For decades, double murderer Warren Forrest terrorized Washington.
Now, a woman has shared her harrowing encounter with the serial killer and revealed how she managed to escape.
The making of a monster
For decades, Warren Forrest, a convicted double murderer, cast a shadow of fear across the state of Washington.
Now, a new true-crime podcast, Stolen Voices of Dole Valley, has shed light on Forrest’s crimes and the horrifying experiences of his survivors. One woman, Norma Countryman, has come forward to share her close call — and how sheer determination saved her life.
Warren Forrest was born on June 29, 1949, in Vancouver, Washington, the younger of two brothers.
He attended Fort Vancouver High School, where he captained the track and field team, before being drafted alongside his older brother Marvin during the Vietnam War. Forrest served as a fire control crewman at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida.
After returning home, Forrest married his high school sweetheart Sharon Ann Hart in 1969.
The couple had two children and moved around, briefly enrolling in a conservation program in California before settling in Battle Ground, Washington, where Forrest worked for the Clark County Parks Department.
The arrest that finally stopped him
On October 2, 1974, Forrest was arrested for kidnapping, rape, and attempted murder after assaulting a 20-year-old woman he lured under the guise of a photoshoot.
He drove her to a city park, assaulted and tortured her, shot her with an air-powered dart gun, and stabbed her six times near Lacamas Lake before leaving her for dead. Miraculously, the victim survived.
Once stable, she described her attacker and his vehicle in detail: a blue 1973 Ford van. She also recalled that he had casually greeted several park employees while driving through the area. Since the park fell under the Parks Department’s jurisdiction, investigators initially suspected one of the employees and began checking alibis.
Their investigation quickly pointed to Forrest. He had called in sick the day of the attack, owned a matching blue 1973 Ford van, and fit the victim’s description. Police secured a search warrant for his home and vehicle, uncovering jewelry and clothing fragments belonging to the 20-year-old survivor.
When shown a photograph, she immediately identified Forrest as her attacker. Unable to provide a credible alibi, Forrest was arrested and charged later that same day.
Soon after, investigators also linked Forrest to the kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl earlier that summer. That woman was Norma Countryman.
