Many people have attempted to understand the meaning of the December 27th 1974 Christmas card mailed to Donna Lass' sister, Mary Pilker, with the wording "Best Wishes, St Donna & Guardian of the Pines." Was it innocuous or a sinister message from the Zodiac Killer, forever connected to the disappearance of Donna Ann Lass from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on September 6th 1970? The following is not an attempt to claim an answer to this mystery, but to throw out a few ideas regarding this subject. The title of 'Saint' is often attached to a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and regarded in Christian faith as being in heaven after death. Therefore, the inference that can be drawn from this card, is that Donna Lass is likely dead and her spirit is somehow serving as a "guardian of the Pines", leading some to believe she is buried in a location around Lake Tahoe. Could the author of the 1974 Christmas card be referencing something in his past in the wording he chose? ​

A newspaper article stated that "the site depicted on the (March 22nd 1971) 'Pines Card' was from an advertisement published last Sunday by several newspapers. It was an artist's rendition of houses among the trees at a Boise Cascade Company project at Incline Village, where construction has just begun on the development. While much of the Sierra area is under several feet of snow, Incline Village has only two feet on the ground. Police went to the area to determine if a search is possible".

If the author of the 1974 Christmas card was the same individual as the 1971 'Pines' card, could he again be referring to vacation properties at a different location, where we can tie the words "Guardian", "Pines" and "Donna" together. 

On December 15th 1971, a correspondence was mailed from Scottsville, New York and addressed to Mr J Edgar Hoover, first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The communication would claim that with proper investigation it would disclose the name and identity of the infamous Zodiac Killer of California. In an article entitled 'The John Edgar Hoover Letter', a similarity in the handwriting between this communication and the 1974 letter was noted. 

​On August 1st 1973, a suspected Zodiac letter was mailed to the New York, Albany Times Union newspaper threatening to murder an employee/nurse at the local hospital during "shift change", reminiscent of Donna Lass, who disappeared near her end of shift three years earlier. Although it appears the 1974 Christmas card was mailed from Alameda County, California, could the Zodiac Killer have been living in New York from 1971 to 1974, or beyond, and occasionally commuting to the Bay Area? The 'Pines' card was mailed on March 22nd 1971, before a hiatus of nearly three years, when the 'Exorcist' letter arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle on January 29th 1974 and culminating with the Christmas card correspondence on December 27th 1974, tenuously linked to the Zodiac Killer. Can any link be forged to New York with respect to the 1974 Christmas card?

On October 18th 1969 Paul Avery ran a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle describing the Zodiac Killer as a 'latent homosexual'. Under the banner 'Zodiac-Portrait of the Killer' he stated "The killer of five who calls himself 'Zodiac' is a clumsy criminal, a liar and possibly a latent homosexual."  Had the Zodiac Killer murdered young heterosexual courting couples as a result of his own suppressed homosexual leanings? This topic was explored in the article 'Skeleton in the Closet'. Had the Zodiac Killer moved to, or near an area of New York, akin to the Castro District of San Francisco, where he could explore his repressed identity? We now need to use a bit of that 'pattern seeking animal', in order to knit "homosexuality", "Guardian", "Pines" and "Donna" into one single location.

On the right is the 1952 brochure for 'Fire Island Pines'. It states "The original brochure from the Home Guardian Company of New York for the new Fire Island community called the Pines".
​
"Fire Island Pines (often referred to as The Pines, simply Pines, or FIP) is a hamlet in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located on Fire Island, a barrier island on the southern side of Long Island.
Fire Island Pines along with the adjoining Cherry Grove, are the areas most strongly associated with the gay community on Fire Island. The island has been referred to as America’s first gay and lesbian town and served since the 1920s and 1930s as a refuge for vacationers and others who desired the more liberal attitude the island's occupants allowed.
The Pines, which has the most expensive real estate on Fire Island, has approximately 600 houses and a 100 unit condominium complex on its square mile of location. It has two-thirds of the swimming pools on Fire Island. Its summer seasonal population is between 2,500 and 3,000." Wikipedia.

This is the original brochure from the Home Guardian Company of New York for the new Fire Island community called the Pines, supplying bungalow sites and condominiums, much like the Boise Cascade Company project at Incline Village, Lake Tahoe. 

The Zodiac Killer had taken the phrase "peek through the pines" from the Boise Cascade Company advertisement. Did his inspiration for the 1974 Christmas card have similar roots of the Home Guardian Company?

"The surveyor called it “Five Islands.”  After a hundred years came another survey.  By then the cuts had healed, giving this surveyor the impression of a beach entire; taking “Five” for a misprint he “corrected” it to “Fire.”  Why fire?  Because fires did appear, campfires of Indians (whose name for the island was “Seal” and “Raccoon”), fires of whalers rendering blubber, fires of salvagers luring ships aground, and more kindly ones as beacons warning them away, fires of runaways, survivors– perhaps even early Sierra Club Outings".  
​Pines History.   Hurricane History at Fire Island Pines.

"The last major storm in the New York metropolitan area was in June 1972, when Hurricane Agnes tore for 10 days along the Eastern Seaboard". New York Times. 
Was the Zodiac Killer invoking the spirit of Saint Donna from the afterlife as a Guardian of the Fire Island Pines, recalling memories from his formative years? Donna Lass disappeared on September 6th 1970. Hurricane Donna appeared and dissipated between August 29th and September 13th 1960, ten years earlier. 

By coalescing various stories of homosexuality, Fire Island Pines in New York, the Home Guardian Company and Hurricane Donna, a perceived link can be forged back to the 1974 Mary Pilker Christmas card. But it's just a work of fiction like so many Zodiac claims on the internet.

This correspondence dated December 15th 1971 was mailed from Scottsville, New York and addressed to Mr J Edgar Hoover, first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
​In respect to the Zodiac timeline, it was sent 15 months after the disappearance of Donna Lass from Stateline, Nevada on September 6th 1970.
The communication claims to have evidence that with proper investigation would disclose the name and identity of the infamous 'Zodiac Killer of California.' 
The author of this letter would receive a reply dated December 23rd 1971, informing him that the matter was not within the investigative jurisdiction of the FBI and he should advise the San Francisco, California Police Department of any information which pertains to the Zodiac Killer. Signed by Director, John Edgar Hoover. 
The identity or signature of this individual is redacted, with a return address of some description- therefore determining its sincerity or otherwise is difficult to determine. One would like to think this was an extremely concerned citizen or somebody from an official agency, frustrated enough to mail a letter to the FBI offices (handwritten letter below). 

Tracers wrote this on the Zodiac Killer Tapatalk forum: "I did find this old reference to a letter: In a letter from J.Edgar Hoover dated 11/30/70 to Senator Karl E. Mundt concerning his interest in finding Donna A. Lass, he says, "In an effort to be of assistance, a search of our Identification Division files was conducted but I regret to tell you no indication of the whereabouts was disclosed. A missing person notice was previously placed in file in behalf of Senator George McGovern. In view of your interest I am having a notification added to the effect that any information we may receive will also be forwarded to you. We do not, of course, have the authority to conduct an active investigation in the absence of a violation of a federal statute within our jurisdiction."
​
Senator George Stanley McGovern was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator born in Avon, South Dakota, approximately 100 miles from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which may reflect his interest in the case. 
 
Another communication in the form of a Christmas card was mailed to the sister of Donna Lass, Mary Pilker, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on December 27th 1974. The Christmas card read 'Holiday Greetings and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year', followed by the handwriting "Best Wishes, St Donna & Guardian of the Pines." 
It is unknown whether this card had sinister connotations in respect to where Donna Lass may be buried (somewhere in between the pines), or whether it is just misguided support. There are, however, some similarities in the handwriting of the John Edgar Hoover letter and the Christmas card mailed to Mary Pilker (shown below).
Handwriting comparisons in the Zodiac case are the topic of much debate, as they are extremely subjective, and should always be used in conjunction with other evidence. 

John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American detective and the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States. He was appointed as the director of the Bureau of Investigation — the FBI's predecessor — in 1924 and was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972 at the age of 77. Hoover has been credited with building the FBI into a larger crime-fighting agency than it was at its inception and with instituting a number of modernizations to police technology, such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories.
Wikipedia.

The 'Halloween' card was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on October 27th 1970 inferring a fourteenth victim. On July 26th 1970 the Zodiac Killer mailed the 'Little List' letter claiming thirteen victims. If nurse Donna Ann Lass was a Zodiac victim, then the 'Halloween' card must surely have been referring to the disappearance and likely murder of Donna Lass from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino on September 6th 1970. But why did it take the Zodiac Killer nearly two months to send this correspondence to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper? Was it imperative for the killer to somehow tie this possible murder into the Halloween festival, and did the depiction of skeletons, the pumpkin and the phrase "peek a boo you are doomed" provide any clue to the location of Donna Lass' body or burial site.
This by all accounts was a bold and brazen abduction at the end of the young woman's shift at approximately 1.50 am, in a seemingly predetermined crime. If this was a serial offender, such as the Zodiac Killer, the clues may lie in previous similar unsolved crimes with overlapping traits. The following ideas will be examining this possibility, using the design of the 'Halloween' card and later 'Pines' card mailed on March 22nd 1971, also believed by some to have been crafted by the hand of the Zodiac Killer. 

The choice of a skeleton on this card may have been deliberate, bearing in mind Donna Lass was likely murdered the day of her abduction and had remained undiscovered for nearly two months at this juncture. It is also easy to understand how the card can be interpreted as a skeleton wearing a pumpkin. But what if the depiction is implying something more sinister, in that Donna Lass is buried beneath a pumpkin or pumpkins. This may seem a ridiculous observation, until we consider the second skeleton on the card inner wearing a mask of sorts. Could the killer have intended us to interpret the card differently, such as an eye patch, thereby implying the phrase 'pumpkin patch.' 
The clue may not be entirely literal, but implying the young woman may have been buried on farmland, which may have grown pumpkins or sold farm produce. This is a real stretch, so we will go further. 
Randall Scott Clemons produced an interesting article linking the Zodiac Killer to various golf courses, and suggesting that he may have traveled extensively to murder in certain areas he was familiar with through his pastime. In his first contact with the newspapers on July 31st 1969 the killer stated "This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo." The murderer of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969 escaped into the Presidio Park adjacent to the Presidio Golf course. The Aetna Springs Golf Course, Napa, was one of the first golf courses west of the Mississippi River and built on the Aetna Springs Resort's property in 1891. It is only 11 miles as the crow flies from the Knoxville Road, bordering Lake Berryessa, the site of Zodiac's third attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard.​

But more crucially, it is less than 5 miles from Pope Valley, the location where the three young women had driven through at around 3.00 pm on September 27th 1969, just before they encountered a strange man, who appeared to be following them. Did he have a ball marker on him that day, which came in useful at around 6.30 pm?
Deana Hooper's skeletal remains were discovered on March 11th 1975 in an open field at Columbus Parkways and St.John's Mine Road, right next to the Blue Rock Springs Park Golf Course. She was last seen on July 11th 1974 at the Enlisted Men's Club on Mare Island.  Established in 1892, Mare Island Golf Club in Vallejo, California is the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi River. Originally built as a 9-hole course,  its first 30 years included sand greens and dry fairways. The course began near the former Marine Barracks and proceeded south to Lake Rodgers (built in 1876 and named after Rear Admiral Rodgers), then returned to the start. Was the killer somehow connected to the military, and an avid golfer, that inevitably made him familiar with these murder sites?

The 'Pines' card depicted an advertisement for mountain condominiums.
A newspaper article stated that: 'the site depicted on the 'Pines Card' was from an advertisement published last Sunday by several newspapers. It was an artist's rendition of houses among the trees at a Boise Cascade Company project at Incline Village, where construction has just begun on the development. While much of the Sierra area is under several feet of snow, Incline Village has only two feet on the ground. Police went to the area to determine if a search is possible'.
Many observers toyed with the idea that Donna Lass may have been buried by the punch hole in the card- but surely that would have been too simple a clue by the Zodiac Killer. In another stretch of the imagination, could the positioning of 'Sierra Club' on the tree, be designed to give the impression of a flagpole. We would then be possibly looking for a burial site east of a Sierra Club golf course- not at Incline Village- but somewhere 'past the Lake Tahoe areas'. Somewhere the killer was familiar with, and had used to bury a previous victim. 

​Judith Hakari was a nurse at Sutter Hospital, who disappeared heading back to the Markston Apartments on March 7th 1970. Her body was later discovered by Ponderosa Way in Weimar, forty two miles along Interstate 80.​
'At 11:30 pm. Hakari calls her fiance to tell him she's leaving Sutter Memorial Hospital where she works as a nurse. By 1:30 in the morning, she has still not come home. Her fiance, waiting at her apartment, begins to worry.
"He went out to the apartment complex parking lot and discovered her car was parked in the assigned space that she had," Links said. But Judith was nowhere to be seen. She was found one month later, strangled and bludgeoned to death. "Some hikers discovered a body in a shallow grave up in the town of Weimar, in Placer County. And during their investigation they determined that it was Judith Hakari," Links said.' Fox40.com.
Both Judith Hakari and Donna Lass were nurses, who disappeared after their shift end, both at night or in the early hours of darkness, and both en route back home. Is it conceivable that the murderer of Judith Hakari is also responsible for the abduction and murder of Donna Lass, and if so, did he bury or conceal her body somewhere he was familiar with and had ultimately escaped detection before- in Weimar. Or somewhere very close. 

We could be looking for a location in Placer County near farm land, that may have a connection to pumpkins. There will be a Sierra Club golf course west of the location. It may also be a location that has relevance to parts of the phrases contained within the 'Halloween' card, such as "From your secret pal," "peek a boo you are doomed" and "slaves." And more importantly, somewhere close to where Judith Hakari's body was discovered.
There is such a place- Colfax, Placer County, California.
It was named after Schuyler Colfax Jr, known for his opposition to slavery while serving in Congress, and was a founder of the Republican Party. In January 1865, as Speaker of the House, Colfax made the unusual choice to cast a vote for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.
Colfax is located 4.4 miles (crow flies) from Ponderosa Way, the burial site of Judith Hakari.
The Bierwagen's Donner Trail Fruit and Farm Market near Chicago Park, is situated only 7 miles east of the Alta Sierra Country Club and golf course.
Secret Town is 7 miles from Colfax and 14 miles from Ponderosa Way.
The residence of Judith Hakari and the area her body was discovered, not only were situated alongside Interstate 80, but Ponderosa Way is only 2 miles or 5 minutes from Interstate 80, and the Markston Apartments only 4 miles or 8 minutes from Interstate 80. 
Interstate 80 is bisected by Colfax and runs from the Markston Apartments where Judith Hakari lived, to Truckee, California on the north side of Lake Tahoe. As the crow flies, Ponderosa Way is 38 miles from the Markston Apartments and 46 miles from Truckee. Was the same killer responsible for the murder of both women, and prepared to create a set buffer zone to each burial site? A familiar 'dumping ground' similar to that employed by the likes of the Green River and Gilgo Beach Killer.
Finally, we have this lonely lane, in the heart of 'pine country,' where you can "peek through the pines" into "peek a boo" lane- as the crow flies, just 2 miles from Ponderosa Way. But would you be doomed?   

This is a continuation from a previous article, but relevant in regards to the History Channel docudrama about to air on December 12th 2017. Undoubtedly they will continue to pursue suspect Lawrence Kane and attempt to provide a credible link between Lake Tahoe and San Francisco, which according to Detective Harvey Hines, Lawrence Kane had. He purportedly lived at 217 Eddy Street, San Francisco during the Paul Stine murder and worked for Alan Dorfman selling Arizona real estate at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino, the same hotel Donna Lass was employed. The likelihood of Lawrence Kane being the Zodiac Killer is down to opinion, however, as previously suggested, the link between Donna Lass, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and the Zodiac Killer could be a very real one. A link inadvertently or otherwise, left by the killer when designing his 'Pines' card, mailed on March 22nd 1971.         

Many observers believe the 'Pines' card was crafted by a hoaxer, on account of the fact 'Victim 12' had already been claimed by the Zodiac Killer on June 26th 1970 when he mailed the 'Button' letter to the San Francisco Chronicle.
On the contrary, this could go a long way to actually validating this correspondence. Bearing in mind the make-up of the 'Pines' card, it is extremely likely it is referring to the disappearance of Donna Lass. But in order for its author to have deliberately chosen the phrase 'Sought Victim 12' in reference to Donna Lass, we could assume he knew her previous employment and movements in the preceding few months, or just made a lucky guess when choosing this particular phrase.
Would a hoaxer, having gone to all the effort of pasting up a card, then have made the basic error of getting the victim total incorrect. One could argue that the author of this card knew Donna Lass, knew that she had previously worked at the Letterman General Hospital and knew exactly when she had moved to South Lake Tahoe. 
Donna Lass left her job at the Letterman General Hospital and moved to South Lake Tahoe on June 6th 1970. Had he targeted Donna Lass before her move to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel? If so, then 'Sought Victim 12,' in its use of the past tense, could simply be implying that he had intended Donna Lass as a target before she moved from San Francisco.
Harvey Hines stated in his 120 page report "Now we have the Zodiac running into the Presidio in the direction of Letterman General Hospital. The very place that Donna Lass worked. Also, in looking at the area map, I found that Lass lived six blocks south in the 4000 block of Balboa. That meant the Zodiac Killer started his ride near where Kane lived and ended it several blocks away where Donna Lass lived and worked.
During the time she worked in San Francisco she lived at 4122 Balboa Street with a roommate named Carol Emerich. Emerich was also a nurse. According to the employment records, Lass was working a late night shift in October of 1969 when the San Francisco cab driver, Paul Stine, was killed by the Zodiac." 
If the killer knew Donna Lass, or indeed was familiar with the Presidio Park and Letterman General Hospital, then it is not beyond the realms of possibility he likely was familiar with this area and the advantages it provided as an escape route after the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969.       

If the killer knew, worked with, or was familiar with Donna Lass during the short period she worked at the Letterman General Hospital, then clearly he may have sought her as victim 12 during this period.
The Zodiac mailed the '13 Symbol' cipher on April 20th 1970 claiming 10 victims. On June 26th 1970 he was claiming 12 victims in the 'Button' letter. Therefore, he must have 'Sought Victim 12' between these two dates. The window of opportunity narrows when we consider that Donna Lass left for South Lake Tahoe on June 6th 1970. If the Zodiac Killer  targeted Donna Lass while she worked and lived in San Francisco, it likely fell between April 20th 1970 and June 6th 1970. A window of just 46 days. Is this something a casual hoaxer would be aware of.
Unless the employment records and movements of Donna Lass between these dates had been reported in the newspapers, was the choice of the 'Sought Victim 12' phrase just a lucky guess on behalf of the hoaxer, and just happened to fall correctly between these dates. Did the author of the 'Pines' card do his research, or was Donna Lass specifically targeted by the Zodiac Killer, who moved or traveled to South Lake Tahoe with the sole purpose of completing his 'mission,' and the wording on the 'Pines' card was anything but a mistake. 
It may possibly dispel the preconception that the Zodiac Killer only targeted strangers, as has been alluded to in the case of Darlene Ferrin, murdered on July 4th 1969. Maybe the Zodiac Killer didn't care who he killed. 

In several articles we have explored the concept of geographical profiling to narrow down the search area for the likely residence of the Zodiac Killer, using timelines and his own words in an effort to identify the elusive murderer. A forum member of Zodiac Killer Site with the moniker 'Seagull' has been invaluable in this quest, mailing me names and addresses around the Springs Road and Tuolumne Street payphone in Vallejo in 1969. By cross checking these to previous residency in Riverside and other locations using ancestry records, a common thread is hoped to be unearthed. The problem is, it may take months or even years to manually trawl through a sample area radius of just 0.5 miles around the payphone. 
Another common thread that has been explored, is a possible link between Donna Lass and the Zodiac Killer. According to former police officer Harvey Hines "During the time she worked in San Francisco she lived at 4122 Balboa Street with a roommate named Carol Emerich. Emerich was also a nurse. According to the employment records, Lass was working a late night shift in October of 1969 when the San Francisco cab driver, Paul Stine, was killed by the Zodiac."
This, bearing in mind the disappearance and likely murder of Donna Lass only eleven months later, along with the alleged Zodiac 'Pines' card mailed on March 22nd 1971, it is something not to be overlooked. It may be coincidence, but the 'Pines' card does reveal an interesting feature, long believed to be from the hands of a hoaxer because of the victim count not marrying up with known Zodiac correspondence. However, it does in fact fit perfectly into the Zodiac timeline.         

'Lemonboy', a contributor to this site triggered this article, when he stated "What if Donna lass saw Zodiac as he was walking away from the Stine murder? After that he targets her thinking she might have recognized him. The fact she lived so close to the crime scene seems more than coincidence."
But what if the Zodiac moved in the circle of Donna Lass, knew the young nurse, or even worked alongside her. His confidence in these surroundings was evident after the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, apparent by his detailed account of events in the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter. He may have lived in the Vallejo area and worked in San Francisco, hence the copious mailings to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. If we could tie this person to Donna Lass through San Francisco and South Lake Tahoe, and possibly Cheri Jo Bates at Riverside, we may inch a little closer. The 'Pines' card may be suspect Zodiac material, but the wording on the postcard does leave a subtle hint that a connection may exist.
It all lies in the wording "Sought Victim 12", considered by some an error on behalf of its sender. But if we examine the victim count of the Zodiac Killer, the past participle of seek, indicated the killer may have been targeting Donna Lass during her residency in San Francisco some four months earlier.
"Sought Victim 12" suggested that the Zodiac Killer at some point in his recent history had trailed victim 12. Bearing in mind the 'Pines' card was supposedly referencing the disappearance and murder of Donna Lass on September 6th 1970, then it isn't a giant leap of faith to believe that the murderer was searching for victim 12 relative to his timeline and the young nurse.
On April 20th 1970 the Zodiac Killer mailed the '13 Symbol' cipher claiming 10 victims. On June 26th 1970 the killer mailed the 'Button' letter and Phillips 66 map claiming 12 victims. His search for victim 12 was clearly over, according to him, therefore it couldn't have been Donna Lass, who was abducted just over two months later. However, she may have been the original target. If she had been earmarked as victim 12, as hinted by the 'Pines' card, his plans were clearly thwarted or sidelined.​      

Before Zodiac could "seek victim 12" though, he had to secure victim 11, which he wasn't claiming when the 'Dragon' card landed at the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle on April 28th 1970. Donna Lass left her job at the Letterman General Hospital and moved to South Lake Tahoe on June 6th 1970 to begin her new post at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino. If he had targeted Donna Lass in San Francisco, it would likely have fell somewhere between the dates of April 28th 1970 and June 6th 1970, but was ultimately denied to him by circumstances unknown or her move away from the Bay Area. Even if Zodiac had claimed victim 11 as early as the end of April, then we could be looking for a man who either worked with the young nurse during the month of May, was in her near circle, or had a romantic or unhealthy interest in Donna Lass during this short timeframe.
Friends and colleagues of Donna Lass included Carol Emerich and Jo Anne Goettsche, the latter of which visited her around the time she disappeared, and it is these friends, or persons close to them, that may hold the key to the identity of the Zodiac Killer during that crucial month in 1970. When the killer mailed the 'Pines' card on March 22nd 1971, either by accident or design, his mask of anonymity may have slipped even further upon pasting the words "Sought Victim 12," and place him a lot closer to Donna Lass than we care to imagine.   

The first three crimes of Lake Herman Road, Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Berryessa were committed in situ, in that the Zodiac Killer attacked the couples where he discovered them. The Zodiac at Presidio Heights entered the taxicab of Paul Stine in the bustling theater district of San Francisco and murdered him at Washington and Cherry, although Paul Stine effectively remained in situ, within the taxicab throughout. The three crimes that have widely been attributed to Zodiac, are the Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bates, the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns and the disappearance of Donna Lass from the Sahara Tahoe Casino, all of which were followed by alleged communications from the Zodiac Killer. These three crimes had one thing in common, the perpetrator used a ruse, to lure the women into his vehicle and remove them from the first point of contact. Cheri Jo Bates' car distributor was tampered with, followed by the promise of a lift home, to lure the young woman into his vehicle. Kathleen Johns, again would fall prey to the same tactic, her wheel was tampered with, followed by the promise of a lift to a service station. Donna Lass was lured away from her place of work, by a false medical emergency, to again draw the nurse toward his vehicle. Three crimes, involving three young women, and in all instances similar tactics were employed, followed by a correspondence claiming the crime. Here though, it is the Donna Lass abduction we shall concentrate on.
In the aftermath of the disappearance, the search for Donna Lass would be badly affected by the inclement weather in the coming months, highlighted by Police Chief Ray Lauritzen in the newspapers from the outset: "We don't know where we're going to begin. There's a four or five foot pack of snow out there and it's still snowing heavily. There's no point to a search at this time. It's unlikely a victim would be uncovered before spring."  
The Zodiac Killer, we know, was an avid reader of the newspapers, and it is likely he also read this statement by Chief Ray Lauritzen. It is possible the 'Pines' card, mailed on March 22nd 1971 was a direct response to this article, but in a very subtle way. This we will come to later.   

It is far from certain the perpetrator of this crime knew Donna Lass, but the following will explore reasons why this may be the case.  
Similar to the second and third crimes by the Zodiac Killer, the disappearance of Donna Lass was again followed by a phone call from the supposed perpetrator. But unlike Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Berryessa, this phone call didn't brag about his crime, it claimed Donna Lass had been 'called away' or 'called out of town' due to a family illness, all of which was subsequently proved to be false. The caller was seemingly trying to give the impression nothing sinister had happened, suggesting the act of the phone call was simply to 'buy time'. If the abductor was affording himself some extra breathing space, then the real possibility he was local to the area or known to Donna Lass is a credible argument, and he was either holding Donna Lass at this juncture, needed time to dispose of her body, or possibly needed to remove incriminating evidence from his home or vehicle before the police came knocking. This may have suggested that the responsible moved in the circle of Donna Lass, such as friends and work colleagues, who are inevitably the first people to be questioned in most police investigations. 
The nature of the call was also suggestive of a perpetrator who knew Donna Lass. A friend or work colleague through conversation or private details, would be privy to information about her family, and the fact they lived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1,555 miles away. A phone call in this instance, using a family illness as a ruse, would be of the utmost benefit to the caller, possibly 'buying' the perpetrator plenty of time. The caller it would seem, knew her family did not reside in South Lake Tahoe or nearby, because this would have made the call ineffectual.
Two phone calls were laid, one to her employer and one to her landlord. The first would obviously explain her absence from work after the Labor Day weekend, the second would possibly allay the concerns of her landlord over rent collection. He may have known Donna Lass, but would unlikely have known the exact date her payments were due. The fact he called her landlord at all, is indicative of somebody who was familiar with Donna Lass, unlikely to be known by a random killer or abductor, who just turned up at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel that morning. If the perpetrator was the Zodiac Killer, then his close ties to Donna Lass could be of crucial importance, bearing in mind the widely held belief he was unknown to his victims in the first four confirmed attacks in the Bay Area. If the Zodiac Killer was also known to Cheri Jo Bates, due to the specific targeting of her Volkswagen Beetle, then Riverside and South Lake Tahoe may be more closely linked than ever imagined.  

​Donna Lass had recently moved into the Monte Verdi apartments on 3893 Pioneer Trail Road, located just a three minute drive from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel. When she first arrived in South Lake Tahoe in June she stayed with Ann and Larry Lowe at 4054 US Highway 50, and was just finding her feet in the new residence when she went missing. Although her 1968 Chevrolet Camaro convertible was discovered outside the Monte Verdi apartment complex in its usual parking spot, it is believed she had not driven it to work on the evening of her disappearance, having walked to work from this previous residence, which was a short walking distance to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel of approximately 8-10 minutes. She had made plans to meet up with her friend Jo Anne Goettsche, intending to travel back to the Monte Verdi Apartments in her vehicle, once her shift at the casino had finished.
The fact she was targeted immediately on her shift change at around 1.50 am is also telling. Had a nurse just vanished from the start or middle of her shift, this would obviously have raised a red flag with the Sahara Tahoe Casino, negating the intention of the abductor, and most certainly rendering the phone call unnecessary and highly suspicious. She had already changed from her nurses uniform into her civilian clothes, as her shift was due to end at 2.00 am, something the perpetrator likely knew.
The last person apparently to see Donna Lass before her disappearance was a Joan Bentley from San Francisco, who stated that Donna appeared in good spirits at approximately 1.40 am. The last entry on her log according to her sister, Mary Pilker, was "patient complains of", before the pen trailed off the page. This pen mark is unlikely to have been created by her being physically manhandled from the casino, as it was extremely busy during the Labor Day weekend. More likely, is that somebody approached her nurses station and asked for medical assistance in the car park. Donna Lass may have been writing in her nurses log, when she had her arm tugged in a gesture of 'please help,' or had been in the middle of writing, when she abruptly rushed off to aid the concerned citizen. Either way, her pen trailed down the page. 

The person who made the phone call was also likely aware Donna Lass had not traveled to work that evening in her 1968 Chevrolet Camaro convertible. Had he contacted the Sahara Tahoe Hotel explaining the family illness, and that she had been called 'out of town', then this would have been negated, had her employer or work colleagues noticed her vehicle sitting idle in the car park over the next few days. A vehicle she would likely have used for her trip to South Dakota.
​Was the perpetrator aware of her plans to meet Jo Anne Goettsche at around 2.00 am inside the casino, so acted just before the end of her shift. The subsequent phone call may then have served an extra purpose of allaying the worries of Jo Anne Goettsche, had she informed the casino of her concerns or contacted the police. If the perpetrator knew of Donna Lass' arrangement with her friend, he may very well have spoken to her in the preceding days, further cementing the idea he was known to the young woman.
Six and a half months after her disappearance, the 'Pines' postcard was mailed by Zodiac to the San Francisco Chronicle on March 22nd 1971. But why did the likely killer of Donna Lass wait this long to mail the communication. Did his closeness to Donna Lass play any part?
There could be another answer in the words of Police Chief Ray Lauritzen; "We don't know where we're going to begin. There's a four or five foot pack of snow out there and it's still snowing heavily. There's no point to a search at this time. It's unlikely a victim would be uncovered before spring."  
The Zodiac did refer to snow in the 'Pines' card. His exact wording was "around in the snow," pasted at ground level and upside-down, possibly signifying that Donna had been buried, or placed under the snow. The snowfall was extremely heavy that winter, and it was "unlikely a victim would be uncovered before spring." Fitting then, that Zodiac contacted the newspapers on March 22nd 1971, just two days after the beginning of Spring.

Donna Ann Lass disappeared without a trace on September 6th 1970 and is presumed murdered, possibly by the Zodiac Killer.
He would insinuate a connection on March 22nd 1971 when the 'Pines' card addressed to Paul Avery arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle. Donna Lass had been working as a nurse at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino, where she curiously vanished from, at approximately 1.45 am, just before her shift was about to finish at 2.00 am. She had not traveled to work that day in her Chevrolet Camaro convertible, but chose to walk to work from a previous residence. Her abductor or abductors seemingly targeted the end of her shift, and in the hours after the crime rang her employer and her landlord to state she had been called away due to a family illness. A story that was subsequently proved false. This certainly suggested the phone caller was buying time before any investigation got underway, thereby strongly indicating a connection between Donna Lass and her assailant. The delay generated by such a call would enable the assailant to dispose of Donna Lass and/or possibly remove incriminating evidence from their vehicle or home address. This would heavily lean towards one thing-  that the murderer was close enough to Donna Lass to expect the police to be knocking on his door sooner rather than later.

The gaps in Zodiac's timeline can likely indicate more about our killer than the actual murders themselves. In his timeline three notable delays in correspondence can be noted.
After the Lake Herman Road double murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on December 20th 1968 he waited 6 1/2 months to communicate with the public. After the disputed Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns on March 22nd 1970 he waited 4 months to lay claim to the crime. And finally, in the disappearance of Donna Lass it would be again 6 1/2 months before the 'Pines' card would arrive at the Chronicle. After Blue Rock Springs it was 27 days. After Lake Berryessa it was a matter of minutes, with the writing on the car door of Bryan Hartnell. The murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights, his last confirmed crime, was followed by correspondence only 2 days later.
Were the delays in communication after Lake Herman Road, Modesto and Lake Tahoe indicative of applied caution on behalf of the Zodiac Killer. Lake Herman Road may be understandable, if indeed this was his first venture into murder. But what of Modesto and Lake Tahoe? Was the Zodiac Killer temporarily stationed in these areas through employment, and waited to return to the Bay Area before communicating with the newspapers to apply separation from the area.
Many people believe the Zodiac Killer lived in Vallejo, or in close proximity to it, while posting his correspondence from San Francisco on his way to and from work. His profession is an avenue worth exploring regarding the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns and the Lake Tahoe disappearance of Donna Lass, particularly in light of his delayed communications. Had he traveled to either of these locations on a 'day trip', with no connection whatsoever to each area, then there would be no need for a combined delay of 10 1/2 months before his contact with the newspapers. The implication being, that these areas had greater significance to the killer than he would like us to know. This may be further borne out by the customary Zodiac phone call, but this time used to delay the investigation into the disappearance of Donna Lass, because he knew her enough to believe the police may pay him a visit. 

The journey from Vallejo to South Lake Tahoe is a simple one, encompassing the two major highways of U.S. Route 80 and U.S Route 50. The latter runs past the apartment of Donna Lass at 3893 Pioneer Trail Road, the Paradice Motel (Halloween Card) and the once Sahara Tahoe Hotel. Shown here. This route also runs directly through Sacramento, notable for the murders of Judith Hakari, Nancy Bennallack and Carol Beth Hilburn on March 7th 1970, October 25th 1970 and November 14th 1970 respectively. All three of these murders have been suggested as possible Zodiac attacks.
Can we connect San Francisco, Modesto and South Lake Tahoe in terms of the Zodiac Killer's profession. The Naval Air Station Alameda is situated on San Francisco Bay, close to the Oakland Bay Bridge. However, during and since World War 2 it became headquarters for a system of auxiliary airfields, that included Crows Landing Naval Auxiliary Air Station and Fallon Auxiliary Airfield.
The Naval Auxiliary Air Station Crows Landing is only 25 miles from the area where Kathleen Johns was abducted. If you exit NASA Crows Landing heading north on Interstate 5, it then joins Highway 132 only 1.4 miles before the point where Kathleen Johns was flagged over and where the vehicle was ultimately found burnt out. Zodiac would have entered Highway 132 just behind Kathleen Johns and trailed her for approximately 2 minutes, before he made his move. Fallon Auxiliary Airfield is on a direct route through South Lake Tahoe to the east, on U.S Route 50. 
If the Zodiac Killer knew Donna Lass, he may have been stationed at this auxiliary airfield and frequented South Lake Tahoe. Investigators in Riverside also pursued the idea that the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966 may have worked at the March Air Reserve Base, Riverside, situated only 14 miles from the Terracina Drive crime scene. This was considered because of the military heel print discovered in the alleyway by the body of Cheri Jo Bates. This coupled with the military Wing Walker boot impressions found at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969, may indicate an Air Force connection, or indeed airplanes in general. After all the Zodiac Killer did introduce himself with "This is the Zodiac speaking."     

"An auxiliary force is an organized group supplementing but not directly incorporated in a regular military or police entity. It may comprise either civilian volunteers undertaking support functions or additional personnel directly performing military or police duties, usually on a part-time basis. Historically the designation "auxiliary" has also been given to foreign or allied troops in the service of a nation at war. In the context of colonial armies locally recruited irregulars were often described as auxiliaries." Source Wikipedia.
The immediate correspondence after the disappearance of Donna Lass was the '13 Hole' postcard on October 5th 1970. However this was likely mailed in response to his 'Little List' letter of July 26th 1970 not being featured in the newspapers. Both claimed 13 victims, so Donna Lass having been abducted after July 26th cannot be the "big thirteenth".
​If she truly was a Zodiac victim, then she had to be victim number 14, dispelling the idea that the 'Halloween' card was a veiled threat towards San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery.
There is some validity to the idea the 'Halloween' card was indicating the murder of Donna Lass. This and the 'Pines' card were both addressed to Paul Avery, and both made similar references. The 'Halloween' card featured a tree with an eye in the knothole, with the accompanying phrase "peek-a-boo you are doomed." The 'Pines' card held the phrases "peek through the pines," and the upside-down "around in the snow."  Likely indicative of a burial or disposal site, hence the choice of skeletons on the 'Halloween' card almost two months after the crime.
Did the Zodiac Killer work as an auxiliary at Riverside, Patterson, San Francisco and Fallon. The FBI certainly considered this possibility in a least three of the locations.   

http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/donna-lass-an-enduring-mystery    

With little progress in the Zodiac case, often we have to return to what we already know but examine it in more depth. The search for the Zodiac Killer has become wider as the years have passed, with ever more suspects being introduced into the fold, effectively diluting the identity of the real murderer. The bigger the haystack becomes, the harder the needle is to find.
One, if not the best clue in the Zodiac case, is the phone call he made from the intersection of Springs and Tuolumne at 12.40 am, on July 5th 1969, approximately 40 minutes after the attack at Blue Rock Springs Park, particularly in light of a journey that should have taken little more than 10 minutes. What did he do during this time period. We cannot rule out that he just sat in his vehicle for the entire duration, but if the killer lived nearby, then separating himself from the weapon and any blooded clothing, before making a risky phone call, appeared to be the sensible option. It has already been surmised that the killer may be local to the area, due to the fact he seemed aware that Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Herman Road were a good place to target couples.
If the Zodiac Killer had lived in San Francisco, then he could have made this phone call anywhere en route back to his residence. There would appear little reason to sit closer to the crime scene than separate yourself from it, especially loaded down with incriminating evidence. The journey time back to San Francisco is approximately 40 minutes, with innumerable payphones on the way, thereby negating the logic of remaining in the danger zone, unless of course you lived in Vallejo and were determined to make a call to police no matter.    

Kim Rossmo, who pioneered the science of geographical profiling made an important observation that the killer exhibited target selection at Presidio Heights, as opposed to his first three crimes, where the location was the overriding consideration. If we believe the Zodiac Killer to be a resident of Vallejo or Benicia and less familiar with the San Francisco area, then control would be the order of the day and his 'search attempts' in alien surroundings are less certain. He could not afford to travel around looking for victims without designated prime locations and expect to escape with any surety, thereby he targeted the victim first and took him to a predetermined location, as opposed to the location being the prime requisite. In the Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs attacks, he frequented known locations to find a victim, whereas in San Francisco he searched for a victim and took him to a location. Kim Rossmo states that 'criminals who travel longer distances to offend are less likely to use uncertain target selection techniques'.
The Zodiac Killer knew Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park were secluded locations and knew that by cruising between these two areas he would eventually find his moment to strike, shrouded by the darkness and limited traffic. Using the software Rigel, Kim Rossmo entered various details in the Zodiac case, some of which were the murder locations, travel routes and phone calls and came up with some key areas of interest. These areas were [1] southeastern Napa County, including American Canyon and north Vallejo. [2] eastern Solano County, including east and north Vallejo, Mare Island and Benicia. [3] northern Contra Costa County, just south of the Carquinez Strait, including Crockett.
All of these areas are viable destinations to reach from Blue Rock Springs Park and back to the Springs and Tuolumne intersection in 40 minutes to make the phone call to police. This is great, but we need to narrow the field of view further and begin with the most likely first, before extending outward.     

In a recent re-examination of the Lake Herman Road murders, it was possible to open up the timeline of James Owen and Stella Borges to 12 minutes, to enable the Zodiac Killer to head to Vallejo after exiting the turnout and pass by the Borges Ranch before she entered Lake Herman Road in her vehicle. Michael Mageau stated the killer exited the Blue Rock Springs parking lot and headed in the direction of Ascot Parkway, Tennessee Street and Springs Road, so we could have the Zodiac approaching the same exit of Columbus Parkway on both occasions, heading in the direction of central Vallejo. However, with the many inconsistencies in Michael Mageau's testimony, we cannot be certain which direction the Zodiac traveled after leaving the parking lot.   
We know​ that killers employ a 'buffer zone' from their residence and we know that with increased confidence, a serial killer will move from their comfort zone further afield. Often though, their initial crimes start closer to home. This is why the Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park crimes, separated by only 3.9 miles, are of paramount importance.
Additionally both attacks fell on a Friday, which for somebody working a normal Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 job, would explain the lack of 'adventure', that was otherwise displayed at the Lake Berryessa and Presidio Heights attacks, which both fell on a Saturday. This is referred to as the 'least effort principle'.
There is one particular area of interest, that of northern Vallejo, we can examine for all the right reasons and also examine for all the wrong reasons.​        

The area of interest is denoted by the red circle in the diagram. The blue circle is the Springs and Tuolumne payphone.
This area of interest is 4.7 miles from Blue Rock Springs Park (10 minutes). This area is 4.1 miles from the payphone (10 minutes). The times are approximated based on the route. A murderer leaving Blue Rock Springs at 12.04 am at the latest, with 15 minutes to hide the weapon and clothes at home, and ready himself before returning to the payphone, would arrive to make the phone call at 12.39 am.
This area of interest is also in a direct line south from the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone, only 12 miles away. It is situated 9 miles from Lake Herman Road.
In each case a reasonable 'buffer zone' is employed from the crime scene at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs, and from both payphones, while still allowing the total journey time of 36-40 minutes to be achieved after the Blue Rock Springs crime.
But in all cases the 'buffer zone' is not too large either, it is a delicate balance.
Now we will focus on this area of interest for all the wrong reasons and the following must be taken with a huge pinch of salt.
Donna Ann Lass disappeared from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino on September 6th 1970, and was presumably highlighted by the Zodiac Killer in the March 22nd 1971 'Pines' card. The card itself indicated a location, thought to be the burial site of Donna Lass, but it was vague in nature, supplying what appeared to be directional markers. The text on the card read;   [1] 'Sierra Club'  [2] 'Sought Victim 12'  [3] 'Peek through the pines'  [4] 'pass Lake Tahoe areas'  [5] 'around in the snow' (pasted upside down). 
Two notable Sierra Club properties were identified. In a newspaper article it stated 'the site depicted on the 'Pines' Card was from an advertisement published last Sunday by several newspapers. It was an artist's rendition of houses among the trees at a project at Incline Village', located at 895 Tanager Street, Nevada. The other was Clair Tappaan Lodge at 19940 Donner Pass Rd, Norden, highlighted as a potential burial site and investigated by police officer Harvey Hines. An excavation of the site was performed but no body was unearthed. It has been stated that a pair of sunglasses, that may have belonged to Donna Lass were found, but this cannot be verified. The directions on the 'Pines' card, if from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, seem to indicate that we have to pass some 'lake tahoe areas'. Traveling on the lake's western shore, along California State Route 89, brings us out by Truckee, only 2 miles from the Donner Memorial State Park, a few miles east of Clair Tappaan Lodge.
Here is an overhead view of Clair Tappaan Lodge on Google maps. Now let us drop to the roadside and 'peek through the pines' at Clair Tappaan Lodge.
Whether the Zodiac Killer was using a play on words, possibly bringing us out by the Donner Memorial State Park and suggesting she could be found in this area, only he knows. Or was his play on words suggestive of somewhere entirely different.  
As stated above, Clair Tappaan Lodge is situated alongside Donner Pass Road, but are we in the wrong place, and does the clue point towards a totally different area, somewhere we are much more familiar with. Somewhere only 4.7 miles from Blue Rock Springs Park. 

In a recent article we covered the disappearance of two casino workers from South Lake Tahoe in 1982. Julie Schossow (25) and Marilyn Putt (27), were found murdered several months later. Both victims worked as blackjack dealers at Harrah's Lake Tahoe Casino and were last seen leaving the Rendevouz Bar at Harrah's around midnight. This casino is only 359 meters from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino.

Less than seven years after the abduction and likely murder of Donna Lass (25), from the Sahara Casino on September 6th 1970 at around 1.45 am, another woman was abducted from the same location and later found murdered.
Brynn Rainey (27), who resided on Emerald Bay Road, was early for her 2.00 am graveyard shift as a Keno girl at the Sahara Casino on July 24th 1977. She popped into a local bar, the Bitter Creek Saloon, just prior to her shift. The bar was situated near the corner of Sandy Way and Takela Drive in South Lake Tahoe, only two miles from her workplace. The bartender remembered her that night. Unfortunately she was never seen alive again. Her body was discovered the following month in a shadow grave on a South Lake Tahoe horse riding area, referred to as the Stateline Stables. Her cause of death has been classified as undetermined. It is likely she was abducted somewhere between the Bitter Creek Saloon and the Sahara Tahoe Casino. 
To learn some more about this case, here is a three minute video on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipW72rlecr8​

​http://www.cbsnews.com/womans-1977-cold-case-murder/
​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/wanda-gail-loe-disappearance1968

The Pines Card, often questioned on its authorship, was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on March 22nd 1971. Was this a Zodiac correspondence offering subtle hints to the disappearance of Donna Lass (25) from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino on September 6th 1970. If we traveled the 'lake tahoe areas' on the western shore of Lake Tahoe, we would arrive at Donna Pass and the Donner Memorial State Park on its northern edge, by Truckee, California. Could this be the final resting place of Donna Lass, buried 'in the snow.'
Two years earlier Wanda Gail Loe (26), similar in age to Donna Lass, disappeared from the Lake Tahoe region on July 27th 1968, five months prior to the Lake Herman Road murders. She worked at the Sunnyside Resort 1850 West Lake Boulevard in Placer County. The resort is 30 miles northwest of the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, now the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, where Donna Lass was last seen.
​Her boyfriend Dennis Finn allegedly made a drunken confession to the crime, according to his cousin, however ill feeling between the pair has cast huge doubt on his claims, and no evidence exists linking Dennis Finn to the crime. Later arrested and jailed for an unrelated crime, he committed suicide in 1992.
Were the disappearances of Donna Lass and Wanda Loe connected in any way, and if so, how relevant is the Zodiac Killer or Pines Card to either investigation.
The disappearances were two years apart, their ages were similar and they worked on the fringes of Lake Tahoe, only 30 miles apart. An officer involved in the Wanda Loe case, Sergeant Perea, believed she may be buried in the Carpenter Valley area, near Truckee. Carpenter Valley Road is a mere four miles from Donner Lake and Donner Pass Road.  

The following is not meant to indicate any Zodiac connection, but its locality in relation to the Donna Lass case is worthy of mention.  
Approximately eleven years after the disappearance of Donna Lass, on January 12th 1982, two young women, Julie Schossow (25) and Marilyn Putt (27),  disappeared from South Lake Tahoe. Their bodies were recovered several months later.
​On June 6th 1982 Marilyn Putt's body was found in the South Fork of the American River, one mile west of Chili Bar. The police press release stated “Her body had been weighted down with chains and binding material and the cause of death appears to be ligature strangulation, with the time of death being estimated at six to eight weeks prior to her body being found.” Julie Schossow was discovered only a short distance away on July 9th 1982. The women had been bound and strangled with a ligature. Both victims worked as blackjack dealers at Harrah's Lake Tahoe Casino and were last seen leaving the Rendevouz Bar at Harrah's around midnight. This casino is only 359 meters from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino, where Donna Lass had worked in 1970. Reports circled about a possible interaction with some men, indicating that the women may have traveled with them to the Bay Area, although this is unsubstantiated.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO5PxH6rFeE
​http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/information-sought-in-1982-south-lake-tahoe-killings/
​http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?309900-CA-Julie-Schossow-25-amp-Marilyn-Putt-27-S-Lake-Tahoe-12-Jan-1982

There have remained questions over the authenticity of the '13 Hole' postcard mailed on October 5th 1970, particularly in light of the author claiming 13 victims for a second time. However this may be the very reason the postcard is genuine Zodiac material. The 'Little List' letter claiming 13 victims, mailed by the Zodiac on July 26th 1970, was withheld from publication and not released until the San Francisco Chronicle released an article on October 12th 1970. So the Zodiac Killer by October 5th 1970 was either under the impression the 'Little List' letter was being withheld or had gone astray, hence a further communication reiterating 13 victims. There is something more important about this postcard that has yet to be fully explained, the reasoning behind the 'Fk' abbreviation, believed by some to be an expletive, but the answer may be much closer to home, bearing hallmarks of the Cheri Jo Bates murder in Riverside four years earlier.    

The Zodiac Killer has been argued to be responsible for the abduction and possible murder of Donna Ann Lass from outside the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino on September 6th 1970. The 13 Hole Postcard was mailed twenty nine days later, so wouldn't it make more sense for this postcard to be somehow related, as the '13 Symbol' cipher correspondence mailed on April 20th 1970 should be related to the Kathleen Johns abduction on March 22nd 1970, in line with his earlier crimes and correspondence. 
In both instances a woman was seized against her will, and in both instances the following communication implied money. "I am mildly cerous as to how much money you have on my head now," and "There are reports city police pig cops are closeing in on me. Fk I'm crackproof. What is the price tag now?"
The Zodiac sent three coded segments in three letters on July 31st 1969 to the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle and Vallejo-Times Herald, giving details of the first two crimes to police. The Zodiac Killer seemingly though still had a lot to prove to Police Chief Jack E Stiltz, who was less than satisfied that the letter writer and killer were one and the same. On Saturday August 2nd 1969 in the San Francisco Chronicle he requested the writer send a second letter "with more facts to prove it." Another Zodiac article featured the following day on Sunday August 3rd 1969 in the San Francisco Examiner. Jack E Stiltz was 'still not convinced the letters and codes were written by the actual killer.' The police chief 'urged the writer to send more letters, with more facts to prove his connections to the crimes.'
The Zodiac responded immediately, detailing the Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs attacks with greater clarity. He did exactly the same thing in the 'Bus Bomb' letter mailed on November 9th 1969, outlining his excursion into Presidio Park, when challenged by Chief of Police Martin Lee.
The question remained, was the '13 Hole' postcard a response to the disappearance of Donna Lass.
Shortly after her disappearance, somebody rang her landlord and the casino to report Donna Lass had been called out to attend a family emergency. This in all likelihood was used to buy time, knowing that police will question family and friends first, before spreading their net wider afield. It appears the perpetrator may have known Donna Lass or was somehow connected to her. So to avoid any incriminating searches, the phone call may have been implemented to afford some breathing space.
Additionally, it has become apparent she walked to work that evening from a previous residence, so her car was never parked outside the casino that night. If the perpetrator knew Donna Lass and the vehicle she drove, then a phone call to the casino, implying she had been called out of town for a family emergency and would be away from work for a period, would be negated if her Chevrolet Camaro convertible was spotted sitting idle in the car park of the casino for any extended period. This may suggest she was carefully tracked that evening and the crime planned in advance. Was the killer close enough to Donna Lass to know her family lived in Beresford, South Dakota and the phone call had a better chance of buying time under these circumstances. The perpetrator also appeared to be fully aware of her shift details, as she vanished moments after changing from her nurses uniform into regular clothes.
The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article on the missing Donna Lass on September 26th 1970 entitled 'Nurse Vanishes...A Tahoe Mystery.'  It stated "As the absence lengthened hotel officials contacted the South Lake Tahoe Police, who checked her apartment and could find no clue to her whereabouts. Relatives in Sioux Falls flew here a week ago."
So I suppose Zodiac's paraphrasing of the Mikado on July 26th 1970 stating "none of them will be missed", partly rang true, in the sense it bought him valuable time. The idea the Zodiac knew Donna Lass, has its origin from the Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, situated in the Presidio Park, the occupation she held prior to arriving in South Lake Tahoe just months earlier.          

The family after arriving in South Lake Tahoe would undoubtedly go through the usual appeals for information on the missing woman and although the family would eventually offer a reward for any information, this came in early 1971 in the form of a cryptic poster and a 500 dollar reward. They also hired a private detective in the weeks after she vanished. What exact media appeals ensued in the month of September after her disappearance and to what extent, can only be imagined, but it could be argued the Zodiac clearly got wind of it.  Nine days after the San Francisco Chronicle article, the '13 Hole' postcard landed on their doorstep.
​This takes us back to "There are reports city police pig cops are closeing in on me. Fk I'm crackproof. What is the price tag now?" Could the killer, aware of the family's appeals to the media have responded personally. The thought has crossed many peoples minds that Fk may be somebody's initials. Had a police officer been quoted or a newspaper reporter written an article about the Zodiac Killer, suggesting the net was closing, and this was his response, using the initials of the said person to reply. However, trawling every article on the Zodiac Killer has failed to throw up any possible name that fits with the initials, suggesting it may be wrong.
Gregory Haugevik, a Zodiac enthusiast, pointed out that the 'k' was not capitalized, pouring serious doubts on the idea, unless of course the author simply had no capital 'K' to hand when pasting the card. Or in some subtle way, the lower case 'k' he used was a clue to the identity of the person he was addressing.
The following may very well be incorrect, but this postcard was the first correspondence mailed by the Zodiac Killer after the disappearance of Donna Lass and as stated above, it was mailed only nine days after the San Francisco Chronicle article, so in the absence of any reporter or police officer, is it likely the killer could be addressing the family of Donna Lass, in his usual taunting manner. Donna Lass' father was James Lass and the maiden name of her mother was Frances Kukar, to become Frances Lass upon marriage.
"There are reports city police pig cops are closeing in on me. Frances Kukar, I'm crackproof. What is the price tag now?"   
If the Zodiac Killer was aware of the maiden name, it may suggest him to be closer, or have a lot more knowledge about the family than we dare to imagine, projecting a sinister overtone upon the card. On the other hand 'Fk' could simply mean F@@k.      

In a previous article it was shown how the Zodiac Killer began mailing his later correspondence further afield, beginning on March 13th 1971, when the Zodiac Killer mailed the 'Los Angeles' letter from Pleasanton, Alameda County. This was followed by the 1974 letters, including the 'Citizen Card', again mailed from Alameda County, along with the 'Red Phantom' letter, postmarked San Rafael, Marin County on July 8th 1974. All had Interstate 580 in common, suggesting that the Zodiac Killer may have been mailing his letters to and from particular locations, that tied in with the military bases of Alameda Naval Air Station and Naval Auxiliary Field Crows Landing, the latter of which is situated only 24 miles from the intersection of Highway 132 and Interstate 5, the area where Kathleen Johns was abducted on March 22nd 1970. The connection we were trying to formulate was a military angle, the killer's reasons for being at specific locations at particular times and murders that took place close by to certain major travel routes. The killer, if murdering on the fly, needs ease of access and egress if at all possible, especially when you have avoided near capture, as experienced on October 11th 1969. To catch up on the previous article visit  http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/en-route-to-san-francisco​   

The Zodiac Killer appeared to cease his murderous rampage by 1970, yet there were four murders, one abduction and a missing woman (likely murdered), all along one particular route, that of Interstate 5 and Interstate 80, that directly spans South Bird Road, the area of Kathleen Johns abduction, to the area where Donna Lass went missing from Stateline, Nevada on September 6th 1970, having finished her shift that day at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel. There were three murders in Sacramento.
Judith Hakari was a nurse at Sutter Hospital, who disappeared heading back to the Markston Apartments on March 7th 1970. Her body was later discovered by Ponderosa Way in Weimar, forty two miles along Interstate 80.  
Nancy Bennallack was murdered on October 25th 1970 in her apartment, just a stone's throw from where Judith Hakari lived, near Glendale Lane.
Carol Beth Hilburn was murdered on November 14th 1970, last seen on Del Paso Boulevard and found on Ascot and 4th Street.  These two areas are bisected  by Interstate 80.
Sandwiched in between these murders were the two abductions of Donna Lass and Kathleen Johns.
If we look at the relevant areas off Interstate 5 and Interstate 80, then we notice certain key features.
The site of Kathleen Johns abduction and where her vehicle was discovered burnt out is only 1 mile or 2 minutes traveling time from Interstate 5. The residence of Judith Hakari and the area her body was discovered, not only were situated alongside Interstate 80, but Ponderosa Way is only 2 miles or 5 minutes from Interstate 80, and the Markston Apartments only 4 miles or 8 minutes from Interstate 80.  Regarding Carol Beth Hilburn, Del Paso Boulevard is only 2.2 miles or 5 minutes traveling time to Interstate 80, and Ascot and 4th Street only 3 miles or 7 minutes from Interstate 80.
Interstate 80 continues on to Lake Tahoe, near the area where Donna Lass went missing on September 6th 1970.
Six and a half months after her disappearance, the Pines card was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle, purportedly from the Zodiac Killer. The search for Donna Lass was badly affected by the inclement weather in the months after her disappearance, highlighted by Police Chief Ray Lauritzen from the outset "We don't know where we're going to begin. There's a four or five foot pack of snow out there and it's still snowing heavily." 
The Pines Card made reference to the snow, but in a sinister way inferred Donna Lass may be buried under it, hence the phrase 'around in the snow' being placed at ground level and pasted upside down. In a newspaper article it stated the site depicted on the Pines Card was from an advertisement published the previous Sunday by several newspapers. It was an artist's rendition of houses among the trees at a project at Incline Village, near Clair Tappaan Lodge, Norden, California, the address of which happens to be 19940 Donner Pass Road. Whether this name and that of the missing woman is a coincidence is unknown. But again, Clair Tappaan Lodge is situated right alongside Interstate 80, only 2.3 miles or 4 minutes by car, suggesting somebody traveling this route would likely have been familiar with this area and may well, as the 'Pines Card' suggested, held clues to a burial site.
On December 27th 1974, a Christmas card was mailed to Mary Pilker, Donna Lass' sister, portraying trees covered in snow. Once opened it revealed a message that was part of the card itself  - 'Holiday Greetings and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year', followed by the handwriting "Best Wishes, St Donna & Guardian of the Pines."    

Here is the card and here is the street view in winter from Donner Pass Road, outside Clair Tappaan Lodge. 
On the 'Pines Card' mailed on March 22nd 1971, text on the card read;  [1] 'Sierra Club'  [2] 'Sought Victim 12'  [3] 'Peek through the pines'  [4] 'pass Lake Tahoe areas'  [5] 'around in the snow' (pasted upside down). 
If we were reading hidden clues from this correspondence and searching for a possible burial site, then we have to follow it's directions from the last sighting  of Donna Lass, at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino, and head towards the Clair Tappaan Lodge and the Sierra Club. 
California State Route 89 skirts the western shores of Lake Tahoe towards Truckee, California and passes many 'Lake Tahoe Areas'  en route. It finally joins Interstate 80 only 1.5 miles or 3 minutes from Donner Memorial State Park, in memory of the ill fated Donner Party.
Again, whether this was Zodiac's intention to direct us to a 'Donner Memorial', using a play on words, is sheer speculation.
But this area and the site of Clair Tappaan Lodge would certainly lend weight to the phrase 'Peek through the pines', as the lodge is literally yards from Donner Pass Road. 
This brings us to the disappearance and ultimate murder of Phyllis O'Brien Carson on October 27th 1970, a significant Zodiac date, that of the Halloween Card.
Phyllis O'Brien Carson (32). was a young mother of four children, last seen after a night out at the Francis Truck Stop, French Camp, San Joaquin County, California. French Camp is a small community situated approximately a ten minute drive south of the town of Stockton CA and 15 minutes north of Manteca CA. Since the construction of California State Route 120, Manteca had become a popular choice for workers from the main towns and cities, along with the Bay Area, as rising house prices forced people to search for cheaper alternatives. Interstate 5 and State Route 99 are integral commuter routes through California and the I-5 is the main highway on the west coast of America, with links to San Diego, Los Angeles and Sacramento. San Francisco lies 80 miles and a one hour twenty minutes drive due west from French Camp.
Phyllis had visited the popular bar, along with her brother and sister on October 27th 1970 and later on during the evening placed a phone call to her home residence to check on her children, stating she was to receive a lift home from a friend. Sadly for Phyllis O'Brien Carson and her family, her journey home was never realized. She had vanished without a trace, that is until family members received the heartbreaking news, just over three weeks later, on November 21st 1970, that her body had been discovered laying down an embankment, near to Yettner Road, only five miles from the family residence. 
The cause of death and perpetrator remains unknown, but foul play was certain, as her body was partially clothed, apparently thrown from a vehicle, however robbery was likely ruled out, as her belongings were untouched. Nobody from the bar has ever come forward to this day with a name of the mystery friend that Phyllis was supposed to have left with that night. 

Interstate 5 bisects French Camp and Yettner Road, and it can be seen here on Google Maps, how close both locations are to the main thoroughfare. Both less than half a mile. Almost as though the killer in all the above circumstances is simply passing by these areas, via a main highway, he has traveled many times, possibly as a result of his profession.
The Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns, whether or not this has a Zodiac connection, provides the closest link, in that the perpetrator of this crime chose
to subject his victim to what appeared to be an aimless drive around the countryside of Tracy, CA, after which she escaped to a nearby field. Where the abductor was ultimately heading may never be known, but Tracy CA, San Joaquin County is a mere 15 to 20 minute drive from Yettner Road and only 15 miles due west from Manteca CA, so a familiarity with the area remains plausible. This now takes us back to the military connection.
Running right by NASA Crows Landing is Interstate 5, which then intersects with Highway 132 only 24 miles north. A journey of 22 minutes by car. In fact, Interstate 5 joins Highway 132, the route Kathleen Johns fatefully took that night, only 1.3 miles shy of where she was abducted and ultimately where her car was found burnt out, near Bird Road.
'McClellan Air Force Base (1935–2001) is a former United States Air Force base located in the North Highlands area of Sacramento County, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Sacramento, California. 
NAS Fallon in Nevada was originally built in 1942 as part of a defensive network to repel a feared Japanese invasion of the west coast. It was soon taken over by the Navy for training use and has been used as such ever since with the exception of the period of 1946 to 1951, during which it was used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. During the years prior to 1972, the base was known as Naval Auxiliary Air Station and was heavily used during the Vietnam War by various squadrons that rotated through the base before deploying to carriers headed for Vietnam.' Taken from Wikipedia.
These military connections run from Patterson in Stanislaus County to the east of Lake Tahoe.
NAS Fallon is located just south of Interstate 80.
If the Zodiac was responsible for the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns and the disappearance of Donna Lass, are these subtle hints enough to convince us, to him as the responsible. These two areas span 160 miles. The question being, did the Zodiac Killer travel from the Bay Area (if he lived there), to simply commit his crimes and return, or was he likely stationed at any one of these military bases that punctuated Interstate 5 and Interstate 80. His profession may have involved him traveling between these bases, either as a member of the military, a supplier to the military or an independent contractor, nevertheless a profession that created perpetual mobility throughout areas of California.
Interstate 80 and Interstate 5 may have played a role to certain serial killers, but was the Zodiac Killer one of them.    

Another crime on the fringes of the Zodiac story was the likely abduction and murder of Donna Ann Lass from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino on September 6th 1970. Planning to meet her friend Jo Anne Goettsche immediately after her shift at 2.00 am, the only telltale sign that she had been interrupted, was a pen mark trailing off her log book, estimated at fifteen minutes to the hour. She had left her 1968 Chevrolet Camaro at the Monte Verdi Apartments and traveled to work from her previous residence by foot to begin her shift, planning to ride home to the new flat with her friend, but unfortunately this meeting never happened and the young 25 year old woman was never seen again. This was Labor Day weekend, but obviously Donna Lass not returning to work in the following days would have aroused concern, ultimately circumvented by an anonymous caller ringing her employer, stating Donna Lass had been called to a family emergency.  

But what does the phone call tell us about the perpetrator/s.
It seems on the face of it to suggest the phone caller is buying time. They appear not to want any police involvement immediately, and since family, friends and associates are usually the first port of call for investigating officers, this is who would benefit most from any investigative delay.
The perpetrator/s most likely had a vehicle parked outside the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, Abducting a woman at a busy casino and hotel by dragging her away on foot is extremely unlikely and far too risky. Whatever happened subsequent to this is in the realm of speculation, but one reason to want to buy time in the following days, can be attributed to a forensic standpoint. Had Donna Lass been taken to a second location connected to the abductor, or attacked within the confines of the assailant's vehicle leaving trace evidence, then clearly this provides good reason for the perpetrator to want the clean up before the police come knocking. A murder distinct and separate, leaving nothing of forensic value to connect to the perpetrator, does not necessitate the further risk of identification through a phone call. The phone call itself provides another clue. If Donna Lass had driven to work on the day in question, her car would have been laying dormant in the casino car park, so an anonymous caller claiming she had been called out of town on family business, could easily have raised suspicion from her employers, and simply negated the caller's intention of buying time. In fact it would have had the opposite effect. The same could be said regarding the landlord of the Monte Verdi Apartments, if the landlord was familiar with her vehicle or was regularly present on site.                    

It would also suggest the abductor was not aware of Donna's intention to meet her friend Jo Ann Goettsche that night, as she could easily have raised concern about Donna's non appearance. Was the abductor familiar enough with Donna's movements that day, that told him she had not traveled to work in her vehicle that evening. She also disappeared close to the end of her shift, having already changed from her nurses uniform into her casual clothes, another convenient circumstance for the abductor. Had she vanished from her post, let's say, hours earlier, her disappearance would have certainly raised more eyebrows, indicating the abductor likely had some knowledge of Donna Lass prior to September 6th 1970, negating the idea this was a random perpetrator. The abduction of Donna Lass has all the hallmarks of a planned abduction, by somebody familiar with the young woman, her vehicle and her 'clocking off' time. And more importantly, somebody who needs to keep the police off their doorstep for as long as possible.
Her Chevrolet Camaro parked outside her Monte Verdi Apartments and the apartment itself, showed no signs of foul play or disturbance. The likelihood is she disappeared from the vicinity of the casino at around 1.45 -1.50 am and unlikely from her nurses station, as this would have attracted too much attention. As Zodiac researcher Raymond Grant has already stated, the likeliest scenario, is Donna Lass was enticed away from her work station close to the end of her shift in a planned abduction, performed under the guise of a medical emergency, that not only explains the abrupt pen mark trailing off her log book, but is the perfect ruse to necessitate her separation from the confines of the building and into the darkness. She is bundled into the abductor's vehicle with relative ease and is never seen again.            

Apart from the four confirmed Zodiac attacks, the Bay Area killer would also indicate his involvement in the Richard Radetich murder, Cheri Jo Bates stabbing and Kathleen Johns abduction, however here he doesn't specifically attach himself to the crime, just the locality of the crime, some six and a half months after the fact.
The phone call after the Donna Lass abduction is not unusual to Zodiac and neither is the mailed correspondence, but the nature of the crime is, along with the purpose of the phone call. His previous two phone calls were designed for menace and taunting, whereas this call had the sole design to create breathing space, indicative of somebody connected to the victim and area. Of course Zodiac could have been resident in the area, known Donna Lass and been the abductor. But from what we know of Zodiac's confirmed attacks, by all accounts, he attacked strangers at a specific location and never abducted them.
The phone call in the case of Donna Lass was designed to misdirect for a reason, and quite possibly the Pines Card was mailed for the same purpose;- the first to delay the focus and the second to take the focus away. This time the perfect fall guy would be Zodiac, but one killer may have been responsible for both and it may not be the killer we have been tracking for nearly fifty years.         

Donna Ann Lass (25), born on November 3rd 1944 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the youngest of eight children, spent her formative years in Beresford, attending Beresford High School and eventually graduated as a registered nurse in 1965.
She worked as a private nurse prior to traveling to San Francisco and setting up residence in Balboa Street, before commencing her duties as a Staff Nurse at the Letterman General Hospital in the Presidio. Her employment at the Letterman General Hospital however was short lived, spanning February 1970 to May 1970, before she took a job at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino on June 6th 1970. She initially moved in with a couple, Larry and Ann Lowe, before renting her own apartment at 3893 Pioneer Trail at the beginning of September. Six days later she would go missing.
The connection of Lawrence Kane claimed by retired law officer Harvey Hines, we are familiar with.
Lawrence Kane it was claimed lived a 217 Eddy Street at the time of the Paul Stine murder. This location is less than a quarter of a mile from the Mason and Geary intersection, the presumed pick up point of Zodiac on October 11th 1969. Donna Lass moved to Lake Tahoe in June 1970, as did Lawrence Kane, and both ended up working at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel. However this is not about Lawrence Kane, it is about the connection between Donna Lass and the hotly disputed 'Pines' Card mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on March 22nd 1971, the first anniversary of the Modesto abduction.  
This card is regarded a hoax by many Zodiac investigators, particularly puzzling because it states on the card in pasted lettering "Sought victim 12." This tally of likely only eleven victims and searching for a 12th, is totally out of sync with the rest of Zodiac's correspondence. He had already claimed 12 victims as far back as June 26th 1970, when the 'Button' letter was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle, along with 13 victims, ranging to 17+ victims, by the time the 'Los Angeles' letter arrived on March 13th 1971. Then nine days later the 'Pines' card surfaces, searching for 12 victims. The problem that identifies itself, is even a half decent hoaxer, who knew only the bare minimum about the case, is unlikely to have bypassed at least five pieces of correspondence and the multitude of newspaper articles. This person would have to be the worst hoaxer this side of Lake Tahoe, unless of course it was the killer and the "sought victim 12" had particular pertinence.  
The word 'sought' may be suggestive that the killer, at the point he designed his card, had identified his next victim. 

The question is, was Donna Lass targeted specifically by somebody with a grievance, or a male who had been rejected or "brushed off", as the Confession letter might say. She did after all go missing from her place of work.
The date and content of the 'Pines' card may indicate this very notion.
If we look at the Zodiac timeline and slot this card in where it should belong, it therefore has to come after 11 victims and before 12.
​The '13 Symbol' cipher or 'My Name is' cipher was mailed on April 20th 1970 claiming 10 victims, followed by the 'Button' letter on June 26th 1970 claiming 12 victims. Assuming the Pines card was not a mistake by a forger and actually created by the Zodiac Killer, it is logical that it must have been designed and pasted sometime between April 20th 1970 and June 26th 1970, before victim 12 was confirmed.
Donna Lass was employed by the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino in between these two dates, on June 6th 1970. The Zodiac Killer may have targeted Donna Lass when she announced her forthcoming plans to move to South Lake Tahoe. Was he connected to the Letterman General Hospital, the direction he may have been heading after the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. Was he rejected by Donna Lass as an undesirable suitor or was it simply time to do his 'thing'.
Donna Lass, either by necessity or the lure of a better job, prepares her move to South Lake Tahoe. The Zodiac Killer prepares the card to mail to the San Francisco Chronicle giving the clues in the pasted text, that his next victim will have connections with the 'Lake Tahoe areas'. She hadn't moved yet, but the police would not be aware of that, and any extra vigilance in the Lake Tahoe region would be of no concern to Zodiac. His murder will take place in San Francisco once again.
Had it occurred this way, the link to South Lake Tahoe would ultimately be discovered, after the police had delved into the woman's background.    
Things however do not go as planned, Donna Lass moves earlier than expected or the Zodiac Killer is sidetracked for any number of reasons. The Pines Card is set aside. 
If the murderer of Donna Lass is the Zodiac, and this is by no means certain, then there is a connection between San Francisco and South Lake Tahoe. There may also be a connection between "sought victim 12" and the time between April 20th 1970 and June 26th 1970, along with the Donna Lass move to Nevada on June 6th 1970, to begin her job at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel. The question being; was the Pines Card designed between these two dates and belatedly mailed on March 22nd 1971, when he had finally caught up with Donna Lass, or was it a hoaxer after all.    

"The San Francisco Police could have caught me last night if they had searched the park properly". The Zodiac Killer's claim only two days after the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, in a letter he mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle, that would also give up a gruesome reminder, a piece of the blooded taxicab driver's shirt. The theory that our killer may have been connected to the military has been well documented, including Zodiac suspect and once army medic Richard Gaikowski, on account of the swatch of Paul Stine's shirt being torn neatly by hand - a practice used in emergencies and combat zones for use as tourniquets, bandages and such like. To read more on this visit Tom Voigt's message board. 
It has been questioned by many, that had Zodiac actually entered the park and watched proceedings as he claimed, then his capture would have soon followed. However, did he travel north through the park, toward the San Francisco Bay area to hole up, suggesting a familiarity with the area, along with the military facility of the Letterman Army Medical Hospital?  

The new Letterman Hospital was completed by Halverson and McLaughlin in 1968, a 550 bed facility, 445,000 square feet of floor, employing close to 2,000 personnel. It was crucial in treating soldiers injured from the Pacific Theater and the conflict in Vietnam, that lasted from 1955 to 1975 and the fall of Saigon.
In 1970, Letterman employees totaled approximately 1100 officers and 750 civilians. Patients were also shuttled from the Travis Air Base in Solana County to the Letterman Hospital using the Crissy US Army Airfield.  
After World War II a paved runway replaced the grass landing field and the Sixth Army Flight Detachment used Crissy Field for light utility and passenger planes, and helicopter operations. During the Vietnam war the Army used Crissy Field for liaison flights and MedEvac flights to transport wounded Vietnam soldiers 40 miles from Travis Air Force Base to the Presidio's Letterman Army Hospital, a trip by ambulance on surface roads would take too long and possibly be delayed by traffic into San Francisco. At the end of the Vietnam war in 1974 the Army closed Crissy Field to airplanes, though helicopter operations continued for several years. From Wikipedia.
Could the Letterman Hospital or Crissy Army Airfield supply any connection to our killer, either as employee or patient? Had our killer served in Vietnam during his 'quiet' periods? Was the Travis Air Force Base relevant? It is located near Fairfield, California, an area that supplied two dubious pieces of Zodiac correspondence on December 7th and December 16th of 1969. The December 16th letter contained the text "this state is in trouble..I will go for the Goverment life", suggesting more of a connection with the Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski, but in view of American intervention in Vietnam controversial with many, a threat towards officialdom would carry some weight with disgruntled servicemen and the like. The Wing Walker boots responsible for the footprints at Lake Berryessa were issued to military personnel, but were also sold as army surplus from the Travis Air Force Base at Fairfield. 

The Letterman Hospital connection is difficult to nail down without comprehensive employee records to cross check.
One such employee was Donna Ann Lass, who worked as a nurse at the Letterman Hospital, before relocating to South Lake Tahoe in the summer of 1970, to work at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel in Stateline Nevada. She will forever be linked as a possible Zodiac victim, when the debatable Pines Card correspondence was received at the San Francisco Chronicle on March 22nd 1971, six months after her disappearance. Donna Lass went missing at the end of her shift on the Labor Day weekend of September 6th 1970. Her remains have never been found.
However, there is another possibility regarding a second employee of the Letterman Hospital, murdered only 2 years and 9 months after Donna Lass disappeared. 
Rosa Vasquez (20) of 834 Bush Street was discovered close to the Arguello Boulevard entrance of the Golden Gate Park on May 29th 1973, the day after Memorial Day. She had been strangled and thrown from the nearby road. This area was just one mile from the corner of the Washington and Cherry intersection. The murder of Rosa Vasquez has not been generally considered to be Zodiac related, having been grouped into other similar murders, notably Angela Thomas (16), Yvonne Quilantang (15) and Nancy Patricia Gidley (24). See here for more info.
Rosa Vasquez worked as a Keypunch Operator. A keypunch is a device for precisely punching holes into stiff paper cards at specific locations as determined by keys struck by a human operator. Now that rings a bell with the Zodiac, in particular the Pines Card, supposedly inferring the disappearance of Donna Lass. Could the killer have worked alongside both young women - two possible murders inside of three years with respect to employees of the Letterman Hospital - what are the odds?
As it stands, this is still a weak association, and 'clutching at straws' comes to mind - but one has to keep trying.