Witness sought in U.S. 2 trestle death

EVERETT — Police have glimpses of what happened on the U.S. 2 trestle the night last spring when 15-year-old Heather Trickler was killed.

A minivan was passing cars at high speed. The same van pulled over to the shoulder. The driver got out to inspect damage. Some witnesses thought the van may have struck a Jersey barrier.

Washington State Patrol detectives say the van hit Heather on May 30, ending her life. Police still are looking for the van and the driver.

They also are looking for a young man who was seen walking with Heather, said Craig Cardinal, the State Patrol detective investigating the case.

“I’d sure like to identify him,” Cardinal said. “This person may have some good information and he may have nothing.”

After Heather was hit, a witness saw someone jump over a barrier on the trestle.

A few moments later, a woman was approached by a young man at the bottom of the Home Acres Road exit. Startled, the woman drove off, Cardinal said.

Then, the young man sought help from a man at a home on Ebey Island.

“My homegirl’s been hit,” the homeowner remembered the distraught man saying.

A surveillance camera on the homeowner’s porch captured images of the man.

The homeowner gave the man a ride to the Everett Transit Center where he slipped into anonymity. The homeowner later gave detectives access to the surveillance photographs of the man who knocked on his door.

“I’m not interested in arresting him. I just want to talk to him,” Cardinal said.

The release of the surveillance photos was good news to Heather’s father, Rob Trickler of Lake Stevens.

“Seven months of feeling like nothing was going our way, and now we have another ray of hope,” he said in an interview on Sunday. “It’s a big deal.”

The months since Heather’s death have been difficult for Heather’s father and her brothers. They watched other families lose loved ones to hit-and-run accidents where police caught the drivers quickly.

For example, a 46-year-old Sultan woman was arrested Oct. 29 in connection with hit-and-run traffic fatality near U.S. 2 earlier that month.

Heather’s family hasn’t lost hope that her case will be solved.

Rob Trickler believes somebody out there has information that can lead detectives to the man who was with Heather that night.

Fresh tips are probably the only way to piece together the night Heather died, Rob Trickler said. “The people out there, they are our only hope for us to get closure on this thing,” the girl’s father said.

Rob Trickler also has been working with lawmakers in Olympia to introduce legislation inspired by his experience. The bills propose giving parents of struggling children more tools, get tough on hit-and-run drivers, and allow for quick help from the Crime Victims Compensation Program in hit-and-run cases.

Cardinal said detectives continue to track down leads in Heather’s case, and still are working to identify the location and owners of about 100 1995 Chevrolet Astro minivans believed to be in Snohomish County.

Broken headlights and other pieces collected from the crash scene helped detectives identify the make and model of the minivan that hit Heather.

“Someone has to know that they struck Ms. Trickler,” Cardinal said.

The van could be anywhere, he said. U.S. 2 over Stevens Pass is a major highway across the state.

There’s also a good chance the car may have been destroyed. Vehicles turned in during the popular Cash for Clunkers program were required by law to be scrapped.

Unsolved hit-and-run cases stay open in perpetuity, Cardinal said.

Heather’s case file now fills five binders. Tips continue to come in.

The detective is hopeful that he’ll be able to call Rob Trickler to tell him an arrest has been made.

“We’re not giving up,” Cardinal said.

Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.

You can help police

Detectives are seeking help in identifying a man who may have accompanied Heather Trickler the night she died. Police continue to look for a two-tone, blue over tan 1995 Chevrolet Astro minivan involved in the hit-and-run crash as well as its driver and any passengers who may have been in the van.

The Washington State Patrol asks people with information to call 360-658-2588. Crime Stopppers of Puget Sounds will pay up to $1,000 for information to help find the person responsible for Heather Trickler’s death. Call 800-222-TIPS to leave a confidential tip.

Donations to the Heather Trickler Memorial Fund are being accepted at any Bank of America branch.