborah Swanson and Sally Stone.
Sadly, Julie's mother, Bette. passed away in 2006 without ever seeing this case solved. Mike later remarried but still hopes that it will be done so. Her family and friends, including several former coworkers, are still searching for answers. As of March 15, 2012, the BPA is offering an additional $25,000 reward for information.
In 2020, Polos stated that he believed the former person of interest was responsible in Julie and Deborah's cases. The man died in January 2020. An eyewitness recently came forward, claiming to have seen Julie's abduction; at the time, he believed that it was a domestic dispute, because she and her abductor called each other by name. Investigators have not yet commented on this information.
Links:
- Julie Weflen on Wikipedia
- Julie Weflen on the Charley Project
- Julie Weflen on the Doe Network
- Searchers unable to locate woman believed abducted (Page 1) (Page 2) - September 18, 1987
- Weflen offers $10,000 reward for wife's return - September 20, 1987
- BPA adds $20,000 reward for Weflen - September 23, 1987
- A month of fear, frustration - October 11, 1987
- Sheriff still getting calls, but "nothing has panned out" - October 11, 1987
- Another search turns up little - and no Julie Weflen - November 1, 1987
- BPA worker still missing after weekend search - November 2, 1987
- Man quits job to hunt for missing wife - December 25, 1987
- Family, friends still searching for Julie Weflen - January 26, 1988
- Man hopes TV show leads to missing wife - April 29, 1988
- Events like Weflen abduction took away city's innocence - May 2, 1988
- A year after Weflen vanished, one man still called a suspect - September 15, 1988
- A year later, woman's disappearance remains a mystery - September 16, 1988
- No suspects in 1987 Weflen disappearance - March 6, 1990
- Missing woman's case still haunts devoted husband - September 17, 1992
- Missing on the job - September 30, 2007
- Missing woman's ex-colleague brings attention to 1987 case - May 17, 2011
- 1987 Weflen cold case gets fresh look - May 17, 2011
- Detectives retrieve belongings from Weflen's locker - November 22, 2011
- Reward Offered In 1987 Disappearance Of BPA's Julie Weflen - March 16, 2012
- Amateur sleuth says 25-year-old case of missing BPA worker Julie Weflen "can be solved" - April 22, 2012
- Unsolved Mysteries: What Happened to Julie Weflen? - March 3, 2015
- Spokane man links chunk of concrete to cold case - December 28, 2017
- Julie Weflen on Find a Grave