Snohomish County medical examiners identified the body found Sunday as that of 53-year-old Cheryl DeBoer, who disappeared on Feb. 8 under suspicious circumstances.
Snohomish County medical investigators have identified the body found Sunday in a Mountlake Terrace culvert as that of 53-year-old Cheryl DeBoer, who police said mysteriously disappeared before heading to work on Feb. 8.
The medical examiner’s office said Tuesday afternoon that investigators are working to determine the cause and manner of her death. But police are investigating her death as suspicious, Mountlake Terrace Police Cmdr. Kevin Pickard said, and are urging the public to practice safety in light of the investigation.
A group of volunteers on Sunday discovered DeBoer’s body in a large, grassy area about 1.5 miles southeast of where her vehicle was found on Feb. 8 in the 23400 block of 58th Avenue West, police said.
Investigators found bloodstains in DeBoer’s car on the passenger side, Pickard said Tuesday night.
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Police are not releasing details on any injuries to her body, pending the release of the medical examiner’s ruling and lab results, he said. The body was found clothed, he said.
Authorities are analyzing the bloodstains, as police continue to interview family members and review surveillance footage and other records, Pickard said.
The family remains cooperative with the investigation, he said, adding DeBoer’s husband took a polygraph test late last week, and police have eliminated him as a person of interest.
Earlier on Tuesday, searchers returned to the culvert, which runs beneath Cedar Way at 244th Street Southwest, to look for evidence. Pickard said they found something helpful, though he would not elaborate.
When asked what the public should know in regard to DeBoer’s disappearance and death, Pickard said: “We ask the public to be conscious of their surroundings,” he said. “Watch where you walk; walk with a purpose … Please be careful.”
DeBoer was supposed to have met a friend at the Mountlake Terrace Park and Ride on the morning of Feb. 8 to carpool to work in Seattle at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, police have said. The friend received a text from her that morning indicating she had left her work ID badge at home and, after fetching it, would catch a bus instead, police said.
Her husband reported her missing after hearing she hadn’t shown up for work.
Pickard reiterated Tuesday afternoon that police hope people will come forward with anything that “looks out of the ordinary” near the Mountlake Park and Ride and the culvert. They should call the department at 425-670-8260.
Police said last week that records show DeBoer didn’t use her ORCA pass for a bus ride that morning, though she could have used cash.
There had been no activity on her cellphone or bank account, police said at the time.
DeBoer’s family asks for donations in her memory to go toward cancer research at Fred Hutch, according to a Facebook page in memoriam to her.