LYNNWOOD — Police arrested an NBA G League player and his girlfriend in the suspected kidnapping and killing of a Lynnwood woman who was on a trip to Las Vegas earlier this month.
On Dec. 7, two people reported Marayna Rodgers missing.
Detectives learned Rodgers, 27, was out with friends Dec. 5, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Rodgers, who held a license as a dental worker, had been on a trip to Las Vegas and had a meeting with her friend Sakari Harnden, 19, “who would bring her boyfriend” Chance Comanche, 27, according to a Las Vegas police press release.
Rodgers had not been seen or heard from since then, police said. Detectives suspected foul play.
Three days after Rodgers’ disappearance, family and friends set up an online fundraiser. Rodgers left her friends in Las Vegas and took an Uber bound for Summerlin, Nevada, about 10 miles west of the big city, fundraiser organizer Tremaine McAdams wrote.
Marayna Rodgers (GoFundMe)
“The last known location is worrisome because it is near the freeway heading towards both Reno and California,” McAdams wrote. “She left behind both her dogs, her car, and all belongings making it very unlikely that she disappeared on her own.”
On Wednesday, Las Vegas police arrested Harnden for investigation of first-degree kidnapping. And on Friday, the California FBI arrested Comanche in Sacramento on the same charge, pending extradition to Nevada.
After “obtaining information” from Harnden and Comanche, detectives recovered human remains in the desert near Henderson, Nevada, a city about 15 miles outside of Las Vegas.
The coroner’s office in Clark County, Nevada, identified the deceased as Rodgers.
According to KIRO 7, Rodgers took Harnden in several years ago. Rodgers “looked at her like a sister” and took care of her, said Rodgers’ friend, Garret Comer.
“I didn’t get the time to tell her what she meant to me in my life,” Comer told KIRO. “I’m pretty sure she knew, but I just never verbally expressed it.”
On Sunday, detectives amended the charges for Harnden to open murder — a general allegation of homicide, which could include first-degree, second-degree, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, according to the department. Comanche was charged with open murder Monday.
Prosecutors also charged Comanche with conspiracy to commit murder, according to charging documents filed Monday in Clark County Justice Court. Prosecutors added a charge of theft for Harnden.
Authorities did not immediately respond to any follow-up questions.
Comanche, who was listed at 6-foot-10, played college basketball at the University of Arizona. In April, he signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, appearing in one game. Most recently, he played for the Stockton Kings, an NBA G League affiliate of the Sacramento Kings.
Comanche last appeared in a game Dec. 5, playing the Las Vegas Ignite in Henderson, Nevada, the day before Rodgers’ disappearance. He scored 11 points and tallied a season-high 16 rebounds.
Following his arrest, the Kings released Comanche.
Rodgers studied at the University of Washington Bothell, according to her Facebook page.
Harnden remained in jail Monday at the Clark County Detention Center, with bail set at $500,000.
Comanche remained in Sacramento County’s jail. There was no bail amount listed in the jail’s database.
Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @snocojon.
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