Account
Jan 15, 2010
May 30, 2023
Helen
Tucker
56
26
64 inches
66 inches
115 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
On a cold day in January 1994, a 26-year-old woman named Helen Irene Tucker vanished from the downtown area of Tacoma, Washington. She was last seen on January 20th in the vicinity of Puyallup Avenue. That evening, she had contact with law enforcement after reporting that she was the victim of an attempted assault. This interaction with the police would be her last known contact with anyone. At the time of her disappearance, Helen, who sometimes went by the last name Cook, was described as a white female with brown hair and blue eyes, standing at approximately five feet five inches tall and weighing around 115 pounds. She had distinctive tattoos: a rose on her right arm and a gnome on her left arm. She left behind a young son. The initial investigation into Helen's disappearance was significantly delayed because she was not officially reported missing for several years. Her family believed a report had been filed, but it wasn't until April of 2000 that she was formally listed as a missing person. This substantial time lapse created significant challenges for the Tacoma Police Department, making it difficult to track down and interview people she was associated with at the time she went missing. Helen's mother, Freda Gable, described her as a happy child who became rebellious around the age of eight or nine, leading her to a difficult life on the streets. Despite her lifestyle, she always maintained contact with her mother, especially on holidays and special occasions, which made her sudden silence all the more alarming. Over the years, the search for answers has continued, though the case has grown cold. Helen's case was at one point reviewed by the Green River Killer Task Force, but it was determined that Gary Ridgway was not a suspect, and the investigation returned to the Tacoma Police Department. There was a potential but unconfirmed sighting of her in Aurora, Colorado, at some point after she vanished. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain unclear, and her case is one of many unsolved missing persons cases in the Tacoma area. Investigators believe it is likely she met with foul play. Her mother has never given up hope of finding out what happened to her daughter, keeping meticulous records and advocating for other families of the missing. The central mystery of the case revolves around what occurred after her last known contact with police and who might have been involved in her disappearance from the streets of Tacoma.
Jan 20, 1994
Tacoma
Washington
Pierce County
No
8121
Tacoma Police Department
Tacoma
Washington
Pierce County
98409
3701 South Pine Street, Washington
2535915950
Local
Law Enforcement
05-1150302
2005-04-25
Tacoma Police Department
Brown
Blue
Blue
06/20/2026
