PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is seeking a second “person of interest” in the beating death of Diane Cunningham.
Ari Lee King, 41, is being sought for questioning about his recent interactions with Cunningham, Detective Sgt. John Keegan said Monday.
King is described as 6 feet tall and weighing 250 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair.
He moved from King County to the Solmar neighborhood between Port Angeles and Sequim last year.
The body of Cunningham, 65, was found Oct. 6 in her small mobile home in Salt Creek RV Park, about 13 miles west of Port Angeles, by her daughter and son-in-law after the King County couple had not heard from her for more than a week.
An autopsy showed that she died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Her missing car was found abandoned Oct. 7 in a rural area of Malheur County, Ore., near the Oregon-Idaho border.
“How it got there, we don’t know,” sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said last week.
Cunningham was seen on surveillance video at 7 Cedars Casino and the Port Angeles Walmart on the morning of Sept. 28 in the company of a man identified as King, Keegan said.
The Sheriff’s Office has been conducting interviews and collecting evidence in an attempt to retrace Cunningham’s actions in the last week of September, Keegan said.
King is believed to be in the company of a light-colored pit bull-German Shepherd mix named Bubba.
According to family members, King has not been seen since the end of last month, Keegan said.
Anyone with information about King’s whereabouts is asked to phone the Sheriff’s Office at 360-417-2459 or leave a message on the Sheriff’s Office tip line at 360-417-2305.
Authorities last week had sought Joel Kevin Brown, 52, as a person of interest in the Cunningham case.
Brown turned himself in Thursday.
Cameron said he cooperated with investigators, adding that Brown was not a suspect and was being sought because he had reportedly stayed with Cunningham from time to time.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
