Wichita ? More than two decades after the BTK strangler sent his last letter, a new communique from the serial killer whose “bind, torture and kill” crimes terrorized Kansas’ largest city in the 1970s has shattered the city’s sense of security and stoked fears the killer could strike again.

But the new letter has also sparked hope that police, aided by the new clue and 25 years of technological advancement in forensics, might finally catch up with a killer most thought was dead or safely locked in prison on some other crime.

“I don’t know why he does all of this, but I hope this will be his fatal mistake by resurfacing this way,” said Dale Fox, whose daughter Nancy was found bound and strangled in December 1977.

The new letter, which arrived last week at The Wichita Eagle, contained information on a 1986 killing. It was the first clue that Vicki Wegerle’s death might have come at the hands of BTK, who police believe killed seven people in the 1970s.

Six of BTK’s victims, killed between 1974 and 1979, were strangled; one was stabbed to death. Four were members of one family — two children and their parents. Letters claiming responsibility for the slayings, which remain unsolved, were sent to The Wichita Eagle and KAKE-TV — the last coming in 1979 until last week.

Word of the new letter leaked Wednesday night, and police confirmed Thursday they had linked it to BTK. By Friday, police had received 365 tips through an anonymous phone line and e-mail address, said Lt. Ken Landwehr, who has worked the case for than 20 years.

Alarm sounded

At the same time, inquiries at local security alarm firms increased exponentially. At SecureNet Alarm Systems, customer relations director Chuck Hadsell said the number of calls had increased almost nine-fold since the new letter surfaced.

Thousands of home security systems were installed in Wichita in the 1970s because of the BTK killings, Hadsell said. Some of those customers are calling back to update their systems, and dozens of new customers called Thursday wanting systems installed.

“It definitely caught us off guard,” Hadsell said. “How do you prepare for something that hits the paper like that?”

During the killings in the 1970s, BTK was so infamous for cutting the phone lines of his intended victims that the first thing people would do when they returned home was check to ensure their phones were working. Today’s alarms are triggered if phone lines are cut and can use cellular networks as a backup.

Painful memories

News that BTK was back left families of his victims reeling. Dale Fox broke down Thursday when film of his daughter’s home flashed on television during a news report.

Fox was at work when police arrived to tell him about his daughter’s death. They had learned of Nancy Fox’s slaying after her killer called police to claim credit. When Dale Fox identified the body at the hospital, it was so bruised it was hard to recognize his daughter.

“I feel so sorry for him because it was such a brutal murder,” said Ruth Fox, Nancy Fox’s stepmother, of her husband. “Had it been somebody who had just shot or stabbed her to death, but to brutally murder someone like BTK has done to his victims, I have no mercy for him at all.”

The family has always made it a practice to keep its doors and windows locked, Ruth Fox said. Now that BTK has resurfaced, they plan to install an alarm system.

Reporter’s surprise

At first, the letter that arrived at The Eagle on March 19 generated little interest.

“We get letters like this all the time, letters that are not news,” said police reporter Hurst Laviana, who ended up with it after an editor asked him to check it out. It contained a single sheet of paper with a photocopy of the driver’s license and three pictures, each showing a murder victim in a slightly different pose with her clothing arranged slightly different.

But Laviana recognized the name of the woman, Vicki Wegerle, who was 28 when she was strangled in her Wichita home in September 1986. “I kept thinking this isn’t the typical crack letter,” Laviana said.

So he made copies and gave them to police. Wichita Police Capt. Darrell Haynes told Laviana it was probably nothing, and didn’t give it to homicide detectives until reminded by Laviana three days later.

Wednesday, police told Laviana the letter was authentic. It is being processed for fingerprints and DNA evidence, and evidence from the Wegerle homicide is being processed using technology not available in 1986.

Relatives told The Eagle the driver’s license was the only item they knew of that was missing from Wegerle’s home. Her sister-in-law, Norma Wegerle, said her family often wondered whether BTK could have been involved.

“We just want it to be solved so we can get closure,” she said. “There’s hopefulness that somebody might actually be found. We want it to be solved.”