As they have for the last 18 years, the family and friends of Karen Bodine honored the anniversary of her death on Saturday, Jan. 18, with the hope that by the next time they gather this way, Bodine’s case will have been solved.

Bodine was a 37-year-old mother of three from Thurston County who was found dead near a gravel pit in Rochester on Jan. 22, 2007.

Authorities have ruled Bodine’s cause of death strangulation but have not made an arrest in the case in the 18 years since her body was found.

Evidence from the crime scene was sent to the Washington State Crime Lab for advanced forensic testing in March 2023. Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders committed that same year to meeting quarterly with Bodine’s family to provide updates and ensure continued communication.

This year’s vigil was the third attended by Sanders after he was invited by one of Bodine’s daughters, Karlee Bodine.

“My first one, I kind of just came here and said, ‘I’ll do my best,’” Sanders said at the vigil Saturday. “Last year, I was able to provide a little bit better of an update, and that came in the fact that the public passed the public safety tax.”

The passage of the tax gave the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office the resources to hire 27 new deputies and to launch a two-person dedicated cold case and missing persons unit dedicated to working on cases like Bodine’s.

“Ideally, that’s probably still not enough, but that’s better than we’ve ever had,” Sanders said.

The sheriff’s office publicly announced the new unit in June 2024.

Other than sending evidence from the crime scene off for advanced forensic testing, the cold case unit has so far been unable to make significant progress in Bodine’s case.

“It’s one of those things where we can never guarantee outcomes for law enforcement, but with the right public support, we can guarantee effort,” Sanders said. “So in 2025, the thing I can guarantee is the effort from the sheriff’s office will be there. We’ve got the resources to do it.”

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone with information about Bodine’s case to contact the cold case and missing persons unit at TCSOColdCase@co.thurston.wa.us. 

Bodine’s family maintains a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForMyMom.KarenBodine, to share updates and honor Bodine’s memory.