The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is asking for the public’s help to identify two people found dead in two separate cases in King County.
The Medical Examiner’s Office is releasing forensic sketches and information related to the two cases with the goal of bringing answers to who these people were.
“When an individual arrives at our office without an identification, our task is to try to give them back their names. In doing so, we hope to help return them to those people who cared for them during their lives and perhaps bring some closure to their families, friends, and loved ones,” said Andrew Seidel, State Forensic Anthropologist with the Medical Examiner’s Office.
A woman found dead in the University District
On April 4, 2023, a woman was found dead early in the morning on the stairs of University Heights Center in Seattle’s University District.
The woman was believed to be in her 20s. She was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 225 pounds. She was white with light blue/green eyes, brown, medium length hair, with lighter ends. She had a heart tattoo on her left hip and markings of a previously pierced navel.
She was dressed in layers at the time of her death. She had on black yoga pants paired with a black shirt with a black fleece sweatshirt and tan jacket on top. She was also wearing two pairs of socks – long white socks and short black socks – with white slide sandals. She carried a tan wicker type tote with her.
Skeletal remains found in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood
On October 10, 2022, unidentified skeletal remains were found inside a tent at a homeless encampment in the 1900 block of 11th Ave S in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood.
This person was biologically male but may have identified as female based on the items and clothing found with them when they died.
The Medical Examiner’s Office determined this person was most likely between the ages of 45 and 60 and appeared to be white. They were between 5 feet 5 inches and 6 feet tall.
They had short-to-medium length brown hair but were wearing a long blond wig at the time of their death.
The Medical Examiner’s Office had two sketches rendered of this person, one with the wig and one without.
They were found wearing a black bra and fishnet stockings with dark-colored shorts. They also had on a light-colored top with birds, floral designs, and a heart-shaped lock printed on it, paired with a dark-colored outer shirt, a dark-colored hoodie, black high-heeled boots, and a makeshift leopard-print belt.
The Medical Examiner’s Office found healed injuries to the ribs, pelvis, and feet, possibly as the result of an accident during life.
Do you recognize them?
If you believe you have any information that may help, please contact the Medical Examiner’s Office at 206-731-3232, ext. 1. Any information you have could be helpful to investigators.
There are more than 50 unidentified people in King County
There are currently 57 people the Medical Examiner’s Office is working to identify. They work with law enforcement agencies in trying to solve these cases.
Sketches of additional unidentified people in King County are posted on the Medical Examiner’s Office unidentified remains web page.
If you have a loved one who is missing
If a relative or loved one is missing, promptly notify authorities.
Providing information related to the missing person, like medical and dental records, DNA samples, even familial DNA – like a cheek swab – can be helpful to an investigation. After you have reported a missing person, continue to follow up to make sure the case is entered into state and national databases.
The Medical Examiner’s Office has unidentified remains cases dating back to 1969 and would like to remind anyone who knows of a person missing to please make a report with law enforcement. If a report was made during the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s, please confirm with law enforcement that the report still exists, and that it has been entered into missing persons databases.
More recent technologies, such as genealogy databases and testing, offer new opportunities determine the identities of currently unidentified people. The Medical Examiner’s Office, working with statewide partners, is looking closely at how these tools can help in solving cases.
More information
Visit the King County Medical Examiner’s website to download high resolution images of these forensic sketches.
Originally posted 5/1/2023