WA - Mackenzie Cowell, 17, Wenatchee, 9 Feb 2010 - #1

[AnnieOakley]

The Seattle Times
February 15, 2010 at 10:21 AM

No suspect in slaying of girl at Crescent Bar

The Douglas County sheriff says there are no suspects in the slaying of a young woman whose body was found along the Columbia River at Crescent Bar.

Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal (JES'-dahl) told KOMO Radio in Seattle investigators are hoping tips will break the case. - snipped

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ht...apwamissingwenatcheeteen.html?syndication=rss

I'm just really thinking that this might be a tool by LE to lure the perp into a false sense of security... I can't believe that they don't have ANY POI in this case.... could everyone they've come up with possibly have that tight of an alibi??

In my opinion, and some others who've posted here, how could this not be someone very familiar with the local area? That, and the fact that she was found fully clothed, at the scene, etc- just doesn't spell stranger abduction to me.

I pray that they can nab this perp asap... everyone in the family, and that community, deserve to have an answer...

 

[girlfawkes]

I'm just really thinking that this might be a tool by LE to lure the perp into a false sense of security... I can't believe that they don't have ANY POI in this case.... could everyone they've come up with possibly have that tight of an alibi??

In my opinion, and some others who've posted here, how could this not be someone very familiar with the local area? That, and the fact that she was found fully clothed, at the scene, etc- just doesn't spell stranger abduction to me.

I pray that they can nab this perp asap... everyone in the family, and that community, deserve to have an answer...

Yes, and LE does this all the time (claims no suspects). Can't help again but to think of the Huffman's. LE claimed all the way up to the arrest that they had no leads and no suspects, even when he had been arrested the same night as the murders on a burglary charge and they found a bloody knife in the immediate vicinity of his arrest. Gun sales at Rocky's went up significantly and the wenworld ran a story on that because the community was terrified.

 

[girlfawkes]

I've heard locally as well that they do have someone they're very interested in. I guess I'm looking at this based off my experiences having just moved back from Phoenix, AZ after living down there for 5 years... when the Police have a Person of Interest or Suspect they're waiting on DNA and Trace to come back on it's on the news within hours of finding the deceased. This could just be that it's a small town and the police don't play that game up here, or it could be the local news media isn't really pushing.

A lot of us locals have some additional details we've run into through the grapevine. My younger brothers friends knew the gal so I have some stuff coming through him, and friends who also have other info on the pending investigation that I'm not posting as I don't want to compromise the investigation. Besides I have no way to verify any of it so they could all be making stuff up.

If this is essentially some local punk or someone who made a lot of mistakes we should probably hear something by Wednesday.

So what can we pretty much draw from the existing information?

• She knew her attacker, based on how the vehicle was found. How well she knew the individual remains to be disclosed yet. The single pair of footprints leads me to believe she exited her vehicle and entered another waiting vehicle near by. By leaving her purse but only taking her debit card and cell phone leads me to believe she was planning on activities that would make a purse cumbersome, such as a night out on the town
• She had about a 2 hour window from when she was last seen or heard from before her phone went off, and another 3 hours until the vehicle was discovered, giving about 5 hours for this to all play out
• The person who did this obviously knows the area. Pitcher Canyon is secluded and not many outsiders are aware its there, even those that go up Mission Ridge aren't paying attention enough to see it. Also knew enough about the area to select a location that would receive little attention this time of year, as Crescent Bar becomes a sleepy little hamlet during the winter months
• The person who did this also knows enough at least to understand that cell phones track your approximate location even when the GPS is set to E911 only

I'm probably leaving some things out, but this seemed like the most obvious of items.

I've only seen what poetry that has been copied to here. I'm a poet myself so I'm always on the hesitant side to take someone's art and say it makes them a suspect. Some of my friends from the Phoenix area poetry circuit have written pieces that rival that of this kid but are far from being homicidal. That being said it is peculiar, and thus far fits the relative outline developed. But it's all a guess.

I figure we're all just waiting for the next press conference. If I had the ability to get advance notice of when this was going to occur I'd use my press pass to see if I could get into take notes, although it would seem odd having a freelance journalist who primarily writes travel columns show up.

ITA with all of your thoughts. I never thought stranger abduction based on what they said about the car and then based on the real estate angle.

 

[girlfawkes]

• She knew her attacker, based on how the vehicle was found. How well she knew the individual remains to be disclosed yet. The single pair of footprints leads me to believe she exited her vehicle and entered another waiting vehicle near by. By leaving her purse but only taking her debit card and cell phone leads me to believe she was planning on activities that would make a purse cumbersome, such as a night out on the town
  

Oh, except this. I really think it's going to turn out that the car was dumped after the crime. Unless something I've heard speculation about turns out to be true, and that has to do with the perp NOT being local which doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[riderofthestorm]

Oh, except this. I really think it's going to turn out that the car was dumped after the crime. Unless something I've heard speculation about turns out to be true, and that has to do with the perp NOT being local which doesn't make any sense to me.

Well, to be honest someone can be familiar with the area without living here. Former residents, someone who has family here, or, someone who spends time here on business or pleasure.

I don't know about the car being dumped after the crime because the news has said that they didn't find anything unusual in the vehicle. They could, of course, be keeping it on the DL but right now it's about 50/50.

 

[girlfawkes]

Well, to be honest someone can be familiar with the area without living here. Former residents, someone who has family here, or, someone who spends time here on business or pleasure.

I don't know about the car being dumped after the crime because the news has said that they didn't find anything unusual in the vehicle. They could, of course, be keeping it on the DL but right now it's about 50/50.

Too true, that it could be someone who is familiar with the area yet not local.

I wouldn't think they would find any immediate evidence of foul play in the car if this was someone she knew and trusted, but who knows. I'm sure they are doing heavy forensics which will take time.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

IMO, if her car was dumped afterwards, there would have to be more than one person involved. Well, not necessarily, but that's an awfully long walk from the location of the car, back into town or to the crime scene, where the perp may have left their own vehicle. And more danger of being seen. If the car was dumped by the perp afterwards, there's a very good chance that someone else was there to pick them up...

 

[riderofthestorm]

IMO, if her car was dumped afterwards, there would have to be more than one person involved. Well, not necessarily, but that's an awfully long walk from the location of the car, back into town or to the crime scene, where the perp may have left their own vehicle. And more danger of being seen. If the car was dumped by the perp afterwards, there's a very good chance that someone else was there to pick them up...

This area is not a very heavily traveled road, even though there are residences. It is possible he had another vehicle stashed just up the road where it turns into a series of jeep trails, or further down the road. The terrain, although steep, is covered in sagebrush and at least along the road could be fairly easily walked with plenty of places to duck out of the way enough to not be obvious to passing motorists.

 

[girlfawkes]

This area is not a very heavily traveled road, even though there are residences. It is possible he had another vehicle stashed just up the road where it turns into a series of jeep trails, or further down the road. The terrain, although steep, is covered in sagebrush and at least along the road could be fairly easily walked with plenty of places to duck out of the way enough to not be obvious to passing motorists.

Yeah, and the pavement portion of the canyon is only like 1.5 miles. If he lived within a few miles of the bottom of the canyon it could be walked in an hour and 1/2 or two.

There's also the possibility that he could have continued UP the canyon on the dirt road and dropped down over saddle rock. It isn't a terribly long or hard hike.

 

[riderofthestorm]

Well, I'm looking at the Chelan County Assessor GIS, and was able to locate her Mom's house. I know she would ride the bus occasionally when she was younger so I had only seen her once or twice when she was like 10. Creepy blast from the past.

I also looked up the assessor records for that area. All of the parcels are owned by the same family and make up a ranch in their name, the Hurd Ranch. Not sure if it makes a difference but it's information.

 

[riderofthestorm]

KOHO reports DCSO still has no positive ID of the body, but they're working under the assumption it is her. Still no leads or suspects.

 

[Salem]

I think if Mackenzie left her car there - it would have had to have been reasonable to her, kwim? She would have needed to understand why her car was being left in the canyon. This would lead me to think the perp lived in the area or she agreed to some kind of plan where they were hiding her car on purpose.

It makes more sense that the perp dumped it there. It was on the way back to town. He could have left a vehicle in the area and jumped in Mackenzie's car, went to Crescent Bar and then drove Mackenzie's car back to the canyon. He could have said he needed to leave his car at a friend's because they were going to work on it, or they wanted to borrow it, etc. But this presupposes that Mackenzie knew whoever it was.

I admit I am going to be really surprised if this turns out to be a stranger. I don't think there was anyway Mackenzie would have been lured to the canyon, if she didn't know the person.

But again, maybe Mackenzie was never in the canyon and only her car was....

Salem

 

[Salem]

Well, I'm looking at the Chelan County Assessor GIS, and was able to locate her Mom's house. I know she would ride the bus occasionally when she was younger so I had only seen her once or twice when she was like 10. Creepy blast from the past.

I also looked up the assessor records for that area. All of the parcels are owned by the same family and make up a ranch in their name, the Hurd Ranch. Not sure if it makes a difference but it's information.

I think it makes a difference. I think it better explains why the car was reported so quickly. The car would be more noticeable. Someone also explained that there were a lot of no trespassing signs in the area.

Salem

 

[riderofthestorm]

It makes more sense that the perp dumped it there. It was on the way back to town.

The road isn't really on the way back into town from where the body was found, it was actually out of the way.

 

[girlfawkes]

The road isn't really on the way back into town from where the body was found, it was actually out of the way.

Yes. This is why I thought from the beginning that she was somewhere up in the ridge area (which turned out to be wrong).

But, if you think of this suspect as being a person that may know a little bit about avoiding detection after a crime (IE; taking the battery out of her cell phone), Pitcher canyon may make sense because aside from the intersection cam at Grant and the highway, the only other cam would be on the bridge. There would be no traffic surveillance after Seller. So Pitcher may have been a good compromise for him to avoid detection or being recorded and the walking distance to his house.

Just some thoughts.

 

[riderofthestorm]

I think City of Wenatchee has cameras at the west end of Sellar Bridge, and I know from reliable sources that the PUD has been contacted regarding their surveillance cameras at sites in the area of Squilchuck and Methow Rd. If the person was counting on no surveillance, coming back into Wenatchee was a bold move, considering all of the other places to put the vehicle that are closer and far more remote, such as Palisades, the Plateaus and Mesas surrounding the Palisades Valley, Rock Island Grade, and the Sunrise area.

 

[raeann]

IMO....there are several factors in this case that may indicate that a girl/girls were involved. The body and the car were left in "nice" places that other girls would feel safe in accessing after dark. The body was found fully clothed. The shoes may have been missing....since the reports said her FEET were in the water, not her shoes were in the water. Boys would most likely not take a pair of black boots....girls might. Girls would know her beauty school schedule and not look out of place hanging around that area. Other girls also might know that she routinely went for coffee after class or during her breaks. This is all just my speculation, NO links or confirmation, of course.

 

[riderofthestorm]

IMO....there are several factors in this case that may indicate that a girl/girls were involved.

Well that's a plot I hadn't thought of... although Pitcher Canyon near the Hurd Ranch is hardly "Girl Friendly". It's remote, it's dark, and if they have animals on the ranch, likely a slight stench of horse apples. Although, then again the girls in this part of the state have bigger canoles than a lot of their male counterparts, many of which I know proudly take part in mudding, off-roading, dirt biking, hunting, and various other typically male activities.

 

[koolmum]

IMO....there are several factors in this case that may indicate that a girl/girls were involved. The body and the car were left in "nice" places that other girls would feel safe in accessing after dark. The body was found fully clothed. The shoes may have been missing....since the reports said her FEET were in the water, not her shoes were in the water. Boys would most likely not take a pair of black boots....girls might. Girls would know her beauty school schedule and not look out of place hanging around that area. Other girls also might know that she routinely went for coffee after class or during her breaks. This is all just my speculation, NO links or confirmation, of course.

ITA. Mackenzie was a beautiful young lady. Perhaps she had jealous female peers that wanted her out of the way for some reason. 17 y/o females can be as violent as jaded b/f's. IMO

 

[raeann]

Well that's a plot I hadn't thought of... although Pitcher Canyon near the Hurd Ranch is hardly "Girl Friendly". It's remote, it's dark, and if they have animals on the ranch, likely a slight stench of horse apples. Although, then again the girls in this part of the state have bigger canoles than a lot of their male counterparts, many of which I know proudly take part in mudding, off-roading, dirt biking, hunting, and various other typically male activities.

Yes, that is what I was thinking, sort of. As long as there were houses nearby, and a paved road for fairly easy access, girls would feel comfortable in that situation. Whereas, guys might be more apt to go to a deserted and more remote area to drop off the car, etc.

jmoo