Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Darren Breen / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Playing cards with photographs of cold case victims issued to inmates to help solve the crimes. Katherine Lynn Dobson is on the queen of spades.  Photo Gallery: Cold Case Cards   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • More cold-case cards will go to inmates 11/11/09 • Tips sought in Monroe cold case from 2000 10/30/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, October 12, 2008 Police believe '91 slaying was drug related By Diana Hefley Herald Writer EVERETT -- Lynn McKee misses the phone calls. Her daughter, Kathy Dobson, could lift her spirits with a simple "Hi, Mom." Her energy flooded across the phone line. McKee could hear the smile in her daughter's voice. "She always had a smile on her face. It didn't matter if it was early in the morning or late at night," McKee said. The phone calls stopped 17 years ago. Dobson's skeletal remains were found, discarded in an illegal garbage dump near Picnic Point in Edmonds. Dobson, who family members say just as often went by her maiden name Dawson, is featured in the state's first cold-case deck of playing cards. She is on the queen of spades. Snohomish County sheriff's detectives hope the card will generate leads to help them arrest and prosecute whoever killed Dobson, 24. The decks of playing cards have been provided to jail and prison inmates across the state. Investigators hope someone will come forward with tips about unsolved homicides and missing persons cases dating back to the 1970s. McKee believes her daughter's lifestyle led to her death. Dobson took up residence in the dark world of drugs among hardened, violent criminals. "That's a hard life," McKee said. "There's no way out except jail or death." Dobson considered herself gutsy and street-smart. She also knew she wanted better for her children, a girl, then 8, and a boy, 4. A few months before her disappearance in June 1991 she asked her brother to take the kids into his home. She loved her children. She would have been so proud of them now, McKee said. McKee knew something was wrong when Dobson didn't show up for her daughter's birthday party. Her fear was confirmed in February 1992 when her daughter's remains were uncovered. Two men were arrested for Dobson's killing after informants told Snohomish County sheriff's detectives the men bragged about being paid by Yakima-based drug traffickers to murder her. A rumor had been circulating that Dobson was a snitch, working with local police. The men were set free after prosecutors decided they didn't have enough evidence to file charges against the pair in Snohomish County Superior Court. McKee would like to know who took her daughter's life. She hopes someone will step forward with answers. "I didn't always agree with the choices she made, but I loved my daughter for the person she was," McKee said. Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com. About this series Snohomish County sheriff's detectives created the state's first deck of cold-case playing cards. Each Sunday for a year, The Herald is publishing a story about a case featured on one of the cards. The 52 cards can be viewed at www.heraldnet.com. Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or missing persons cases is asked to call 800-222-TIPS (8477). Up to a $1,000 reward is offered. Tips also can be left on the sheriff's tip line at 425-388-3845. Callers may remain anonymous, although tips have been more successful when callers speak with detectives, police said.

1. Girl's death in car crash stuns Granite Falls 2. 787 starts ‘final gantlet' of tests before first flight 3. Inmates to help families of police 4. Lewd baristas face stricter rules 5. Swine flu shots to be available to all in county 6. Woman who died in fire named 7. Roe picked as interim prosecutor 8. Gregoire's budget offers no easy way out of deficit 9. Payout of $44.7 million to clean up Asarco contamination in Everett 10. Roche Harbor's second derby a big hit 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Zambian woman thanks students for their help • Food banks see rise in use • ‘Making Spirits Bright’ in Edmonds • Wolfpack takes aim at state • Seahawks help students smile • 95 and still volunteering • Sno-King joined by local TV king • Veterans back for Wildcats • Lynnwood seeks to plug $2 million budget gap • Snohomish County offers the best and most affordable venues for conferen ... • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed