LAKE STEVENS — The body of 22-year-old Stephanie Kensinger was found more than four months ago in Ebey Slough, near Sunnyside Boulevard.
Investigators don’t know how she died. They’re asking the public for help finding out what happened, including why Kensinger ended up in the water.
“Detectives would like to know the circumstances surrounding her death and her family is looking for answers,” Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
Earlier this month, the county Medical Examiner’s Office reported that it had ruled the cause of the young woman’s death as undetermined. That means there wasn’t enough information to reach a medical conclusion.
The sheriff’s office continues an active investigation, Ireton said.
“Detectives have a couple more people to talk to, and if anyone has information, please call the tip line,” she said. “There is no information that foul play is involved at this time.”
The sheriff’s tip line is 425-388-3845, and callers can be anonymous.
Kensinger’s body was found June 23. Her last known address was in Everson, in Whatcom County. On her Facebook page, Kensinger described herself as an aspiring model who had studied cosmetology.
Court papers shed some light on the struggles she had faced.
In 2006, when she was 14, her mother was struck and killed by a Community Transit bus in Everett. Police determined her mother was high on cocaine at the time.
Kensinger’s mother had been in and out of her life, and she was raised in part by her grandparents. She was placed in foster care and became a guardian of the state at 16, she wrote in court papers.
In 2007, Kensinger was awarded about $50,000 in a settlement over her mother’s death. Payments were to be distributed over several years, with a final lump sump scheduled for 2022.
In 2012, Kensinger asked the court to allow her to collect the rest of her settlement money, saying she had medical bills and also owed rent to her landlord in Concrete. She had been on her own since her 18th birthday and was struggling to find work, she wrote.
A Snohomish County judge denied the request, saying it was not in Kensinger’s best interests.
“Being on my own I do not have the luxury of using this money for anything other than what I needed to get by and position myself to earn an income that will allow me to be happy and find my place in life,” Kensinger wrote. “These are my sincere plans and (I) am out of options at the moment.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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