Body found at Mountlake Terrace - Lake Forest Park border identified as missing MLT woman

Mountlake Terrace Police Commander Kevin Pickard briefs the media
near where the body was discovered Sunday.
Photo by Amanda Petrowski

Reporting by Natalie Covate and Doug Petrowski in MLT News

A search party of family and friends looking Sunday for missing Mountlake Terrace resident Cheryl DeBoer discovered the body of a woman in a culvert at Cedar Way and 244th Street SW in Mountlake Terrace, (just north of 37th NE in Lake Forest Park.)

While police would not officially confirm the identity, Han Nachtrieb, vice president of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center human resources, released a statement stating that the body had been identified as DeBoer, our online news partner The Seattle Times reports.

“It is with deep regret and sorrow that we’ve recently had confirmation that Cheryl DeBoer, missing since February 8, has been found. Her remains were located this afternoon near the King/Snohomish border,” Nachtrieb wrote. “Cheryl has been in the hearts and minds of her many friends and co-workers, and we are deeply saddened by this tragic news.”

Mountlake Terrace police spokesman Commander Kevin Pickard said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the body has not been officially identified. The area where the body was found is now an active crime scene and investigators are processing evidence, Pickard said.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office will identify the body as well as the cause of death, he said. There is no time frame for when that will occur.

“Our hearts are really heavy right now,” Pickard said.

Road closure on Cedar Way.
Photo by Doug Petrowski

Cedar Way between 236th Place Southwest and 244th Street Southwest remained closed to traffic Sunday afternoon.

Cheryl DeBoer

Cheryl DeBoer was last heard from on Monday, Feb. 8 when she texted her work friend that she forgot her work badge and couldn’t meet her at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center to carpool. Her friend said she would wait for her, but couldn’t reach her.

DeBoer worked as a systems analyst at the Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Prevention at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Police said there was no activity on her phone since she went missing. The phone was not in her car, which was found Monday near the Transit Center overflow parking, located in the 23400 block of 58th Avenue West.

Volunteers have been searching for DeBoer since the day she vanished. A GoFundMe page was created Saturday to support the family.