Snohomish Detectives Recover Remains of Child Stuffed in Plastic Storage Tote

EVERETT, WA-  Detectives from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office have recovered the remains of a 4 year old child that were stuffed in a plastic storage tote several years ago. The remains were found during the service of a search warrant in the 12600 block of East Gibson Road in Everett on Saturday, October 29th, 2016.

According to a press release from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Director of Communications,  Shari Ireton, Detectives believe the girl was around four years of age when she was last seen around four years ago.  Today she would have been between 8 and 9 year old.   The circumstances surrounding the girl’s death and the disposal of her remains are actively under investigation.

On November 1st, 2016,  detectives and investigators from the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office were able to confirm that the tote recovered during the service of the search warrant did contain  the body of a juvenile female, although identification of the remains, as well as the cause and manner of her death, have not yet been determined.

The Sheriff’s Office began investigating the girl’s death and disappearance in October after information was received from a relative of the girl (by marriage) who expressed concerns about the girl’s disappearance.

During the investigation, detectives learned that relatives of the girl believed the girl had died when she was approximately four years-old.  They stated that the death is believed to have occurred while the girl lived with her biological mother   in  the 15800 block of Admiralty Way.

It was reported that the mother and her then-boyfriend (the two have since married) had history with law enforcement and “panicked” when they discovered the girl had died.

Relatives told detectives they believed that the girl’s mother and boyfriend had wrapped up the girl and deposited her body into a storage container. They kept her body in that container for some time in their residence until the girl’s body began to decompose, at which point it is alleged that concrete was poured over the body in the container. The two then kept the container for several years after the incident, subsequently stashing it at a relative’s residence not long after moving from the residence at Admiralty Way.

The girl’s biological mother had provided family members, including her other children, with several versions of how the girl died. The girl was never reported dead or missing to any law enforcement agency nor has she been enrolled in any school.  The last official record that provides evidence to her being alive was September 2010, when the girl received an immunization.

At this time, no arrests have been made and the circumstances surrounding the girl’s death and the disposal of her body remain under investigation. The Sheriff’s Office is working with Child Protective Services and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services in the investigation.