ELMA, Wash. — Deputies with the Mason County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) arrested a man in connection to a suspicious death investigation involving a Spokane woman in June.
According to the MCSO, a Spokane woman was found dead in western Washington in mid-June.
On June 11 around 7:30 a.m. MCSO responded to a call about a body found near Schaefer State Park in Elma. MCSO reports that evidence suggested the body had been there for at least a couple of weeks.
The Mason County Coroner’s Office was able to identify the woman as Joanna Ruth Sanders from Spokane. Ten days later, on June 22, MCSO responded to a call from a citizen saying they found a woman's clothes and personal effects in a remote wooded area near Johns Prairie in Shelton, Washington, around 20 miles from where Saunders' body was found.
Detectives later determined that the clothes and personal effects and Saunders were connected.
Detectives were able to recover video evidence and arrest the man for Manslaughter 2 regarding Saunders' death.
MCSO said they do not believe anyone else is responsible for Saunders' death and there is no current risk to the public.
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