Norma Countryman was 15 when she crossed paths with Warren Forrest, the man believed to be responsible for the homicides of at least six women in the early 1970s.
After being kidnapped, the teenager managed to break free by chewing through her ropes in the forest where she had been held.
Forrest’s crimes are the focus of a new true-crime podcast, Stolen Voices of Dole Valley, hosted by Carolyn Ossorio.
Highlights
- Norma Countryman was tied to a tree after being assaulted by Warren Forrest in July 1974.
- Forrest has been found guilty of the homicides of two women but is believed to be responsible for at least six others.
- His case resurfaced in the true-crime podcast Stolen Voices of Dole Valley.
The Washington man, a convicted double m*rderer, has been in prison since 1974. Four years later, he was found guilty of the homicide of 20-year-old Krista Blake. In 2023, he was found guilty of the homicide of 17-year-old Martha Morrison.
Image credits: Clark County Sheriff's Office
Both crimes took place in 1974, the same year Norma Countryman was sitting by the side of the road in Ridgefield, smoking a cigarette, when a blue van pulled up.
According to the Stolen Voices host Ossorio, Countryman was "dealing with ab*se" at home and needed to get away.
Forrest, the man in the vehicle, started chatting her up and offered to give her a ride home. At first, the teenager declined, as her family had taught her never to talk to strangers. Eventually, however, she accepted his offer and got into the man’s vehicle.
Image credits: Clark County Sheriff's Office
“A fateful decision,” regretted Countryman, now 66, as per The Columbian. “Stupid; get into a van with a stranger when you’re not supposed to, and that’s what I did.”
Ossorio told Fox News that Forrest kept “slowly pressuring, pushing, and manipulating” the teen, but he “didn’t appear threatening” to her, which is why she accepted his offer.
Inside the vehicle, Forrest held a knife to Countryman’s neck and drove her to a remote area of Tukes Mountain, east of Battle Ground. He took her glasses, punched her in the face, and gagged her with her bra before hog-tying her and securing her between two trees.
In 1974, Countryman got into Forrest's van after he offered to give her a ride home
Image credits: Clark County Sheriff's Office
When he left her in the woods, Countryman chewed through her bindings until she was finally able to escape.
The woman said she chewed half of her lips off in the process, which left a rope burn across her face.
Countryman survived the night in the woods. At one point, a noise behind her left her petrified, fearing once again for her life.
“I bet I stood there for two hours after the sounds stopped and didn’t move, just waiting, scared to d*ath that he was waiting to hear me move,” she said.
Image credits: The Columbian
Around dawn, she was found by an employee of Clark County Parks. The worker called 911, but she “wasn’t believed,” according to Ossorio.
Countryman later learned that, just 167 feet from where she had been tied up, the body of 20-year-old Krista Blake was discovered in a shallow grave. Reports indicated her body had been there for six days by the time Countryman was kidnapped.
The woman, then 15, was tied between two trees and managed to escape by chewing through her ropes
Image credits: Clark County Sheriff's Office
“It was enough to send cold shivers down my spine,” she said. “I imagine it happened to me, it should have happened to me …”
“Apparently, I was a victim of opportunity,” Countryman added. “He wasn’t prepared. He was due at home, so he tied me up and left me … He hadn’t had time to do anything, thank God.”
As per The Columbian, Countryman’s testimony was later used to help convict Forrest of m*rder.
Image credits: KOIN
The survivor helped investigators identify and locate Forrest, a Clark County Parks Department employee who was married with two daughters.
In the years that followed, he became a suspect in the disappearances and homicides of several other women between 1971 and 1974.
Image credits: Clark County Sheriff's Office
One of them was 16-year-old Jamie Grissim, who vanished in December 1971 in Clark County. Her belongings were discovered in Dole Valley five months later.
At the time, the teenager was reportedly in foster care. Her sister, Starr, continues to search for her to this day.
"The way Starr tells it to me, she hears Jamie saying, 'Find me,'" Ossorio shared. "Starr believes she's somewhere out in Dole Valley."
Another woman believed to be a victim of Forrest was 20-year-old Carol Valenzuela, whose remains were found near Morrison’s in 1974.
Forrest was found guilty of the homicides of Krista Blake and Martha Morrison, but he's believed to have committed six additional crimes
Image credits: NBC News
Image credits: Clark County Sheriff's Office
In 2014, investigators revisited several cases and submitted an air pistol once owned by Forrest to the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory. Testing revealed a bloodstain on the weapon that matched Morrison’s DNA. This discovery ultimately led to Forrest being charged with her crime.
In early 2024, Clark County Sheriff John Horch reestablished a cold case team dedicated to Forrest’s crimes.
Using advanced DNA technology, investigators are examining evidence, including hair and nail samples recovered from Forrest’s van, in an effort to bring justice to the victims and their families.
“He wasn’t prepared. He was due at home, so he tied me up and left me," explained Countryman
Image credits: The Columbian
Image credits: Clark County Sheriff's Office
"It’s possible there are victims in other states because of his military service. But he insists he doesn’t remember,” said the true-crime podcast host.
“What we know is that he avoids publicity. He doesn’t like to talk about his crimes. He’s not the kind of serial k*ller who brags. He just wants silence. But the pressure is on."
Ossorio added that the criminal “portrays himself as a victim” of the Vietnam War and “claimed he came back differently.”
Forrest is serving a life sentence and has been denied parole
Image credits: KOIN 6
Forrest has been sentenced to two life terms for the crimes of Blake and Morrison.
After his conviction, the 76-year-old continued to file parole applications, all of which have been unsuccessful due to the fact he’s a suspect in other violent crimes.
Forrest has only confessed to the crime of 20-year-old Krista Blake and denies involvement in the other homicides.
People have expressed hope that DNA technology will bring answers to more families
