In January, the King County Archives provided material for use in a new major network documentary about serial killer Ted Bundy.  Among the King County Sheriff’s Office investigation files are three reels of 16mm film taken using a home movie camera. The Archives received assistance from colleagues at the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections to digitize these films. 

The films are of a Rainier Brewery picnic at Lake Sammamish July 14, 1974, on the day that Bundy abducted two woman from the beach in broad daylight. The first film shows the picnic taking place, and the second and third show police at the picnic site, with crowds standing around, apparently aware of the news. 

The footage was also recently shown as part of an archives film screening hosted by the Moving Image Preservation of the Puget Sound (MIPoPS) at the Northwest Film Forum. This highlights rare films digitized by local heritage institutions. 

KIRO 7 news also picked up the footage for a short segment, which can be viewed here. 

Pictured: On the left, important film scenes were marked with string then tape. On the right, a still from the film shows KCSO officers on the scene.

Interestingly, the films had several individual frames flagged with string tied through sprockets as a method of flagging content of interest, presumably by KCSO investigators. In order to play the film but not lose the markings, the string was replaced with tape along the edge, as shown below.