They double the reward for a serial killer who attacked gay men in the 70s: they offer up to $200,000

By Doha Madani -

Police in San Francisco, California, revealed this Thursday that there could be a sixth victim of the serial killer of the 70s, known as the

, who attacked the city's gay community, and doubled the reward to capture him and solve the case that has been unanswered for decades.

"San Francisco Police have increased the reward from $100,000 to $200,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the suspect in the serial homicides," police said in a statement.

In 2019, authorities said the

was suspected of at least five

between January 1974 and June 1975. A possible sixth victim has been linked to the killer, exactly 48 years after the first man was killed. .

Sketch of what authorities believe the killer would look like after he had aged 40 years. San Francisco Police

The criminal's nickname is because one of his victims, who survived, told authorities that he was drawing while the two were talking in a truck stop cafeteria.

He had, in fact,

The possibility of a sixth victim was raised last year during a series of reports in the local San Francisco Chronicle, which followed the cold cases of detectives Dan Cunningham and Dan Dedet, while also investigating the death of Warren Andrews.  

The police department now believes that Andrews is linked to the serial killer case.

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"On April 27, 1975, Andrews was the victim of an assault at Land's End," the department said in a statement.

"

, never regaining consciousness, and died several weeks later."

Land's End is a popular hiking spot, north of Golden Gate Park, about 1.5 miles north of Ocean Beach.

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Investigators have spent years trying to identify the killer, who they believe picked up men in San Francisco clubs and restaurants,

Four bodies were found around Ocean Beach and a fifth in Golden Gate Park.

A suspect has never been charged

While the other victims were stabbed to death, Andrews

and a tree branch.

Cunningham told The Associated Press that he had to reconsider Andrews' murder as part of the case given the location, "the victimology" and the time period.

"I'd be a fool not to consider him a victim of the

," he said.

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Two years ago, San Francisco police released a sketch of what authorities believe the killer would look like after he had aged 40 years.

So far

, although someone was arrested in 1976 in connection with the murders.

The sketch is based on original descriptions given by two white men who survived the attacks in July 1975. Both were stabbed with a knife and injured similarly to the other victims.