The remains of missing Lewis County woman Joni Hutton were found last month and later identified through dental records, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Thursday.
Hutton was 70 years old at the time she was reported missing on Oct. 4, 2024.
She was found by a hunter.
Special Services Chief Gabriel Frase told The Chronicle that Hutton’s remains were discovered in a timbered property less than half a mile from her residence near Pe Ell.
The hunter, described as an adult younger than 20, reported the discovery on Oct. 11. Detectives responded to the location but were unable to positively identify the remains.
On Oct. 25, the sheriff’s office conducted another search with additional personnel and volunteers. They found more remains in the area, according to Frase.
Investigators were then able to identify Hutton as the deceased using dental records.
The manner of death is currently undetermined.
The sheriff’s office has since opened a new active case in the investigation, but indicated there was no new information at this time that would suggest foul play.
On Oct. 7, 2024, the sheriff’s office issued a news release stating that Hutton was last seen at her residence in the 1200 block of Pe Ell McDonald Road at about 7 p.m. Oct. 3.
Hutton was wearing a “cranberry-colored sweat jacket and blue jeans,” the release stated.
Frase said the clothing found with Hutton’s remains was consistent with what she had been reported as wearing the day she was last seen, but noted that damage and wear had occurred.
The Chronicle previously reported the sheriff’s office began searching the 120-acre wooded area on Oct. 4, 2024, and continued its search the following day with the help of volunteers.
On Oct. 6, the search party was joined by search-and-rescue personnel.
Frustrated with the progress of the investigation, friends and family created an online fundraiser through GoFundMe on Oct. 14 in hopes of raising money to hire a private investigator.
Jan Hanson, friend of Rhonda Hutton, Joni Hutton’s sister, wrote about the disappearance on the fundraiser page.
“On the evening of Oct. 3, 70-year-old Joni, who does not suffer from mental illness or dementia, was watching videos on her iPad and deadheading flowers on her front porch in rural Washington state,” Hanson wrote. “Later that evening, the roommates looked outside, found Joni's phone, iPad and other personal items, but didn't find Joni. They assumed she had gone to bed already and didn't worry. The next day, however, when they didn't see her, they checked her room to find it had not been slept in and she was not there.”
Hanson described Hutton as an “experienced hiker” who wouldn’t choose to “just wander off into the woods.”
She indicated that friends were convinced Hutton had been “taken by someone she knew.”
“Please contribute to help defray the costs of private investigators who will focus on tracking every possible suspect and finding Joni, no matter where she is,” Hanson wrote. “We can't imagine allowing our friend to anguish any longer and want to provide resolution if at all possible.”
At the time, detectives told The Chronicle they had maintained regular contact with Hutton’s roommates and sister throughout the investigation and were looking into persons of interest.
