MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Two days after a Mountlake Terrace woman disappeared, police and her family on Wednesday were appealing to the community for clues.
Police have described the disappearance of Cheryl D. DeBoer as a missing-person case with suspicious circumstances. Her car was found near the city’s park-and-ride lot Monday.
“We are putting all of our resources into this investigation,” police Cmdr. Kevin Pickard said.
Family members said they are convinced something has happened and DeBoer needs the community’s help.
Her niece, Alicia Coragiulo, said DeBoer has no history of drug or alcohol use or mental illness. She has been married for more than 30 years and has one grown child.
Coragiulo and two other members of DeBoer’s family appeared at a press conference at Mountlake Terrace City Council chambers Wednesday night.
“She is a very brilliant, caring, family first, responsible person,” she said. “She is compassionate and she never would show up late for work.”
“Cheryl trusted everybody,” said her mother, Lenore Peterson.
DeBoer, 54, sent a text message to a friend around 7 a.m. Monday, saying that she forgot her work badge at home. She told her friend to go on without her.
Her friend asked her how long she would be and told her she would wait.
DeBoer estimated it would take her about 10 minutes. DeBoer never showed up and her friend tried but could not reach her.
She has not been seen or heard from since. Her car was parked in the 23400 block of 58th Avenue SW, near the lot. Police have impounded the vehicle. Evidence indicates that DeBoer was in the area of her car at the time of her disappearance.
The police department has been seeking search warrants, including for the car. Pickard said Wednesday he could not discuss the status of the search of the white Subaru Legacy.
There hasn’t been any activity on DeBoer’s cellphone or known bank accounts.
Police are working their way through surveillance video from the transit system, an espresso stand and other spots near the park-and-ride lot. DeBoer lives about five minutes from the lot.
Police received a call from the woman’s husband Monday afternoon. Her employer called him, reporting that she had not shown up.
“This is very unusual for her,” Pickard said.
Co-workers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle described DeBoer as a conscientious employee who always alerted them if she was running late or might need to miss work.
DeBoer is 5-foot, 6-inches and weighs 130 pounds. She was last seen wearing dark pants and a dark jacket.
She has worked for 15 years at Fred Hutchinson, where she is a programmer for a statistical center for HIV and AIDS research and prevention.
Her co-workers fanned out across the park-and-ride lot in Mountlake Terrace on Tuesday morning, talking with bus drivers and passengers who might have seen something. More than 50 friends and family have helped try to find her.
Her immediate family asked for privacy.
Snohomish County Search and Rescue volunteers and a search dog also combed the area, including the nearby Veterans Memorial Park.
Friends have been posting fliers seeking clues.
Her co-workers have set up a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/findcheryl to get the word out to a wider audience.
They said she cares deeply about her husband and family.
Anyone with information is asked to contact detective Heidi Froisland or detective Sgt. Mike Haynes at 425-670-8260 during business hours and at 425-775-4545 on weekends.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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