WA - Mackenzie Cowell, 17, Wenatchee, 9 Feb 2010 - #11

[hoppyfrog]

Thanks to pufnstuf for compiling this list of Mackenzie Cowell threads:

Thread 10

Thread 9

Thread 8

Thread 7

Thread 6

Thread 5

Thread 4

Thread 3

Thread 2

Thread 1

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[jgk10414]

Still searching for meanings, if any,

slm - the arabic root of Islam meaning "to be whole and at peace"

http://www.jrank.org/cultures/pages/5623/Islamic-mythology.html

This site defines it as "to make peace, to surrender"
http://www.instadv.ucsb.edu/93106/2001/oct8/islam/islam.html

 

[giddyup]

Another suspicious incident:

Police investigate boat fire

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/mar/16/police-investigate-boat-fire/

 

[Sherlock_9]

Originally Posted by pufnstuf:

It doesn't seem creepy to me, either... looks like a cool place to live. I'd love to have that back deck. Can you imagine the sunsets and sunrises? It's a shame that that property has been tarnished by this crime.

I felt something down there. Made me very uneasy. Felt it the second I got out of the car until I got back in. Once back in car, felt ok. Felt safe.

It was not fear of someone wondering what I was doing, or fear of a perp coming out of the bushes. It was just an uneasy, bad feeling.

The place sits in a lovely setting. Looks great in pics. View is spectacular. Looks great when you actually see it sitting there. My first thought was that it was a shame this had occured here, as the place is lovely. Looks great pulling into drive, sitting in car and looking. Then, getting out- no, not so great. Felt bad. Not right. Hard to really describe.

And, I don't think it would have felt different if I had not known about the crime. It was the place that made me feel uneasy, not the thought of what occured.

 

[jgk10414]

I've tried to downplay feelings like this in my past...but there is something to it. Once when I was driving home late at night there were only my car and another behind me driving through a reservoir area on the east coast. I had a real bad feeling come over me...so much so I pulled over and fastened my seat belt (was not law back then). The other car went ahead of me and a few miles down the road a car coming in the opposite direction came around a curve in the road at a high rate of speed and smashed into the car (dived bombed) in front of me critically injuring the man an woman inside. That should have been me!

 

[greydiggity]

I still find it odd that there has been no mention of her keys. I often wonder if that is a significant item that could point to the killer. Does anyone who is close to Mackenzie have any idea what type of key chain she carried? Again, and I reiterate, a family member would know what keys she carried on her key ring. Obvious would be moms house, dads house, spec house plus car. Have any of them had their locks changed for fear that a psycho is walking around with access to these houses? If not, that means one of two things... 1.Mac had her keys in her pocket when her body was discovered (which would mean she drove her car to the abandoned area [unless the killer inserted them in her pocket after the murder]) OR 2. they have a strong feeling who did this and are not worried about an unknown entering their home...

 

[pufnstuf]

MACKENZIE COWELL TIMELINE
Confirmed Info Only - No Rumors​

09 February 2010 (Tuesday):

3:01 PM - Mackenzie leaves the Academy of Hair Design where she works, gets in her car, and drives away. She is supposed to only be gone for a fifteen-minute break, according to flyers being posted at businesses in Wenatchee, but she never returns.

3:40 PM - Mackenzie's phone data indicate that her phone is at/near the Riverfront Park boat ramp. While there, the phone receives an incoming text ("hey") and replies with the same message ("hey").

5:42 PM - A cell tower bounces a signal off of MacKenzie's phone. This is the final activity on McKenzie's phone. Location has not been released by investigators.

8:02 PM - Residents report to Rivercom finding a 1997 red Pontiac Grand Prix in Squilchuck area, 2395 Pitcher Canyon Road, parked near a cattle gate, and they tell deputies the car had been there for the previous hour. LE uses the registration info on the car to identify Reid Cowell as the owner, who confirms that his daughter has been out past curfew. One set of foot prints led away from the locked car toward road asphalt. "Somebody got the car there and parked it without anybody knowing about it.” Mackenzie's purse was inside the car, but her cell phone, debit card with $20 on it, and gas card were missing. Initially, Washington State Crime Lab processed the car, but found no indication of anything unusual, and computers at both parents' residences were checked with nothing unusual found. Later, local press says that some evidence has been discovered in the car and sent to the State Crime Lab.


11 February 2010 (Thursday):

FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment agents arrive Thursday afternoon to aid in the search for Mackenzie.


12 February 2010 (Friday):

Investigators fax warrants to Facebook, Myspace, and Verizon. A team of 10 detectives search the Pitcher Canyon area and interview and re-interviewing all of Mackenzie's friends and family. Mackenzie's mother and the mother's boyfriend are also being interviewed by the FBI.


13 February 2010 (Saturday):

Mackenzie's body is found near the Columbia River at 156 Crescent Bar Road just inside Douglas County by someone walking along the beach. She was fully clothed and her feet were in the water. The Chelan County Sheriff's spokesman said "It appears she was put there by someone....We've got to find this monster. Anybody who is willing to take a child and commit a crime with that child is a monster." Investigators find evidence of homicide at the scene and inside the vacant home. FBI profilers arrive late Saturday to assist with the investigation.


15 February 2010 (Monday):

A task force made up of local law enforcement and FBI is formed to investigate circumstances surrounding Mackenzie's death. Mackenzie's mother tells NWCN (see video) that she's been instructed by investigators not to discuss the investigation with media.


16 February 2010 (Tuesday):

An autopsy performed by Dr. Gina Fino and witnessed by Dr Steve Clem, Douglas County prosecutor and coroner, and a State Patrol Crime Laboratory’s forensics team confirms that the body is that of Mackenzie Cowell. The autopsy also revealed that her death was a homicide, but the cause of death has not yet been released. Autopsy results will not be released until the person responsible is identified and charged.

Investigators ask that anyone who might have seen someone walking out of Pitcher Canyon on South Methow Street or Squilchuck Highway between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9, call the tip line. Captain Jones of the task force looking into 17-year-old Mackenzie Cowell's death said the person who left Cowell's car in the canyon where it was later found likely walked on one of those two roads afterward.


18 February 2010 (Thursday):

Investigators released video footage of the last known sighting of homicide victim Mackenzie Cowell in a Wenatchee-owned parking lot in the hope that someone saw the teenager or her red 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix.

As law enforcement officials advise women to walk in pairs and be more aware of their surroundings, local gun stores report a spike in sales of tasers, mace, and handguns.


22 February 2010 (Monday):

1:36 AM - Someone at Mackenzie's mother's residence calls 911 to report "harassment/threat."

Police scale back task force and await DNA and fingerprint results from state crime lab. Evidence was collected from the Crescent Bar location and from Mackenzie's car. Wenatchee Police Sgt. Cherie Smith said, "But we still don’t know where she was killed,” Smith said. “So we may have another crime scene at some point.”


25 February 2010 (Thursday):

Memorial service is held for Mackenzie Cowell at Wenatchee Town Toyota Center. 1800 people attend. Mackenzie is remembered as "a bright, energetic girl who endured heartless teasing through much of her adolescence because of an underbite. She persevered, however, eventually becoming prom queen." Mackenzie's mother, maternal grandfather, father, father's fiance, two brothers, and boyfriend attend the memorial. Noticeably absent is Mackenzie's mother's boyfriend. Mackenzie's brother Trevor made the family's first statement to the media: "It's incredible. It meant the world to me because we all loved her. And that's what this all shows is how much everybody loves her."


26 February 2010 (Friday):

Task force states that cell phone data places Mackenzie Cowell’s phone near a Wenatchee boat launch on Feb. 9, the day she disappeared.


01 March 2010 (Monday):

The Cowell Task Force believes that Mackenzie's phone is a key piece of evidence and asks the public to call the tip line if it is found. The phone is a maroon LG EnV2.


03 March 2010 (Wednesday):

A local task force continues to work full-time on the Mackenzie Cowell murder case. Chelan County has four deputies and two administrative assistants assigned to the task force. Douglas County has four detectives, Wenatchee Police has three officers and East Wenatchee police has one officer assigned to the case. The FBI, U.S. Marshal’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are assisting the Cowell Task Force.

05 March 2010 (Friday):

Local businesspeople unite and announce the creation of a new reward fund to help find Mackenzie's killer. The group, Wenatchee Valley Citizens Against Crime, has pledged $38000 to be added to the existing $7000 reward fund in the event that someone provides a tip that leads to a conviction of Mackenzie's murderer. “This case broke the camel’s back. For this one, we said, ‘Enough is enough. We want this valley to be a safe place.'"


12 March 2010 (Friday) :

Against the wishes of the Cowell Task Force, the Wenatchee World publishes Mackenzie's cause of death which was on the death certificate. The World withheld the cause of death for two weeks in accordance with the task force's wishes, but today published the information, as they've always published death certificate information related to murders and saw no reason to make an exception in this case.

Though the task force is tight-lipped in response to the World reporter's many questions about the circumstances of Mackenzie's death, several details emerge. Eight lie detector tests have been administered, though the task force refuses to say to whom. Numerous properties have been searched, though the task force will not identify them. Most important, the task force has not yet found the site where Mackenzie was killed.


15 March 2010 (Monday):

Wenatchee World article about Crimestoppers Reward Fund. The husband and father of Jack Owen Spillman III's victims has donated a substantial amount to the reward fund. Coincidentally, Wendy Cowell's boyfriend JF lived in the same home as JOS when he was arrested. JF's first wife was JOS's sister.


CLICK HERE to see a map of points of interest in the Mackenzie Cowell investigation.


WHO'S WHO IN THE MACKENZIE COWELL MURDER INVESTIGATION:

MC - Mackenzie Nicole Cowell; decedant. 17 years old. Attended Wenatchee High School and Academy of Hair Design. Dancer with the Apple-ettes. Also took dance lessons and worked out at Gold's Gym.
WC - Wendy Cowell. Mackenzie Cowell's mother; real estate agent and home builder; divorced from RC since 2001, now dating JF.
RC - Reid Cowell. Mackenzie Cowell's father; construction industry; divorced from WC since 2001, now dating SF.
JF - Mackenzie's mother's boyfriend; construction industry; rumored to have been living with WC while married to/separated from another woman; was a witness in the trial of infamous murderer Jack Owen Spillman III; was married to JOS's sister at the time of JOS's arrest for the gruesome murders of a mother and daughter.
SF - Mackenzie's father's fiancee. (She is in no way related to JF.)
JV - Mackenzie's 21-year-old boyfriend, though Mackenzie is rumored to have broken up with him recently to date a guy from Tacoma.



This timeline is a work in progress. If you have information to add to it or corrections to note, please PM me with the addition/correction and source link. I don't use Examiner as a source, because, quite frankly, our work is more investigative than the Examiner, and based on the same sources. Corrections may not appear until the next posting of the timeline, which I always try to insert on page 1 of any new thread about Mackenzie. Thanks for the teamwork in making this timeline a primary guide to the MC case!

 

[jgk10414]

snipped with respect
MACKENZIE COWELL TIMELINE
Confirmed Info Only - No Rumors

Thanks for keeping our eye on the ball, Puff.

Was it confirmed that MC entered a Target store and JV was there? If so, can we show the location on the map.
thanks,

 

[Moonsabove]

Went to get my haircut last night and it turns out my hairdresser is somewhat of a distant relative of someone in LE. Apparently that LE said they were suspicious of WC (this LE was involved in telling WC that MC’s body had been found). My hairdresser and I were trying to put together the timing of this LE’s comment - was LE suspicious of WC at that time (when they had to tell her they found MC’s body) OR was LE suspicious at a later date (as in, maybe not in the beginning but now they are)??

 

[Sherlock_9]

Black Tire Marks?

averageguy just mentioned he saw black tire marks in the driveway of the CB property. IIRC someone on here also thought they saw black tire marks at the Spec Home property. I wonder if there are black tire marks on the asphalt up PC, where the car was found. I wonder if there are black tire marks in the perps driveway. hmmm

I can confirm that I saw black tire marks in the driveway of the CB home when I was there Saturday. If I recall correctly, they were about midway on the flat pavement adjacent to the garage

 

[Liz]

Can someone please refresh my memory on how many miles from the Hair Academy it is to where Mackenzie's car was found in Pitcher's Canyon? TIA!

 

[Sherlock_9]

snipped with respect
MACKENZIE COWELL TIMELINE
Confirmed Info Only - No Rumors

Thanks for keeping our eye on the ball, Puff.

Was it confirmed that MC entered a Target store and JV was there? If so, can we show the location on the map.
thanks,

Unless I missed something, Target sighting is rumor. Has been relayed here from what folks "heard". Although, I must say, I have heard this rumor in the community also.

 

[Sherlock_9]

Can someone please refresh my memory on how many miles from the Hair Academy it is to where Mackenzie's car was found in Pitcher's Canyon? TIA!

4.4 miles from parking lot, up Kittitas, out Mission and up Squilchuck to PCR.

Three stoplights would have been encounteted: at Mission and Ferry, Mission and Stevens (sometimes these two are a mess from about 3:30 Pm to 6:00 Pm) and Mission and Crawford.

In traffic, in afternoon, no more than 10-12 minutes.

 

[James Vic]

To clarify my experience at the CB property, I felt uneasy at the location most likely because I was alone and I was not able to see my car or the road. I kept thinking I don’t want to run into the wrong person down here.

I was also concerned that I would be stopped by LE or a local and a local may have been armed.

If I was with someone I may have been fine. If I had permission to be on the property and had several people with me, I could have explored the property all day. I think that I will still feel uneasy, but safe.

When I was eighteen, I drove by a crime scene where someone had killed themselves. This was before the body was covered. I have always felt uneasy when I am at locations where someone has lost their life. This uneasiness is compounded when I am alone I think that it is more of a safety issue.

 

[h20skiier]

Can someone please refresh my memory on how many miles from the Hair Academy it is to where Mackenzie's car was found in Pitcher's Canyon? TIA!

I think Sherlock_9 posted something about that in the last thread (#10)

 

[James Vic]

I started my drive to CB from the dock at the park, her last location.

The drive, with a couple of side track excursions, was approximately 25 miles. This is a huge distance to cover with a live captive. There are only three ways she could have made it to CB. First, she was already dead. Second, she was subdued by one or more abductors, tied up, or in a trunk. The last option is that she went willingly. The time it took me to travel to CB was huge considering what happened.

I also had a thought about the body placement. I don’t know if the murder needed to have a great deal of knowledge about the CB property. This house is one of the most private properties in CB. All someone would have needed to know was that the house was not used during the winter, it was secluded, the running water through the property and the home is built in a hole this could also have conceal some of the noise, there was water access and their car would be hidden from the roadway.

If someone knew this, they may have thought they had hidden water access and it would be easy to dump the body into the water. They could have packed/dragged her from their car down to the beach. It was only then that they noticed that there was no current, especially this time of year and dropped the body where they stopped. They might have thought about dragging the body back to the car but for some reason decided not to. Maybe they were interrupted, scared or even lazy?

 

[greydiggity]

I started my drive to CB from the dock at the park, her last location.

The drive, with a couple of side track excursions, was approximately 25 miles. This is a huge distance to cover with a live captive. There are only three ways she could have made it to CB. First, she was already dead. Second, she was subdued by one or more abductors, tied up, or in a trunk. The last option is that she went willingly. The time it took me to travel to CB was huge considering what happened.

I also had a thought about the body placement. I don’t know if the murder needed to have a great deal of knowledge about the CB property. This house is one of the most private properties in CB. All someone would have needed to know was that the house was not used during the winter, it was secluded, the running water through the property and the home is built in a hole this could also have conceal some of the noise, there was water access and their car would be hidden from the roadway.

If someone knew this, they may have thought they had hidden water access and it would be easy to dump the body into the water. They could have packed/dragged her from their car down to the beach. It was only then that they noticed that there was no current, especially this time of year and dropped the body where they stopped. They might have thought about dragging the body back to the car but for some reason decided not to. Maybe they were interrupted, scared or even lazy?

So when in this scenario would her car have been dumped? Are you assuming her car was driven there, or they returned to get her car and then dumped it? Thanks for the insight...!

 

[giddyup]

This house is one of the most private properties in CB. All someone would have needed to know was that the house was not used during the winter, it was secluded, the running water through the property and the home is built in a hole this could also have conceal some of the noise, there was water access and their car would be hidden from the roadway.

<snipped>

I know the house is not easily visible when traveling IN to CB, but if IIRC , the house has much more exposure when headed out of CB? Either way, I'm still not really convinced the perp(s) would risk leaving her there in daylight hours.

ETA: This is based on my memory of being up and down that road numerous times.

 

[Liz]

I am leaning towards dusk or possibly dawn myself. Mostly towards dusk. The terrain of that property appears as though it may be difficult enough to navigate during daylight hours, especially down through that brush. And there's the streams. Add the difficulty of trying to navigate it in the dark, while carrying or wheeling a body (sorry for the ghorry visual). I can't imagine a person would want to be using their car headlights or other lighting because that would be a definite attention getter, imo.

 

[jgk10414]

What confuses me is most of the markers in Puff's map are on one side of the river. But her body was found on the opposite side of the river... and only a few bridges cross over...seems difficult if it was planned this way. Why not just drop her in the National forest adjacent to PC?