Washington State Mysteries

  The Clark County Sheriff's Office is  asking  for the public's help in solving a 1970s cold case involving a teenager once known as the "Fly Creek Jane Doe." Detectives are hoping the public can provide them with more information about Sandra (Sandy) Renee Morden, who they said disappeared when she was 16 years old. The case began when unidentified remains were found in 1980. The remains were identified as Morden in 2019 through DNA analysis of samples provided by her family members, the sheriff's office said in a statement. Detectives have learned thus far that Morden was born in San Francisco on April 29, 1962 to parents Andrew Bain Morden and Kathryn Irene Morden.  Following a 1971 divorce, Andrew was granted primary custody of his daughter, officials said. But due to Andrew's job responsibilities as a deckhand on tugboats that required him to be away for up to a week at a time, his daughter was often placed in the care of others. She lived with various f...

  Alan Edward Dean in about 1993 (left), and in 2020. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office) After treatment, charges refiled in 1993 murder of Bothell teen Alan Dean’s public defender argued the case should be dismissed again since the defendant’s competency likely can’t be restored. By  Jake Goldstein-Street Thursday, March 10, 2022 4:43pm LOCAL NEWS BOTHELL             EVERETT — After almost 1½ years in a state psychiatric hospital, murder charges were refiled this week against Alan Edward Dean, the suspect in the 1993 killing of Bothell teenager Melissa Lee. In a case that had gone cold for nearly three decades, Dean, now 64, was  arrested in connection with Lee’s death in July 2020  with the help of forensic genealogy research. A used cigarette butt linked Dean to the long unsolved killing of Lee, who was 15 when she died in April 1993. He was 35 at the time. Last week, an assistant state attorney general wrote to deputy prosecutor Cra...

Body found in Yost Park identified through forensic genealogy April 24, 2019 Compiled by forensic artist Natalie Murry from remains, crime scene evidence and other information, this likeness of the deceased was released by Edmonds police earlier this month in the hope that someone would recognize it and come forth to assist in making an identification. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner has identified the body found last fall in Yost Park as that of 58-year-old Timothy D. Conrad of Snohomish County. The medical examiner had previously determined suicide as the cause of death. “He was identified by matching his DNA with known databases, which revealed familial connections,” said Edmonds Police spokesperson Sgt. Shane Hawley. “Through these we were able to identify and work with family members for identification.” Conrad’s body was found last Nov. 10 by a couple out for a walk in Yost Park. He had a campsite in the park and had apparently been living...

Possible answers in 11-year missing person investigation On the 11th anniversary of her disappearance from a Bloomington domestic abuse center, the Bloomington Police Department announced that two people were charged with the murder of April Pease. Pease, 30, was from Washington state and had been staying at the Cornerstone shelter for about five months when she disappeared in March 2009. Cedric Marks, a 45-year-old Belton, Texas, man and Kellee Sorensen, a 34-year-old Lynden, Washington, woman, were charged March 11 in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree murder, with intent, but without premeditation. The suspects face up to 40 years in prison if convicted. The charges follow a long investigation by multiple detectives who were initially handicapped by the fact that it was approximately six months after her disappearance when they received the report. Pease disappeared without a clue as to where she was going. Her situation was complicated by the fact that she had a hist...

Push to exhume bodies in King County By: Dave Wagner Updated: Oct 7, 2019 - 11:33 PM 1 of 2 Facebook Push to exhume bodies in King County Washington’s state forensic anthropologist would like to unearth a mystery in King County.  There are 41 bodies that remain unidentified and some Washington leaders would like to exhume some of them. "I would love at some point to get some of those individuals out of the ground. It's on my wish list,” Dr. Kathy Taylor, Washington State Forensic Anthropologist, told KIRO 7 last year.  Content Continues Below The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is looking for the public’s help in identifying some bodies that were buried before the advent of DNA.  Cloyd Steiger leads the cold case unit for the Washington Attorney General’s Office.  He said he supports the idea of exhuming the bodies. “I absolutely do. It's a priority because there's no reason not to. You could never have done any...

Human remains found near Lake Tapps By: KIRO 7 News Staff , Kevin McCarty Updated: Aug 29, 2019 - 9:00 PM Loading... Facebook LAKE TAPPS, Wash. - Deputies with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said they found unidentified human remains at a construction site near Lake Tapps on Wednesday morning. At about 9:15 a.m., deputies said they received a call from a contractor who reported finding the remains in vacant lot on 9th Street East near Evergreen Point. >> See photos of the investigation Content Continues Below Deputies said crews were in the process of clearing a lot where an abandoned mobile home once stood and found a trash or recycling bin, emptied it out and found the remains inside, according to investigators. “We are looking at this as a homicide,” said Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman detective Ed Troyer. Troyer said a preliminary examination indicates the skeleton appears to be that of a female but said that has not been confirmed...

58° Snohomish detectives investigate body found in Monroe POSTED 11:20 AM, JANUARY 27, 2013, BY JOHN WHITE, UPDATED AT 08:34AM, JANUARY 28, 2013 This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Monroe Body Found SundayMONROE — Detectives from the Snohomish Sheriff’s department are investigating the discovery of a body found near a burned-out vehicle in Monroe on Saturday. Police said that a citizen called 911 to report finding the vehicle and body on private property in the 7300 block of Woods Creek Road about 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Police have not released information on the identity of the deceased or if there is any connection to the burned-out vehicle. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy

Edmonds-area man free on bail in cold-case murder June 17, 2019 868 2 Suspect Terrence Miller, right, with defense attorney Laura Martin during his arraignment in April. (Photo by Larry Vogel) Linked through forensic DNA evidence to the 1972 rape and murder of 20-year-old Jody Loomis, Terrence Miller, 77, posted bond and was released on Friday, June 14, from the Snohomish County jail. Charged with first-degree murder, he has pleaded not guilty to the crime. Miller was arrested in April at his home in the 15900 block of 52nd Avenue West, which has an Edmonds post office address but is located in unincorporated Snohomish County. Investigations conducted in the wake of the 47-year-old crime were inconclusive and the case remained unsolved.  Evidence included a semen sample collected from the victim, which has remained in storage in the police crime labs. The case remained cold for decades, but recent advances in forensic DNA technology prompted a new look at the evidence. By c...

Man who confessed to 90 murders indicted in connection with two more Samuel Little, 78, was indicted on Friday in connection with strangulation deaths Authorities identified the two women as Mary Jo Peyton, 21, and Rose Evans, 32 He had already confessed to killing more than 90 women across United States Prosecutors said Little confessed to killing Peyton in 1984 and Evans in 1991 If all 90 confessions are confirmed, Little would be the deadliest known US serial killer, surpassing the likes of Ted Bundy and Green River's Gary Ridgway Samuel Little, 78, who has confessed to killing 90 women across the US was indicted Friday in Ohio for the strangulation deaths of two women decades ago Samuel Little, 78, who has confessed to killing 90 women across the US was indicted Friday in Ohio for the strangulation deaths of two women decades ago A man who has confessed to killing more than 90 women across the US was indicted Friday in Ohio for the strangulation deaths of two women deca...

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) – Police in Washington state say new DNA technology has led to the arrest of a man in the murders of a young Canadian couple in western Washington more than three decades ago. The Daily Herald reports 55-year-old William Earl Talbott II of SeaTac was arrested Thursday for investigation of first-degree murder in the deaths of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook. His arrest was announced at a news conference Friday in Everett. Talbott was deemed a suspect through a new technique called genetic genealogy, the same used to find the suspected Golden State Killer in California last month. Eighteen-year-old Van Cuylenborg and 20-year-old Cook of British Columbia were found dead in two separate locations after they failed to return home from a visit to the Seattle area in 1987. 2019 KUOW.org 94.9 LISTEN LIVE Search OPEN MENU Jay Cook with a Halloween pumpkin shortly before he was killed in November of 1987. Jay was 20 at the time of his death.Enlarge Icon Jay ...