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.
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."
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) :
Disregarding 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.
CLICK HERE to see a map of points of interest in the Mackenzie Cowell investigation.
