Seattle, WA
'Now an expectation': Volunteer group finds human remains in Seattle park
Members of the nonprofit organization We Heart Seattle found human remains in a public area within a wooded area in Seattle’s Lower Queen Anne neighborhood earlier this month.
The remains were found on Jan. 8 beneath the Aurora Bridge on an embankment on the north side of Dexter Avenue, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) announced this week. This was the second body found by the organization.
“Dexter Ave is our latest ‘archeological sight’ and we will clean up the rest of the skeletal remains and camp this Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m.,” Andrea Suarez, the founder and executive director of We Heart Seattle, told MyNorthwest. “We expect to find a missing skull under the collapsed camp.”
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What remained in the defunct encampment
Suarez described the area as an abandoned green space with artifacts of prior living that was years if not a decade or more old. Trees had fallen down over the years had been cut through to make space for makeshift forts and camps. We Heart Seattle staff even spotted trash with expiration dates dating back to 2018.
“Garbage several feet deep, thousands of needles, bottles of all kinds filled with urine, buckets and other makeshift toilets with human waste collected and eroded into the slope,” Suarez said when describing the former encampment.
No homeless person was living in the encampment during the time of We Heart Seattle’s cleanup.
“It is possible, now that it’s clean, that new campers would return,” Suarez said. “However, through community stewardship, we hope to activate it as an urban hiking trail and play space for dogs and children.”
We Heart Seattle is a nonprofit that prepares sites for trash and debris removal throughout the city, recruiting volunteers for trash cleanups. Many of the sites are defunct, abandoned or cleared-out encampments within public spaces. Between Oct. 2020 and Oct. 2023, the organization said it collected over a million pounds of garbage across approximately 300 cleanups. It added that more than 10,000 volunteer hours were logged to achieve this.
The nonprofit works alongside the city’s “Find it, Fix it” app to coordinate trash pickup. “Find It, Fix It” is a smartphone app offering mobile users one more way to report selected issues to the City of Seattle.
“We’ve found 12 (since 2020) by me or volunteers in Honey Buckets at Gilman Playfield, RVs in (Seattle neighborhoods) SoDo and Interbay, vans in SoDo, tents near stadiums in Beacon Hill, under stairs in Belltown, Queen Anne and Kinnear Park,” Suarez added. “It’s now an expectation when we scout a clean-up area before we bring volunteers in.”
Despite it being an expectation, Suarez noted this was the first time she or anyone within the organization found bones.
“This was the first body totally decomposed. (It had) been there for years, if not a decade,” Suarez said. “Several others had been passed away for weeks and in plain sight.”
We Heart Seattle staff immediately contacted SPD once they discovered the remains, who forwarded the case to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office for further investigation. The identity of the remains and the cause of death are still under investigation, as SPD confirmed to MyNorthwest.
Fears about Seattle’s public spaces confirmed
But this discovery only confirmed fears about the safety of public parks and spaces being unsafe within Seattle.
“Since We Heart Seattle cleaned and preserved more than 31 parks before Harrell and, through stewardship, those parks are safe,” Suarez said. “Kinnear Park is not safe at all. Urban hiking trails and ‘protected wetlands and trails,’ formally dirk bike trails or places to play, are still riddled with needles.”
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Seattle Parks and Recreation has struggled keeping the public spaces safe for all residents. On Dec. 27, the department, with support from the SPD, removed a makeshift garden dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement located in Cal Anderson Park. Parks and Recreation cited the garden became an unsafe place for all park users, noting recent incidents of vandalism of Cal Anderson public bathrooms, public drug use, unauthorized camping and a significant rodent problem, along with other issues.
“The city’s Unified Care Team also removed tent encampments that were located near the garden area and immediately outside the park along E Olive St. as part of ongoing efforts to keep public spaces clean, open and accessible to all,” Seattle Parks and Recreation wrote. “This is the 76th time the Unified Care Team has resolved encampments at Cal Anderson in 2023, which is one of the most frequently addressed areas in the city for repopulated encampments.”
But Suarez doesn’t want to hear people blame the government anymore.
“The voters have blood on their watch,” Suarez said. “Don’t blame the government. Blame a lack of civic engagement and voter education which is the third arm of We Heart Seattle.”
Suarez said the organization has adopted a new mantra: Voting is your superpower. In Nov. 2023’s general election, just slightly more than 500,000 ballots were returned out of nearly 1.4 million registered voters, or 37.9% — the lowest recorded since reliable voter registration counts began in 1936.
More on election turnout: 2023 King County election had lowest voter turnout in nearly 90 years
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
The first two draft picks in the 2007 Entry Draft carried the Detroit Red Wings to 4-3 victory Saturday in Seattle.
Patrick Kane, who went No. 1 overall to Chicago, scored the winner, after James van Riemsdyk (who was picked by Philadelphia) tied the score late in the second period.
Kane is inching closer to significant milestones and that’s a good thing for the Wings. Kane’s goal at 17 minutes, 31 seconds of the third period Saturday broke the tie.
Kane’s fifth goal, and second goal in two games, was goal No. 497 in his illustrious career. Alex DeBrincat carried the puck into the zone and found Kane in the slot, where Kane wristed a shot past goaltender Joey Daccord.
“It’s been the same for the 20 years I’ve known him,” said van Riemsdyk of Kane’s clutch goal to FDSN. “When the game is on the line, he’s the guy you want the puck on his stick. He usually comes through. A word class shot there and a big two points for us.”
Another key goal came from van Riemsdyk, who tied the score 3-3 with 28 seconds left in the second period. It was van Riemsdyk’s third consecutive game with a goal, and his fifth goal in six games (six goals overall).
Thanks to a bad Seattle pinch defensively van Riemsdyk found himself on a two-on-one rush. Using Michael Rasmussen as a decoy, van Riemsdyk kept the puck and wristed a shot past Daccord.
“Big goal for our team to score and make it a 3-3 game,” Kane told reporters of van Riemsdyk’s goal. “It settled everything down.”
Goaltender John Gibson stopped 24 shots to earn the victory. The Wings (15-11-3) moved to 1-0-1 on this six-game trip, which next goes Monday to Vancouver.
BOX SCORE: Red Wings 4, Kraken 3
Dylan Larkin left Saturday’s game midway in the second period after taking a redirected shot to the left side of his face. Larkin was clutching the side of his face as he slowly skated off the ice, immediately heading to the locker room.
But Larkin returned to start the third period with a facial shield — and what appeared to be a puffy cheek and lip.
“He’s the heartbeat of the team,” van Riemsdyk said. “What he brings, there was no doubt he’d make it back out for us. That’s the kind of warrior he is.”
Seattle took its first lead of the game on Chandler Stephenson’s fifth goal, at 12:45. Adam Larsson’s shot from the point glanced off Stephenson in the slot, and off Gibson’s head and into the net, giving Seattle a 3-2 lead.
Emmitt Finnie (power play, sixth goal) and Andrew Copp (second goal) added Wings goals. Brandon Montour (sixth), Adam Larsson (second) and Chandler Stephenson (fifth) countered for Seattle.
“The encouraging thing is we got out of a bit of a rut in the second period,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan told reporters afterward. “The disturbing part is why are we in that rut? We can play better defensively than we did (in the second period). We challenged the group between periods and they did.”
tkulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan
Seattle, WA
West Seattle Junction Tree Lighting, Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast, school open houses, much more for your Saturday
(Latest image from Junction traffic cam – remember Alaska will be closed east of here this pm)
Happy Saturday! We have another two-part event list – first part is a long list of seasonal happenings from the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide:
SANTA PHOTOS AND PANCAKES: Santa photos are part of what you’ll find at the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle pancake breakfast, 7 am-11 am December 6th at Alki Masonic Center (40th/Edmunds) – details and tickets here. (If you miss your $8 online ticket, it’s only $10/door, youngest kids eat free;) Bring new unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots!
SELFIES WITH SANTA: 8:30 am-11 am Saturday and Sunday mornings in December, DIY photos with Santa at CAPERS Home (4525 California SW; WSB sponsor), donation requested for West Seattle Food Bank.
HOLIDAY SWAP SHOP: Bring, and get, toys at this swap, 9 am-noon at Keller Williams Realty (5446 California SW), presented by the Pearsall Team.
HOLIDAY GIFT POP-UP: 9 am-6 pm, handcrafted creations for sale. (4002 39th SW)
BAKE & CRAFT SALE AT THE KENNEY: Handmade and homemade items for sale, 10 am-4 pm. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
SHOP AT WEST SEATTLE RUNNER, BENEFIT STUDENTS: Part of the proceeds at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) 10 am-5 pm today will benefit WSHS Cross Country.
VIVA STUDIO TOUR ON VASHON: 10 am-5 pm each day, self-guided tour of Vashon artists’ studios. Info and locations at vivartists.com. (WSB sponsor)
PICS WITH SANTA AT HOLIDAY FOOD-DRIVE PARTY: 10 am-noon party at 5446 California SW – bring food and/or $ for West Seattle Food Bank.
FREE PET PICS WITH SANTA: 10 am-noon at Windermere in The Junction. (4526 California SW)
SANTA PHOTOS AND TOY SWAP: 10 am-1 pm at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene (42nd SW and SW Juneau), Santa photos by donation, toy swap open to all (and accepting dropoffs in advance), more info here.
WESTWOOD ART STUDIO HOLIDAY ART SHOW & SALE: Two-weekend group show and sale, 10 am-6 pm today, more info here. (9042 31st SW)
ARTIST POP-UP AT CAPERS HOME: 11 am-4 pm, you’ll find artists including Diane Kappa (WSB sponsor) at CAPERS Home (4525 California SW; also a WSB sponsor).
RAIN CITY CLAY HOLIDAY ART SHOW & SALE: Rain City Clay in Arbor Heights is hosting a holiday show & sale this weekend, featuring artists who work with clay. Hours today are 11 am-7 pm. (4208 SW 100th)
DIY SANTA PICS: 11 am-2 pm at John L. Scott in The Junction. Free; “well-behaved pets welcome.” (4445 California SW)
SANTA AT OUNCES: Free pics with the jolly ol’ fella 1-4 pm. (3809 Delridge Way SW)
TOYS FOR TOTS AT SEATTLE FIRE STATION 29: Drop off new, unwrapped toy(s) at Station 29 (2139 Ferry Avenue SW) between 2 and 4 pm.
JUNCTION NIGHT MARKET: Hometown Holidays Night Market on tree-lighting night in The Junction. See vendor list here! 4 to 8 pm.
JUNCTION TREE LIGHTING AND PERFORMANCES: Here’s the schedule for what’s happening besides the Night Market – remember that SW Alaska is closed east of California SW:
4:00 PM Festival begins. Night Market is open
4:30 PM Endolyne Choir
5:00 PM School of Rock
5:30 PM Pet Costume Contest
5:45 PM Metropolitan Singers (carolers)
6:00 PM Tree Lighting (with carolers)
6:15 PM Holiday DJ spinning tunes
8:00 PM Night Market closes
HOLIDAY BENEFIT CONCERT: Pearsall Properties presents live performances at West Seattle Grounds (2141 California SW) 5 pm-8 pm.
CHRISTMAS TREES: As noted here, every place that sells them in West Seattle is up and running! Scroll through the Holiday Guide any time for the list.
ASTRA LUMINA: Celestially inspired light show on the grounds of the Seattle Chinese Garden at the north end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus, times vary. Tickets and info here.
(Friday sunset, photographed by Bob Burns)
And here are the non-holiday-season events for today, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and inbox:
‘KING TIDE’: 7:29 am, 12.9 feet – highest (predicted) high tide of the month; weather conditions can push it higher.
SATURDAY GROUP RUN: Launch your weekend with a community run! West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) leads Saturday 8 am free group runs!
FREE! HEAVILY MEDITATED: Free 9 am community meditation at Inner Alchemy Sanctuary/Studio (3618 SW Alaska) – register here.
INTRODUCTORY WALK and WALKING FOR WELL-BEING: 9:30 am, walk a mile as a prelude to the 10 am well-being walk (or just show up for that one). Both start from 47th SW and Fauntleroy Way SW.
EXPLORER WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: 10 am-11:30 am, prospective families are invited to visit Explorer West. RSVP here if you can, (10015 28th SW; WSB sponsor)
TILDEN SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: If you’re looking for an elementary school, come find out about Tilden School (4105 California SW; WSB sponsor) during today’s open house, 10 am-noon.
SSC GARDEN CENTER: The Garden Center at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW, north end of campus), is open 10 am-3 pm.
WHILE YOU’RE AT SSC … the Otter Pup truck’s soft open with coffee and sweet treats is scheduled to continue today, 11 am-2 pm. (6000 16th SW)
THE BRIDGE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: Learn about the cooperative elementary school and join current families for play, 10 am-noon. (10300 28th SW)
MORNING MUSIC AT THE COFFEEHOUSE: 10:30 am-noon at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), Marco de Carvalho and Friends perform. Info about Marco’s music is here.
FREE WRITING GROUP: In session again this week, 10:30 am, info in our calendar listing.
FAMILY STORY TIME: 10:30 am at High Point Library. (3411 SW Raymond)
GRIEFSHARE: Newest session continues, 10:30 am at Grace Church, no charge (10323 28th SW)
FAMILY READING TIME: At Paper Boat Booksellers, 11 am family reading time. (4522 California SW; WSB sponsor)
TALK WITH YOUR ANIMALS: Yes, you can! Find out how during this 11 am class at Inner Alchemy Studio/Sanctuary (3618 SW Alaska).
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: The home of West Seattle’s history is open noon-4 pm on Saturdays. (61st SW and SW Stevens)
VIETNAMESE CULTURAL CENTER: The center is open to visitors noon-3 pm, as explained here. (2236 SW Orchard)
POSTCARDS 4 DEMOCRACY: Bonus monthly session, 12:30 pm-2:30 pm at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor)
VISCON CELLARS TASTING ROOM/WINE BAR: Tasting room open for you to enjoy wine by the glass or bottle – 1-6 pm at Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor).
NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY TASTING ROOM, WINE BAR, STORE: On the north end of the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) campus:
The Northwest Wine Academy Tasting Room, Wine Bar, and Retail Store are open Thursday-Saturday from 1-6 pm. Come taste and purchase our student-produced wine! The Northwest Wine Academy features a large tasting room and retail store. While tasting one of our current releases, you can request a tour of our barrel room and bottling area.
SUPER SMASH SATURDAYS: 1-10 pm at Fourth Emerald Games (4517 California SW, upstairs).
FREE MASSAGE: 3-5 pm walk-in clinic offering short, specific massages at Nepenthe. (9447 35th SW)
WRECK THE HALLS ROLLER DERBY: 5 pm pre-show, 6 pm roller-derby exhibition bout with Rainier Roller Riot and Bellingham Roller Betties’ Grit Pit, Southgate Roller Rink (9646 17th SW, White Center) – tickets here.
‘PENELOPE’ AT ARTSWEST: West Seattle’s playhouse offers something different this holiday season – the folk-pop musical “Penelope,” with a 7:30 pm curtain; get tickets here. (4711 California SW)
COMMUNITY PAGEANT AT THE SKYLARK: 7 pm, drag pageant for Miss, Ms., Mr., and Mx. Community – tickets here. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
NERDLESQUE: 7:30 pm “burlesque for nerds” show with sci-fi theme, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), 18+, tickets here.
LIVE MUSIC AT MR. B’S: 8 pm, Leafminer and Noe Navarro at Mr. B’s Mead Center (9444 Delridge Way SW), no cover.
REVELRY ROOM DJ: Saturday spinning starts at 9 pm – tonight it’s DJ Topspin at Revelry Room. (4547 California SW).
KARAOKE AT TALARICO’S: Our Saturday list concludes with 10 pm karaoke at Talarico’s Pizzeria. (4718 California SW)
LOW-LOW TIDE: Flip side of king tides is low-low tides, and tonight at 11:43 pm the tide will be out to 3.8 feet!
Got a West Seattle event coming up? If community members are welcome, your event is welcome on our calendar! Please email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
SEATTLE — Over 8,000 Seattle City Light (SCL) customers have reportedly been affected by outages on Friday evening due to high winds, SCL said.
As of 8:24 p.m., SCL reported 13 active events with 8,318 customers without power.
Seattle City Light is investigating the cause.
The outage can be tracked on this map.
As of 8:24 p.m., Puget Sound Energy reported 39 active outages with 3,355 customers impacted.
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This is a developing story, and KOMO News will update the information as it becomes available.
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