MACKENZIE COWELL - 17 yo (2010) - Orondo (mid-state; Hwy 2 & 97 Junction) WA

SEATTLE -- The search is on for a 17-year-old girl who has not been seen since Tuesday.



Mackenzie Cowell was last in Wenatchee as she left beauty school. Her car, a 2000
Pontiac Grand Prix, was found several hours later, abandoned some 40
miles from her home in Orondo.

Detectives found Cowell's purse and clothes inside her car, but her debit card was missing.

FBI agents and Chelan County detectives have searched the steep terrain
where her car was found with the help of bloodhounds several times, but
they have not found any clues into her whereabouts. The state crime lab
processed the car and found nothing out of the ordinary.

Cowell has been listed as an endangered missing person as the criteria
surrounding her disappearance does not meet Amber Alert standards. An
FBI profiler is en route from Washington, D.C. to aid in the case.

"It's unusual for the caliber of this kid," said sheriff's spokesman Jerry
Moore. "From what we're getting from Mackenzie's past, she's not a
troubled kid. She's a good student. She's a smart kid. She's involved
in a lot of community functions."

Cowell is 5-foot-8 and weighs 130 pounds. She has brown hair with red highlights and brown eyes. She also wears braces.

Anyone with information on Cowell's whereabouts is urged to call detectives immediately at 509-667-6848.

WENATCHEE — Authorities are still baffled over the sudden
disappearance of 17-year-old Mackenzie Nicole Cowell, whose locked car
was reported abandoned in Pitcher Canyon, with a single set of
footprints outside it.

“It appeared somebody parked the car, locked it up and walked away,”
said Jerry Moore, Chelan County Sheriff’s Office chief of
administration, this morning.Residents found Cowell’s red 1997 Pontiac parked near a driveway at about 10 p.m. Tuesday and reported it to authorities.

Friends have organized a candlelight vigil tonight to pray for her safe return.

FBI agents arrived Thursday afternoon to aid in the search, Moore
said. This afternoon he said the agents are one of the FBI's Child
Abduction Rapid Deployment teams.

“They’re a fresh set of eyes for us,” he said. “They’ll be going back and reviewing and re-interviewing people.”

He said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is also involved.

Since Tuesday night, deputies, with help from several other local
law-enforcement agencies, walked the 1.5-mile dead-end road and
searched the brush and draws, stopping at about 40 houses along the way
to ask residents if they’d seen or heard anything, he said.

“We’re going back up and beat the brush again today, to double and triple verify,” he said.

The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office’s helicopter search of the canyon
turned up no signs of her Thursday, but searchers will make another
sweep of the area today before breaking off to look further for a
missing 87-year-old snowmobiler.

A search of computers that Cowell used at both her mother’s house
and her father’s house also turned up nothing suspicious, Moore said.

“We have talked to nearly everyone we think knew Mackenzie,” he said.

The investigation so far has turned up no leads as to why Cowell’s
car was parked in Pitcher Canyon, or where she might have gone, he said.

The Washington State Patrol crime lab also swabbed the vehicle to look for signs of a crime, but found nothing, he said.

An Amber Alert has not been issued because authorities cannot verify that she’s been abducted, Moore said.

“We don’t have a suspect vehicle and we don’t have a suspect,” he
said. “We have no witnesses seeing her abducted or taken. We can’t
verify that she didn’t walk away on her own.”

Moore said Cowell appeared to be a well-adjusted teenager, very
involved in life and very busy. “She was going to high school and
beauty academy, and she was on the Apple-Ettes Dance Team. That’s a
busy day,” he said — especially adding in studying and doing chores for
her parents.

Cowell is 5 feet 8 inches, 110 pounds and has brown hair, recently
dyed with a reddish tint, according to Moore. She was last seen wearing
black pants, a black top, a black coat that ties at the waist and brown
suede-like boots with fur trim. She also has braces.

Hanah Rasmussen, one of Cowell’s friends, said a candlelight
ceremony is planned outside the KPQ Radio Station in Wenatchee at 7
tonight to pray for her safe return.

Anyone with knowledge of Cowell’s whereabouts or tips regarding the case is asked to call 667-6848.

WENATCHEE, Wash. — A Chelan County sheriff's spokesman says the
search for a missing 17-year-old girl is expanding to social networking
and phone contacts that Mackenzie Cowell may have had.
Sheriff's spokesman Jerry Moore says search warrants were faxed Friday for information from MySpace, Facebook and Verizon.
He says the FBI has also brought in a rapid response team that deals with child abductions.
Moore says those searching for Cowell hope information gleaned from computer and cell phone records "sends us in a direction."
She was last seen Tuesday afternoon leaving a beauty school class in
Wenatchee. Her locked car was found that night near Mission Ridge,
about 40 miles from her home in Orondo. Her purse and some clothes were
found in the car, but her debit card is missing. Moore says a single
set of footprints was found outside the car.
In addition to Chelan County and the FBI, the Washington State
Patrol, state Fish and Wildlife Department, Douglas County deputies and
Wenatchee police are working on the case.

WENATCHEE — On Friday night, a couple of hundred people prayed for the safe return of Mackenzie Cowell.

Her parents, brothers, relatives, friends and people who never met
the 17-year-old Orondo teen gathered at a candlelight vigil. They lined
up shoulder to shoulder along Wenatchee Avenue in front of the Cherry
Creek Radio offices in downtown Wenatchee.

Residents in Pitcher Canyon, in the Squilchuck area, found Cowell’s
vacant red 1997 Pontiac parked near a driveway at about 10 p.m. Tuesday
and reported it to authorities.

The vigil was organized by Yvonne McLean of Leavenworth, whose two
daughters are on Wenatchee High School’s Apple-Ettes Dance Team with
Cowell.


Rachel Moore, left, and, Erin Cowell, 13, both of Richland,
listen as
Allen Anderson, of Wenatchee, leads the Lord’s Prayer
at a vigil for
Mackenzie Cowell Friday night in front of the
Cherry Creek Radio
offices on Wenatchee Avenue.
Erin is Mackenzie’s cousin. More than 200
people attended
the vigil for the teen, who has been missing since
Tuesday.


McLean said she wanted to show support and show how many people
care. “I needed something positive to come (out of this),” McLean said.

“We wanted to be productive and help,” said Wendy Cowell,
Mackenzie’s mother. “I feel totally helpless. ... It can happen to
anybody.”

Rachel Moore drove from her home in Richland to bring her daughter,
who is also Mackenzie’s cousin, Erin Cowell, 13, to the vigil. “I don’t
know what to do,” Moore said. “I can just show support for her and
pray. It’s sad. I just hope for a positive outcome. It’s all I can do.
It’s almost like a dream, like you’ll wake up and find out she’s fine,
she’s home, she’s safe. ... I can’t believe she’s gone. It’s worse to
think about what could be. You have to be positive.”

The line of people stretched from the sidewalk adjacent to the
Chelan County PUD parking lot almost to Second Street at the Coast
Hotel.

After a moment of silence the group sang “Amazing Grace.”

Through tears, Mackenzie’s father, Reid Cowell of Orondo, thanked
those who attended. “We want her to get home safe and get back to
normal,” he said. “This is an amazing show for Mackenzie. She’s just an
angel. I’m not sure she knows what we’re seeing here tonight, which is
the love for her. This is a welcome-home party for her. ... We’ll do
this again when she’s back.”

Afterward, Allen Anderson of Wenatchee led the group in reciting the
Lord’s Prayer. “It’s guidance from the good Lord,” said Allen, later.
“... I think prayer is the strongest thing in the world, don’t you? I
don’t know if there’s anything stronger.”

“She’s a good lady, a good girl. I just hope that she comes back
safe and sound,” said Allen, who knows Mackenzie through her parents.


“It should be a huge concern for the entire community,” said Lisa
Calderon of Wenatchee whose daughter, Alexandra, 17, goes to school
with Mackenzie. “Even though we live in a small, fairly safe community,
we shouldn’t take that for granted.”

Chelan Co.: Missing girl's body found beside river

WENATCHEE, Wash. - The Chelan County Sheriff's Office says the body of a missing 17-year-old Central Washington girl has been found, and detectives are investigating her death as a homicide.

Deputies said Mackenzie Cowell's body was found Saturday on the shore of the Columbia River, and it appears the body was put there by someone.

Douglas County sheriff's detectives are now investigating the scene, in an area that is know to be popular with hikers and campers. They have so far declined to confirm the Chelan County report that the girl's body is Cowell's.

No other details were immediately available, but Chelan County deputies told reporters in Spokane that a passer-by found Cowell's body near Crescent Bar, about 20 miles from Wenatchee, on the shore of the Columbia River.

The body was found with her feet in the water and fully clothed.

Cowell was last seen in Wenatchee as she left beauty school on Tuesday. Her car, a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix, was found several hours later, abandoned three miles away on the side of a dead-end road.

Detectives found Cowell's purse and clothes inside her car, but her debit card was missing. One set of unidentified footprints were found outside the car.

An earlier search of the steep terrain where her car was found had turned up nothing, and the state crime lab searched the car and found nothing out of the ordinary.

Cowell had been listed as an endangered missing person after her disappearance, and an FBI profiler was sent to Chelan County from Washington, D.C., to aid in the case.

MacKenzie was known as a smart student who was involved in many community functions.

WENATCHEE, Wash. — Authorities say they believe a body found along
the Columbia River is that of a 17-year-old Washington girl missing
since Tuesday.
Douglas County Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal said Sunday that authorities
are working under the assumption that the body discovered in Crescent
Bar Saturday is that of Mackenzie Cowell.
Gjesdal says he's basing his assumption on the
victim's appearance, as well as statements made by a detective who has
been working the case and has seen the body.
Gjesdal wouldn't comment on the cause of death, but he called the case a homicide. An autopsy is planned for Tuesday.
Cowell was last seen leaving a beauty school class in Wenatchee last
Tuesday. Her locked car was found that night near Mission Ridge, about
40 miles from her home in Orondo.

Wenatchee High School senior Mackenzie Cowell sent a single text
message to her boyfriend last Tuesday afternoon: "Hey, what's up?" it
said.

It was the last anyone heard from the 17-year-old.

On Saturday, someone walking along the banks of the Columbia River
near the border of Grant and Douglas counties spotted the fully clothed
body of a young woman and called police.

Kathy Nelson, a longtime friend of Cowell's family, said the family
confirmed the body is that of MacKenzie, of Orondo, although Douglas
County's sheriff authorities said it could be a day or so before they
will issue a public ID.

The sheriff's office is calling the death a homicide.

"We're all devastated," Nelson said.

Nelson said Cowell and her friends spent many afternoons at the
Nelsons' Orondo summer home hanging out by the swimming pool. The
outgoing teenager was involved in a number of community activities,
attended cosmetology classes at the Academy of Hair Design after school
and was a member of the Apple-Ettes Dance Team.

On Friday night, more than 200 people gathered in Wenatchee for a candlelight vigil in her honor.

"She was a bright, happy girl — a typical girl — and completely busy," Nelson said.

Nelson said even after Cowell hadn't returned home by her 8 p.m.
curfew Tuesday, "I completely felt she was OK. She's strong, fit and
she can think her way out of situations. I never imagined this is how
this would have ended."

The body was discovered around 12:45 p.m. Saturday in the Crescent
Bar area outside Quincy and about 50 yards from an empty house up for
sale. She was fully clothed and her feet were in the water, officials
told The Wenatchee World. It is unclear how long it had been there.

Jerry Moore, chief of administration for the Douglas County
Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the murder, told the
Wenatchee paper, "It appears she was put there by someone. ... We've
got to find this monster."

Nelson said the family became concerned when Cowell didn't make
curfew. About two hours later, a homeowner in Pitcher Canyon in the
Squilchuck area of Chelan County, many miles from Cowell's home,
reported an abandoned 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix near their driveway.

Authorities then began searching for her.

"We are thinking maybe she trusted someone," Nelson said. "Her car
being where it was makes no sense. There's no way she would have driven
up there."

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- A dive team of
investigators from three different counties scoured the bottom of the
Columbia River Monday where the body of 17-year-old Mackenzie Cowell
was discovered.Deputies are treating Cowell’s death as a homicide and are looking for her killer.She
was reported missing last Tuesday and her car was found that night near
Mission Ridge, about 40 miles from her home in Orondo. Her debit card
was missing and her cell phone was turned off.On Monday,
neighbors in the resort community of Crescent Bar answered questions
from local detectives and the FBI. They said the scenic riverside lot
and the house where Cowell was found was in bank foreclosure and was
empty.“I mean she's a very well-liked girl. She's a very sweet girl," said Cowell’s former instructor Jennifer Devereaux.She
said Cowell was very involved in her school, well loved by everyone and
now her entire community's in shock because they know her killer is
still out there.‘It's just really hard for kids to get their
head around that something like this could happen here, where we
usually feel pretty safe," Devereaux said.Cowell was last heard
from via text message around 4 p.m. and seen leaving her cosmetology
program around 3 p.m. last Tuesday. Surveillance video showed Cowell
leaving in her car. The person who found Cowell's body told police her feet were in the water of the Columbia River and she was fully clothed.Anyone
with information about the circumstances and death of Cowell are asked
to contact the Douglas County Sheriff's Office at 884-0941 or rivercom
dispatch at 663-9911.

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- Detectives investigating the murder of a Wenatchee
teen are now asking the public for specific information as they search
for the killer.

Mackenzie Cowell, 17, was found dead in the Columbia River near Crescent Bar on Saturday.

On
Tuesday, the body was identified as Cowell and her cause of death as
homicide. The manner of death has not yet been established.

Police
are asking if anyone saw a person walking down out of Pitcher Canyon
Rd. on Squilchuck Rd. or South Methow Rd. between the hours of 5 p.m.
and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9 to call the tip line at (509) 663-9911.

Several agencies are working the case, but so far investigators have not identified a person of interest.

WENATCHEE, Wash. - Investigators have set up a new tipline in the murder of 17-year-old Mackenzie Cowell.
Police are asking people who may have seen anyone walking on
Squilchuck Highway or South Methow between Pitcher Canyon and Wenatchee
the evening of last Tuesday, Feb. 9 to call 509-663- 9911.
An autopsy confirmed Tuesday that the body found in Eastern
Washington is that of Mackenzie Cowell. The autopsy also revealed that
her death was a homicide, but the cause of death has not yet been
released.
The body was found Saturday on a beach about 25 miles from Wenatchee.
Last Tuesday, Cowell left the Academy of Hair Design where she
worked, walked to the parking lot and got into her car. Surveillance
cameras recorded her driving away the school at 3:30 in the afternoon.
It was the last time she was seen.
Four days later, investigators found her 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix
parked in a rural area of Chelan County known as Pitcher Canyon. Her
purse was locked inside the car.
On Saturday, people walking along the beach at Crescent Bar found
what's believed to be her body. Investigators searched the beach along
the Columbia River and canvassed the neighborhood.
"It's very frustrating from an investigative aspect," said Douglas
County Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal. "The guys spent countless hours out
there. We have guys from Grant, Douglas and Chelan county all working
very hard on the case."
So far there are no suspects and no new leads in the case. Gjesdal
said the details of the case are forcing them to cover a lot of ground.
"It's a very unusual case in that the young woman lived in Douglas
County, worked and went missing from Wenatchee, her car was found in a
remote part of Chelan County, yet her body was found in a very remote
part of Douglas County," he said.
Neighbors say the riverside property where the girl's body was found
has been vacant for months. But they noticed some strange changes to
the yard Saturday morning, the same day her body was found.
Gary and Judy Ovenell's home overlooks the crime scene along the Columbia River.
"Saturday morning Gary said, 'Look at the brodie marks down there. That's really unusual,'" said Judy Ovenell.
Although the property has been vacant, they say they noticed new tire tracks there Saturday morning.
"There was something I just grabbed onto, focused on it, because it
was so strange, 'cause that place, anybody hadn't been to for so long,"
said Gary Ovenell.
Around noon the same day, a young female's body was found along the
shore with her feet in the water. Investigators found evidence of
homicide at the scene and inside the vacant home.
In any homicide investigation, public input can be critically
important. Investigators are hoping to hear from anyone who may have a
tip.

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- With no suspects in the killing of a Wenatchee
High School student, police are telling young women in the Wenatchee
area to take extra precautions.
Capt. Doug Jones says women should avoid going places alone or into remote areas.
A
task force of about 20 officers from Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Douglas
and Chelan counties, the Washington State Patrol and FBI are looking
for the killer of 17-year-old Mackenzie Cowell of Orondo.
She
disappeared Feb. 9 after leaving a beauty school class in Wenatchee.
Her body was found Saturday along the Columbia River at Crescent Bar.

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- Investigators
trying to find whoever killed a 17-year-old Wenatchee girl have
released a piece of surveillance video in the hopes of generating new
tips in the case.

UNCUT: Surveillance Video Shows Wenatchee Teen

The video shows Mackenzie Cowell as she walked from the Academy of Hair
Design to her red Pontiac Grand Prix and then drove away on Tuesday,
Feb. 9 at about 3 p.m.Cowell was reported missing later that
evening after her car was found parked at the end of Pitcher Canyon,
south of Wenatchee. Her body was found Feb. 13 along the Columbia River
near the Crescent Bar resort area in Douglas County.
Police asked anyone with information possibly related
to the case to call the tip line at 509-663-9911.
"We are very concerned this person is out there and continues to be in our
community and has done this terrible thing," said Capt. Doug Jones of
the Wenatchee Police Department. "And we're also very concerned about …
bringing this person to justice for Mackenzie and her family.
"Police said there have been no real encouraging leads.Police
have not released any information from the autopsy, including the cause
of death. Police said detectives want to keep that information to
themselves as part of the investigation.The task force investigating the case
is made up of about 20 officers from Wenatchee, East Wenatchee,
Douglas and Chelan counties, the Washington State Patrol and FBI.

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- A memorial service is happening Thursday for a Wenatchee teen murder victim.
All are welcome to remember the life of Mackenzie Cowell at 11:00
a.m. at the Town Toyota Center on Walla Walla Avenue in Wenatchee.
The 17 year old's body was found on the shore of the Columbia River
Earlier this Month. She had last been seen leaving a beauty school
class.
As of right now, police say they don't have any suspects. The family
has set up a fund to offer a reward for anyone who provides information
that leads to the arrest of Mackenzie's killer. You can donate to that
fund at any Bank of America branch.