Necia Marie “Q” McKendrick-Mendez was last seen on April 30, according to Crime Stoppers. Anyone with information is asked to contact SPD's Violent Crimes tip line at 206-233-5000.
Family and friends are searching for answers in the mysterious death of a local Seattle artist and mother of three who was found dead in a remote area of Interlaken Park over Memorial Day weekend.
The body of Necia Marie “Q” McKendrick-Mendez, 45, was found on May 30 in the wooded area of the park. According to investigators, her death has been ruled a homicide, according to the King County Medical Examiner, CapitolHillSeattle.com
Police said McKendrick died from “multiple blunt force injuries,’ Q13 Fox Seattle reported.
Authorities believe McKendrick had been killed several days before her body was discovered. A Montlake homeowner made the grim discovery.
"The body was found lying in a small stream with no access route except through the caller’s garden,” the Seattle Police Department said in a statement. “Due to the condition of the body and the location, the on-scene investigation yield [sic] no obvious information about the circumstance that led to the death.”
“At this point, we have no video, no credible witnesses, but somebody knows who did this,” Ret. Sgt. Jim Fuda, the executive director of Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound, told Q13 Fox News.
McKendrick sold her artwork on the street, family members said, and spent time on Broadway near Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle's Capitol Hill area. Family members said her artwork was scattered around near where her body was found, QFox13 News reported.
According to Crime Stoppers, McKendrick was last seen on April 30, People reported.
Her daughter, who lives in Texas, said her mother stopped answering her calls not long after an April visit, Oxygen reported.
The police are asking the public’s help as they continue with the investigation.
McKendrick, who was originally from Texas, lived in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, an area her family said she felt most at home. In a statement, loved ones described her as “tenacious in her passion, a lover and a higher, and above all, a prolific creator,” People reported.
“Necia Marie “Q” McKendrick-Mendez, believed in living as loudly, authentically, and celebratory a life possible,” the statement said. “Q’s innate love was boundless, a constant found in each of their artistic endeavors- in each painting, sculpture, and song.”
They continued: “From volunteering in food pantries to mentoring at-risk youth and sponsoring others struggling with addiction, she was consistently and enthusiastically accepting -- championing and celebrating others as their weirdest, loudest selves."
In addition to her children, she is survived by five sisters and two brothers. And, many, many friends, the statement said, and is “ferociously missed.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact SPD's Violent Crimes tip line at 206-233-5000.
Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound is putting up a $1,000 cash reward for anyone who can help detectives find her killer. They said callers will remain anonymous and can text the information to P3Tips.com or call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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