On July 26, 1974, a woman's mutilated body was found in a remote area of the dunes east of Race Point Beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts. For nearly fifty years her identity remained a mystery. Although she has now been identified as Ruth Marie Terry there is so much to this case. Part 1 of this podcast mini-series focuses on the Lady of the Dunes case facts from July 1974 up until her identification in October 2022.
In April 2022 documentary filmmaker Frank Durant released the most comprehensive look at the Lady of the Dunes murder mystery. Featuring interviews with those who had previously declined to speak with other projects Durant's documentary focuses on the human element. His desire was to return to the Lady of the Dunes her name. Based on the revelation of her identity as Ruth Marie Terry did the documentary succeed? Part 2 of this podcast mini-series dives deep into Frank Durant's documentary from his hard work getting it put together to the end result and everything in between.
Frank Durant recorded more than fifty hours of footage for his 2022 Lady of the Dunes documentary. So much important information had to be left on the cutting room floor. Durant enlisted Cape Cod author Christopher Setterlund to craft an in-depth true crime book using all of Durant's information for the film. In addition to what was used in the film countless exciting new revelations came long after the cameras had stopped rolling. Part 3 of this podcast mini-series focuses on Setterlund's book including some of those startling revelations.
On Halloween 2022 after nearly fifty years, the Lady of the Dunes was finally identified as Ruth Marie Terry from Tennessee. The final chapter of the podcast looks at the new revelations in the case. Who was Ruth Marie Terry? What does her identification and story tell us about why she ended up in the dunes on Cape Cod? What effect did Frank Durant’s documentary have on the identification? What do the revelations mean for Christopher Setterlund’s book?
