Oklahoma sheriff finds name of 1976 missing teen in old BTK crossword puzzle
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The Osage County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office says an old crossword puzzle from Dennis “BTK” Rader links the serial killer to the disappearance of Cynthia Dawn Kinney from Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
The Osage County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office first connected Rader to the case nine months ago. At that time, the district attorney for the area said there was “insufficient” evidence linking him to the disappearance of the then 16-year-old.
KSN’s sister station in Oklahoma City, KFOR-TV, sat down with the sheriff on Tuesday. KSN dug into details of that interview, and the evidence he says is “hard to get around.”
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Nearly 20 years ago, a crossword puzzle was mailed to the media. It spells out the names of Rader’s 10 known victims and his home address. It has once again been brought forward with claims of new connections.
“The lady that sent me the information believes that it’s more than just a simple crossword-type puzzle. It’s more in-depth,” said Osage County Oklahoma Sheriff Eddie Virden.
Sheriff Virden announced on August 2023 that they believe Rader is the prime suspect in Kinney’s disappearance. He believes a second look at the puzzle reveals a deeper connection.
“It’s pretty hard to get around the fact that Cindy Kinney’s name is in there, that Osage Laundromat is in there, that Pawhuska is in there,” said Sheriff Virden.
Click on the images below to view the crossword puzzles:
Sheriff Virden acknowledges it takes work to find keywords in this puzzle and past patterns of behavior by Rader.
“In the past, he has played games, cat and mouse with law enforcement and has toyed with them, but he did not come clean with any admission until there was solid proof on what had happened,” he said.
Still, Sheriff Virden stands by the evidence he says they’ve found.
“We found carvings markings in barns, things we believe are 100% proof he has operated within our area,” he said.
KSN’s Julia Thatcher reached out to District Attorney Mike Fisher and asked if he had a statement based on these new claims. He provided the following statement:
“I have not heard Mr. Virden’s latest pronouncement about Dennis Rader and the Cynthia Kinney case. However, I can tell you that the cold case unit of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has found no connection tying Rader to Cynthia’s disappearance. They are still investigating other possibilities but because of the age of the Kinney case have found nothing that points to a particular suspect.”
After Rader’s arrest and admission of guilt, the Wichita Police Department showed evidence to KSN:
WPD found the original puzzle in Rader’s belongings and it also came with a key. Words Sheriff Virden says he found are not highlighted in the original document.
Rader admitted in a “Dateline” interview to using things like puzzles to “stir the hornet nest up with the media.”
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Sheriff Virden said his department plans to investigate both new and old locations that may have connections to Rader’s victims soon.
The Osage County Sheriff’s Office created a National BTK Task Force back in September to help aid in Kinney’s case.
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