EVERETT — As many as 30 families in Snohomish County are waiting for answers about loved ones who disappeared years ago.
Some have been gone for decades.
The county morgue counts another 16 cases where human remains are unidentified. Exhaustive efforts to determine their names and find their kin have been unsuccessful.
An event is planned Thursday to bring attention to those numbers. It also is meant to encourage families of the missing to make sure police have their information up to date, sheriff’s detective Jim Scharf said. He has been part of the cold-case investigations that have brought killers to justice.
Technology and record-keeping practices have changed with the times, and missing person reports have been lost in the shuffle.
“We know there are probably a lot more people who are missing than this,” Scharf said.
The sheriff’s office is taking part in an informational booth that will be staffed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday outside the county courthouse steps. The booth is hosted by Victim Support Services, a nonprofit that works with families affected by crime. Crews from the Washington State Patrol and local Search &Rescue are expected to attend.
The nonprofit can provide assistance to anyone who is missing a loved one in cases where foul play is suspected, said Leslie McPherson, who oversees its statewide hot line. That includes emotional support but also printing fliers and coordinating interviews with news reporters.
This year, the city of Everett declared May 18 “Missing &Unidentified Persons Day.”
That’s yet another reason to get the word out, McPherson said.
”People may not know how much help is out there,” she said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.
For help
If you know someone from Snohomish County who is missing, contact your local police department to make sure the information is on file. You will need the person’s full name and date of birth. Consider providing dental records and genetic samples to compare with national databases of missing people and unidentified remains.
You also can contact the non-emergency lines. In southwest Snohomish County, dial 425-775-3000. In the rest of Snohomish County, including Everett and areas north and east of the city, dial 425-407-3999. If you’re not sure which 911 area you live in, go to gismaps.snoco.org/non-emergency.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
