The Missing and Dead Girls of New Bedford [OPINION]

I'm sure there were crimes of violence committed against women before the 1980s, but it became a reality to me when I was a teenager in Freetown.

More than 30 years have passed since the first woman was found dead in the woods on the side of the highway outside of New Bedford. I can vividly remember the television news vans on the overpass in Freetown. The news teams were there to capture footage of the cadaver dog. The police had brought in a specially trained dog capable of smelling out the scent of decomposing human flesh.

That dog was busy on the highways outside of New Bedford in those days. The numerous victims of a serial killer were found, but the killer remains uncharged to this day.

The best account of what has become known as the "New Bedford Highway Serial Killer" is the book Shallow Graves by Maureen Boyle.

Boyle was a young reporter when a police officer mentioned to her that there were some girls missing in the New Bedford area. She wrote the first story about those missing girls for the Standard-Times. Some of those missing girls turned up dead. They were victims of a serial killer.

There are other women with connections to the city of New Bedford still missing today. They aren't necessarily connected to the unsolved serial killer, but they are missing. There are active investigations going on, and these missing girls and the police need any information you can provide them. Please do the right thing.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.