Body found identified as missing Mountlake Terrace woman

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — The body of a woman found in a Mountlake Terrace culvert has been identified as Cheryl DeBoer, who has been missing since Feb. 8.

The Seattle Times reports that Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center officials identified the body. They said it’s their missing employee, 54-year-old DeBoer.

Police at the scene have not confirmed the identity.

However, Han Nachtrieb, vice president of Fred Hutch human resources, released a statement stating that the body had been identified as DeBoer’s.

Searchers have been combing neighborhoods, parks and woods in the area since DeBoer failed to show up at work at Fred Hutch last Monday.

Police Cmdr. Kevin Pickard says at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, a group of volunteers found the body in a large, grassy area about a mile and a half southeast of where DeBoer’s vehicle was located.

Homicide detectives and crime-scene investigators were gathering at the site.