Remains found of missing woman thought to be homicide victim
YELM, Wash. - Human remains found this week near the Nisqually Indian Reservation in Thurston County are of a Spanaway woman who disappeared in May under suspicious circumstances, says the Thurston County Coroner’s Office.
Thre remains were found Tuesday afternoon by a local motorist off Highway 510. The coroner later identified them as belonging to of Rita Kagawa, 53, of Spanaway, who had not been heard from since the night of May 18 when she spoke on the phone with her ex-husband.
Autopsy results are pending.
Before her body was discovered, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said investigators believe something "sinister" happened to Kagawa, and that she may have been killed.
She didn't show up for work on May 20 as scheduled, and her car was found outside her apartment after her family reported her missing.
"She's not the type of person to miss work," Troyer said at the time. "There's been no activity on her finances or any other part of her life."
Investigators searched Kagawa's apartment and found it undisturbed, and she has no history of medical or mental health issues that might explain her disappearance, according to Crime Stoppers of Tacoma/Pierce County.
The Tacoma News Tribune earlier reported that Kagawa and her ex-husband had discussed an upcoming court hearing during the phone call on May 18. At the hearing five days later, Kagawa's ex-husband was ordered to pay her a $67,000 settlement, the newspaper reported.
Troyer would not say exactly what evidence caused investigators to investigate Kagawa's disappearance as a homicide, and no arrests have been made.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information in the case.
Thre remains were found Tuesday afternoon by a local motorist off Highway 510. The coroner later identified them as belonging to of Rita Kagawa, 53, of Spanaway, who had not been heard from since the night of May 18 when she spoke on the phone with her ex-husband.
Autopsy results are pending.
Before her body was discovered, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said investigators believe something "sinister" happened to Kagawa, and that she may have been killed.
She didn't show up for work on May 20 as scheduled, and her car was found outside her apartment after her family reported her missing.
"She's not the type of person to miss work," Troyer said at the time. "There's been no activity on her finances or any other part of her life."
Investigators searched Kagawa's apartment and found it undisturbed, and she has no history of medical or mental health issues that might explain her disappearance, according to Crime Stoppers of Tacoma/Pierce County.
The Tacoma News Tribune earlier reported that Kagawa and her ex-husband had discussed an upcoming court hearing during the phone call on May 18. At the hearing five days later, Kagawa's ex-husband was ordered to pay her a $67,000 settlement, the newspaper reported.
Troyer would not say exactly what evidence caused investigators to investigate Kagawa's disappearance as a homicide, and no arrests have been made.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information in the case.
