Episode 53: The Murder of Diane Drake

It was March 21st of 1980, and residents of Newport, Rhode Island were on the cusp of spring and 19-year-old Diane Drake was in the spring of her life. A time when most young people have given little thought to their own mortality.

Unfortunately for Diane, that March would be her last.

After departing for work on that stormy Friday, she was abducted. Her strangled body would be found a stretch of Newport’s Easton Beach the following morning. Her case remains unsolved.

If you have any information about the unsolved murder of Diane Drake contact the Newport police at 401-847-1306. You can also call the anonymous tip line at the Middletown Police Department at 401-842-6516.

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Sources:

Roger Williams University Newspaper: The Quill Edition from March 12, 1981.

The Newport Daily News: On 42nd anniversary of Diane Drake's murder, family asks for people to come forward

Rhode Island Current: Cold case investigations need a break. All too often they break down.

The Newport Daily News: Diane Drake's murder remains unsolved, her brother thinks it's time to honor her

10WJAR: 'She was a life that mattered,' Diane Drake's family remembers 43 years on

WPRI.com12: ‘The pain she must have went through’: Cold case still unsolved after 39 years

NBC News: Social Media Aiding Detectives in the Investigation of the 1986 Murder of Kathy Perry