Death near Shoreline Community College - update

By Diane Hettrick

The Sheriff's Office has confirmed that a 42 year old woman was found dead in a homeless camp in a wooded area near SCC about 1:20 pm on Friday, September 3. She appeared to have died overnight. She was a resident of the camp and had no connection to the college. More will be known after the Medical Examiner completes the autopsy, but Shoreline Police Chief Dan Pingrey says that the latest information does not indicate any obvious signs of foul play.

Jim Hills of SCC spoke to the Medical Examiner's office on Saturday. A spokesman told him that toxicology tests have been ordered and can take eight to ten weeks to be returned. Cause of death won't be determined until those test results are available.

Neighborhood leaders believe that the camp would be in the area just north of the college playing field. Highland Terrace board member Greg Logan said he had seen one small encampment in that area, up the side of the ridge in a place not especially accessible.

Homeless camps in Shoreline often are near the end of bus lines, in areas which are wooded or overgrown.

In June 2007, a homeless woman was found dead in the north end of Echo Lake. She had been seen in the area by the lake on several occasions and may have been living in a camp in the bushes at Echo Lake Park. Since that time, City Parks maintenance crews have pruned back and cleared out the overgrowth and removed several dumpsters full of stuff left behind by the campers.