Police: Slain hikers had been shot
The Snohomish County Sheriff's office has confirmed the two Seattle women found slain on a hiking trail on Tuesday had been shot.
During a brief news conference this afternoon in Everett, sheriff's spokesman Rich Niebusch declined to release further details of the killings. When asked why the sheriff's office was releasing little information, Niebusch said, "Our first priority here is to solve a homicide. To do that, there are certain details we can't bring into the public view."
Niebusch said hikers who enter the popular hiking trail where Mary Cooper and her daughter Susanna Stodden were found slain should exercise caution. He said the road to the trail was closed this morning so detectives can continue their investigation.
Meanwhile, Cooper and her daughter were being remembered for their warmth and community involvement.
To those fortunate enough to live near her, Cooper was the first person you could turn to for dog-sitting services, or tips on growing a bountiful vegetable garden, or simply a friendly wave.
She was the block-watch organizer, always willing to discuss politics — hers being staunchly liberal — over her fence, or plan the annual neighborhood party. She had a passion for the outdoors, which she passed on to her three adult daughters, particularly her eldest, Susanna Stodden, who combined her love for the outdoors with education.
Next-door neighbor Patrick Holmes succinctly summed up the sentiments of many in the Green Lake neighborhood: Cooper was "the nicest person on the street."
It was amid these memories that neighbors and family grappled with the news Thursday that the 56-year-old Cooper and Stodden, 27, were the two women found slain Tuesday along a popular hiking trail in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office continued to investigate the slayings, but offered little new information on a possible motive.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office completed autopsies of the victims on Thursday and identified them as Cooper and Stodden, listing the cause of death for both as homicide. Additional details on the cause of death were being withheld at the request of the Sheriff's Office.
Cooper's husband, David Stodden, issued a statement earlier in the day in which he confirmed the victims were his wife and daughter.
Sheriff's spokesman Niebusch said detectives received about 30 phone tips overnight, some of which contained "good information."Detectives also went through the purple Dodge Caravan, believed to belong to Cooper and her daughter, that was found at the Pinnacle Lake trailhead near where the bodies were found.
Niebusch reiterated that hikers and visitors to the area should use "caution," but said it was too early in the investigation to know if the attacks were random. He had said earlier that the sheriff's office has stepped up patrols in the area along the Mountain Loop Highway near the small town of Verlot.
Because the slayings occurred in a national forest, the sheriff's office and the FBI have "concurrent jurisdictions," said bureau Special Agent Robbie Burroughs. She said Snohomish County will "take the lead, and we will be assisting them in any way we can." The FBI crime lab and behavioral-sciences division could become involved if Snohomish County officials were to ask.
The U.S. Forest Service, acting on a request by the Sheriff's Office, has closed the rural roads leading to Pinnacle Lake.
Deputies put in the request this morning and barricades went up around 10:30, said Allen Gibbs, spokesman for Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Sheriff's spokesman Rich Niebusch declined to say why motorists and hikers are cut off from Pinnacle Lake, Bear Lake and Access Lake. He said more information will be released at a news conference scheduled for this afternoon in Everett.
Gibbs said the Sheriff's Office didn't share their reasons for the closure with Forest Service personnel.
As news of the deaths swept through the various communities the two women had touched — work, recreational, social — numerous people underscored the depth of their loss.
Susanna Stodden lived with roommates near Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood and worked at Seattle Audubon, which allowed her to merge her love of the environment and her interest in education. Shawn Cantrell, executive director at Audubon, declined comment Thursday afternoon, saying he was waiting for an OK from the family.
According to the family's statement, "Susanna was dedicated to nurturing positive relationships between children and the natural world and her commitment to peace was evident in her compassionate nature." Stodden's passion was reflected by her involvement in the Washington Conservation Corps, the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association and her work with Audubon's FUN (Finding Urban Nature) program, which connects elementary-school students with the environment outside their schools and in their neighborhoods.
Cooper was a librarian at Seattle's Alternative Elementary School No. 2 at Decatur, a position that put her in contact with every student. To many at the school, she was known as simply "Mary in the library."
Principal John Miner had the grim task of notifying staffers that Cooper and her daughter were the slaying victims. During a news conferince this morning, Miner said the victims' family was out hiking this morning, hoping to "reclaim" a pasttime they didn't want marred by the tragedy.
"As you all can easily imagine, it's with breaking hearts that we as a school family along with the Stodden family mourn the loss of Mary Cooper," Miner said. "I've worked with her for 15 years and the words that I have can't express the loss that I feel."
Outside AE No. 2, someone placed a handmade cardboard sign that read, "Mary in the library. The Nicest person in the universe! You will always be in our hearts."
"I'm just still trying to digest this," special-education teacher Marcia Proctor said.
Proctor and others said Cooper often went the extra step for students and colleagues. Whether it was searching for the perfect book to get a student excited about reading or running out to buy flowers for a colleague, people at the school — like her neighbors — could always count on Cooper.
"She was always just so generous with our class," Proctor said. "She always had a smile on her face. She was very warm and friendly and a person who put a lot of enthusiasm into her job."
Leslie Markham, whose son, Cyrus, attended AE No. 2 until he entered middle school last year, said Cooper taught her son to read.
"She was so engaging," Markham said. "The kids would just love to go and listen. ... She would read a story twice to them ... each time with more and more enthusiasm."
Markham said she, too, was "entranced" by Cooper's readings.
For neighbor David Baskett, 79, and his son, Scott, Cooper and her family were an indelible part of their neighborhood.
"They would come to our house every Halloween and we would wait up for them," sobbed Scott Baskett, 52.
Cooper and her husband were newlyweds when they moved into the neighborhood 26 years ago, recalled the senior Baskett. He said that ever since the couple's three daughters were old enough to walk, the couple took them hiking, camping and boating.
Sitting on the porch of the couple's beige home, David Stodden declined to talk in detail about his wife and daughter. But he pointed out his wife's sprawling vegetable garden and chicken coop as tangible evidence of the things she had loved and nurtured.
For most of the afternoon and evening Thursday, friends and family piled into the Cooper-Stodden home. They carried photos, books, flowers and memories.
"We want to honor these women as educators and beautiful people," said one woman who declined to give her name.
Information from Seattle Times staff reporters Maureen O'Hagan, Emily Heffter, Mike Carter, Steve Miletich, Linda Shaw, Natalie Singer and news researcher Miyoko Wolf is included in this report.
A family mourns
A note left outside the home of Mary Cooper by friends and family Thursday read:
"In a time of shock and grief, we would like to focus on the tremendous positive legacy left by this extraordinary mother and daughter. As a librarian, teacher, activist, neighbor, friend and mother, Mary touched the lives of countless people. Susanna was dedicated to nurturing positive relationships between children and the natural world and her commitment to peace was evident in her compassionate nature. Like her mother, she lived her life in service to what she believed. Passion for the outdoors was intrinsic to their lives, and family trips to the Cascades were a weekly occurrence. Susanna's little sisters, Elisa (24) and Joanna (21) follow in her footsteps and also teach and study environmental education. Husband and father David Stodden, and the community left by these two amazing women, wish to express their gratitude for the support and love offered on behalf of Mary and Susanna. In their memory, may people continue to walk the trails in peace and without fear."
Memorial
The note goes on to say that a memorial service for the women has been planned for 2 p.m. July 23 at Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle.
Donations in memory of Mary Cooper may be made to the Seattle Public Library Foundation, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104.
Donations in memory of Susanna Stodden may be made to the Washington Trails Association, 2019 Third Ave., Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98121.