Police officials report Lauryn Garrett, a 23-year-old Sequim woman, is believed to be OK as of Tuesday, May 20.
Officer Luke Bogues with the Port Townsend Police Department said one of its detectives recently formed task force to find Garrett and learned through a series of tips that she left the Port Townsend area on her own but her whereabouts remain unknown.
“We’re still following up on leads but we believe she’s along the I-5 corridor,” he said.
“We still want to make face to face contact with her to confirm she is OK and check on her welfare.”
Patrick Fudally, public information officer for the Port Townsend Police Department, said his department has also received reports of people seeing Garrett in King County, including one person who said she spoke with Garrett on a bus and that she didn’t seem to be in any danger or harm.
Fudally said police received the first tip a week ago and the department sent task force members to King County to pull video feeds with no luck.
“At this point, we’ll likely wrap it up by the beginning of net week,” Fudally said.
“She seems to be alive with no indication of a crime or foul play. She is an adult who is not contacting her family, which is not illegal. Unless someone comes in contact with her, we’ll keep her listed as a missing person.”
Garrett, who was last seen on May 1 in Port Townsend in Safeway buying liquor and soda, was to meet her father, Fred Garrett, on May 2 at the Port Townsend ferry.
However, she phoned her father around 7:30 p.m. on a borrowed cell phone the night before asking for a ride.
Fudally said Fred Garrett told police he was unable to pick her up that night. Fred Garrett said his daughter was coming to Sequim from Sedro-Woolley after finishing two months in the Pioneer Center North chemical dependency center.
Fudally said they could not confirm whether Garrett was in the facility or not and if she was released on her own due to HIPPA privacy regulations.
One of Garrett’s two bags was found outside Safeway, Fudally said, but that it didn’t appear to be ransacked. Family members and friends posted fliers around the area earlier seeking any information on her whereabouts.
Bogues said they encouraged the family’s involvement to help find any tips in Garrett’s whereabouts.
“There’s been a great outpouring of support,” he said. “You could tell she was definitely loved.”
Law enforcement formed a task force to find Garrett, including an officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Bogues said Garrett remains a missing person but the missing person classification can limit law enforcement sometimes unless they have probable cause for why the person may be gone.
Prior to the recent tips, police were wrapping up their active investigation and were shifting to a more reactionary phase by receiving tips and following up on those.
“It’s a matter of hoping for the best as information comes in now,” Bogues said.
“We’re hoping to get her help, some counseling or rehabilitation, and to reconnect her with her family.”
Lauryn Garrett is 23, 5 feet 7 inches, with brown hair, hazel eyes, weighs 120-130 pounds and has a tattoo behind her left ear of a bird and a tattoo on her wrist of Washington state.
She is 2009 Sequim High School graduate.
If you see Garrett or have information on her whereabouts, call 9-1-1 or Port Townsend Police at 360-385-3831, ext. 1.
