The bridge where Ted Bundy abducted Denise Lynn Oliverson
Crime Scene Location in Grand Junction, Colorado
This is the site where serial killer Ted Bundy abducted Denise Lynn Oliverson.
It is located at the South 5th Street Bridge in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Oliverson disappeared after leaving her home on LaVeta Street on April 6th, 1975. The following day, a railway worker discovered her yellow bicycle and sandals underneath this overpass.
Since then, there has been no trace of the missing 24-year-old.
Ted Bundy confessed to murdering Oliverson
Shortly before his execution in 1989, Bundy confessed to abducting and murdering a woman in Grand Junction.
Gas receipts proved that he was in the city on the same day that Oliverson disappeared.
Bundy said that he lured the young woman into his car and then strangled her to death. Afterwards, he dumped her body in the Colorado River.
Husband
On the day of her disappearance, Oliverson had a heated argument with her husband, Joe.
Following the argument, she left their small one-bedroom home on LaVeta Street and cycled to her parents' house on the other side of the Colorado River.
When she failed to return, her husband presumed that she was spending the night with her parents, as that was something she did whenever they had a fight.
However, when he called her parents' house the following day to ask when she was coming home, he was informed that she had never visited them.
At that point, it became immediately clear that something was wrong. Consequently, Oliverson's parents contacted the police and reported her missing.
Oliverson's items were discovered underneath this bridge
On the same day that she was reported missing, a railroad employee found her yellow 10-speed bicycle and wine-colored sandals underneath this overpass on South 5th Street.
Although this discovery led the police to suspect foul play, there were no other leads in the case. From their perspective, it seemed as though she had vanished into thin air.
It wasn't until Bundy confessed in January 1989 that the truth finally became known.
On that fateful day in April 1975, he somehow lured the young woman to his Volkswagen Bug, which he had strategically parked underneath the bridge. Once she was close enough, it is likely that he struck her over the head, raped her, and then strangled her to death.
Following the murder, he drove west for five miles before he eventually pulled over to dump her body in the Colorado River.
Sadly, no trace of Oliverson has ever been found. Like many of Bundy's victims, she is still missing.
Denise Lynn Oliverson: Abduction Location
The address and the GPS coordinates for this location are as follows:
Address
South 5th Street Bridge, Grand Junction, Colorado, CO 81501, USA
GPS coordinates
The latitude and longitude coordinates for the site are:
39.060627, -108.564173
Directions
This location is accessible via 4th Avenue, which is a small road that runs underneath the overpass. The entrance to 4th Avenue is on South 7th Street.
Details about the general area
Grand Junction is a small city in the west of Colorado. It is close to the state line with Utah.
Photos
Photos of the site and other related images.
1619 LaVeta Street
At the time of her disappearance, Oliverson was living with her husband in this small house on LaVeta Street.
Whenever the couple had an argument, she would often leave the house with her bicycle.
On many occasions, she would cycle across the bridge to her parents' house and stay with them for the night.
Coordinates: 39.051627, -108.563853
Bundy was in Grand Junction at the time
Gas receipts show that Bundy was in Grand Junction on the day that Oliverson disappeared.
1. On April 4th, 1975, he purchased gas in Golden, Colorado.
2. The following day, he stopped at a gas station in Silverthorne.
3. Then, on April 6th, he visited Grand Junction, which was the exact same day that the 24-year-old went missing.
This evidence, coupled with his confession in 1989, led investigators to conclude that Bundy was almost responsible for her disappearance.
Bundy's frequent stops at gas stations make a lot of sense when you consider the distance involved. During his "road trip" across the state of Colorado, he traveled at least 1,035 miles over a five-day period.
While he was visiting Golden, he returned to the body of Julie Cunningham, whom he had murdered twenty days earlier.
Pathway
This is a Google Street View image of the small pathway that slopes down on the eastern side of the South 5th Street Bridge.
Although this area would have looked different in 1975, historical aerial photographs show that the current pathway hasn't changed too much.
Coordinates: 39.059617, -108.564065
How did Bundy abduct Oliverson?
This aerial photograph shows the route that Oliverson was planning on taking that day. It is likely that she avoided the bridge and took the pathway on the right.
The evidence indicates that Bundy intercepted her before she could continue her journey northward.
Because she was on a bicycle, it would not have made sense for him to offer her a ride. Instead, it is likely that he flagged her down and asked for help.
It is the author's opinion that Bundy used one of two ruses here:
1. He pretended to be experiencing car troubles.
2. He approached Oliverson using crutches or a fake cast and then asked her to help him carry something to his vehicle.
Others have posited the theory that she may have run into mechanical issues with her bicycle and that Bundy eventually came to her assistance.
However, this seems unlikely, as GJPD detective Doug Rushing said that the yellow 10-speed bicycle was undamaged when it was discovered.
The most plausible theory is that Bundy's Volkswagen Bug was parked underneath this overpass, as it was a relatively secluded area in the 1970s.
Sandals
Image source: hiimted.blog
These are police photographs of the wine-colored sandals that were found at the scene.
Former GJPD detectives Doug Rushing and Jim Fromm said that a purse and belt belonging to Oliverson were also discovered beneath the viaduct. However, they never made it into the evidence locker because another officer gifted them to his girlfriend.
South 5th Street overpass
This Google Street View image of the South 5th Street overpass was captured in July 2022.
This is a relatively secluded spot. Oliverson's murder took place on a Sunday, when it would have been quieter than usual.
Map Viewer
There is more than one location associated with this entry. To view all of these places on the same map, you can use the following feature:
This location belongs to the following categories:
Crime ScenesSerial KillersMissing PeopleUnsolved CasesTed Bundy LocationsClosest Locations
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