Road-end death remains a mystery

Since the body of Michael Michel was discovered in a parked vehicle at the Lee Street road end earlier this month, his friends and family have been left to wonder how and why.  So far, the Medical Examiner has only been able to confirm that his death doesn't appear to have been a homicide, though the results of toxicology tests will not be known until September.  Perhaps then there will be some closure for those who knew Mike and for those in the neighborhood who have been affected by his death.

In the meantime, several people have made pilgrimages to the spot near the Lake where Mike died, leaving flower bouquets and, earlier this week, a toy fire engine. It seems that Mike Michel was a fireman (the picture above is taken from the union website of the Woodinville Fire Department) and had graduated from Mariner High School in Everett, where he apparently served as student body president in 1987. Many who knew him have left remembrances in a guest book affiliated with the Everett Herald's website.

Mike's mother, Sharon Sievers, made an appeal on this blog last week for information concerning her son's death, asking anyone who knew something to contact her (ssievers1190@gmail.com). But to date, no one has come forward.  "Michael was the absolutely wonderful son and I cannot say how I or his family feels except we are devastated," she wrote us in an email.  "My thinking is that he was there [in Madison Park] because he loved the beauty of the neighborhood, the area, the lake, and all that it surrounded.  He loved nature and all that it possessed."

She remains mystified by his death, noting that "according to [the Medical Examiner] it does not look like a suicide, but maybe an unfortunate accident."   When anything definitive is known about the cause, we will of course report it.  A memorial service has been scheduled for 3 pm on July 28 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2301 Hoyt Avenue, Everett.