WA - Mackenzie Cowell, 17, Wenatchee, 9 Feb 2010 - #7

[AutumnRose]

What I would like to know is if it was warm at 7PM or cold. That would give us an idea as to how long it had been at the location?

AND............when she last put gas in the car and how much gas was left in the tank when her car was found.

 

[jgk10414]

Which really makes me wonder where else that car went prior to being found.

- Did the car go further up the canyon- possibly with MC driving- and then get placed back lower?
- Did the car go to another location that the tire mud came from?

February 9th was a clear, nice day in Wenatchee. It was sunny and dry. I now remember that was the day- I took a hike up Saddlerock at about 2:30 in the afternoon. The hike was a bit muddy in spots, but not bad.

That car easily could have made it further up Pitcher canyon rd that day. I have owned a similar vehicle (GM front wheel drive mid size) and driven up in those hills with it. The only issue would have been road clearance, but if I recall correctly, it's not too rough up there- at least for a good way.

If she did have the car washed that day, there is nowhere in town, or directly on the way to the point the car was discovered that it would have picked up that much mud unless it was driven extensively on dirt roads.

This also makes me wonder: If she did have the car washed, could she have already been to the place where she went. By this I'm trying to say possibly she had a spot, off a dirt road where she had been prior to washing the car and picking up a passenger where, from where, with the car clean she took the passenger to, got the car dirty again and possibly met her demise?

Thanks everyone for correcting the issue about hubcaps - obviously my memory saw very dirty tires.
Interesting that it was a clear day - why would the wind shield wipers be in the up position?

 

[jarethamarie]

I'm seeing wheels that don't require hubcaps. I'm also seeing a very dirty car and very muddy tires.

I'm still catching up, so forgive me if this has already been stated, but I still don't believe MC drove the car up a dusty/muddy road if she did, in fact, go through the car wash... And if she was, in fact, still in control at the point of said washing. MOO

 

[AutumnRose]

I haven't seen a 911 call record that supports that theory but it's possible.

We haven't seen any of the calls that relate to this case! They are MIA!

 

[alt.theory]

snipped

Did LE search all garbage cans and dumpsters in Crescent Bar?
**** No, impossible (no P/C for search warrant). Plus, all houses except for the one at which MC’s body was found are located in a different county.

All garbage placed out for collection, (road, sidewalk), is considered public propery, no warrant needed. (clarification - maybe not "public property" exactly, but the courts have ruled you have NO expectation of privacy when you put your garbage out for collection, therefore no warrant needed)

Jurisdiction wouldn't be much of issue. (Although, maybe the murderer thought it would be). All police officers have police powers just about everywhere in the state IF that is where the crime leads them, (although some issues arise on Indian Reservations).

 

[del rio]

Thanks for the input. I pulled a couple of things:

"...maybe MC had a key on her that had that address on it..."

But weren't police at the spec house on Friday? (Obviously only rumor, of course).

"...They weren’t expecting blind it was an unexpected bonus. ..."

It sounds to me they couldn't even have been expecting a trail as del rio is reporting it was recently made too, unless killers scouted the area more recently. (Correct del rio?)

"...The killer probably figures they were buying time and were surprise that someone stumbled across it so fast. ..."

Totally agree. But if they were only trying to buy time wouldn't any one of the thousands of remote forest service roads around Wenatchee have been a better location for buying time? The further removal of the boat just makes more sense.

As for moving the body during daylight hours, sure no one might get too suspicious of seeing a car there, but wouldn't they remember? Plus doing work / using a wheel-barrow and moving a body be a rather large risk when there is at least the chance of being seen from the road above?

"...They weren’t expecting blind it was an unexpected bonus. ..."

It sounds to me they couldn't even have been expecting a trail as del rio is reporting it was recently made too, unless killers scouted the area more recently. (Correct del rio?)

**** If the perps went to CB expecting to use those trails, then you are correct that they must have been at the CB property sometime between November 6 and the date they placed MC's body there.

I totally agree with you that, if the perps were merely trying to buy time, then there would have been hundreds of other places that were closer and offered way more concealment than the CB property. And the perps would have driven past dozens of better places on the way to CB.


One thing that has always bugged me about this case is that, if the perps were intending to permanently hide MC’s body (which they were), then why would the perps expend all the effort, time and energy (plus the risk of apprehension) to:

(1) transport MC’s body all the way from Wenatchee to CB; and

(2) then haul MC’s body from the CB house’s driveway, down through the brushy-area, along a rough, two-bit trail in the dark (probably early evening around 7:00 p.m.), past the creepiest house in the world, and to the brush-line near the river where they place MC’s body in a not-so-ideal spot to hide a body at?

Was it all merely to hide her body at the brush-line near the river? This makes no sense because they would have driven past dozens of more remote hiding places while driving from Wenatchee to CB. Moreover, while going from the driveway to the river, they would have walked right past (and through) several spots that would have been far better for permanently concealing a body.

It seems like the perps must have placed her body as close to the river as possible, while still concealing it, for some specific purpose or reason.

 

[aksaranto]

I had a thought that I have not yet seen discussed. Since MC mother is a realtor and most of Wenatchee is aware of that, maybe the perp was stalking MC and was also recently looking at houses that he/she knew were on the market by her mother. I wonder if LE has looked into all of the people who had recently went with a realtor to see these two properties. Maybe while looking at the properties, windows were unlocked or doors were jammed open. Who knows, just a thought.:waitasec:

 

[alt.theory]

Thanks everyone for correcting the issue about hubcaps - obviously my memory saw very dirty tires.
Interesting that it was a clear day - why would the wind shield wipers be in the up position?

Good catch! Maybe someone unfamiliar with the car was turning off headlights and hit the wipers instead!!!!

 

[AutumnRose]

Speculation follows:

• MC and perp drive to the spec house - not a common trip.
• Something occurs that causes MC's demise.
• Perp performs a quick clean-up in spec and it's not much to clean.
• Perp needs to move MC and her car.
• Perp carries MC to / places her in her car.
• Perp drives to CB because he and MC have visited there on a few occasions - it's familiar.
• Perp places MC's body at the CB property.
• Perp drives back towards Wenachee but can't park the car where he would be seen leaving it and he does not want to drive too far because he'd have no easy way of getting back to where he wants to be so he drives MC's car up PC and walks away unnoticed.

There was a 911 call on the 2/20 (?) that reported a ski-capped, scrubby individual with a red backpack walking along PC or other road that leads from that area -- could the perp have hidden somewhere in that area until the 20th? Not likely but thought I'd re-kindle this item in case someone has more info.

Spose it's possible, but there were an awful lot of searcher's up in that area with dogs.

 

[alt.theory]

I had a thought that I have not yet seen discussed. Since MC mother is a realtor and most of Wenatchee is aware of that, maybe the perp was stalking MC and was also recently looking at houses that he/she knew were on the market by her mother. I wonder if LE has looked into all of the people who had recently went with a realtor to see these two properties. Maybe while looking at the properties, windows were unlocked or doors were jammed open. Who knows, just a thought.:waitasec:

Unless police are operating with their blinders on, I would hope they have done that. If not, defense lawyer is gonna slaughter them.

 

[del rio]

All garbage placed out for collection, (road, sidewalk), is considered public propery, no warrant needed. (clarification - maybe not "public property" exactly, but the courts have ruled you have NO expectation of privacy when you put your garbage out for collection, therefore no warrant needed)

Jurisdiction wouldn't be much of issue. (Although, maybe the murderer thought it would be). All police officers have police powers just about everywhere in the state IF that is where the crime leads them, (although some issues arise on Indian Reservations).

Under Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, you are correct regarding the status of garbage.

But under Article I, Section 7 of the WA Constitution, a person still has an expectation of privacy in garbage placed out for collection.

 

[giddyup]

Posted by Del RIO:

One thing that has always bugged me about this case is that, if the perps were intending to permanently hide MC’s body (which they were), then why would the perps expend all the effort, time and energy (plus the risk of apprehension) to:

(1) transport MC’s body all the way from Wenatchee to CB; and

(2) then haul MC’s body from the CB house’s driveway, down through the brushy-area, along a rough, two-bit trail in the dark (probably early evening around 7:00 p.m.), past the creepiest house in the world, and to the brush-line near the river where they place MC’s body in a not-so-ideal spot to hide a body at?

Was it all merely to hide her body at the brush-line near the river? This makes no sense because they would have driven past dozens of more remote hiding places while driving from Wenatchee to CB. Moreover, while going from the driveway to the river, they would have walked right past (and through) several spots that would have been far better for permanently concealing a body.

It seems like the perps must have placed her body as close to the river as possible, while still concealing it, for some specific purpose or reason.[/QUOTE]

<snipped>

Just a thought in reference to the above, which was previously discussed, there was another search going on around this time for the missing snowmobiler -- which was airborne. I do think it appears the perp(s) intended to come back and dispose her body in the river.

 

[Liz]

Which really makes me wonder where else that car went prior to being found.

- Did the car go further up the canyon- possibly with MC driving- and then get placed back lower?
- Did the car go to another location that the tire mud came from?

February 9th was a clear, nice day in Wenatchee. It was sunny and dry. I now remember that was the day- I took a hike up Saddlerock at about 2:30 in the afternoon. The hike was a bit muddy in spots, but not bad.

That car easily could have made it further up Pitcher canyon rd that day. I have owned a similar vehicle (GM front wheel drive mid size) and driven up in those hills with it. The only issue would have been road clearance, but if I recall correctly, it's not too rough up there- at least for a good way.

If she did have the car washed that day, there is nowhere in town, or directly on the way to the point the car was discovered that it would have picked up that much mud unless it was driven extensively on dirt roads.

This also makes me wonder: If she did have the car washed, could she have already been to the place where she went. By this I'm trying to say possibly she had a spot, off a dirt road where she had been prior to washing the car and picking up a passenger where, from where, with the car clean she took the passenger to, got the car dirty again and possibly met her demise?

BBM

There seems to be a discrepancy about the weather that day. Girlfawkes had posted back on the 1st thread that the day Mackenzie went missing (the 9th) was overcast.

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Found Deceased WA - Mackenzie Cowell, 17, missing 2/9/10, Orondo/Wenatchee

I've been trying to dig up the historical weather data for that day, but so far with not much luck as to whether it was overcast, cloudy or sunny.

 

[del rio]

Don’t several of the parks and campgrounds have dirt and or gravel roads and parking lots?

There's one campground at CB, but it is closed (gated off) this time of year. There is one gravel road leading to a park on CB, but that too is gated at night. Plus, that gravel road is very short and would not get your vehicle muddy or even dusty (in fact, I just drove that gravel road this morning).

There just isn't anywhere in CB that could possibly cause a car to get that dirty and muddy.

 

[AutumnRose]

Good catch! Maybe someone unfamiliar with the car was turning off headlights and hit the wipers instead!!!!

Do we know exactly when that picture was taken? I went back through the first several articles and didn't see any pictures in the WW. At least on line articles. I don't think that picture was taken up at PC. Looks like it was in a fenced in area (impound lot?) Did it get taken to a crime lab somewhere else?

Has anyone seen a picture of it while it was still up PC????

 

[jarethamarie]

<Snipped>
Did LE search all garbage cans and dumpsters in Crescent Bar?
**** No, impossible (no P/C for search warrant). Plus, all houses except for the one at which MC’s body was found are located in a different county.

Do people at CB put their trash out in cans, or in communal dumpsters?

The reason I ask is that there have been some court cases that question the legality of LE searching people's trash, and in many states (IDK what WA's statutes provide) it is legal if the trash receptacle is off private property and there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, such as in a common dumpster, where anyone could go through it. LE wouldn't need a warrant in that case.

Here's a link with just a little info on the subject:

http://www.free-legal-document.com/can-an-officer-dig-through-your-garbage-without-a-warrant.html

 

[giddyup]

BBM

There seems to be a discrepancy about the weather that day. Girlfawkes had posted back on the 1st thread that the day Mackenzie went missing (the 9th) was overcast.

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Found Deceased WA - Mackenzie Cowell, 17, missing 2/9/10, Orondo/Wenatchee

I've been trying to dig up the historical weather data for that day, but so far with not much luck as to whether it was overcast, cloudy or sunny.

FWIW, I specifically remember it being overcast earlier in the day, and then clearing up in the afternoon.

 

[*Intrigued*]

Do we know exactly when that picture was taken? I went back through the first several articles and didn't see any pictures in the WW. At least on line articles. I don't think that picture was taken up at PC. Looks like it was in a fenced in area (impound lot?) Did it get taken to a crime lab somewhere else?

Has anyone seen a picture of it while it was still up PC????

I do not believe there were any pictures of it still up PC that have been released...

 

[del rio]

Are there any old houses in Crescent Bar that may have hand dug wells? (hand dug wells are large enough for a person to climb into)
**** No.

Are there caves near the area?
**** Probably.

Did LE use metal detectors to check the area for buried materials? (keys, phone)

Are there areas where someone can hide?
**** Are you kidding? Of course.

Some place behind the golf course is a small valley that I believe leads to the highway? Is this easily accessible?
**** Which golf course and which highway are you referring to?

Did LE search all garbage cans and dumpsters in Crescent Bar?
**** No, impossible (no P/C for search warrant). Plus, all houses except for the one at which MC’s body was found are located in a different county.

What about probable cause? Does that give them some right to enter a home? If they found out the home was related prior to finding her body, couldn’t they have entered the home without a search warrant?

Absolutely not. It is a bright-line rule that police must obtain a search warrant issued by a neutral magistrate prior to entering or searching a person's home (unless there are exigent circumstances or consent).

Probable cause does not give police the authority to enter someone's home or search it.

 

[alt.theory]

Do we know exactly when that picture was taken? I went back through the first several articles and didn't see any pictures in the WW. At least on line articles. I don't think that picture was taken up at PC. Looks like it was in a fenced in area (impound lot?) Did it get taken to a crime lab somewhere else?

Has anyone seen a picture of it while it was still up PC????

Yeah, that would be the impound lot. The gravel one is down by the state patrols offices in North Wenatchee. So the car was moved, but it should have been moved by flatbed therefore that doesn't exactly explain the windshield wipers being up.