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.      

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, so obviously Donna Lass not returning to work in the following days may not have aroused concern, ultimately circumvented by an anonymous caller ringing her employer and workplace, and 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 mystery phone caller is buying time. They appear to want to delay any police involvement - 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 and thereby 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 approximately 1:45 am to 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, the Cheri Jo Bates stabbing and the 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 the taunting of police, 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. However, one killer may have been responsible for both phone call and postcard 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, was the youngest of eight children who spent her formative years in Beresford, attending Beresford High School and eventually graduating 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. However, her employment at the Letterman General Hospital 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 to Donna Lass, claimed by retired law enforcement officer Harvey Hines, we are familiar with. Lawrence Kane, it was claimed, lived at 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, with both ending 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 of Kathleen Johns.
​ 
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 we have, is that 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 significance. The word 'sought' may be suggestive of a killer that had previously targeted Donna Lass at an earlier time.

The question is, was Donna Lass targeted specifically by somebody with a grievance, or by 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 crafted by the Zodiac Killer, it is logical that its meaning must be referring to the time period between April 20th 1970 and June 26th 1970, before victim 12 was confirmed. A newspaper article after the disappearance of Donna Lass 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". ​Chief Lauritzen added "There's no point to a search at this time. It's unlikely a victim would be uncovered before spring." So its clear that this particular postcard was not designed prior to September 6th 1970, but sometime in the March of 1971. 
​
Donna Lass' date of employment by the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino fell in between the dates of April 20th 1970 and June 26th 1970 - she started work on June 6th 1970. The Zodiac Killer may have been targeting 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 and the Zodiac Killer's plans are thwarted.

If the murderer of Donna Lass is the Zodiac Killer (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, with respect to the Donna Lass move to Nevada on June 6th 1970, to begin her job at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel. When the Zodiac Killer decided to make good on his intention to abduct and murder Donna Lass, he would eventually travel to South Lake Tahoe to finalize what he began, then mail the 'Pines' card, pasting the words "sought victim 12", possibly suggestive of a killer who had targeted the young woman several months ago when she lived in San Francisco.   

The Pines Card sent to the San Francisco Chronicle March 22nd 1971 has courted controversy on its validity as Zodiac correspondence, but it just may be the most important of them all. On first viewing it appears just a jumble of pasted words scattered randomly, but it is far from that, and along with the address side may hold the key to the entire story. It was possibly the Zodiac Killer's final attempt to push us in the right direction, to reveal the mind behind his murders and show us that religion, mathematics and coding were integral to virtually every letter, card and cipher he mailed to authorities.
Three correspondences, that of the 13 Hole Postcard mailed on October 5th 1970, the Halloween Card mailed on October 27th 1970 and the Pines Card mailed on March 22nd 1971 were as close as he would ever go to revealing the man behind the mask.
This article will cover old ground but expand slightly on the 'Hidden Message in the Pines' posting, but comes with a warning- if you are not a proponent of mathematics being used as a tool in unlocking the mystery of the Zodiac material, then it is wise that you progress no further. However, here, no mind bending techniques will be used. We will place the wording into the code and what falls out is the answer- nothing more.
The first thing to do is take everything back to basics- why did the Zodiac Killer choose the name Zodiac. When most people think of Zodiac the horoscopes come to mind- this is the simplest answer and this is maybe what our killer did. He used his own moniker of the crossed circle in all of his ciphers, so if he was to create a numeric answer to each card or cipher, he had to first apply a numeric value to his crosshairs. This was revealed in the Pines Card, but can be found in numerous other places.
The thought is, the Zodiac Killer developed his own key based around the 13 Symbol Cipher, although where it came from is not important. What is important though, is that it works in the 13 Symbol Cipher, the Button Letter 32 Symbol Cipher, the 13 Hole Postcard, the Halloween Card and the Pines Card, although the story may have began with the 340 Cipher.
So let's start with the Pines Card using the gematric code key the Zodiac chose.  

Notice in the Pines Card below we have placed the phrases into the code on the right to achieve a total of 315. This figure is also achieved by placing the entire Zodiac horoscope into the code. The 12 signs of the Zodiac are Aquarius (34), Capricorn (28), Sagittarius (56), Scorpio (26), Libra (15), Virgo (24), Leo (9), Cancer (18), Gemini (24), Taurus (31), Aries (22) and Pisces (28). These figures also add up to 315. But there was more. Placing the top row of the gematric code alongside the 13 Symbol Cipher, A through to M, and alphabetically   

counting the difference between each column, only the numbers 3,1 and 5 fall out. If we apply the gematric code directly to the letters A,E,N,K,M,N,A,M on the 13 Symbol Cipher, the figures 1,5,1,3,1,1,1 and 1 appear, again only the numbers 3,1 and 5. See below.
Lawrence Kane became a Zodiac suspect as he had worked at the same hotel as Donna Lass, missing, presumed murdered when she vanished after her nurses shift at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on September 6th 1970. Strangely KANE is present on the left side of the 13 Symbol Cipher and KANE in the gematric code again only produces the figures 3,1,1,5, ie: the numbers 315 in order.
It was considered that this paste up card may have been indicating a burial site for Donna Lass, in view of the punch hole the author placed in the top right corner.  

However, this would have been too easy and a search of the site proved negative. The Pines Card depicted an advertisement for the Forest Pines condominiums near Clair Tappaan Lodge, Norden, California, located on Sierra Club property. The Clair Tappaan Lodge is exactly 315 degrees on a compass, when the compass is centered over the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, where Donna Lass went missing- so all may not be lost.
The circular punch hole nevertheless, still suggested a location of where Donna Lass may be buried and the author of the Pines Card had flipped the phrase 'around in the snow' 180 degrees, into an upside down position to suggest this.
You will notice that the phrase 'around in the snow' totals 56 in the code, yet when flipped 180 degrees, it reads 95.
This is very interesting because as explained in the 'Hidden Message in the Pines' article, when you place the left corner of the card over Clair Tappaan Lodge, dependent on scale, the punch hole falls over US Highway 95.  
U.S. Route 95 (US 95) is a major U.S. highway traversing the US state of Nevada from north to south, directly through Las Vegas and providing connections to both Carson City (via US 50) and Reno (via Interstate 80). US 95 is cosigned with Interstate 80, for 95 miles between a junction in Churchill County and Winnemucca before heading north into Oregon at McDermitt. (Taken from Wikipedia). View on Google Maps.
Was this the hint of a possible burial site, somewhere close to US Route 95 in Nevada.

This is a direct and fast route away from South Lake Tahoe into relatively barren terrain, heading towards parts of the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest. View on Google Maps.
The Pines Card punch hole however, could equally fall near or over Pine Mountain situated within the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest. It would have depended on the dimensions of the map he used and the correct measurements of the Pines Card itself, if indeed this was its purpose at all.
The green region on the map on the left, just to the right of the number 95, contains Paradise Peak. We now have Pine Mountain and Paradise Peak, and a possible source for the phrase 'Peek through the Pines'- but of course this is still highly unlikely.
Is it possible the Zodiac Killer owned or rented a cabin within this region, its remoteness is the perfect hideout- who knows.
If the Zodiac Killer did reside within the region of San Francisco, Vallejo or Benicia areas, then the phrase 'pass lake tahoe areas' from his perspective makes perfect directional sense, to discover any burial site. Your passing of the Lake Tahoe area, on a straight line, heads directly towards the region of Pine 

Mountain and Paradise Peak, seen here on the right. In fact, straight through Clair Tappaan Lodge It would exactly bisect these two landmarks.
So let us go back to our number 315, that is now representative of the Zodiac crosshairs and apply it to the 13 Symbol Cipher, 32 Symbol Cipher and 13 Hole Postcard.
It was suggested through many previous posts that the Zodiac Killer saw himself as some form of savior, delivering his victims to Paradise. In other words he was placing himself alongside Jesus, however uncomfortable a thought this vision may appear. It is not unusual for serial killers to have a religious agenda when they commit murder, albeit not the religion most people have grown up to understand.  
In Christian numerology Jesus is represented by the figure 888 and in English gematria Jesus is represented by the figure 444- so it would be highly improbable that if we used the Zodiac code he created for himself, along with the figure 315, that represented the Zodiac crosshairs, both unsolved ciphers would equal 444, and applied to the 13 Hole Postcard would equal 888. But that is exactly what happens.
The alphabetical characters on any code are directly placed into the gematric code key to give them a value, any symbols are simply converted to text form to give them a value.   

Take a look at the 13 symbol Cipher on the left.
​It was often questioned whether or not the symbols were either three 8's to give us 888 or they were three Taurus symbols. It is entirely plausible the Zodiac Killer circled them so they could be interpreted as either. The three Taurus symbols for example, are applied into the code as follows. 
TAURUS = 7+1+6+5+6+6 =31. But there are three, so 3 X 31 = 93. The whole code totals 444 or JESUS.
This technique is then applied in exactly the same manner to the Button Letter 32 Symbol Cipher (seen below) This time we have an Omega symbol, so again the code is applied.
OMEGA = 2+1+5+7+1 = 16

We can attribute a value to symbols, but not geometric shapes- for example, on the Button Letter cipher we have a triangle, or blacked in triangle, or black triangle, or solid triangle, or dark triangle. The point being- that the six geometric shapes cannot be attributed a specific name, to attribute a value to. So the 6 geometric shapes are only omitted for this reason, but everything that can be attributed a numeric value, has been. When totaled up, this cipher also equals 444.

Two unsolved ciphers totaling 444. And we know 444+444=888. But can we take this any further.
The 13 Hole Postcard conforms to this gematric code also.
When the phrases on the card are applied into the code the sum total of the card equals 888. It can be noticed that it leaves the name Jesus squarely alongside the name Zodiac on the postcard, declaring he was indeed the savior of souls. As with the symbols, the number 1 and 3 has been converted to text to attain a gematric value. This is not done for convenience, it is following the same principle throughout (See below). 
He even placed a red crucifix on the card to point us in the right direction. Also take a careful look at the very measured third line with the number 13 conveniently sandwiched in between- but this time leave the number as 13. The third line would now add up to 217+13+130, which equals 360. There are 360 degrees in a circle and the Zodiac did indeed punch 13 holes into the fabric of this card.

The Halloween Card and Pines Card could possibly have had a strong connection. The Zodiac gave us patterns of words on both. On the Halloween Card he gave us a form of cipher or cryptic message, by placing the words PARADICE and SLAVES in the form of a cross or crucifix.
It was previously noted that it was comprised of 37 letters, with 24 letters in the four quadrants. The Pines Card was comprised of 74 letters, exactly double that of the Halloween Card configuration, but we were left with the number 12 on the Pines Card, which conversely was exactly half of 24. However: 37 X 24 and 74 X 12 both equaled 888 once again.
To view the Halloween Cipher in greater detail click here.
One more curiosity was the envelope or address side of the Halloween Card, in which he misspells Paul Avery to Paul Averly and underlines it. Why did he do this?
The idea that the Zodiac Killer designed his Halloween Card based on the Rota Fortunae or Wheel of Fortune, was inspired after reading a thread on the ZodiacKillerSite forum. The discovery was made by Tahoe27, when she noticed that a comic strip publication bore striking similarities to the October 27th 1970 offering from the northern California killer.
The Red Ryder comic strip was created by Stephen Slesinger and Fred Harman in 1938, and there was one particular publication entitled 'Tim Holt: The Death Wheel' that caught her attention.
The Death Wheel contained the four methods of death, the same as the Zodiac Killer had placed around his cross of Paradice and Slaves- By Gun, By Rope, By Knife and By Fire. Moreover, the word 'By' was styled in near identical fashion. The Death Wheel in its entirety, showing the 12 methods of death, places the four Zodiac methods of murder in exactly the same order as we travel around the wheel, and the use of the wording 'Lady Doom' reminds us of the wording around the knothole of the tree on the Halloween Card, where the Zodiac Killer places the phrase 'Peek-a-boo you are doomed'. Not only that, he designs it in a circular fashion.
Furthermore Fred Harman owned a ranch in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where a particular style of cattle branding would elevate this finding to the next level, when the branding itself was compared to the strange symbol the Zodiac Killer placed on the Halloween Card envelope and the foot of the card once opened. Apart from the four dots, it is strikingly similar.

But after all is said and done, can we verify that this gematric code has any basis in fact, or could it all be coincidence. The Zodiac Killer yet again gives us the misspelled name of Paul Avery on the address side of the Pines Card, exactly like he did on the Halloween Card. But this time he writes att.Paul averly = Chronicle- meaning attention. Paul Averly = Chronicle.
​ But what does he mean and what is he saying. It is a curious phrase, that is, until you place it in the gematric code once again. It now makes perfect sense, and is just another clue, in a long list of clues the Zodiac Killer was pushing in our direction. 

PAUL AVERLY = 3+1+6+2+1+5+5+5+2+2 = 32
CHRONICLE = 3+6+5+2+1+5+3+2+5 = 32
And 32 does indeed equal 32.
This is why the Pines Card was the most important card of all, it tried to point us towards the number 315, that was integral to all the unsolved ciphers- and the address side was the final stamp of approval.

On the 22nd March 1971, a postcard landed at the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle, that has become widely known as the 'Pines' card. It was this correspondence in particular that caught the eye of police officer Harvey Hines, who after extensive investigative work became utterly convinced Lawrence Kane was the most likely candidate for the five Zodiac murders, committed from December 20th 1968 to October 11th 1969. Although the Zodiac Killer's reign of terror appeared brief, Harvey Hines was convinced that it may have been a lot longer, in that, where Lawrence Kane moved, murder would soon follow. He noticed certain locations and timelines that spiked his interest, placing Lawrence Kane to the forefront of his focus and started nigh on three decades of dedication to unearthing the truth. He provided a intriguing case against his suspect permeated by a solid case history, although it appears that much of it fell on deaf ears as Lawrence Kane was relegated to the fringe of the Zodiac suspect list.   

The murderer of Paul Stine, based on the taxicab meter reading, was believed to have flagged down the taxi in the theater district, near the corner of Mason and Geary Street, an area situated less than a quarter of a mile from the Lawrence Kane residence at 217 Eddy Street. For all these relevant locations, click here for Google Maps. 

may be about to change, due to the persistent work of Zodiac enthusiast Alex Lewis (Welsh Chappie), an avid member of the ZodiacKillerSite forum. 
On Monday April 7th 2014 after multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, he finally received the information he had been searching for. The United States Department of Justice sent him some valuable information regarding his prime suspect Lawrence Kane, including a full and complete arrest sheet, with a lot more besides. (See foot of page for two examples). 
Alex Lewis, as well as contributing to the popular ZodiacKillerSite forum, has dedicated many hours compiling extensive information on his favorite suspect Lawrence Kane. His comprehensive Wordpress site can be viewed here. 
These interesting findings have also generated a discussion thread on the ZodiacKillerSite forum; so to contribute your thoughts please visit the topic here.  htttp://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1536.
Harvey Hines remained undeterred, when many others had given up hope, and even though the search for Donna Lass has hit many dead ends in the intervening years, the hope that was held by Harvey Hines still lives on.   

Much controversy has surrounded the Pines Card since it was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on March 22nd 1971, received exactly one year after the abduction of Kathleen Johns on March 22nd 1970. Kathleen Johns recounted her terrifying ordeal at the hands of the Zodiac Killer, whereby the stranger had disabled her car, tampering with the wheel nuts, in the pretense of offering her his assistance.
The Pines Card has always been controversial, in particular, that it 'sought victim 12', out of sequence with the attributed numbers on other Zodiac correspondence, but here we will show that the apparent random phrases on the card, could very well have contained a hidden message and indeed the number 12 was integral to the structure of the card.
On the card the author added five lines of text, 'Sierra Club', 'around in the snow', 'sought victim 12', 'peek through the pines' and 'pass Lake Tahoe areas'. This array of text has often been linked to Donna Lass, who disappeared after finishing her shift at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, Nevada on September 6th 1970.
In a previous article it has been demonstrated that the Zodiac suspect Larry Kane can be found in the My Name is...Cipher, using a technique involving English gematria and the seven days of creation. VISIT HERE for explanation.
The Zodiac Killer chose his crossed circle for a reason and uses it throughout his many letters, cards and ciphers. In later cards, such as the 13 Hole Postcard and the Pines Card, he goes one step further, actually punching circles into the fabric of the card, while still including his trademark crossed circle within the design and this is where the thought of pi has originated down the years. Indeed, the Zodiac Killer incorporated the idea of radians into several of his letters.   

Jesus Christ and the astrological Zodiac have many parallels, in fact Jesus, the Sun and the planets can be shown together throughout history. 
The 12 disciples of Jesus Christ (59), after the betrayal, were Matthew (31), James (17), Thomas (23), Bartholomew (37), Philip (24), John (13), Andrew (20), James (17), Simon (15), Peter (25), Judas (21) and Matthias (34). Next we work out the gematric values of the 12 disciples and Christ, using the seven days of creation code above. (eg; Matthias is 1+1+7+7+6+5+1+6=34).
Then we add up the values of all of them, shown in brackets above, to arrive at a grand total of 336.
The 12 signs of the Zodiac are Aquarius (34), Capricorn (28), Sagittarius (56), Scorpio (26), Libra (15), Virgo (24), Leo (9), Cancer (18), Gemini (24), Taurus (31), Aries (22) and Pisces (28). These total up to 315. For the full explanation visit this video on Youtube by Marty Leeds. 
Now lets examine the Pines Card, the wording on the card (excluding the number 12 after 'Sought Victim') and their numerical values in the gematric code above.
SIERRA CLUB = 40
PEEK THROUGH THE PINES = 93
AROUND IN THE SNOW =56
PASS LAKE TAHOE AREAS = 66
SOUGHT VICTIM 12 = 60
The sum of the totals equal 315, exactly the same as the 12 signs of the Zodiac.
This leaves one thing left to do, that is add in the number 12, written in text form as ONE TWO, exactly like the rest of the card. This has a gematric value of 2+1+5+7+4+2 = 21. Now add the 21 to the 315 to arrive at 336 and the twelve disciples of Christ once more.
In another article http://www.zodiacciphers.com/1/post/2014/02/the-name-on-the-13-hole-postcard.html, it is shown the possible reasoning behind the upside down text on the 13 Hole Postcard, in that it may reveal a name.
The Pines Card also contains one line of upside down text. In this instance he pastes the words 'Around in the snow', but is there an explanation for this also.
This card as explained earlier, has primarily been associated with the disappearance of Donna Ann Lass from Stateline, Nevada on September 6th 1970 and the card was possibly a clue to where her body could be discovered. The words 'Around in the snow', placed upside down, had overtones of a likely burial site, so it seemed only logical to examine this phrase as having greater significance and see if we can narrow down a possible area of interest.
The Pines Card depicted an advertisement for the Forest Pines condominiums and the Sierra Club. An excavation took place at what appeared to be a grave site near Clair Tappaan Lodge, Norden, California on Sierra Club property, by Harvey Hines, a law officer who retired from the California Police Department in 1992, along with Zodiac researcher Dave Peterson. The punch hole in the top right of the card in the woods suggested an area of great interest. Upon inspection a circle of logs 16 feet in diameter were discovered, inside this was a square and a circle, along with a 13 stone cross, but after a thorough examination of this site no body was found. But there may be another likely burial site.
The Zodiac Killer possibly believed the logical assumption by authorities and police after receiving the Pines Card, was to enter the Sierra Club site to examine the 'punch hole' area, but being the master of misdirection, the hole in the card was actually pointing away to a second site and once the card was aligned from this 'fake' grave site, the real location point would be unearthed.   
Firstly lets examine 'Around in the snow', using the gematric code above. This phrase adds up to 56, but it is upside down.
If we flip the number 56, we get 95. 

being beyond the area of Stateline, Nevada. 
'Peek through the pines' may suggest a wooded area and all within ease of access off the US Route 95 in a direct route away from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel where Donna Lass was last seen.

The ecliptic passes through 12 constellations to form our Zodiac, used in horoscopes to predict the future. The Zodiac Killer sent us the 'Bus Bomb' letter, to which he displayed a crosshair at the foot of his correspondence, marked with five crosses and dotted sections to separate the circle into 12 equal divisions of 30 degrees. There was a possibility this was to become his compass or template to his crimes, the ones he had already placed X's next to and the remainder, as he stated at the top of the 'Bus Bomb' letter on November 9th, that would not be announced. He wrote ' up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people. I have grown rather angry with the police for their telling lies about me. So I shall change the way the collecting of slaves. I shall no longer announce to anyone. When I committ my murders', but he was to leave us a clue. Image of the 'Bus Bomb' crosshair with X's.  

But what we shall examine here is the statement the Zodiac wrote on the 340 Cipher and 'Dripping Pen' card, namely "This is the Zodiac speaking.  I though you would need a good laugh before you hear the bad news. You won't get the news for a while yet", implying his evil deeds were not far away. His next confirmed contact after this, was the Melvin Belli Letter claiming a search for a ninth and tenth victim and by inference No 8 has already been committed.
A 10th victim is confirmed by the arrival of the 'My Name is Cipher' on April 20th 1970. This correspondence could have read Zodiac 12 SFPD 0, if he had been successful in the murder of Kathleen Johns and her infant daughter, one month earlier on March 22nd 1970, commonly referred to as the 'Modesto Attack'. This crime may not have been the work of Zodiac, but he claimed it was, and if indeed it was, it was to be a failed murder attempt he was not about to forget.
The Zodiac Killer's three early crimes were in static locations, that is, he did not coerce or force his victims to a predetermined location. It has been suggested by some Zodiac researchers that the Paul Stine murder was chosen because of his ability to manufacture an exact grid position to fit his location point on the 'Bus Bomb' letter crosshair. The next two incidents strongly linked to the Zodiac Killer were the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns on March 22nd 1970, followed by the Donna Lass disappearance on September 6th 1970, with one or both employing the use of a car to abduct the victim, with the intention of possibly seeking out his predetermined grid location. But there is another reason that may link both Kathleen Johns and Donna Lass.
The Zodiac Killer could quite easily have shot Kathleen Johns through the driver side window of her vehicle, as he had done at Blue Rock Springs Park, but chose to subject his victim to what appeared an aimless drive around the countryside of Tracy, CA, after which she escaped to a nearby field. If this was a Zodiac crime,  was the Bay Area murderer possibly aiming for somewhere in the region of Antioch, CA, which falls directly on the north-east line on the map above, and conveniently on the way back to the Vallejo area, where it has been widely speculated that he resided. 
Kathleen Johns may have denied the Zodiac Killer his 11th and 12th victim this time, but was he to remind us of it exactly one year later on March 22nd 1971, when the disputed 'Pines' card landed at the door of the San Francisco Chronicle. The reason behind its design is not certain, but what was apparent, was that the largest writing on the 'Pines' card was "Sought Victim 12", a clear indication in the past tense, he had indeed sought his 12th victim, but failed. This card signifying 12 was out of sequence with the the other cards, because it came after the 'Little List' letter on July 26th 1970 claiming a victim count of 13, the '13 Hole' postcard on October 5th 1970 also claiming 13, the 'Halloween' card on October 27th 1970 inferring a 14th victim and the 'Los Angeles' letter on March 13th 1971 claiming 17+ victims.

The Zodiac Killer sent the 'Pines' card 6 months after the disappearance of Donna Lass. The significant delay may have been orchestrated to tie in with the anniversary of the Modesto attack, emblematic of the fact he was unable to place Kathleen Johns on the north east grid line (shown above) as intended on the 'Bus Bomb' map, so he found a replacement on the exact same grid line, that of Donna Lass at South Lake Tahoe and inextricably linked them both by the number 12 and March 22nd.