Slain woman remembered for her cheer

LYNNWOOD – During the days they agonized for their daughter Nicole Pietz to return home, Rod and Gael Schneider were reminded of her charm and kindness in a simple walk around her neighborhood.

Family photo

Nicole Pietz’s disappearance was reported Jan. 29.

Pietz had only lived in Lynnwood since fall, when she and her husband of four years bought a condominium there. But she had already made a warm impression on her neighbors.

“We were walking her dog, Boomer, and they came out and they all had met Nici,” her stepfather, Rod Schneider, said Wednesday. He and his wife are here from Arizona.

“She was just a happy, cheerful, smiling young woman. She had so many friends,” he said.

Pietz, 32, was found dead Monday afternoon in a wooded area in Burien. She had been strangled and died of asphyxia, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday.

Pietz had been missing for 11 days. Her husband, David Pietz, reported her disappearance to police Jan. 29 after she failed to show up for dinner with friends the previous night and wasn’t home the following afternoon.

Investigators believe she left Lynnwood Jan. 28 for a meeting in King County. It appears that she never arrived, Urquhart said.

“One of the most critical things is tracking her movements when she left Snohomish County,” he said, adding that detectives also want to find her missing car.

Pietz’s mother and stepfather knew something was wrong the moment they heard that she had failed to return home. They flew to Washington to search for their daughter.

“She was the most dependable person, and would always call,” Schneider said. “We knew in our hearts that it was foul play.”

Her large circle of friends held out hope, and were committed to helping find her. They handed out hundreds of fliers and searched parking lots and streets for her car.

They flooded a Web site set up for Pietz to share their prayers and coordinate searches. More than 100 people gathered on short notice for a candlelight vigil last week, Schneider said.

“I can’t believe how many people at her work helped look for her. So many compassionate people wanted to help,” he said.

Pietz was a corporate trainer at Cingular in Bothell.

“She was a valued employee and had many friends here,” Cingular spokeswoman Anne Marshall said.

The company brought in grief counselors Wednesday to help employees. Co-workers continued to post messages on the Web site Wednesday, remembering their friend for her smile, compassion and “goofy dances.”

Pietz grew up in King County and graduated from Lake Washington High School, her stepfather said. She attended college in Eastern Washington and Seattle, and worked her way up through Cingular, Rob Schneider said.

“She loved her job. She loved her marriage and her family,” Schneider said.

Pietz adored her dog and two cats, and “took care of them like children,” Schneider said.

A memorial service for family and friends will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at Holy Cross Church in Redmond.

“We just ask people remember us in their prayers and thoughts,” Schneider said.

Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@ heraldnet.com.

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