OAK HARBOR, Wash. - Thirteen years after an Oak Harbor girl was found murdered on a Whidbey Island beach, investigators are renewing efforts to find her killer.
Seven-year-old Deborah Palmer vanished on her walk to school at Oak Harbor Elementary in 1997. Her disappearance rocked the Oak Harbor community. Hundreds pitched in the search effort until her body was discovered five days later. The cause of death was asphyxiation.
Oak Harbor Police now hope new DNA technology and tips can finally lead to Palmer's killer.
"Someone out there knows something and they may be willing to come forward with it now," said Sgt. Teri Gardner. "They may be in a different place now and being willing to help us."
Gardner now spends her days sifting through evidence stuffed into 20 large notebooks that pile on her desk. No suspect has ever been named, but Gardner is confident that will happen.
"This is the only unsolved murder in Oak Harbor," she said. "We can't close this case, it's never been solved."
Island County Coroner Robert Bishop can't forget the search for Deborah Palmer. He was the one to carry
her body off the beach.
"It was hard to leave the scene with her. Whidbey Island lost some of its innocence that day," said Bishop. "Everyone knows this case by Deborah's name. No one will ever forget."
A tip line has been set up through the Oak Harbor Police Department at 360-679-TIPS (8477). A $3,600 reward is offered for any information that may lead to an arrest.
