Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   Memorial walk A walk around Seattle's Green Lake in memory of Susanna Stodden and Mary Cooper is scheduled for 8 tonight. The mother and daughter were killed two years ago while hiking on the Pinnacle Lake Trail on Mount Pilchuck. The public is invited to join family and friends in walking around the lake. Bring a flashlight and meet at Green Lake Community Center, 7201 E. Green Lake Drive N., Seattle. Tips wanted The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office asks anyone who was in the Pinnacle Lake, Bear Lake, Ashland Lake or Boardman Lake areas July 11, 2006, or shortly before to call the sheriff's tip line at 425-388-3845. Tips also may be called in to Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound toll-free at 800-CRIME-13 (800-274-6313). The nonprofit organization The Mountaineers and friends of the Stodden family are offering a $26,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the crimes.   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, July 11, 2008 Every step a memorial to two slain women It's been two years since a mother and daughter were killed on Mount Pilchuck. By Jackson Holtz, Herald Writer VERLOT -- Every time Linda Spoor walks around Green Lake, she pauses by a witch hazel bush and remembers her friend, Mary Cooper. Of all the plants and trees at the park, Cooper, who lived near the lake, loved that one the most. "I stop and smell it and think about Mary," Spoor said. "It just brings up all sorts of memories, good ones. But at the same time they're very sad. I miss her." Tonight, friends and relatives plan to walk around the Seattle lake in memory of Cooper, 56, and her daughter, Susanna Stodden, 27. The two women were found shot to death two years ago today alongside the Pinnacle Lake Trail on Mount Pilchuck. No arrests have been made in the killings, and investigators have released few details. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary's and Susanna's family and friends as they remember and honor them," Snohomish County sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said. The double homicide is "still very much an active case and it will remain an active case until it is solved," she said. "All of our homicide investigations are important to us. This one, in particular, has weighed heavily on our detectives and the entire community." David Stodden, whose wife and daughter were slain, said he wants resolution. "I hope they solve this," he said. The shooting deaths sent fear through the region's hiking community and left the women's vast network of friends stunned in grief. "Everyone should know that these were two exceptional people who were dearly loved and are horribly missed," family friend Judy Martin said. "It would be nice to know that whoever committed this crime would be put away for it, that we could grieve them without that hanging over them." During the Fourth of July holiday this year, relatives and friends handed out fliers and posters at campgrounds along the Mountain Loop Highway, hoping someone might remember seeing something and call the sheriff's office. "We want to solve it and find out why," said one of the slain women's relatives who lives east of Mill Creek and asked that her name not be used. Until someone is behind bars, she said she's frightened. "I hope the (person) ends up in jail," the relative said. Detectives are dedicated to solving the case, Hover said. "We believe it's our responsibility to speak for homicide victims by bringing to justice the person or people responsible for their deaths," she said. The sheriff's office officials featured Mary Cooper and Susanna Stodden on the Ace of Hearts in its deck of cold-case playing cards. More than 3,300 decks of cards, the first of their kind in the state, were distributed a few months ago to prisoners around Washington to draw out clues. Spoor, who like Cooper was a Seattle school librarian, said the second anniversary has been more difficult than the first. The months following the killings were a daze, she said. During the second year, reality settled in. "You have to think about how I'm going to live my life without the people that you love," Spoor said. The trail killings drew national media attention. People around the country were "moved and inspired by Mary and Susanna's life story," Spoor said. Susanna Stodden worked for the Audubon Society in Seattle and was an environmental educator. She had visited Nepal and friends have spread some of her ashes there, her father said. Cooper was a much-loved school librarian. She also was well-known in her Green Lake neighborhood, Martin said. Tending her garden, Cooper would often pause to speak with people walking by. She went out of her way to check in on elderly neighbors and bring them cut flowers, Martin said. "I'm sure they miss her," she said. Martin, who lives across the street from the Stodden family home, said some of herself was taken when the women were killed on the Pinnacle Lake trail. "When someone dies, a piece of you dies and you have to figure out who you are again," she said. "Your place in the world isn't quite the same again." She said she plans to join David Stodden and his surviving daughters, Elisa and Joanna, to walk the three-mile loop around Green Lake tonight. They'll likely pause at the witch hazel plant. "It was a favorite," Spoor said. "It means spring and new life." Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.

1. Marysville man charged in fatal shooting of 6-year-old daughter 2. Stillaguamish tribal leaders face federal charges 3. Victim's family to probe Everett police shooting 4. Owners protest Monroe plan for 'potentially dangerous' dogs 5. The Silvertips' power of the 'stache 6. County jobless rate climbs 7. Kimberly-Clark keeps closer eye on its Everett wood pile 8. Century-old home burns in Arlington 9. Analyst's remarks help push Boeing shares down 4 percent 10. Tribes a small part of hunting 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Edmonds' Pink House staying put • King's wins first state volleyball title • RV in plain sight? City says 'That's illegal' • Timberwolves take Class 4A title • Mavs can't hang on against Capital • TV success shares life as artist, geek • Education at Fircrest Rehabilitation Center in question • Edmonds police pulled over murder victim, suspect • T-birds, Scots break school records at state • Building energy independence from the ground up