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NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Friday, November 3, 2017 Persistence leads to solving 1979 case of teen’s slaying held accountable.” The investigators learned that Dunlap had been convicted in 1996 of first-degree sex abuse of a family member and was sentenced to prison. The officers credited the victim of that crime with coming forward, because if she hadn’t, Dunlap wouldn’t have gone to prison and his DNA wouldn’t have been in the database, meaning Janie’s murder would never have been solved. Dunlap had also been convicted of rape in Tennessee in 1961 and sentenced to 99 years in prison. But he was paroled in 1973. The investigators learned that Dunlap had died behind bars in 2002, depriving Landers’ family of seeing him brought to justice for Janie’s murder. For Hooper, who was five years younger than Janie and is now 52, that’s not the most important aspect. “Final closure would have been seeing him convicted of her murder. But how I try to look at is: he died in prison. He wasn’t out there hurting anyone else,” Hooper said in a telephone interview from Coos Bay, Oregon, where she grew up and still lives. What really matters to Hooper is Hinkle’s persistence. “I will be forever grateful to him,” Hooper said. “He stuck with it. Any changes or actions in the case, he kept me informed. He stuck with her case and believed that something was there that could help solve it.” By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM — The persistence of a detective and the sister of a young woman who was stabbed and beaten has solved a murder in Oregon — 38 years after it happened. On March 9, 1979, Janie Landers disappeared outside the Fairview Training Center for the develop- mentally disabled where she lived in Salem. Five days later, the 18-year- old’s body was discovered in a remote field, with deep stab wounds in her neck and her head bashed. Witnesses had seen Janie, who functioned at about the level of an 8-year-old child and stood just 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed 105 pounds, get into a stranger’s car. The police questioned several people, but all their leads turned into dead ends. As the years passed, Janie’s younger sister, Joyce Hooper, kept pushing the authorities to solve the crime. In 2001, a retired Oregon State Police detective was assigned the case, but had no better luck than previous investigators. In March 2015, the 36th anniver- sary of the murder, Hooper pushed again, and the state police reopened the case. They gave it to Detective Steve Hinkle, a member of the Major Crimes Section. It was his very first cold case. Hinkle was skeptical that he’d be able to crack a case that had flummoxed other detectives who Janie Landers to examine Landers’ blood-stained shirt. They found that it was pack- aged properly, so the DNA — which can easily degrade if packaged improperly — was still intact. It was analyzed, and DNA that wasn’t Landers’ was found. That DNA result was run through the FBI’s CODIS DNA database. Bingo. There was a match, to a man named Gerald Dunlap, who had worked in Fairview’s laundry in 1979. The institution, which had a record of abusing its wards, was closed in 2000. “Finding something like that, it’s such an old case, and such an inno- cent victim, it’s just remarkable,” state police Capt. Jon Harrington said at a news conference Thursday alongside Hinkle. Hinkle described to reporters what motivated him to keep working the case, even on his own time. “It needed to be solved,” he said. “It’s a vulnerable young girl that got murdered for no reason, and some- body did it. Somebody needed to be Marion County Sheriff’s Office via AP Oregon State Police Major Crimes Detective Steve Hinkle stands over files for the 38-year-old Janie Landers murder case at Oregon State Police headquarters in Salem, Thursday. Oregon State Police have been able to solve the brutal murder and determine that Ger- ald Dunlap is solely responsible for Landers’ death. had fresh access to evidence and witnesses. “I knew when I got assigned it that it was a very low statistical like- lihood that we’d solve it, especially after that amount of time had gone by,” Hinkle said at a news conference Thursday. Hinkle began digitizing the contents of the boxes of files, so investigators in years to come would have something to go on. Gerald Dunlap But he and other investigators, examining photos of deep stab wounds near Janie’s neck, noticed that there were no abrasions from a weapon handle known as a hilt, and they concluded the killer’s hand probably slipped while he stabbed Janie, cutting himself and leaving his own DNA behind. Then the investigators hit a trifecta of good luck. They went to the evidence locker Legislature seeks analysis of its personnel policies personnel rules lay out procedures for reporting and responding to harassment both informally and formally. Multiple informal complaints of unwanted touching against State Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Rose- burg, are being investigated by legislative counsel and the Legislature’s human resources department. It’s not clear when the results of that inquiry may come to light. The intent of the informal complaint process is to allow members or employees of the legislative branch to have a confi- dential way to report harassment and get the behavior to stop. By contrast, formal complaints against legislators, as outlined in the rules, require an outside investigation. The results are presented to a legislative committee on conduct. That committee can recom- mend the reprimand, censure, or By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Legislative branch staff are putting together a competitive bid for an indepen- dent analysis of the Legislature’s personnel policies in the wake of allegations of harassment in the Oregon Capitol. Reports of unwanted touching by two male lawmakers have surfaced as more people nation- ally have been coming forward about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault. Legislative counsel is preparing the bid for the outside review, according to the office of Employee Services, the Legisla- ture’s human resources arm. Legislative counsel could not be reached for comment to answer questions about the scope, cost and timeline of the review Wednesday. The Legislature’s current expulsion of the member, and the action requires a two-thirds vote of the chamber in question. It’s an exceedingly rare process. But while it’s rare for formal complaints to be lodged with the Legislature regarding harassment, that doesn’t neces- sarily mean harassment itself is uncommon. Since the allegations against Kruse, several female lobbyists and legislators have spoken publicly about their experiences with harassment and sexism. Last year, the Equal Employ- ment Opportunity Commission found that roughly 75 percent of people who experienced workplace harassment never discussed the harassing conduct with a supervisor, manager or union representative. “Employees who experience harassment fail to report the harassing behavior or file a complaint because they fear 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY SUNDAY SATURDAY Cooler; a little morning rain A bit of afternoon rain 47° 30° 44° 33° MONDAY Cloudy, a rain or snow shower Some snow in the morning PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 43° 28° 41° 23° 44° 21° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 48° 34° 51° 29° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 52° 56° 75° (1908) 41° 36° 7° (1935) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Trace Trace 0.08" 13.70" 10.34" 10.07" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 59° 57° 72° (1977) 41° 35° 0° (1935) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" 0.00" 0.06" 7.80" 7.33" 7.34" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Full Last Nov 3 Nov 10 44° 24° 45° 23° Seattle 44/34 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 46° 30° New 7:38 a.m. 5:39 p.m. 5:54 p.m. 6:40 a.m. First Nov 18 Nov 26 Today TUESDAY Increasing cloudiness and chilly Spokane Wenatchee 38/23 40/22 Tacoma Moses 45/28 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 43/24 42/27 47/31 44/28 47/25 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 48/36 47/31 Lewiston 50/28 Astoria 45/30 49/33 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 50/37 Pendleton 42/23 The Dalles 51/29 47/30 51/33 La Grande Salem 44/26 52/35 Albany Corvallis 51/36 52/33 John Day 43/28 Ontario Eugene Bend 53/30 51/33 42/23 Caldwell Burns 55/34 42/15 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 49 44 42 51 42 42 51 46 51 43 47 44 40 49 52 54 53 50 47 50 44 52 38 39 49 47 47 Lo 33 20 23 40 15 23 33 29 29 28 28 26 24 31 39 38 30 26 30 37 18 35 23 23 37 31 25 W sh r sh r sn r r sh r sh sh r r r sh r sh r r sh sh sh c r sh r r Hi 49 42 41 51 37 38 50 43 48 40 40 41 38 51 51 53 47 47 44 49 43 50 35 36 48 45 45 Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Lo 28 69 52 51 52 26 49 50 35 60 58 W s c s c pc pc pc pc sh pc pc Lo 39 24 28 43 17 25 39 32 34 30 20 29 28 34 42 43 28 33 33 40 24 40 27 25 41 34 32 W r r pc pc c c c c pc c pc r r pc r pc r pc r r pc r sf c r r pc Sat. Hi 57 79 66 55 77 36 60 68 53 67 66 (in mph) Klamath Falls 47/28 Boardman Pendleton Lo 33 69 52 38 50 31 44 55 33 61 51 W s c s r pc pc c pc s sh pc REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Mostly cloudy today with a couple of showers; chilly across the north. Eastern and Central Oregon: A thick cloud cover today. A little rain; only in the morning across the north. Western Washington: Considerable cloudi- ness today with a couple of showers. Some clouds tonight; a stray shower. Eastern Washington: Mostly cloudy today; a little rain and snow with snow levels mostly near 2,500 feet. Cascades: Cloudy today with periods of rain and snow. Snow level mostly near 3,500 feet with several inches. Northern California: Cloudy today; rain, heavy at times at the coast. Snow levels lowering in the mountains. Today Saturday NNE 4-8 NW 6-12 SW 4-8 WSW 6-12 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 0 0 1 1 0 NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. WORLD CITIES Hi 54 83 65 58 78 34 62 66 59 80 67 Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sat. WINDS Medford 49/31 Corrections The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. ADVERTISING Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Kimberly Macias 541-278-2683 • kmacias@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • Grace Bubar 541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES www.eastoregonian.com PORTLAND (AP) — State Rep. John Huffman has resigned from the Oregon Legislature. The Republican from The Dalles told The Oregonian/OregonLive last week he was pursuing a job with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and wouldn’t seek re-election. But Huffman decided to leave right away, announcing his resignation Huffman in an Oct. 28 letter to Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson. Huffman had been in Legislature for 10 years. Huffman’s heavily Republican district includes portions of four counties. Commis- sioners in those counties will appoint his successor. disbelief of their claim, blame or social or professional retal- iation,” a June 2016 report, prepared by a special task force on workplace harassment, states. The two lawmakers accused of harassment have reportedly responded to informal allega- tions differently. Reports of “inappropriate humor” and “inappropriate touching” in recent years against State Rep. David Gomberg, D-Central Coast, were made to House leadership, who resolved the issue confidentially, Gomberg said in a constituent newsletter Sunday. Gomberg says he changed his behavior when it was brought to his attention. No complaint was filed in that instance, although legislative counsel was “infor- mally consulted,” according to a spokesman for the House Democrats. Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — Oregon lawmaker resigns in pursuit of Ag Department job 0 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017 -10s -0s showers t-storms 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: Showers will extend from parts of Texas and Louisiana to Maine today. Snow is forecast from Montana to Minnesota. Rain and high-country snow will fall from Washington and Idaho to Northern California. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 95° in Fort Worth, Texas Low 12° in Bodie State Park, Calif. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 71 78 74 76 37 78 54 70 82 68 50 54 81 67 52 80 33 34 87 86 60 83 54 74 82 68 Lo 49 61 51 43 25 63 33 42 57 49 43 38 63 47 37 56 23 28 77 68 45 59 44 56 58 57 W s pc s pc c t sh c s c c pc s pc pc s c sn pc pc c s c pc t c Sat. Hi 75 78 61 58 32 79 46 52 81 70 51 56 88 72 52 84 29 39 86 85 63 83 64 75 79 69 Lo 47 59 56 51 16 62 31 45 58 56 47 53 69 39 48 58 22 24 75 70 58 61 52 55 64 60 Today W pc pc pc r sn pc r pc pc sh r r s pc r pc c c sh pc r s c c c c Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia Phoenix Portland, ME Providence Raleigh Rapid City Reno Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tucson Washington, DC Wichita Hi 66 80 85 47 39 76 81 72 64 51 74 83 66 72 81 52 56 61 59 64 70 64 44 85 78 52 Lo 56 64 72 43 32 59 63 45 47 39 46 63 36 40 58 30 39 51 55 48 60 54 34 59 50 43 W sh t pc pc sn sh sh pc pc pc pc pc sh c pc i c r c pc pc r sh pc pc c Sat. Hi 73 79 85 50 43 79 81 56 83 61 61 85 52 56 68 49 55 61 71 61 71 60 45 86 59 69 Lo 64 67 73 46 38 63 63 53 63 41 53 61 38 43 53 22 34 39 60 43 61 48 37 56 54 54 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W c c s r c sh pc pc pc c pc pc pc pc c pc r c c r sh r r pc sh pc