EVERETT — The last time friends heard from Sherry A. Harlan was New Year’s Eve.
By Tuesday, coworkers became concerned that Harlan, 35, had missed scheduled shifts. They called 911.
Harlan’s disappearance is suspicious, officials said. Police are asking for help to track the woman down.
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives and investigators from the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab on Wednesday collected evidence from Harlan’s south Everett apartment.
The case has suspicious circumstances, sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
The people who work with Harlan told police she is punctual and responsible about her work, police said. Missing as many as three shifts was out of the ordinary.
“Right away we knew it was very unusual,” Hover said.
Harlan’s absence raised enough concern that a sheriff’s deputy was sent to check Tuesday at her apartment in the 11600 block of Highway 99 in unincorporated Snohomish County.
Major crime detectives were summoned to the scene. Hover said detectives weren’t ready to discuss what prompted them to seek a warrant to search Harlan’s apartment.
There were reports that a witness smelled the strong odor of bleach and noticed portions of carpet had been removed from the apartment, according to KIRO-TV.
Hover declined to confirm those reports or discuss any evidence deputies discovered.
“Detectives are hoping to gather information that will help them find Harlan,” Hover said.
Harlan has lived at the Cedar Creek Apartments for about three months. She lives alone, Hover said. Her car also was missing.
A friend on Facebook said she’d heard from Harlan last week. The friend said she raised the alarm when Harlan didn’t show for shifts on Saturday and again on Monday.
News of the disappearance caught the attention of Pam Degamo, 44, of Lynnwood. Her cousin, Linda Fisler Moran, went missing from Whidbey Island just before Christmas in 1996. The 27-year-old Clinton woman’s body was found years later blocks from where she was last seen.
“Getting the face out there is the most important thing,” Degamo said. “Hopefully she’s safe.”
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.
You can help police
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives are looking for Sherry A. Harlan, 35, whose disappearance has been called suspicious. Her car, a 1989 four-door Nissan Sentra, also is missing. It’s blue-gray with Washington license plate 928 RVN. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the sheriff’s tip line at 425-388-3845.
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