A 26-year-old woman was found decapitated near a survivalist bunker on a northwest Washington property, prompting a search for a man described as a “person of interest” in the slaying.
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Katherine Cunningham was found dead Saturday on Camano Island, a rural island north of Seattle in Puget Sound. Her remains were found on an undeveloped property off Tamarack Lane, located in the southern portion of the Island County island.
Investigators are now searching for Jacob Gonzales, a 34-year-old man believed to be silver compact car. Gonzales is described as an Hispanic man with black hair and hazel eyes standing 5-feet-9 and weighing 150 pounds.
The Mitsubishi Montero he was initially thought to be driving has been located by police.
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Gonzales’ relationship to Cunningham or the woman’s death was not described by police.
Cunningham was found shortly before 2:30 p.m. Saturday, though she is believed to have died days before. Island County sheriff’s deputies and investigators with the Washington State Patrol crime lab searched the area and discovered a bunker in a nearby hill.
According to an Island County Sheriff’s Office statement, investigators recovered a “cache of supplies, firearms and ammunition” from the hillside.
On Wednesday, investigators announced that Cunningham had been decapitated and publicized Gonzales’ identity.
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“Based on the evidence it appears that the victim was specifically targeted and this was not a random act,” a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said in a press statement. “We are developing leads on a person of interest in the case and hope to release that information in the near future.”
Investigators believe Gonzales may be headed to central or Southern California. Anyone who wishes to provide information regarding the case may contact Detective Ed Wallace at 360-679-9567 or tips@co.island.wa.us.
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SeattlePI senior editor Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at @levipulk. Find more from Levi here on his author page.