Crime

Two homicide victims near Shelton identified; suspect surrounded

Mason County Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating the deaths of two people near Shelton on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017.
Mason County Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating the deaths of two people near Shelton on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. Courtesy

Mason County Sheriff’s Office detectives have identified two homicide victims found Tuesday morning at a home on East Aloha Lane near Shelton.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office tweeted that a suspect had been located in another state and was surrounded by law enforcement.

The victims are Tara M. Abernathy, a 34-year-old Shelton resident, and Kenneth E. Koonrad, a 34-year-old Montesano resident, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were dispatched to Abernathy’s home Tuesday morning after she didn’t show up to work. They found Abernathy and Koonrad’s bodies. Both victims appeared to have died as a result of gunshot wounds.

Washington State Patrol crime scene investigators were called to assist in the forensic investigation, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Mason County Sheriff’s Office at 360-427-9670, Ext. 313.

Amelia Dickson: 360-754-5445, @Amelia_Oly

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Two homicide victims near Shelton identified; suspect surrounded."

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