Chief Says Findings Were a 'Shock,' Department Took Steps to Remedy Mistakes Enter Article DATE HERE A 2018 internal audit of the Centralia Police Department's two property storage rooms uncovered a glut of errors, including missing or misplaced evidence, prompting the department to reevaluate personnel managing the intake, outtake and organiz...

Michella's murder is just one cold case that heated up this year thanks to the cutting-edge combination of DNA and genetic genealogy. June 30, 2018 On March 26, 1986, sixth-grader Michella Welch disappeared while at a Washington state park with her two young sisters, never to be seen alive again. The 12-year-old's body was found that night; she had...

The genealogist used the suspect's DNA sample to build a family tree using public websites, then ran it through a public database and received "a significant match," according to charging papers. June 22, 2018 It was DNA, a genealogist and perseverance that zeroed in on Michella Welch's suspected killer after 32 years. On Friday, Pierce County pros...

William Earl Talbott II, 55, of SeaTac, was arrested as he was leaving his Seattle workplace. According to investigators, he is suspected of raping and killing a 19-year-old British Columbia woman in 1987, JUNE, 12, 2018 More than 30 years after a young Canadian woman was raped and shot in the back of the head, a 55-year-old SeaTac man was arrested...

An important break came once again as a result of DNA sleuthing techniques similar to the ones used last month to crack the Golden State killer case. May 18, 2018 In 1987, Jay Cook, 20, and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, 18, a couple from Canada, were brutally killed while they were vacationing in Washington State. On Friday, the Snohomish County sheriff's ...

Washington state's rape kit backlog has advocates worried how many sexual offenders are still out on the streets. Enter Article DATE HERE A sexual assault case in Tumwater provides a glaring example of how Washington state's rape kit backlog is still having serious and devastating consequences. Tumwater police have linked 35-year-old suspect L...

The search turned up 40 bundles of meth in a television box on the top bunk of the sleeper berth and 50 bundles on the lower mattress. April 28, 2018 CENTRALIA, Wash. (KOMO) -- Authorities in Lewis County say a search of a truck carrying Starbucks' products to Spokane this week turned up 126 pounds of methamphetamine and other drugs. Two people, th...

Cold case investigators in Washington state have released DNA-generated composite sketches of a suspect in the unsolved slayings of a young Canadian couple three decades ago. April 21, 2018 Cold case investigators in Washington state have released DNA-generated composite sketches of a suspect in the unsolved slayings of a young Canadian couple thre...

A Poulsbo police officer was charged Wednesday with theft and felony drug possession after she confessed to repeatedly taking narcotics left in city hall's prescription drug take-back box, according to court documents. Enter Article DATE HERE PORT ORCHARD — A Poulsbo police officer was charged Wednesday with theft and felony drug possession af...

The finding identified a number of weaknesses within the department after a former employee stole two guns, $2,000 went missing from a police department fund, and a gold necklace disappeared from the evidence room. Enter Article DATE HERE By Brynn Grimley Recent thefts within the Poulsbo Police Department prompted the city to make drastic chan...

On Tuesday, a Coca-Cola can led to the arrest of a man who police believe may have raped and murdered a teenager in 1989. December 15, 2017 Almost 30 years ago, Mandy Stavik, 18, went missing after taking a jog with her German shepherd the day after Thanksgiving. She was a freshman at Central Washington University and was home on break visiting fam...

Washington state is getting $3 million in federal grant money to continue analyzing forensic evidence in previously untested rape kits. Some of the money will go to creating a cold-case team to investigate sexual assaults that may have occurred years, even decades, ago. Enter Article DATE HERE The state's ongoing efforts to analyze DNA from th...

Blood found on a weapon used by Forrest was recently determined to be Martha Morrison, a 17-year-old Portland girl whose body was found in rural Clark County more than 40 years ago. August 24, 2017 Clark County detectives say that new DNA evidence helps link suspected serial killer Warren Forrest to two more victims, a huge discovery in helping to ...

Someone left a pair of prosthetic legs unattended — shoes still attached February 17, 2017 Ron Cryderman has seen some strange things in his 16 years working in the Longview Police Department's evidence room. The strangest appeared on his shelves early this year after police responded to a suspicious call.Someone left a pair of prosthetic legs unat...

With new money, state chips away at daunting backlog of rape evidence — but can't keep up December 16, 2016 or years, hundreds of white cardboard boxes, each containing biological evidence from an alleged sexual assault, sat untouched inside the massive freezer at the Seattle Police Department's 26,000-square-foot evidence warehouse off Airport Way...

"The real question for me is, who is in charge of the Colville PD? Who is in charge of the evidence?" December 18, 2016 A convicted sex offender facing life in prison for an attempted kidnapping in Colville last year accepted a plea deal for nine years – after police destroyed the evidence showing the crime was sexually motivated.  Jason Foste...

Nearly $10,000 — including some logged as evidence against Aubrey Earl Rye, a 52-year-old Interlochen man, who was convicted of armed robbery in 2014 — vanished from the MSP Cadillac post sometime after Rye was arrested on Dec. 8, 2013. October 8, 2016 TRAVERSE CITY — A Grand Traverse County prosecutor hopes just a few weeks are left in a lengthy i...

King County prosecutors Wednesday charged a former Bothell Police Department evidence technician with first-degree theft for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from a police evidence room. September 7, 2016 King County prosecutors Wednesday charged a former Bothell Police Department evidence technician with first-degree theft for allegedly ste...

Enter Headline here August 28, 2016 SPOKANE, Wash --- Spokane Police Officials said they discovered a firearm in a stolen vehicle a year after they seized the vehicle. The car was going to be sold at auction when they found the firearm. Alex Redthunder was arrested in March 2015 after he left his vehicle and eluded authorities. Officials said Redth...

A national organization advocating for reforms in rape kit processing launched a campaign this week encouraging governors to publicly endorse and support efforts to eliminate backlogs and make rape kit testing a greater priority for law enforcement. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is the first governor in the nation to endorse Test400k's call to action....

Enter Headline here August 11, 2016 BELLEVUE, Wash. - The city of Bellevue's oldest cold-case murder has been solved 51 years after it happened, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated detective who decided to take a fresh, new look at the case using tried-and-true investigative techniques. The solution of the mystery comes years after the suspected m...

Evidence was collected from the woman, but Everett police didn't submit the sexual assault exam kit to the Washington State Patrol crime lab for analysis June 19, 2016 EVERETT — The 20-year-old woman spent Christmas 2010 in a hospital exam room as a forensic nurse carefully collected swabs from her body.The woman told Everett police someone had rap...

Peninsula Daily News, peninsuladailynews.comBYLINE: Paige Dickerson, Peninsula Daily NewsLink to ArticleClallam County, WAPORT ANGELES -- The trial of a former Clallam County Sheriff's Office evidence technician on first-degr...

Peninsula Daily NewsBYLINE: Rob Ollikainen, Peninsula Daily NewsLink to ArticleClallam County, WASEQUIM -- A former Clallam County evidence technician charged with stealing $8,644 from the Sheriff's Office property room becam...

heraldnet.comBYLINE: Bill Sheets, Herald WriterLink to ArticlePublished: Tuesday, May 4, 2010Marysville, WAMARYSVILLE — Someone, or possibly someone's pet, could wind up spending eternity in the evidence room at the Marysvill...

The Wenatchee World (Washington), STATE AND REGIONAL NEWSDistributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business NewsBYLINE: Dee Riggs, The Wenatchee World, Wash.Wenatchee, WAAug. 26 -- EAST WENATCHEE -- An official at Eastmont Junior High...

KONP NEWSRADIO AM 1450, konp.comLink to Article Clallam County, WA(Port Angeles) -- The trial for a former evidence technician accused of stealing from the Clallam County Sheriff's department evidence room has been delayed.St...

The Daily Record, dailyrecordnews.comBYLINE: BARB OWENS staff writerLink to ArticleEllensburg, WASuspected of using obituaries to target homesAn alleged burglar's discarded cigarette butt and statements about using obituaries...

Fisher Interactive Network, komonews.comBYLINE: Jon HumbertLink to ArticleOne VideoSeattle, WASEATTLE -- The Seattle Police Department's audit of potential misconduct has not yet begun, but it is already coming under public s...

Fisher Communications, Inc., KOMO News Network, komonews.comBYLINE: Denise WhitakerLink to ArticleOne VideoPoulsbo, WAPOULSBO, Wash. -- A state audit found Poulsbo Police Department lacked oversight over its own evidence lock...

Horvitz Newspapers, Peninsula Daily News,peninsuladailynews.comBYLINE: Arwyn RiceLink to ArticleClallam County, WAStaci Allison, left, sits in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday. -- Photo by Chris Tucker/Peninsula Daily...

North Kitsap Herald, northkitsapherald.com Link to ArticlePoulsbo, WAAmanda M. Dixon arrives Sept, 28 for arraignment at Superior Court, where she pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of firearms theft. Johnny WalkerPOULSBO ...

Kitsap Sun, kitsapsun.comBYLINE: Josh FarleyLink to ArticlePoulsbo, WAPOULSBO — A former Poulsbo Police Department clerk has been charged by Kitsap County prosecutors for stealing a gun she was transporting for disposal as pa...

Hearst Communications Inc., seattlepi.comBYLINE: SCOTT GUTIERREZ, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFFLink to ArticleKing County, WAA former King County Sheriff's narcotics detective has been arrested in Arkansas after he was accused of steal...

Peninsula Daily News, peninsuladailynews.comBYLINE: Tom Callis, Peninsula Daily NewsLink to ArticleClallam County, WAPORT ANGELES -- The case against a former Clallam County Sheriff's Office employee accused of stealing $8,64...

Sequim Gazette, sequimgazette.com/BYLINE: AMANDA WINTERS, Sequim Gazette Link to ArticleClallam County, WAClallam County Prosecutor Deb Kelly can continue trying a theft case despite the likelihood her husband will be called ...

The Daily Hearld, heraldnet.comBYLINE: Diana Hefley, Herald WriterLink to ArticleSnohomish County, WAEnvelope an investigator handled missing evidence seized in probesEVERETT -- A master investigator with the Snohomish County...

NBC KING5 Western Washington's Home Team, king5.comSeattle, WAA rare look inside the Seattle Police Department's evidence warehouse. One of their goals: return stolen bikes to their rightful owners. Video Link[no text]- - - -...