Who was Joyce LePage and what really happeed?

Joyce Margaret LePage was born on December 4., 1949, into a farming family that lived just outside the city.

As an athletic and intelligent student, her decision to attend Washington State University did not surprise the LePage family. The family had several ties to the university in Whitman County.

But Joyce would not graduate. Joyce would grow up to the age of 21 years old.

In the summer of 1971, the WSU junior disappeared without a trace.

Nine months after her disappearance, her remains were found on April 16, 1972, in a gully roughly 10-15 miles south of Pullman, west of Colton, just off Wawawai Road in remote Wawawai Canyon.

Her primarily skeletal remains were wrapped inside a military blanket and green carpet. The green rug had gone missing roughly ten days before when she was reported missing from the university's Stevens Hall, which was under construction when she disappeared.

Joyce was known to hang out on the first floor of the vacant dormitory, where she would study, play piano and relax from the stress of taking extra classes during the summer term.

An extensive cold-case file shows the Whitman County Sheriff's Office reported she was most likely killed when WSU police first investigated the missing carpet.

Current Sheriff Brett Myers has taken hold of the case since his election in 2003.

"Joyce was someone's daughter, sister, and friend. She was a person," he said. "For the LePage family, they mourned. There are still families who miss and love her."

She was the second of five children. Joyce was the second after her sister, Phyllis LePage. She had three younger brothers - Bruce, Steven, and David.

Joyce, and her brothers and sisters, grew up on the family farm on LaPorte Drive.

As a child, Joyce often pesters her brothers and leaves them with scattered notes when they are too noisy or bothersome.

"All of us kids played well together and generally had good times," brother Bruce LePage said during an interview Tuesday, April 12. "We had opportunities and good parenting.

"We never had to deal with financial stress. My dad took a lot of photos and videos of us kids. Just good family memories. We all have something to look back on."

Joyce was a high-marking student throughout high school and had many friends.

When taking her driver's test, she scored 86 out of 100 points and was marked down 6 points because she slightly inched out of her lane six times while driving.

She often used creative adjectives in her school essays, once using the word "delicious" to describe a Christmas present and the temptation to open it.

Joyce was ambitious. She earned her private pilot's license at 18 years old and was described by many as "sweet and bubbly."

She enjoyed the song "Downtown" by Petula Clark and listened to music by bands like Steppenwolf.

According to Myers, the family reported her missing after she didn't come home for a weekend visit in Pasco.

"We have a theft case and a missing person case, but it was not until April of 1972 that we discovered that her body was deliberately put somewhere in the carpet," he said.

The Whitman County Sheriff's Office reported her remains were sent to the FBI for examination. The FBI discovered seven possible knife markings on her ribs that they said to be the cause of death.

However, after nine months in a gully of Wawawai Canyon, animals, and scavengers had consumed part of Joyce's decomposed remains.

"A unique set of hurdles have been placed for this case," Myers said. "She wasn't reported missing for ten days, and DNA testing didn't hit the scene for another 20 years.

"Most of the material and resources are well over 50 years old—the timeline factors in, too.

"Between her going missing and her officially being declared a murder victim, a lot of information we need is missing."

There have been numerous suspects and persons of interest throughout the years. However, any of those individuals would be well into their elderly age or have passed away.

One person of interest, a convicted serial killer, died in 1989.

Ted Bundy - who confessed to 30 murders and confirmed in 20 - was a person of interest in the disappearances of Joyce LePage and Laure Patridge of Spokane.

Bundy, however, never confessed to Joyce's murder. And he denied responsibility for Joyce's death before his execution in 1989 in Florida's "Old Sparky" electric chair.

"We have to broaden it [the case] out and take all the possibilities. Ted Bundy is one of them," Bruce LePage said. "But sometimes you get too broad and distracted, and the probability goes out.

We can hope for an opening in the case.

The anniversary of the day Joyce's remains were found is an emotional day for the LePage family. Her brother continues to investigate the case.

"I'll never give up on this case," he said.

At the time of the discovery, the family did not feel they could get involved. Bruce became involved 12 years ago and took over his father's pursuits after he passed away.

"There wasn't anything we or the public could do, so we had to wait until her body was found. My family, myself included, has come to terms with the case pretty well. If her body had been found immediately where she was murdered, we could have looked into closure," Bruce said.

"But with the 9-month time frame and the lack of evidence where her body was disposed of, there was nothing to go on."

In the years since Myers has taken charge of the case, follow-ups with persons of interest and suspects have been underway.

"It's hard to go ahead and say one person absolutely did it. Many refused to talk to detectives or take a polygraph," Bruce said. "One other individual finally offered to take a polygraph, and he passed."

Bruce believes that by the way Joyce's remains were disposed of, and the location of where she was left, the person responsible is cunning and knowledgeable.

The case has stayed active for 50 years since Joyce's remains were discovered.

"The fact that he [Sheriff Bret Myers] has shown an interest in the case this long and has been willing to work any leads for the case this long means a lot to us. It's just a waiting game at this point," Bruce said.

Joyce is one of three open and active unsolved deaths in Whitman County.

However, with the 50th anniversary looming around the corner, the family and Sheriff's Office hold a lot of hope for new leads in her case.

"It's sad that it's been 50 years since Joyce's murder. We still don't have a resolution or a positively identified suspect. Maybe once or twice a year, we get new leads," Myers said, "But we need more solid and credible information about the case. We will keep hoping for new information."

In the last few years, Bruce has placed a reward for anyone that can provide information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Joyce's death.

The reward is $100,000 - $60,000 for information that leads to an arrest, with an additional $40,000 that leads to a conviction.

"I will remain involved and keep the reward up for $100,000 for as long as I am alive," Bruce said.

The public has remained interested in the Joyce LePage case since it began in 1972.

Her story and unsolved case have inspired many WSU students to pursue stories, films, and art in honor of her.

"We owe it to the family to solve this case," Myers said. "It has been a phenomenally interesting case, and It's been a neat experience to get to know Joyce, her family, and her brother Bruce."

"Even if we never find the perpetrator, at least me, the sheriff, and other detectives put in our absolute best effort to find justice for Joyce," Bruce said.

Bruce LePage sits on a bench swing dedicated to his sister, Joyce LePage, whose remains were found in remote Wawawai Canyon, west of Colton, on April 16, 1972. The case remains unsolved.

A photo of Joyce LePage before her disappearance from Washington State University during the summer of 1971.

A memorial plaque dedicated to Joyce LePage tops a bench swing in Pasco's Wade Park, which runs alongside the Columbia River.

The LePage family of Pasco sends off Joyce LePage and Bruce LePage for their junior and freshman years, respectively, at Washington State University. Standing in front of car with Joyce, right, are Bruce, center back, Phillis, left, and David, circa 1970.

Joyce and her three brothers - Bruce, Steven David - and the family dog Spot enjoy time with the farm bike, circa 1966.

The LePage family stands in front of WSU's McCroskey Hall in Pullman as Joyce LePage returns to campus from Christmas break during her freshman year in January 1969.

Joyce LePage and her sister Phyllis LePage sitting in a bedroom at family farm on LaPorte Drive, Pasco, circa 1967.

Joyce LePage and friend James Krumstick at a school function, circa 1968.