A woman who was discovered murdered in Washington state last week has ties to the Cariboo.
Monique Patenaude’s father Art Patenaude, her brother Vaughn Patenaude and his wife Becky, all live near Horsefly, B.C.
While she never lived in the Cariboo, Patenaude did spend lots of time visiting the area.
Patenaude, 46, and her husband Patrick Shunn, 45, both believed to be murdered, lived on a farm in Washington about an hour’s drive south of Vancouver, B.C.
They were reported missing by neighbours on April 12.
By Sunday, April 17, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said major crimes detectives had established probable cause for the arrest of John Blaine Reed, 53, and his brother, Tony Clyde Reed, 49.
Several media outlets have reported John Reed was the couple’s former neighbour, and is thought to be involved in a dispute over accessing the river by trespassing on the Shunn-Patenaude property with vehicles and unleashed dogs.
“Detectives were able to obtain video surveillance footage tying the Reed brothers to the disposal of Shunn and Patenaude’s vehicles,” the sheriff’s office stated in a press release. “Detectives believe the couple were the victims of homicidal violence based on evidence collected at the scene of the missing couple’s vehicles, as well as the former residence of John Reed. Both men are convicted felons and are believed to be armed and dangerous.”
Two days later, on April 19, the sheriff’s office said a vehicle driven by the suspected murderers was located in Arizona, and the office was working with the Phoenix Police Department homicide unit and US Marshal in locating the Reeds.
“Both men are convicted felons and are believed to be armed and dangerous,” the sheriff’s office stated.
Meanwhile the search continues for the bodies of Patenaude and Shunn in a wooded 23-square-mile area around their home.
The Landrover and Jeep belonging to the couple were located on April 14 in a remote, wooded area near Oso, approximately 200 feet from each other and had extensive damage.