Authorities have announced a $50,000 reward as they renew their search for a serial killer linked to more than 175 crimes between 1976 and 1986 across California.

 

During a news conference Wednesday, the FBI and Sacramento County officials said they are launching a new website that will include sketches of the suspect created by witnesses, along with interviews and other information about the case. It also made him the number one option on its major crimes tip line, 800-CALL-FBI.

 

The suspect started in 1976 and 1977 by terrorizing suburban bedroom communities east of Sacramento and as far south as Stockton and Modesto in the Central Valley. Investigators say the masked rapist, armed with a gun, would break into homes while single women or couples were sleeping. 

 

In 2001, new DNA testing linked him to at least six Southern California homicides between 1979 and 1986. In each case, the killer broke into a house at night and raped the female victim first. Investigators believe he also committed four unsolved Southern California homicides because of similarities in evidence of his methods.

 

The crimes helped to spur a 2004 ballot initiative expanding California's law requiring felons to provide DNA samples for a state database.

 

If he's still alive, the killer would likely be in his 60's. He was described at the time as white, between 5'8 and 5'11, weighing 150-175 pounds.