The Zodiac Killer Murders

Lake Tahoe
On March 22, 1971, a postcard to the Chronicle addressed to "Paul Averly" — intended for Paul Avery and believed to be from the Zodiac — appeared to take credit for the disappearance of Donna Lass on September 6, 1970. Made from a collage of advertisements and magazine lettering, it featured a scene from an ad for Forest Pines condominiums and the text "Sierra Club," "Sought Victim 12," "peek through the pines," "pass Lake Tahoe areas," and "around in the snow." Zodiac's cross circle symbol was in the place of the usual return address.[48]

Lass was a nurse at the Sahara Tahoe hotel and casino. She worked until about 2 a.m. on September 6, treating her last patient at 1:40 a.m., and was not seen leaving her office. The next morning, her work uniform and shoes were found in a paper bag in her office, inexplicably soiled with dirt. Her car was found at her apartment complex, and her apartment was spotless.[49] Later that day both her employer and her landlord received phone calls from an unknown male who falsely claimed Lass had to leave town due to a family emergency.[50] The police and sheriff's office initially treated Lass' disappearance as a missing persons investigation, suspecting she simply left on her own.[49] Lass was never found. What appeared to be a grave site was discovered near the Claire Tappan Lodge in Norden, California, on Sierra Club property, but an excavation yielded only a pair of sunglasses.[51]

No evidence has ever been uncovered to connect Donna Lass' disappearance with the Zodiac Killer.[5]