Detectives looking for new leads in NKY cold case dating back to 1966

DAYTON, Ky. (FOX19) - For more than 50 years, the murder of a Kentucky teenager has remained unsolved, but detectives are still hopeful the case can be closed.

Nov. 17, 2020 marks 54 years since Linda Pierson was attacked and killed not far from her home in Dayton.

The 18-year-old reportedly left her house around 7 p.m. that day. Hours later, she was found dead.

“Her family said she was very bubbly and just an outgoing person," Kentucky State Police Post 6 Trooper Cory Elliott said.

Betty Norton says she was Pierson’s neighbor and was there when Pierson’s body was discovered.

“We were playing hide and go seek, it was a group of us kids," Norton said. "We were just terrified, and then we actually ran home and had them call the police.”

Evidence indicated that Pierson had been raped and strangled somewhere else before she was dumped, nearly naked, by the Ohio River.

“She had been murdered by some type of string instrument, whether that be rubber bands, something of that nature," Elliott said.

KSP detectives chased down lots of leads and interviewed hundreds of people.

“A lot of times there’s a pattern in these types of cases. It is usually someone who knows the person," Elliott said. “There’s numerous suspects that were interviewed at the beginning of the case and even into the ’80s and ’90s even and into the 2000s.”

News reports from the ’60′s said several young men were seen with Pierson that night and that some of them took lie detector tests. However, to this day, no one has been arrested for the murder.

“This girl’s family, they’ve never had the ability to have that peace of mind to know what exactly happened and justice sought for the person who did this to their daughter, their sister," Elliott said.

According to police, many of Pierson’s relatives have since passed away.

Detectives believe there are people out there who have information that they have not reported. They say one witness coming forward could help them crack the case.

Anyone with information is asked to call KSP Post 6 at (859) 428-1212.

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