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

[greydiggity]

One of MC's male friends list Evergreen Ford as his place of employment in Issaquah. His initials are JR. His is most definitely not a minor, since he graduated from college in '08.

I noticed a large group of friends have the same car dealership on their facebook. The mom does too I believe.

 

[*Intrigued*]

It just really seems like people are steering away from the idea of the murderer possibly being JF. Is that the case??? Anyone care to share any new ideas of possible POI?

 

[Sherlock_9]

I don't believe her car would have made it farther. I went up there the next day after she disappeared and my sedan couldn't have made it. Right after the spot the car was ditched the road gets very steep, rutted and muddy.

ETA- The mailboxes for the remaining houses up the canyon (only 3 or 4) are all where her car was ditched because I don't think postal trucks can make it.

Just got back from a drive both up Pitcher canyon road and up Number Two Canyon to both Stiss Canyon road and the end of Number two.

First of all RE: Number Two canyon Road and Stiss Canyon Road there is a gate up Stiss a ways a car would not have passed, so they did not come in the back way. They may have walked out that way however, but as I will detail below, I kind of doubt it.

RE: Pitcher Canyon Road- The road from the pavement is good, county gravel composite for .7 more miles. It's not real rutted and likely would not have left either the mud we see on the tires, or been impassible by MC's car. However, it becomes a nasty, switchbacked private road at .7 miles, just past a house. It is posted no-tresspassing and goes right in front of the front window of a house. It is unlikely anyone would have dared venture past at that point. I didn't even like being there mid day in an SUV and promptly backed up and turned around.

I really do not think a perp would have walked past that place on his way out after dumping the car where it was left. And to get out the back way, they likely would have had to walk past that place, with a large picture window looking right out on their private road- with dogs running around and barking, etc. I just dont see someone being either stupid or brave enough to take this route.

If I'm correct in where the car was left, at the end of the pavement on Pitcher Canyon, near the entrance to the area where SH keeps misc. machinery and farm stuff, I just cannot see why anyone would have left the car there, either. But, alas, they did...

Furthermore, I'm pressed to figure how the tires would have gotten that much mud and type of mud. County gravel roads, are not that mud ridden, even when wet. After driving a ways up PC road past pavement today, and up Number two (another trip) my tires were no where near as muddy as MCs.

However, after travelling PC road, I drove up some neigboring roads. In all instances, most were county roads initally. A ways up, they all become "primative", are signed as such and are mostly dirt. One road- up past the turnoff to Mission Ridge, at at development called Whispering Meadows, the road turns to dirt, much like the end of the PC county to private road. I drove up it a bit, the car sunk in some, as it was soft and clay like. I had to put it in 4 wheel drive when I turned as I got stuck. I got out at the entrance and looked at my tires and sure enough they were covered with mud to the same degree as MC's.

Theory The mud on my tires tells me someone took that car up another dirt road that seemed passable before dumping it where it was left.

SpeculationI think it unlikely MC drove the car up there. The mud on those tires tells me someone went up with teh idea of dumping it and being picked up and decided against leaving it in at least one attempted spot as the road was muddy, somewhat impassable and they were wary of getting stuck, or of a possible accomplice not being able to pass on the road and pick them up.

I think Pitcher Canyon road was chosen as a last resort- I think the perp(s) had driven around trying to find a spot to dump the car- basically on the assumption it would be easy to just leave it "up in the hills". Pitcher Canyon Road is the last road off Squilchuck that does not appear to be residential before many house appear. Although there are quite a few houses on the road, you would not notice this from Squilchuck road when turning. I'm thinking whoever dumped the car turend up there hoping they could be rid of it finally. After driving by a number of houses and worrying about being seen, they left it in the first fairly dark spot they could find, by SH's lot, and got out, either on foot or by ride.

 

[ajfa]

Regarding the picture of MC's car and the apparent dirt/mud on it and the tires, the dirt looks light colored. Would this be consistent with the kind of dirt around Wenatchee? Anything about the color of the dirt that might narrow down where it was picked up?

 

[Liz]

I noticed a large group of friends have the same car dealership on their facebook. The mom does too I believe.

Probably a friend of the family. Maybe even a relative.

 

[*Intrigued*]

Miss Maple... I have a question and you dont have to answer of course... But, has JF's soon to be ex wife (your relative) seen JF since all of this has happened? I would imagine she has since they have 2 children together. Also, I believe he was living with WC so if he wasn't now I am sure SF would know if he was still. Do you know any of this information?

 

[Sherlock_9]

Regarding the picture of MC's car and the apparent dirt/mud on it and the tires, the dirt looks light colored. Would this be consistent with the kind of dirt around Wenatchee? Anything about the color of the dirt that might narrow down where it was picked up?

It's the type of dirt found on dirt/mud non county and construction roads up in the hills. I encountered identical mud today up there past the county roads.

To have encountered that type of mud one would likely have driven that car off road out of town, or on undeveloped in town property.

 

[MissAnonymous]

Theory The mud on my tires tells me someone took that car up another dirt road that seemed passable before dumping it where it was left.

Respectfully snipped by me

This make sense! I was up there the other day and I have been racking my brain all week as to why that was the final spot of the car. I keep coming back the the idea that they hoped to return and move it, but now I think you are right. I don't think they wanted to ever have to come get it again. They just didn't have any place left to hide it without driving it back through town. Great detective work!

 

[peacegirl]

From where the car was found up PC you can walk a short distance down PC and hike up the hill. It is steep but only a few hundred yards to the maintained trails of Dry Gulch Reserve which could easily be walked ending near Appleatchee. It's really not a hard hike at all.

 

[James Vic]

Washington law regarding exigent circumstances is different than CA. Div. III of the Court of Appeals for WA recently published an opinion in a DUI very similar to the CA case. The WA court ruled the opposite of what CA did. See, State v. Roger Hinshaw.

Moreover, before the exigent circumstances exception can be applied, police must still possess probable cause. And my whole point here, if you recall, is that I believe police did in fact possess probable cause that the Spec house contained evidence of a crime (i.e., MC's murder). So, LE got a search warrant for the house before they searched it initially.

And, no, LE could not enter the Spec house to look for MC (who was merely missing at that time) under the exigent circumstances exception.

LE's best shot would be under the community caretaking exception. But that exception applies only if the purpose of entering the house is totally divorced from any criminal investigation. Plus, LE must point to specific facts from which one could reasonably infer that MC was currently inside the Spec house, AND that MC was in imminent danger of serious harm. Even assuming LE had some information that MC may have been at the Spec house sometime earlier that day or the day before, this is still not enough.

I don't believe for one second that Judge Smalley or Judge Bridges would ever uphold such a warrantless entry and search.

Not even if it saved her life?

 

[Sherlock_9]

Respectfully snipped by me

This make sense! I was up there the other day and I have been racking my brain all week as to why that was the final spot of the car. I keep coming back the the idea that they hoped to return and move it, but now I think you are right. I don't think they wanted to ever have to come get it again. They just didn't have any place left to hide it without driving it back through town. Great detective work!

Thanks- SpeculationThe other thing I wondered, eerily enough, was if someone had possibly taken that car to the exact spot where I turned around and got stuck. It was on a ridge near a construction site and looked passable enough, until I started driving in the mud. There were old car tracks, a couple sets where someone had turned around before.

Probably nothing, but it made me think.

I could see where a construction type may have wanted to try this spot, as it would be totally dark, not too far off the road and rarely travelled. It would be know to construction types as it is near a development.

It would be unlikely her car would have been able to get far on this road. They would have likely tracked mud walking out as well and seen this as a problem. After getting out and walking around the car, I has mud all over my shoes and left quite a mess on the running board and floor mat...Again, why I think they tried somehwhere else before dumping up PC.

 

[~greeneyedgirl~]

Exactly. We know LE got warrants for MC's cell phone records. Therefore, either RC and/or WC refused to give consent to LE to obtain MC's cell phone records. ASSUMING it was WC who refused to give consent regarding MC's cell phone records, then why on earth would she consent to a search of the Spec house?

i used to work for a prominent phone company in the states and we cannot just hand over phone records no matter who the phone belongs to a subpoena is warranted always no exceptions.

 

[James Vic]

i used to work for a prominent phone company in the states and we cannot just hand over phone records not matter who the phone belongs to a subpoena is warranted always no exceptions.

If MC was living with dad, we could assume that the cell phone was under MC’s dad’s name.

 

[James Vic]

i used to work for a prominent phone company in the states and we cannot just hand over phone records not matter who the phone belongs to a subpoena is warranted always no exceptions.

Even if I wanted to get a copy of my phone records of my daughters phone records, if she is under age and I am paying for the phone service?

 

[No More]

Hi again All,

Caught up on reading the thread to here, so I have two questions:

Q. Could the mud on the tires of MC's car have come from the yard of the CB property... where the figure-8 was?

Q. Any chance the computer in MC's car has recorded the time stamp of any error codes? IMO a car that old ought to have at least one electrical error, and maybe an exhaust error as well. Aren't these error codes logged each time a car starts up? If so that might better define car activity on 2/9. I just don't know, maybe we can get lucky and have a certified GM mechanic answer this!

 

[~greeneyedgirl~]

Even if I wanted to get a copy of my phone records of my daughters phone records, if she is under age and I am paying for the phone service?

you can request but the police cannot (well technically they can but it wouldn't be admissible in court)

 

[juleeb]

I have been on here for about a week reading everything and never written. I'm not even certain I am doing this correctly.

Either yesterday or the day before a lady posted something on her friend having a dream. It was a very disturbing dream to her friend. Something mentioned in that dream was railroad tracks. There is a railroad tressel that you have to go under just about as you turn into CB. Not certain if this is relevant or not and maybe I missed discussion of this on here already.

Also, JF's new truck has been mentioned. Does anyone know if it happens to be green? My daughter heard from a friend of a friend about the truck being green, but I haven't read about the color of his truck on here, so thought I'd ask.

 

[peacegirl]

I drove up pitcher canyon last week and turned around in the spot where the car was found. At the time I didn't notice any significant mud but afterwards noticed my car had an amount of mud consitent with MC's car after driving back down the road. I believe whoever dumped the car there was a somewhat experienced hiker who knew it was a relative easy hike to town right over the hill where they would not be seen.

 

[TylerDurden]

Del- You mentioned something yesterday about 'it gets worse' and today I think you had a 'creepy' remark.

Care to elaborate?

Does it have anything to do with the case involving the Coroner from Quincy a few years back?

 

[Liz]

Welcome, Juleeb!