PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office continues to search for a “person of interest in the case of a Joyce woman” who was beaten to death.
The Sheriff’s Office has released new photos of Ari Lee King and the dog believed to be with him as authorities continue working for a break in the investigation of Diane Cunningham’s death.
“We are making extreme efforts,” Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said Wednesday.
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.
King, 41, is being sought for questioning about his recent interactions with Cunningham.
“We really want to talk to this guy,” Cameron said.
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.
Cunningham was seen on surveillance video at 7 Cedars Casino and the Port Angeles Walmart on the morning of Sept. 28 with a man identified as King, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
King is believed to be in the company of a light-colored pit bull-German shepherd mix named Bubba.
Family members told detectives that King has not been seen since late September.
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.
Cunningham’s car, which had been missing from her property, was found abandoned Oct. 7 in a rural area of Malheur County, Ore., near the Oregon-Idaho border.
The car has been returned to Clallam County and processed for evidence, including the collection of fingerprints and DNA samples, Cameron said Wednesday.
“Every day, we find a little more that helps us,” he said.
Cameron added that the significance of evidence collected from the car is still unknown as the Sheriff’s Office is waiting for analysis of the samples to be completed by the State Patrol.
Several steps are involved in processing evidence from the car as fingerprints are handled at a State Patrol lab in Olympia, and DNA samples are studied at another facility in Marysville, he said.
Cameron did not know Wednesday how long it would take for analysis to be completed.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
