PORT TOWNSEND — After four months of investigating and awaiting state crime lab results, the Port Townsend Police Department has announced that it doesn’t know what happened at a trailer at 909 Rosecrans St.
Police Sgt. Ed Green said results on tests conducted on blood samples collected from the trailer are inconclusive.
“It wasn’t determined what type of blood it was,” Green said.
“That’s why it’s essentially inactive now.”
The blood could be human or animal, Green said, but all the State Patrol Crime Lab was able to determine was that it was blood.
Green said the trailer was dirty and that, because of that, blood samples were contaminated and needed to be cleaned — resulting in both a long wait and few conclusions.
The case will remain inactive until either more evidence is discovered or a witness comes forward.
“It can be reopened, and we can got back and look at it,” Green said.
“As of now, we still don’t know what happened there.
Still concern
“It’s a little bit of a concern because if someone was injured, we want to know about it.
“But to be cliche, this is all in a day’s work.”
Police announced on Oct. 23 that they were investigating after receiving a tip that a possible violent crime had taken place in a trailer that recently had been moved from Port Hadlock to a lot in Port Townsend by a woman named Susan Smith.
If a crime happened in the trailer, it was while it was in Port Hadlock, police said.
At no time during the investigation was Smith considered a person of interest, police said.
For days, Port Townsend and State Patrol police collected evidence from the area.
For months, there was no word from police on what exactly might have happened at the trailer — only that they were investigating a violent crime.
Green said on Thursday that officers had shined a black light inside the trailer and discovered traces of “a significant amount of blood.”
Two King County Search and Rescue dogs trained to locate missing persons and human remains sniffed the area in October and found “no strong evidence to indicate foul play,” Port Townsend Detective Jason Greenspane said at the time.
Green confirmed this week that no human remains were found at the scene.
The trailer was removed from the lot and kept in city custody during the investigation.
Green said that the owners were contacted on Wednesday and that the trailer was returned to them.
Phone numbers for Smith have been disconnected.
The house at 909 Rosecrans St. is currently empty.
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Jefferson County reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsula dailynews.com.
