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'She was a life that mattered,' Diane Drake's family remembers 43 years on


A picture of a Diane Drake is displayed on her brother's van at Easton's Beach, where her body was found in 1980. (WJAR)
A picture of a Diane Drake is displayed on her brother's van at Easton's Beach, where her body was found in 1980. (WJAR)
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In what's become somewhat of a recent tradition the last several years, Bob Drake and his van were back at Easton's Beach in Newport Tuesday, marking a chilling and sad day in his family and in Rhode Island.

Tuesday is 43 years to the day that the unclothed body of his younger sister, 19-year-old Diane Drake, was found along the beach's waterline.

"One of my sisters said she felt like her body was on fire when we found out when police came to the door," said Drake. "She was a woman of character and she was a life that mattered ...43 years later, there's been a lot of information, there's been a lot of back and forth, but what I'm trying to do is remember my sister."

Drake's van features a sign of the years his sister was alive and a picture of her smiling.

"What a beautiful person," Drake told NBC 10 News as he reflected on the picture. "She would've been the first person to come to me and ask me to forgive ... whoever done it."

The last four decades have seen Diane's death become a cold case. It's still listed as an unsolved homicide on the Rhode Island Cold Case Task Force's website. Her siblings all these years later are still holding on to hope for a breakthrough, despite the passed time.

"The fact that we really never had closure is extremely hard for our family and friends," said Drake's sister, Terry Devine. "I wish that we could get some answers. We had some really good leads over the years and unfortunately, it has never gone anywhere so that's frustrating."

At the time of Drake’s death in 1980, investigators believed she had been strangled.

But while the pain of the day still resonates, a lack of answers hasn't deterred the family from honoring Diane. Drake and Devine told NBC 10 News that they're hoping to start a nonprofit foundation in the near future, dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence find safe havens. It's an idea, they say, that directly ties back to what Diane would've wanted.

"Diane was a criminal justice major at Roger Williams University, and she was a giving person. She was a compassionate person. She would be the first person to help someone in situation where they weren't safe," said Devine.

"She would want to be remembered by [this] and to help people are helpless and voiceless, and to give women in a chance in our society to live without fear," said Drake. "No one deserves to be forgotten, especially people like this."

Devine says it's a "wonderful goal" to have the foundation up and running by 2024. Drake says he's talked to people about how to get it started and is hopeful to get it up and running soon.

Drake also mentioned the possibility of a memorial at Easton's Beach. While that's currently in the brainstorming stage, he suggested renaming the beach to "Easton's and Diane Drake Memorial Beach," or perhaps a mural down near the carousel area.

Anyone with information about Diane Drake's death should contact the Cold Case Task Force at 1-877-RI-SOLVE.







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