LYNNWOOD – A Lynnwood father has been missing since Valentine’s Day, and detectives want to talk to a man they believe may know something about his disappearance.
Brett Owen Johnson, 37, was last seen in Shoreline Feb. 14 when a homeowner let him inside to finish a plumbing job. Johnson and his wife own a plumbing business.
“Obviously, something is wrong. It’s so unlike him, and I’m desperate to find him,” said his wife, Lorrie Johnson, who is expecting twins later this year.
Johnson left Valentine’s Day cards for his wife and their 2-year-old daughter that morning before going off to work. He and his wife spoke several times on the phone during the day.
Johnson last called his wife about 3:30 p.m. to tell her he was finished with the job and would be home in time for a church program after running some errands, Lorrie Johnson said.
His cell phone was turned off a short time later, and hasn’t been on since, police said.
That same day, his credit card was used to buy gas in Shoreline about 3:50 p.m., and again at 10:25 p.m. in Moses Lake in Eastern Washington.
“He had no reason to go there,” Lynnwood detective Sgt. Jon Grabinski said.
Two days later, his credit card was used again at about 6:40 a.m. at another gas station in Moses Lake.
Police said a surveillance video shows a man at the gas station on Feb. 16 at the same time the credit card was used, and Johnson’s van was shown parked outside the station.
“It’s someone his family doesn’t know and someone we don’t know,” Grabinski said.
Police won’t call the man a suspect. They don’t know whether a crime has been committed. Detectives do want to speak with him, Grabinski said.
“The totality of the circumstances makes us suspicious and raises red flags for us,” Grabinski said.
Lorrie Johnson has been putting up fliers in hopes someone will know where her husband is.
“We know nothing, and it’s so hard not knowing. It’s just overwhelming. We need help to find him,” Lorrie Johnson said.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
Missing Lynnwood man
Brett Owen Johnson, 37, has been missing since Feb. 14. He is white, 6 feet tall and 150 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen driving a silver 2005 Chevrolet work van with Washington license plate A17711Y. The van has roof racks for carrying pipes. Anyone with information is asked to call detective Sgt. Jon Grabinski at 425-744-6917 or 911.
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