Mill Creek woman’s remains found

By Cathy Logg

Herald Writer

Skeletal remains found in a swampy area off Highway 167 in Renton have been identified as a Mill Creek woman missing since March.

Katharine C. "Katie" Telling, 20, was last seen at an apartment in Renton March 11, Renton police spokeswoman Penny Bartley said Wednesday. Telling’s remains were found a couple of miles from the apartment. Telling’s boyfriend reported her missing two days later to Mill Creek police.

The cause and manner of her death remain under investigation, pending examination by the King County medical examiner’s forensic anthropologist.

A work crew cutting brush along a fuel pipeline found the remains off Highway 167 where it merges with northbound I-405. The low-lying area is usually filled with a couple of inches of water. There is no road access to the area, Bartley said.

"We’re trying to pursue any leads that we have and determine if a crime was involved in her death," she said.

The day before Telling died, she was seen at the Totem Lake Fred Meyer store purchasing infant formula and rice cereal, Mill Creek police said. She was believed to be in the company of a woman suspected of taking her 4-month-old baby from the Everett area in violation of a court order.

Telling left notes indicating she feared possible harm from a man whom Bothell police are investigating in connection with alleged child pornography.

Mill Creek investigators didn’t know if Telling was the victim of foul play or if she was in hiding.

Investigators ask anyone with information on Telling’s death to call Renton police at 425-430-7500.

You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437

or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.

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