By 2009, Detective Kevin Bowhay, who attended the same high school as Mandy Stavik, was the lead investigator on the unsolved case. And, so, you'd tend to kinda stay away from people like that. This week on ID, the team at 20/20 examine this tragic case that devastated this rural, tight-knit community. It was 30 years ago this past Thanksgiving weekend that Mandy Stavik, an 18-year-old college student, disappeared after going out for a jog in Acme, Washington. Right after that conversation, on December 12, 2017 28 years after Mandy had been found dead police arrested 50-year-old Tim Bass in the bakery parking lot. The friends told sheriffs office investigators that after Sather stuck her arm into the passenger side to exchange the money for drugs, the truck took off with Sather hanging onto the side, court records state. Peter Van Sant: How do you think she was abducted? Detective Ron Peterson, left, pictured with "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant, led the search team for Mandy Stavik. Det. The DNA came back as a match, and police arrested Timothy Bass for murder on December 12, 2017. Runnin' through the blackberries.". And to me, it can't be enough time. There was no contact between these people. While police had to decline Wagners offer because they couldnt enlist a civilian in an investigation, they did tell her they could accept evidence brought to them, so Wagner watched Bass until one day he threw away a water cup at work in 2017. Det. Kevin Bowhay: They looked at it like, "No, it wouldn't be this family because They're well-liked in the community." Kevin Bowhay: I believe whoever was chasin' her caught her and and hit her in the head, knockin' her out and then placed her in the river to make sure she drowned. Three days later, her nude body was found three miles away in the Nooksack River. Kevin Bowhay: Oh, jeez. They followed Tim Bass all night long on his bakery delivery route. Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days, SpaceX launches new crew on flight to space station, Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Firefighter dies battling blaze in downtown Buffalo, mayor says, Several hospitalized after Lufthansa flight diverted to Dulles due to turbulence, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, feds say, Prosecution wraps its case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother. Tom Bass: Very little. She says they all piled into a friend's truck including Tim Bass, who was sitting next to her. The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office has arrested the third man it suspects was involved in a planned robbery that ended in the death of a woman in Acme . Do you, This was definitely in IL because we are friends with, Hi. Later, a detective called back, asking if Bass ever ate food at work. Kevin Bowhay: We needed some answers. Peter Van Sant: As you're about to take the stand, what's going through your mind? Back in Acme, Washington, we're in dim late-afternoon light beneath the maple trees on Jones Creek. When the three arrived, they parked behind a white truck with three men inside and Sather got out with $250 to purchase drugs, according to court records. Crime in Acme, Washington Crime is ranked on a scale of 1 (low crime) to 100 (high crime) Acme violent crime is 16.4. [pauses, emotional] Sorry. Mandy Stavik, ABC's Nightline. If Washington's current homicide rate remains steady, Washington will also meet this goal. Then it just kinda grew into more of a physical thing and we didn't even really do it that much. According to a news conference held after Basss arrest by Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo, eventually his investigators tried to shake loose names from the community in the 2010s. The Staviks' home was on a dead-end street, a mile from the highway. Afterward, she tried to flee a scenario suggested by the scratches on her arms and legs. On May 24, 2019, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, and the judge sentenced him to nearly 30-years in prison. Det. The manager, Kim Wagner, directed them to the companys human resources department and didnt think too much of it because they hadnt given her any specifics about the investigation. coming from of all places, a pair of moms chatting at a water park. The suspected shooter of a double homicide in Tacoma, Washington, could be responsible for a third deadly shooting nearby, Fox13 reported . In the fall of 1989, Ms Stavik was a freshman at Central Washington University. Det. Peter Van Sant: And based on the position that she was in the water, you knew you had to get her out to preserve it. [chokes up]. Thank you, you're the greatest. Det. She was naked except for socks and her blue sneakers. Please enter valid email address to continue. Tim got married young, at 22, just six weeks after Mandy's murder. Plus, Bass had lived a few houses down from the Stavik family at the time of Staviks murder. Tom Bass: I personally witnessed him tell Gina to shut up, you know, eight million times. #2020 #MandyStavik #30YearsSearching #Crime #Murder #Washington #TimBass #DNA #Evidence #MissingPerson #SexualAssault #ABCNews #Investigation #DNAEvidence #ABC2020 #Documentary STREAM MORE EPISODE OF 2020, College student Mandy Stavik found dead, but case goes cold for years I Nightline, Stavik, who was from a rural town in Washington, was missing for three days before her body was found. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropria. They drove ahead as the years piled up into a decade, then two decades. I felt like I just had to agree with everything hes saying because if I dont, I could be next. And for the past 25 years, Tim had been living a quiet life in a nearby community, married with three children, and driving a delivery truck for a bakery. Kim Wagner: It really took a village. Mandy expressed her admiration for him in a card. A home less than two miles from Mandy's house, right along her running route. Bass' father had died more than a decade earlier. I was was dying because there was a lotta people around. Peter Van Sant: And back in 1989, 1990 Did they go to the Bass household and question people there? We needed to get to the bottom of it. (The US average is 22.7) Acme property crime is 50.0. Kim Wagner: And I just stood there and went, "Oh, s---. During an interview with investigators, Gerber said he met up with Mulryan at a friends house. Were still tracing down 7,859 leads, a Whatcom County sheriffs detective told the local press. At trial, Mandy's mother Mary. And the things that . I got a restraining order and left for two months. It was updated on July 18, 2020.]. Kevin Bowhay: By weapon, that's what they used to gain to control of her. Robert John Bardo traveled from his home in Arizona to West Hollywood to kill the actress in cold blood in a crime that shocked Hollywood. She alleged in court filings that he was both physically and verbally abusive to her and their three children. After the DNA match, they paid another visit to Tim as he was leaving work. December 15, 2022 1:30 am. All the factors contributed to the polices interest in Bass as a suspect by 2013. And that's what I thought. Investigators got DNA from three dozen more men in the area, but Tim Bass wouldn't cooperate. I do know my son is not guilty of this crime. Det. Mary and Molly were too emotional to speak, so Molly's husband Mike Brighton spoke for them: MIKE BRIGHTON: My family will never be healed, never be normal. Median contract rent in 2019: $998 (lower quartile is $923, upper quartile is $1,458) Median gross rent in Acme, WA in 2019: $995 Housing units in Acme with a mortgage: 56 (0 second mortgage, 48 home equity loan, 0 both second mortgage and home equity loan) Kevin Bowhay, who was just a rookie deputy back then, has pieced together Mandy's route from the few people who briefly saw her that day. Peter Van Sant: You must've been scared. Out of the blue, one of the other mothers brought up the name Mandy Stavik. Peter Van Sant: Any criminal record? Det. never." Acme Neighborhood Map. For the last year, Basss lawyers have tussled with the state in court, arguing that the DNA match to Ms Stavik was the result of an illegal search. Homicide Detectives Investigating After Body Found in First Hill. The last person to see Mandy alive was a man in a pickup truck. The conversation shifted to the Stavik murder. Mary Stavik: They have to have 100% agreement. They charged him with kidnapping, rape and murder. Jay Van Mersbergen | Juror: Maybe a quarter of the people tied up on whether or not there might be reasonable doubt. And his employer, Franz Bakery, would not voluntarily allow investigators to swab for a sample without a warrant or subpoena. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Her body was found three days later in the Nooksack River. Population 220. Nearby Cities With Low Crime Rates Cities with similar population This creek eventually dumps into the South Fork of . But it's a big leap between thinking you have your man and convicting him in a court of law. Mulryan normally hangs out in Lynden, Everson and Bellingham, according to a previous sheriffs office press release. 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