Death due to natural causes

The King County Medical Examiner yesterday reported that Michael Westlake Michel, whose decomposed body was discovered in the backseat of his truck in Madison Park last month, died of natural causes. The initial autopsy was inconclusive, but later tests determined that Michel's death was the result of heart disease.  He was 42 years old.

Michel's mother, Sharon Sievers, who notified us of these findings, said she was relieved and "at peace" knowing the truth.  "Please tell all concerned how very grateful I am that they cared and cared for someone they did not know; and thank them as well," she told us. "You certainly have a wonderful community when people can be so concerned in that way.  Michael was a wonderful person. May he rest in peace."

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.

Body identified, autopsy inconclusive

The man who was discovered dead in his truck at a Madison Park road end yesterday has been identified as Michael Westlake Michel. He was 42 years old and apparently lived in Everett.  It is not known why he was in Madison Park or how he came to die in the back seat of his vehicle, parked on E. Lee Street near Lake Washington.  Although the King County Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy on the body late this morning, the official word is that "the manner of death" and the "cause of death" are each "pending" at this time.

We followed up with the Medical Examiner's Office to determine exactly what that means.  We were told that tissues and blood samples will have to be analyzed, a testing process that is expected to take from eight to ten weeks.  The Seattle Police Department, to which we were referred, gave us this statement: "It is a death investigation and that's all we can say at this time."

[Photo, showing the police preparing to have the deceased's truck towed, by J. Waltz.]

Body discovered in truck parked at road end

Shortly before noon today multiple police and fire units descended on the E. Lee Street road end to investigate a report that there was a man lying in the back seat of a black Chevy Silverado truck, apparently deceased.  The discovery was a shock to many of us living in the area, who had been passing by the vehicle for days without investigating.  The truck was parked almost at the very end of E. Lee Street, just past 42nd Avenue E. and directly south of the Reed Estate.

Neighbors believe that the truck had been sitting there since at least July 1, prior to the Independence Day weekend.  For this reason, the body could not have been in very good condition when discovered, reportedly by a cable technician who had parked his truck near the deceased's vehicle.

Seattle Police confirmed to us that a body had been discovered and that the King County Medical Examiner would be undertaking a autopsy.  It does not appear that there was any foul play involved.  A neighbor who spoke to police officers at the scene learned from them that the body was apparently that of the truck owner, a young man in his 30s who lived somewhere outside of Seattle.  It is believed that he had not been reported missing.

The passenger-side window of the vehicle was partially open, as shown in the upper photo.  In defense of the neighbors who had not noticed anything amiss, however, it should be noted that the truck was parked directly next to a major sewer pumping station, which can at times be somewhat odiferous (it's located downstairs behind the white iron fence in the photo above).  Additionally, the body was not upright in the back seat but lying prone, as if the man had been sleeping there and simply never woke up.

The Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed that an autopsy will be performed on Tuesday morning, with the results available later in the day.

[Lower photo by J. Waltz.  Middle photo of the E. Lee Street road end from GoogleEarth. The upper photo of the vehicle, by an anonymous neighbor, was taken days before the body was discovered.]