BARTON COUNTY — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Great Bend Police Department on Tuesday announced new evidence in the unsolved double murder of 79-year-old Mary Drake and 24-year-old Mandi Alexander, that occurred at the Dolly Madison Bakery, 1004 Harrison, in Great Bend on Sept. 4, 2002.
After 20 years, the KBI reported Tuesday it has found new DNA evidence on a sample collected from the body of one of the victims.
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KBI agents and detectives from the Great Bend Police Department have collected numerous DNA samples for comparison to the DNA discovered, and will continue with these efforts in order to possibly make an arrest.
A witness described seeing a white male — 6-foot-1 or 6-foot-2, 175 pounds with collar-length light brown to blond hair and a slight beard — walking away from the front door of the bakery.
A bakery delivery driver found the victims at approximately 8 p.m. on the day of the murders. Alexander worked at the bakery and Drake was a customer.
According to a media release from the KBI, forensics scientists and special agents completed a review of all the physical evidence collected in the investigation. They reassessed the potential for additional results by using current forensic technologies, especially those that have had significant advancements in the years since the murders.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is offering a $17,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction for the deaths of Mandi Alexander and Mary Drake.