PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — The identity of the Lady of the Dunes, a young woman found murdered in Provincetown, is one of New England's most enduring mysteries.
But is it possible the case could be tied to one of the greatest movies of all time?
That’s the hot theory proposed by one of New England’s most iconic masters of the macabre.
Provincetown, on the very tip of Cape Cod, is a place of peace and legends. None bigger than the case of the Lady of the Dunes.
On July 26, 1974, the body of a murdered woman was found on a beach blanket on Race Point Beach. Her hands had been removed and haven't been found. Some of her teeth had been pulled and police said it appeared someone may have tried to cut her head off.
It was apparent she had been killed by a blow to the side of her head.
No one knows who she was. But an effort in 2010 to exhume her body and reconstruct her face has yielded a life-like illustration of what she probably looked like.
Over the years there have been a lot of theories about who the Lady of the Dunes really was.
The man behind the new theory of how to find her identity is Joe Hill, a New Hampshire best-selling author. And the son of Maine’s master of horror Steven King.
MORE: Woman who discovered 'Lady of the Dunes' talks to Boston 25 News
Boston 25 News reporter Jason Law recently asked Hill about his theory at an event in Rockport.
“I was watching the movie and about a third of the way in, my whole body covered with goosebumps and I jolted forward in my seat," Hill said.
Jaws was shot on Martha's Vineyard and Hill thinks one of the movie’s extras, filmed in a crowd at Vineyard Haven, could be the Lady of the Dunes.
The timing works out. The scene (54 minutes in) was shot in May 1974, the Lady was found in July.
The scene was shot about 100 miles away from Provincetown.
The woman in the film wore a blue bandana and jeans. A blue bandana and jeans were found next to the Lady of the Dunes.
For now, it's all a theory. But it’s an intriguing one.
MORE: New England's Unsolved Podcast
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