Remains confirmed as missing woman's; news brings family some relief
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For family and friends of Linda Fisler Moran, one mystery has been solved. But a bigger one remains.
The Island County Coroner's Office yesterday confirmed that bones found in woods at the south end of Whidbey Island on Friday were those of Moran, who disappeared Dec. 22, 1996.
Dr. Robert Bishop, the county coroner, said although he has not yet compared the 26-year-old Moran's dental charts to the teeth on the skeleton, other evidence "overwhelmingly" proves the remains are hers.
The cause of death, however, remains unknown, Bishop said. He intends to work with an anthropologist to determine more.
"I can't assure anybody we can find it," he said. "You have to remember we're only working with bones."
The recovery of the remains, however, helps Moran's family with one part of the puzzle.
"Well, it's a good thing to bring closure to the family," Pam Degamo, Moran's cousin, said yesterday.
"Of course, we would have wanted a living, walking (person). But we knew from the beginning that that was not going to happen anyway," Degamo said from her Lynnwood home.
Meanwhile, Island County sheriff's detectives yesterday questioned the dead woman's former husband, Bill Moran.
He was the last to see his wife and remained a "person of interest, but not a suspect" in the death, according to Jan Smith, chief civil deputy with the sheriff's office.
Linda Moran was last seen with her husband at a gas station at Casey's Bayview Shopping Plaza, on the south end of the island off state Highway 525. Moran's husband told authorities his wife disappeared while he was paying for gasoline. She left behind her wallet and a change of clothing.
At the time, Moran's family said it would be unlike her to leave her family, including an 8-year-old son.
There also was "indication of some martial difficulties," Smith said.
Yesterday, Moran said there had been no marital strife until two weeks before his wife vanished. Always a little withdrawn and shy, he said she had begun mumbling nonsensical things. He said at one point she told him she had swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills, then denied she had when he called for help.
"It was a shock," he said. "One day you come home and a person in your family is not making any sense."
He said her condition had rapidly deteriorated and he followed her everywhere to make sure she wouldn't hurt herself. The day before she disappeared, he said he had taken her to an Everett hospital, where she twice attempted to wrap a phone cord around her neck.
He said doctors told him that if they didn't have any beds at Stevens Hospital, he would have to commit her to an institution. He said he was scared, but sneaked her out to another hospital where she received some medication and scheduled an evaluation for two days later.
After his wife disappeared, Moran distributed fliers wherever he went. He offered a $5,000 reward. He said he eventually lost hope, and divorced his wife about two years after her disappearance.
Linda Moran's son, from a previous marriage, went to live with her parents.
And, over the years, Moran said he has continued to receive hate mail blaming him for his wife's death.
When he heard the latest news reports, Moran said he headed to the Island County Sheriff's Office, bringing a hairbrush that had been Linda's. He thought detectives might be able to use the strands of hair to help identify her remains.
"There is some closure, but it's bad closure," Bill Moran said. "It's sad. I was hoping that they would find her alive."
Dave Birkland can be reached at 206-515-5682 or at dbirkland@seattletimes.com. Keiko Morris can be reached at 206-464-3214 or at kmorris@seattletimes.com.