Oregon Officials Confirm Deaths of 4 Women Found in 3-Month Period Are Linked

Oregon officials have made a breakthrough in the deaths of four women earlier this year.

Authorities now believe that the suspicious killings of Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; and Ashley Real, 22 are linked, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said in a news release.

And while authorities said in the news release they have identified "at least one person of interest" in connection the deaths, they did not name the individual. They further noted, "Based on the available information to investigators, there is not believed to be any active danger to the community at this time."

No charges have been filed at this time, authorities added, declining to share further details related to the four cases citing the ongoing investigation.

The news comes five months after the Portland Police Bureau found Smith's body—the first of the four to be discovered—on Feb. 19 in southeast Portland. Portland police said that Smith, who had been reported as missing since Dec. 22, was found in a wooded area around the city's Pleasant Valley neighborhood.

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office found Perry's body on April 24 around the Ainsworth State Park in east Multnomah County, located northeast of Portland. Her body was found in a culvert near the Historic Columbia River Highway, with police describing the case as a "suspicious death," in a news release at the time.

Just six days later, the Polk County Sheriff's Office found Webster's body on a road in northwest Polk County. County officials, who called the matter a "suspicious death" in a Facebook post, said she frequented the Portland metro area.

Real—who had been missing since April 4—was found by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office on May 7 in a "heavily wooded area" near Eagle Creek, an area southeast of Portland. Authorities added in a release that her manner of death had been "determined to be suspicious in nature."

The cause of death for each of the four women has not yet been revealed by the Oregon State Medical Examiner, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office noted in their release.

However, their families have rallied together to seek answers.

"What happened?" Smith's mother Melissa told local outlet KPTV in May. "I know she didn't just suddenly die out there, somebody did something…She deserves justice."

E! News reached out to Melissa for further comment but hasn't heard back.

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