MACHIAS – Bryan Lindner didn’t know Kelly Sarsten well. But he saw how her murder last summer traumatized friends and neighbors in and around this small community, so he carved a cedar cross in her memory.
Julie Busch / The Herald
During a Saturday vigil in a yard next to Sarsten’s house, friends deposited bouquets of flowers and lit a dozen candles around the cross. The group then gathered around to tell stories about Sarsten, 37, and to express their anger that her killer was still at large.
“Everybody in the community needs to pull together, and I thought it was my part to make something to have everyone remember her by,” said Lindner, 30, of Lake Stevens. “Just seeing her around, you could tell she was a very upbeat and happy person.”
The 6-foot-tall cross will be set in concrete in a spot next to the Pilchuck River behind the home of Lindner’s uncle, Dave. He lives three doors down from Sarsten’s house.
“It will be a place for people to gather if they’d like,” said Dave Lindner, 44.
Sarsten’s body was found Aug. 20 in the river nearby. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office still hasn’t released the cause of death, except to say she was a victim of homicidal violence. Police have not yet made an arrest. Anyone with information on the case should call the sheriff’s office tip line at 425-388-3845.
At the vigil, which lasted several hours, friends collected money for either a reward for information leading to the arrest of Sarsten’s killer, or for a gift in her name, perhaps to a group that helps animals.
The collection began informally about a week ago at B.C. McDonald’s, a Lake Stevens restaurant where Sarsten would often meet friends, said Pam Riedel, 48, of Lake Stevens, a friend of Sarsten’s.
Riedel spoke to the sometimes teary-eyed crowd of 50 shortly after nightfall as they stood with candles they had just lit.
“You guys were all her friends,” she said. “We miss her terribly. Let this be a warning to whoever did this. We will not forget. We will not rest until justice is served.”
The group said a prayer and then honored Sarsten with a minute of silence.
“She was like a daughter to me,” said Janice Handran, 64, of Lake Stevens, who knew Sarsten for more than 15 years. “For somebody to kill her in the horrendous crime they did – the guy has to be an animal. Who knows who did it? It could be someone standing right here with us.”
Lois Bradbury, 45 of Marysville wondered whether the murderer had taken advantage of Sarsten’s kindness. Sarsten never would have given a second thought to helping someone who asked for it, she said.
“She was such a trusting girl,” Bradbury said. “She always saw the best in everybody.”
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@ heraldnet.com
Julie Busch / The Herald
Robin Quant of Lake Stevens attends Saturday’s candlelight vigil next to Kelly Sarsten’s home in Machias.
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